Tag Archives: Encourage

Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Rock-Solid Promise 10: The Best is Still Coming

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It may be the best year or the worst year, but no matter how it stacks up, we’re guaranteed the best is still coming. This brings us to the 10th of our 10 rock-solid promises.

10. The best is still coming.

2 Corinthians 4 says, “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

What we go through today is only temporary and a better day is coming.

The first 10 days of this year may have been the best you’ve ever experienced, but there is something better coming.

2024 may mark the worse start to a year you’ve ever had. If so, something better is coming.

What’s coming is Heaven, and as 2 Corinthians 4 says, Heaven will outweigh all the temporary struggles we have. Scripture gives a glimpse of what this will look like.

John records, “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’

And the one sitting on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making everything new!’ And then he said to me, ‘Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:3-5).

No matter how this year shapes up, we’re assured something better is coming. Scripture assures Heaven awaits.

Thanks for reading, and talk again tomorrow at 6 a.m.

Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

What is God doing?

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Christmas music surrounds us with the message of grace and forgiveness. It can put the Good News on display, and sometimes, we do not even realize it. We’re in isle 4 picking out socks for Uncle Bob while swaying to O Holy Night. Thoughts of Aunt Susie’s ugly Christmas sweater are accompanied by thoughts of the true meaning of Christmas.

Mary, Did You Know permeates our ears with the truth of Christmas. It sends our thoughts to Jesus’ identity, and how God was working on that first Christmas. Luke tells us we’re not alone. Mary was thinking about this as well.

Luke 2:19 says, “But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.”

The last few months have been exciting. Mary has been visited by an angel, found out she was expecting a child, had to travel with Joseph for the census, and now, she’s given birth. There’s a lot of hype around her baby. Shepherds visiting and prophetic statements being made. In our day, there would be wall-to-wall coverage on the news networks, and Mary soaks it all in. What was God doing?

This Christmas season you may be wondering the same thing. All the activity in your life – the good and the bad – is causing you to wonder what God is doing. As you ponder God’s work, you can rest assured he has something great planned. You may not fully see it now, but it will be great because God is the one at work.

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Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Just Trust

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Here a snake, there a snake, everywhere a snake, snake. This doesn’t sound like anywhere I would want to be, but there was a group of people who found themselves in such a place.

This group of travelers was in the desert and growing a little cranky. One thing leads to another and Israel finds themselves surrounded by poisonous snakes, so they asked Moses to pray.

“Then the Lord told him, ‘Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it.’ So, Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed,” according to Numbers 21:8-9.

God’s answer for the people is easy. “Simply look at the snake.” In other words, “trust me.” That’s it. If an Israelite was bitten by a snake, he or she just needed to trust God by looking at the bronze snake. Perhaps they expected a more difficult process. Find a specific plant oil or hold the infected area in the sand for 15 minutes, but God’s answer was simple. The simplicity may have caused some people trouble.

It did Nicodemus, and Jesus said to him, “And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. So that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. For this is how God loved the world, he gave his one and only son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. God sent his son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:14-17). Jesus requested trust from Nicodemus. Follow his leading to eternal life, and you will be saved just like the Israelites who looked at the bronze snake.

Jesus requests the same trust from us. “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” he says in John 14:1. “You trust in God; trust also in me.” The simplicity of trusting him confuses us at times. We feel there should be something more, but Jesus reminds us following him will lead to eternal life. We forget all the places we see the Lord at work, so our trust may begin to slip a little. The question of is there something more I need to do slides into our thoughts.

But Jesus assures us, trusting him is the action required. By the way, we trust simple actions to do complex work all the time. We trust pushing an elevator button will raise or lower us to the desired floor without seeing the mechanical movements of the elevator. We turn a door knob to open the door without witnessing the latch being pulled back in the door. We trust Google and Alexa to turn on our lights without seeing the process go through its steps. Jesus asks for our trust. Do we trust him?

 Make a list of the ways the Lord is working in your life for reference if your trust begins to slip a little. Where have you seen the Lord at work? How has God shown himself trustworthy to you in the past?

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Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Success Starts With Submitting

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No one likes failure, and everyone strives to achieve success. Tucked away in James 4 is a suggestion to help us find true success.

Submit to God (James 4:7).

True success comes from the Lord, and finding it requires allowing the Lord in our lives. This means…

  • We accept his wisdom and will.
  • We trust his power and love for us.
  • We follow his teachings.

Nothing will detour Satan faster than a close relationship with the Lord, so if you’re looking for true success, start by submitting to the Lord.

Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Hope for the Hopeless: Psalm 118 Reveals Who to Trust

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Hope is easy when we do not really need it, but when circumstances around us seem hopeless, we truly discover where our hope can be found.

Friends who say call if you need anything may or may not mean it. Politicians may promise hope, but they are not able to deliver a true hope. Hope in money can eventually run out. The Lord, however, can provide a true, constant hope in the most hopeless of situations.

Psalm 118:8-9 reminds us “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”

The Lord can give hope to the hopeless. In the darkest of hours, he can be a ray of light that changes everything. Where is your hope placed today?

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Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Enduring Love: A Promise from Psalm 118

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“Give thanks to the Lord. He is good; his love endures forever” proclaims Psalm 118:1.

This is a promise of unshakable love for us.

