Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

When it comes to the 2nd great commandment to love others (Matt. 22:39) we have a much greater responsibility to show active love to those for whom we have some responsibility. We don’t have time to actively bless everyone in our vicinity, but following Christ means that we definitely bless those in our care. This applies to our behavior in the workplace as well as to every other dimension of our lives. Business owners or executives are sometimes tempted to skimp on wages or benefits to employees in order to keep more for themselves. A Christian business owner may even justify this in their mind by thinking that the extra income allows them to give more to ministries. But obviously, skimping on wages is a very repulsive practice even for a non-Christian. An owner’s primary responsibility to their employees is to bless them. If there are extra profits, then the Continue Reading →

Surely the righteous will never be shaken . . . Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;in the end they will look in triumph on their foes Psalms 112:6, 8 (NIV) God promises that if we are righteous then we will not be shaken. Since we are in Christ we have his righteousness, so judicially we are righteous. And God expects his children to live righteously too, which is what much of the New Testament focuses on. Thus, if we abide in Christ, then our soul, our heart, will not crumble like a collapsing wall. We will still have sorrow and tragedy, but our heart is safe in Christ. The peace, joy, and unity with God that we have in Christ cannot be taken away. There is no fear that can overtake us. So, when this age is over we will be able to survey the world and Continue Reading →

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;all who follow his precepts have good understanding. Psalms 111:10 (NIV) In this verse the Psalmist expresses the same idea in two different ways, which we refer to as a Hebrew parallelism. Notice that one cannot even begin to have wisdom unless they start with the fear of Yahweh (Lord in all caps is a translation of God’s name, Yahweh.) If you fear (respect, honor, recognize that God will judge all) God then you have already begun to have wisdom. This puts you far ahead of all the ideologies that swirl around the world today. So many groups spin their views of reality and meaning without considering the God of all creation. They teach the future generations in our universities, influence our politics, and transform our societies. Yet ultimately, these ideologies and religions are destructive because they do not know the Continue Reading →

21 But you, Sovereign LORD,help me for your name’s sake;out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.22 For I am poor and needy,and my heart is wounded within me.23 I fade away like an evening shadow;I am shaken off like a locust. Psalms 109:21-23 (NIV) Sometimes we are the wounded ones, feeling like we have lost what we had, leaving us emotionally destitute. We feel like a late afternoon shadow gradually fading away as night falls. It seems like we are hanging on to life but it keeps brushing us off, like an annoying insect trying to land on someone who keeps shooing it away. But in all this Yahweh still loves us. He is the ultimate ruler of all and we are the people called by the name of his Son. We are his children and he comforts our hearts and gives us new beginnings, and he will Continue Reading →

With God we will gain the victory,and he will trample down our enemies. Psalms 108:13 (NIV) Under the Old Covenant God gave his people a particular land, but the neighboring nations often attacked them so they pleaded for God’s help to defeat their flesh and blood enemies. Under the New Covenant we have no earthly city (Heb. 13:14). We do not fight against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12). Our primary enemy is Satan who is very cunning, but if we put on the armor of God then we can defend ourselves against him. We also have the shield of faith which stops the flaming darts of the evil one (Eph. 6:16). We even have a sword with which to cut down the enemy’s soldiers. This sword is the word of God powered by the Spirit of God (Eph. 6:17). Therefore, do not be distressed about enemy’s attacks. He whispers, deceives, Continue Reading →