Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

“The good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.” I Tim 5:25b (NLT) Paul makes this statement right after mentioning the coming judgment of all lives. So the encouragement in this passage is that God sees your hidden good deeds and will reward them! This truth, along with our love for God, is why we practice always living our lives in the presence of God. Is not the true test of our godliness the way we live when no one else is around? So we can rejoice in doing unseen good because we are walking with God at that time and He values what we do. And it greatly pleases us that we can do things that make the God of love smile. No matter who has authority over us, we are to do our duties first to the Lord, which should be a blessing to those over Continue Reading →

“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 →