When Psalm 118 says that God’s love endures forever, it is expressing the idea that God’s love is constant and unchanging. The Hebrew word for “love” used in this verse is “hesed,” which is often translated as “steadfast love” or “unfailing love.” This word conveys the idea of a loyal, faithful, and committed love that endures through all circumstances and challenges.

In the context of Psalm 118, the psalmist is giving thanks to God for delivering them from their enemies and for being their salvation. The psalmist recognizes that God’s love is the foundation of this deliverance and salvation, and that it is an enduring love that will never fail.

This idea of God’s enduring love is a theme that is echoed throughout the Bible. For example, the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Similarly, the apostle Paul wrote, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Overall, when Psalm 118 says that God’s love endures forever, it is expressing the idea that God’s love is unwavering, unchanging, and always available to those who seek it.

Remember, whatever life throws at you today, the Lord’s love endures forever.

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Today’s Enough

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How full is your calendar today? If you are like me, it is pretty full. Between work, getting the kids to school, and running errands, there is just not a lot of time for anything else. Especially worry about tomorrow. That’s why it is encouraging to find this nugget of wisdom tucked away in Matthew 6.

Jesus says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow for today has enough worries of its own” (Matthew 6:34)

As we think of all that is coming and all that may happen tomorrow, it is easy to let worry creep into our lives. However, Jesus encourages us not to worry about those events and days in the future. We are reminded the Lord has our back. He is going to take care of tomorrow. After all, today’s agenda is full; there’s no room for worry about tomorrow.

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Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Navigating Change

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Change. Do you find it stressful or invigorating? I’m somewhere in the middle; change can be good, but for the most part, I don’t like it. No matter how much we dread change, it is unavoidable.

The world around us is always changing. Society is always evolving. Employers are always “improving systems” and having their teams work differently. As you and I go through life, change may be forced upon us, but there is one constant.

The Bible reminds us “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

So when faced with change, choose to stay encouraged and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. With Him by your side, you can navigate any change with confidence and hope because Jesus is unchanging.

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Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Fight Back

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Don’t get pushed around without fighting back.

James says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you”  (James 4:7).

This doesn’t mean he won’t fight our resistance, but with the Lord’s help, we can win the fight. Perhaps the best weapon to use is Scripture!

Jesus used Scripture to win the fight. Jesus was in the wilderness, and Satan tried tempting him numerous times (Matthew 4). Each time Jesus quoted Scripture and caused Satan to flee. Satan kept trying – just as he will with us. But Scripture kept him fleeing – just as it will with us.

Keep resisting and the devil will keep fleeing.

Bible Study, Christian Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Inspiration, Uncategorized

More Than Romance

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Valentine’s Day is approaching and love is in the air, but there’s more to love than romance.

Attend a wedding, and along with the decorations and beauty of love on display, you’ll probably hear this passage read, or at least, referenced.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says:

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[b] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 

This passage certainly describes the type of love a husband and wife should have for one another, but it goes farther. It truly describes the type of love Christians should strive to imitate in all of our relationships. This passage does a marvelous job describing it, and the Gospels give us explicit illustrations of how Jesus modeled it.

Jesus’ Patience

On one occasion, James and John came to Jesus desiring to be called the greatest. They wanted Jesus to promote them to places of honor. His response demonstrates his patience.

The NIV Jesus Bible remarks, “Consider the passage in the Gospel of Mark in which James and John asked Jesus to do whatever they asked of him. They boldly asked—maybe even with a hint of demand—to sit on either side of him in glory. However, rather than chiding them for such brashness, Jesus spoke to them patiently (Mk 10:35–40).”

Jesus’ Kindness

Jesus’ disciples felt Jesus was busy and would not have time to visit with some families who brought their children for Jesus to bless. Matthew records the disciples rebuking the parents and trying to send the families away, but Jesus showed them kindness. Matthew 19:13-15 says:

“13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” 15 And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.”

Jesus was not Proud

As he was approaching the time on the cross, Jesus and his disciples were in the upper room having a meal, but the disciples forgot to wash their feet. This was a dirty job, and it was usually reserved for the lowest servant in the home. Seeing the need, Jesus took it upon himself to wash the disciples’ feet. He was humble enough to perform this task. He did not consider himself to good to do it.

Jesus was not Easily Angered

According to the NIV Jesus Bible, “Jesus was not easily angered, either. The careful reader might immediately think of the Lord driving out the moneychangers in the temple. Clearly, these people angered the Lord. However, Jesus’ anger was not an easily triggered rage over something insignificant. Instead, love for his Father’s house consumed him (Jn 2:17).”

Jesus Delighted in the Truth

John 18:37 says, “37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?”

Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

Jesus Never Gave Up and was Always Hopeful

Jesus continued following God’s path even though, for him, it became unimaginably hard. He knew the Father could raise him from the grave, so he laid his own interests aside to take up the interests of the world. He truly demonstrated love.

Jesus’ Perseverance

“Scorning the shame, he endured the cross for his people (Heb 12:2). This patient, kind, truth-rejoicing, protecting, trusting and persevering love kept no record of wrongs (1Co 13:5). Because of Jesus’ death, the amassed wrongs committed by the people of God were forgiven. The love demonstrated on the cross will forever remain unmatched (1Jn 4:10),” states the NIV Jesus Bible.

Is this the type of love you are imitating?

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