Category: Uncategorized

Proverbs 8:17 NIV
I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

Encouraging Words…
Sometimes it is just the simple things about faith that are the most powerful. He wants us to love Him and seek Him. He will do the rest.

Psalm 18:46 NASB
The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation,

Encouraging Words…
It has truly been a blessing to have been able to live most of my life with a Rock as my friend, my protection, and my salvation. It is encouraging to know that He will always be there, solid and consistent through the remainder of my days.

Ephesians 5:25-28 NASB
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;

Encouraging Words…
Today I am celebrating my fourth anniversary with my wonderful bride. It is such a blessing to have a godly, Christ-centered partner to share this journey through life with. I do love her dearly.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 NASB
Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Personal Challenge…
What a dilemma to live with every day…to be here on earth in our physical bodies separated from the presence of our Lord or to be absent from our physical bodies and in the presence of our King. What a great reason for living each day by faith, knowing in our hearts and ultimately our minds that today is the day that the Lord has given us to live for Him and through Him. Through this kind of living we can bring a piece of Heaven to those around us. Eternity has already started for those of us who claim Jesus as our Lord…it does not start when we die physically because through Him we have already died to our physical selves and are (or should be) living for Him now.

Luke 10:2 NLT
These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest, and ask him to send out more workers for his fields.

Personal Challenge…
Having been working in Haiti as a missionary for two years now I am just beginning to understand the urgency of this verse. There is so much work that needs to be done in the world around us. We are called to reach out to the lost, the orphans, the widows, the homeless, the hungry. But we are not just called to reach out to them, but we are commanded to lead the lost to a home in Christ, to take care of the orphans and widows, to provide shelter for the homeless, and to feed the hungry.

Some of us can do that by going to where the needs are and giving of ourselves to meet these needs. But some cannot go, however, they can be senders…providing for the needs of those who do go with their wealth and their time in prayer. Please be a support system for those in your life that you know are the “go’ers”. Support and encourage the workers of the harvest.

Isaiah 33:13-16 NASB
“You who are far away, hear what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.” Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure.

Command with a Promise…
Read down through “He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, he who rejects unjust gain and shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe, he who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil” and you will see the command to God’s people. The promise is that whomever lives their life this way wil “dwell on the heights, his refuge will be the impregnable rock; his bread will be given him, his water will be sure.” Does this apply to God’s people today? I certainly think it does. God wants us to live holy and righteous lives for His glory.

Proverbs 3:1-2 NASB
My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you.

Command with a Promise…
I have often been surprised by how often the Bible talks about doing things with our hearts rather than our minds. Here we are commanded to hold on to the teachings of God and to keep his commandments…with our heart. The result will be length of days and years of life blessed with peace, God’s peace. I agree that it is important to study and to learn about God and our responsibilities to Him, but He wants it to go much deeper than that. He desires that we know him from our heart, the center of our being, and that we serve Him from there. Even Satan and all of his minions have all the knowledge that is available about God. That knowledge without the love and the service from our hearts makes us no different than them.

Psalm 86:12 NASB
I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.

Personal Challenge…
God is God and I am not…this is why I must always remember to give thanks to Him. He is the one to be glorified and everything and at all times.

Job 28:28 NASB
“And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

Personal Challenge…
Now this is not what you would most likely hear in the world today as sound advice. Where does true wisdom begin…in the fear (respect, awe, reverence, piety) of the Lord. What is the basis of understanding…running away from evil (wickedness, mischief, wrong-being). God desires from us a humble and contrite heart…isn’t this where true wisdom and understanding begins?

James 2:19-20 NASB
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

Personal Challenge…
Have you ever caught yourself minimizing God or taking Him and our calling to worship and obey Him lightly? Being a follower of Christ is serious business. Sometimes I think the modern church has watered God down so much that He is seen as just one more character, person, object in our lives to use when WE need it.

We are called to worship Him with awe and reverence, does your worship reflect this? We are called to obey Him and humble ourselves before Him, are you doing this in every moment of your day and night? I regret to admit that I all too often put God in the back seat and take over piloting my vehicle through life.

He is God and I am not! He is the Lord of all and I am not. I must decrease so that He can increase. I must exercise my faith in Him by doing His works. Otherwise, I am no different that the demons who know Him, but are not His “children”.