Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

“The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart” (Psalm 19:8, NLT). We may not normally think of God’s commandments as sources of joy. We tend to think that they are challenging and sometimes difficult and that we may not feel good as we keep them. But if we reflect a little more we realize that it is God’s commandments that bring us life and joy. A few lines earlier in this Psalm we hear that God’s instruction revive the soul (v. 7). God’s commands don’t just keep us from being destructive they also guide us into peace and maturity. They guide us into communion with God in Christ. This is why Jesus said: “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15, NLT). He wants us to follow what he taught (the Sermon on the Mount and everything else) because these directives keep us abiding in Continue Reading →

4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. (Psalms 18:4-5, 19, NIV) In this Psalm King David had been attacked by powerful enemies and his reign was in jeopardy but God powerfully intervened and strengthened the king and gave him victory. How does this apply to Christians? As we mentioned last week, under the new covenant believers have no geographic kingdom in this world (John 18:36) and “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world” (Eph. 6:12, NIV). We also have the enemies of general corruption around us that damage us, the enemy of our old self which tries to Continue Reading →

“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.” (Psalms 18:28, NIV) When Adam and Eve disobeyed God they lost their knowledge of God and thus their knowledge of truth and meaning and the road of wisdom. They were enveloped in a cloud of darkness that all the poets and philosophers and religious leaders could never break through. No one could find the light of life. Yet for those who humble themselves and turn to God he gives them a spiritual lamp that burns forever. We break through the darkness of the world and begin to live in the light of the knowledge of God. Jesus is the lamp and light of God who reveals true life to us. “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5, Continue Reading →

“To the pure you show yourself pure” (Psalms 18:26, NIV). For those who pursue holiness and purge corruption from their lives God will reveal himself as a holy God and Lord. It is the pure who enjoy a relationship with the purity of God. Those who embrace the immorality and destructiveness of the world do not get to enjoy the pure goodness of God. He is hidden to them and instead of his purity they may experience the conviction and correction of God. But to the pure God “shows himself” for when we are pure our faces are then unveiled and we “behold the glory of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). This Psalm also reminds us of Matthew 5:8 where Jesus promises “blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”. Our highest happiness consists of beholding the love, power, beauty and wisdom of God. Thus, we are Continue Reading →