Encouragement (Page 3)

Prayer is an important topic that is covered in the Bible. In fact, the disciples never asked Jesus to teach them how to heal someone or how to do a miracle, or even how to preach. The only request that the disciples had of Christ was they asked Him to teach them how to pray. We have the wonderful rendition of the Lord’s prayer that is shared throughout Scripture as He taught them about prayer. Have you ever wondered why…

We usually are constantly on the move. We want fast food, fast service, and fast resolutions to issues or problems. When we do not get what we want, we may and probably will get impatient. As we impatiently struggle with our impatience, there is much we can learn by looking at a couple of Bible passages that encourage us with this. Psalm 27:14 – “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I…

How do you make the right decision when there are difficult consequences either way? Daniel was a young man that lived in Israel roughly 2,600 years ago. Daniel was faced with this exact dilemma after being captured and deported from his homeland by a foreign government. Daniel was just a teenager when he was put through the test of his faith, but we see in the first chapter of the book that he wrote, he gives us one key as…

How is your soul? This question may puzzle you a bit. Maybe no one has asked you how your soul is doing before. I cannot recall a time myself when someone asked me how my soul was doing.  Taking care of your soul is far more important than taking care of your physical body. Don’t get me wrong. Working out should be a part of your lifestyle. I work out between four to five times a week. Working out your…

Psalm 23:1-2 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23 is one of the most comforting passages that we find in the Scriptures. The author, David, paints a wonderful word picture of how God was his shepherd. He identified three benefits of following the Shepherd: 1. The Shepherd meets our needs. Before David was anointed a king, he was a lowly…

Luke 15 is one chapter which almost everyone could repeat from memory, and yet it is one of those beautiful portions of Scripture which always seem to touch one’s heart and fill one’s soul with fresh joy every time we read it. A case could be made that Jesus was talking about those who were backslidden in sin. Remember, Jesus was surrounded by the publicans and sinners, while the Pharisees and scribes were in the distance murmuring and finding fault.…

Proverbs 16:29 A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good. Thought: We must recognize that being able to pray to God is a privilege that not all men have. In the Bible, we find many examples of men and women of prayer. King David prayed to God for direction in battle. He also prayed to God to free him from those who sought to harm him. Esther prayed to God along with…

Ronald Mehl wrote a book called, God Works the Night Shift. The title of this book captures my interest and gives me great hope! Have you ever been awakened from a deep sleep at 3:00 AM due to a troubling thought? It may be a reoccurring worry that is relentless and continues to steal your joy and contentment. I certainly have been there as I have navigated life here upon this earth for many years. The book of Psalms has…

We usually are constantly on the move. We want fast food, fast service, and fast resolutions to issues or problems. When we do not get what we want, we may and probably will get impatient. As we impatiently struggle with our impatience, there is much we can learn by looking at a couple of Bible passages that encourage us with this. Psalm 27:14 – “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I…

The human mind is still a marvel to the scientific community today. Scientists cannot replicate it, though they have tried with Artificial Intelligence, yet they use their mind to try and learn more about the intricacies of what allows humans to reason and think. We know that great good can be accomplished using our minds such as when Frank Shankwitz, Linda Bergendahl-Pauling, and Scott Stahl created the Make-A-Wish Foundation for terminally ill children in 1980. On the contrary, we know…

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage: be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Thought: When we allow ourselves to trust God, we are limitless. God loves to encourage people. After all, He did make all of us in His image as Moses wrote in Genesis 1:27. Through the first nine verses in chapter one of Joshua, God encourages Joshua four separate…

Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” During this pandemic, I have dabbled in baking. Now, I am not going to appear on any of the cooking shows on TV anytime soon, but I have enjoyed making some delicious treats! As I began to make these sweet treats, I did not understand the necessity of putting salt in desserts. Why would I put something…