Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.If you keep to my path,I will reveal to you the salvation of God. Psalms 50:23 (NLT) When we thank God we acknowledge the good he has done and we recognize him as good. Thus, thanksgiving is an expression of our faith in who he is and what he does. This is why we honor him when we thank him. We are declaring and displaying him to all beings in the heavenlies. If we maintain an attitude of thanksgiving and stay faithful to his teachings then we receive a blessing that is far more valuable than anything we sacrifice. We get to see the salvation of God. This is more than the privilege of living in the next age. It also means we get to see and experience his process of redeeming us now. We get to see his work in Continue Reading →

Sacrifice thank offerings to God,fulfill your vows to the Most High,and call on me in the day of trouble;I will deliver you, and you will honor me. Psalms 50:14-15 (NIV) God encourages us by promising deliverance. But what kind of deliverance does God promises under the New Covenant? Under the Old Covenant God’s deliverance was usually a physical deliverance: from military enemies, from personal enemies, from misfortune etcetera. But under the New Covenant God has not promised political or economic prosperity or freedom from enemies and distress until Jesus returns. For now, he promises something even better: inner communion with him, a cleansed heart, and interior peace that surpasses understanding. What does he ask of us? That we would trust him and thank him for who he is and what he has done – our thank offerings. That we would fulfill the commitments we have made to him – our Continue Reading →

So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow richand their homes become ever more splendid.For when they die, they take nothing with them.Their wealth will not follow them into the grave. Psalms 49:16-17 (NLT) This passage may not seem encouraging at first since it is about judgment on the wicked, but I think it is one of the most encouraging truths in Scripture. We often observe that compromising or unscrupulous or faithless people become successful in this life. And godly people often do not become prosperous. But God assures us that this is not the end of the story. Everyone will be judged one day (2 Cor. 5:10) and everyone “will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body” (2 Cor. 5:10, NLT). Moreover, God has promised a new and better Garden of Eden for our eternal dwelling. As we absorb Continue Reading →

He will guide us forever Psalms 48:14 God wants to guide our lives like a good Father. And like a good father he does not want to make us into puppets and predetermine everything we do. He wants to give his children room to grow in their wisdom and exercise their will in submission to Christ. At the same time, if we abide in Christ’s commandments, pray, and seek counsel then we can expect God’s direction. He promises in James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (ESV). This doesn’t mean that we will usually receive a clear strong impression from God on all our important decisions. Once we have fulfilled our responsibility to seek his guidance then we make a decision according to the best wisdom we know. After that, Continue Reading →

God reigns over the nations;God sits on his holy throne. Psalms 47:8 (ESV) It is easy to forget that God really does reign over the earth. We are heavily influenced by our natural eyes which see all the actions of humans, all the power of governments, and all the might of armies. We elect Presidents and Prime Ministers and we pray they will wisely rule us; and this is good. But “the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). God is unseen but he rules over the nations. He allows people to harm and destroy one another and so it seems that God is inactive. But in this age he is only letting us choose to love him or reject him. Yet he still has ultimate control and so we do not need to fear. If politicians let us down, Continue Reading →