Posts Tagged "encouragement"

Do you ever wish you were “closer to God?” “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort [encourage, remind] one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”  -Hebrews 3:12-13 Sometimes the line between an open and closed heart isn’t understanding, but encouragement. Sometimes we may drift from God not because we don’t believe, but because we don’t remember. In a hyper-connected age of constant communication, we as the Church have great opportunity for constant encouragement and remembrance. Do you want to stay constantly close to God?  Surround...

Do you ever feel like you have to “perform” in the Christian life? I’ve noticed lately that when I write my personal Scripture reflections, they are often more cautionary than encouraging. (“Be careful about this; don’t do that; watch out over here!”) Why not more hopeful? Why do I reflexively try to put in so many caveats and limits to how I’m living, instead of simply digging deeper into how to more fully trust Jesus? Am I simply trying to manage and limit my expectations in order to avoid disappointment? Am I zeroing in on a more performance-based understanding because that’s something I can predict and control? Are you? When I speak with others, I instinctively want to encourage them to know that it’s okay...

Do you ever get weary in the Christian life? “‘Be strong, all you people of the Land,’ declares the Lord.  ’Work, for I am with you,’ declares the Lord of hosts.” -Haggai 2:4b Sometimes I get weary of the work. Not the 9 to 5 day job work; the work of walking the path of the disciple; the work of building the Kingdom.  It’s often hard to take the high road and keep walking, keep believing. Maybe you’ve been there, too. Yet, God’s call to us always comes with a promise for us, and the greatest promise of all is found in this: “I AM WITH YOU.” If He is with me, I know my work matters. If He is with me, I know my life has meaning. If He is with me, I know He will bring a harvest at the proper time,...

“This is never going to work.” Have you ever noticed how in story after story, in movies and books and television shows, it’s the crazy, even foolish characters that save the day? A little hobbit and a rag-tag band of others take a journey into the heart of darkness to save the world…and succeeds. A bored farm boy from a desert planet leads a freedom uprising against an evil galactic empire…and wins. What if God’s plan for your life was just like that? You may feel like your life is too insignificant to be used in a big way, like it’s been a waste so far and doesn’t hold much prospect for the future, but think about this for a moment… In human terms, the cross of Christ was a total waste.  Think of what the...

A prayer for you today… May you be given power today, power from the Creator who spoke the stars into being. Let Him speak into your life. May you be given strength today, strength from the God who holds the universe together. Let Him hold up your heart. May you have endurance and patience with others, and may you be filled with joy as you remember how much endurance and patience God has with you. May you give thanks to the Father today as you remember how the blood of Jesus makes you worthy to be called God’s Child. May you rejoice today that Jesus delivered you from the darkness of sin and brought you into the light of forgiveness.  Receive His forgiveness. May you remember that since you didn’t deserve any of these gifts, you...