Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

“Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” I Tim. 4:7-8 ESV “Godliness” is another word for Christlikeness, which is God’s top priority in our lives. This passage encourages us that all the effort we put into becoming godly, or Christlike, is more than worth it. Why? Because God promises that in eternity we will be rewarded for our godliness! In the New Creation God will give us blessings for our godliness, and these will be blessings that will be valuable to us in eternity. This is why we “toil and strive” (I Tim. 4:10) now. We are not passive, we do not only receive. Rather, we make efforts, we apply our willpower which has been born again, and we always depend on the Spirit. Continue Reading →

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Col. 3:23-24 (ESV) This is one of the most practical words of encouragement in scripture. Everything we do each day can be done for Jesus; we work for Jesus! This makes our everyday tasks wonderfully meaningful even when they are monotonous or distasteful. Many of us spend much of our time on tasks that are not enjoyable or in unpleasant environments. For example, think of all the time we spend on house chores, paying bills, grooming and other types of maintenance. This passage explains that whatever task we are doing we are actually serving Jesus. The Lord values the work we do. Whether we are landscaping a yard, teaching a class, answering phones, or keeping house – Jesus Continue Reading →

“When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4, NIV). When Jesus comes back and appears to all then we will also appear with Jesus. What kind of appearance will we make? First, we will have a joint appearance with the “star” of the universe: Jesus Christ. A rising movie actor may hope that one day that they will get to appear in a movie with one of their movie idols. But we have a much greater appearance in mind – and ours is guaranteed! Jesus is purifying us “so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27, ESV). Secondly, we will appear “in glory”. This does not just mean that we will go to a glorious place to live. The Continue Reading →

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Eph. 2:6 (NIV). Hmmm, we are seated in the heavens with Christ? When did that happen? What is Paul talking about? It sounds like he is saying that Christians were resurrected with Christ and ascended into heaven with Christ. And being “seated” includes the idea of having a place of honor; we are sitting together with the highest authority, the king of all, so we have been placed in a position of great honor. But, obviously we don’t see or feel this physically; this is why it is hard to grasp. Paul is teaching us a spiritual truth that may feel dim, but he continually teaches that we are united with Christ (“in Christ”) in his letters; our heavenly induction is another aspect of our union with Christ. Though we do Continue Reading →

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. Rom 12:4-5  (NLT) In God’s community everyone gets to play.  God loves us enough to make everyone important. He does this by giving everyone specific gifts and functions in the body of Christ. Regardless of our limitations, we are still valuable in the church. The desire to be productive is a basic God-given drive; God wants to fulfill this drive in everyone. We have a role that matters to God; something that makes him smile and satisfies our hearts. This truth is a powerful tool for encouraging others. We see people come into our congregation who are new to Jesus, all beaten up Continue Reading →