Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

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 →

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalms 107:1 (ESV) Consider how we are sometimes afraid of surrendering things to the Lord, or afraid of obeying him in a difficult situation. Why are we afraid or resistant? Usually, a part of us thinks that this will cause us pain. Going deeper, we may think that the benefits will not outweigh the pain. If we really believed that what God was doing was good, and not harmful, then wouldn’t we let go of our fear? Would we have any fear at all? Isn’t it always good to surrender and obey? Is there any question that the good will outweigh the temporary pain? Yet, it can be very difficult to get our hearts to fully embrace God’s goodness. We may believe the doctrine of the goodness of God, but our hearts still resist surrendering Continue Reading →

The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. (Psalms 103:19, NIV) It is important for our peace that we trust that Yahweh rules over all. In the Old Testament God’s heavenly kingdom had not come to earth, so his rule was not as complete as with the New Covenant. And his rule in the inauguration phase that Jesus brought is not as complete in the fulfillment phase after Jesus returns. So in this “in between” time, between the comings of Christ, God uses all the bad things in life to produce good things. This means that no matter what happens in your life, God rules over your circumstances by using them to make you more like Christ. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn how God will bring good out of bad, like he brought good out of the crucifixion of Christ. So remember Continue Reading →