Weekly words of encouragement

The Nations Will Honor God – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

Posted on by

The nations will fear the name of the LORD,all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.For the LORD will rebuild Zionand appear in his glory. Psalms 102:15-16 (NIV) It can be discouraging when we look around us and see so much ungodliness and destruction. People cling to their own self-centered ideologies and teach the next generation to do the same. Whole nations choose to reject God and pursue their self-gratification. Our children are taught by teachers who reject transcendent moral values and so the children are lost and unable to navigate their world with a healthy moral compass. Yet, one day the nations will all fear Yahweh; they will honor his glory. After Jesus returns every knee will bow to him and then he will judge the nations. Those who have served Yahweh will remain and there will be citizens of every nation. These nations will all honor Continue Reading →

humility

The Peril of Being Unbroken

Posted on by

It has been observed that for most Christians they must reach a place in their life where their self-dependence is broken so that they abandon their attachment to pride and allow themselves to abide in humility before God. It might be through an external crisis or an internal crisis but we all must go through the process of experiencing the death of the illusion that we are living our Christian life well or that we are truly dependent on God. In other words, we must get to the end of ourselves. This lack of brokenness, or lack of pliability, manifests itself in many destructive ways in our relationships, some of the most obvious are drivenness, stubbornness, defensiveness, lack of empathy, lack of honest self-awareness, unwillingness to accept help, unwillingness to have vulnerabilities and lack of teachability. Even if we have been a believer for twenty years and are honored in Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

We Are His Sheep – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

Posted on by

Know that the LORD is God.It is he who made us, and we are his;we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Psalms 100:3 (NIV) In our natural state we are sheep without a shepherd, imprisoned in a pasture of darkness and destruction. When Yahweh rescues us he unlocks the gate and sets us free from our prison. We enter his infinite pasture of unlimited possibilities. Best of all, Yahweh becomes our shepherd. He does this because we now belong to him, we are part of his precious flock. He treasures us and wants the best for us because he loves us. So, he lets us graze in his pasture, we eat from his goodness, the tastiest grass in the universe. We drink from his stream of living water, a river of life that flows from our depths. No matter what happens to us in this age, we are Continue Reading →

honesty

When Being Honest Is Risky

Posted on by

Scripture teaches that we are to “put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor” (Eph. 4:25, NIV). Honesty is a greater challenge when it comes to pointing out an uncomfortable truth that others are ignoring, which is important for moving to elder-level maturity. For example, if someone we are close to or have responsibility for is harming others or themselves with attitudes, words or actions then do we not have a duty before God to say something? “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6, ESV). Sometimes we need to speak up even when there is no intention to harm. For example, if our congregation or ministry is having a problem and no effective solutions are being implemented, then we need to speak the truth and point out the negligence. Groups tend to ignore uncomfortable root issues or adopt low-pain solutions that have little hope of success. Consistent Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Rejoicing Over God’s Judgment – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

Posted on by

Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity. Psalms 98:8-9 (NIV) We do not normally associate singing with God’s judgment. Why would someone sing for joy about the day when God will send so many people to destruction? Isn’t this a sad time? This Psalmist does not think of judgment this way. They are thinking of judgment in terms of God bringing goodness and justice to the earth. Do we not mourn all the suffering around us? Are we not sick of all the malevolence dwelling in so many people? Are we not sad about all the hearts that rebel against God and persuade others to do the same? Instead, we look for an end to suffering and neediness. We Continue Reading →