Exodus 15:2 NIV

The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him; he is my father’s God, and I will exalt him!

Encouraging Words…

What more can one say than this? My LORD and my God are the source of everything for those who love Him. Once again I have seen His mighty hand at work in my life and no one can ever convince me that He does not exist, or that He is not in control, or that He is the God of love.

Ephesians 2:8-10 NASB

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Encouraging Words…

It gets so easy to put the cart before the horse and try to work our way into salvation. It is clear throughout the scripture and the traditions of the church that our salvation can only come from our Lord and the work that He has done. However, salvation does not end there, it actually begins there. Through God’s grace, the work that He has done, we are created in Christ to do good works, works that God has prepared for us to do. Just as we cannot work our way into salvation we should not be so caught up in worrying about why we are doing good works that we don’t do them just so someone doesn’t think we are trying to earn our way to salvation. If we are saved by grace through our faith in Jesus Christ then we should be doing His work.

John 12:46 NIV

I have come into the world as a light, so that no-one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Command with a Promise…

Believe in Christ and you will no longer be in the darkness. Jesus is the Light and in Him is no darkness. If this is true in the lives of those who claim to believe in Him then how is it that sometimes those who proclaim Him as Lord do things that can only be accounted to darkness. It really boils down to one of two things…sin or not truly believing in Him. Praise be to God that He forgives of our sins…when we confess them and turn from them, i.e. repent. Lord have mercy if it turns out that we are really living the life of a goat rather than a sheep and using His name, His kingdom, for our own good.

Hosea 6:6 NASB
For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Personal Challenge…

As this journey called life continues I find God’s Word reminding me that what He wants from me is loyalty (mercy, kindness, lovingkindness, goodness, faithfulness) and not all of the actions or imitations of sacrifices (offerings, worship). I am learning that it is so easy for many of us in the church to get caught up in the trappings of success (building a large ministry, reaching a lot of people, building a worldly kingdom instead of a heavenly kingdom) and fail to see the methods by which these successes have been accomplished. We must always ask, “At whose expense is this success being achieved?” But then again, if we define success by God’s definitions then when we are working toward that there will not be any worries about who we are hurting in the process. because seeking God’s success will build up those around us, not tear them down.

Isaiah 40:8 NLT

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.

Encouraging Words…

It is such a blessing to know that word of our God stands forever, forever true, forever unchanging. It is these words that we must hold on to and run back to when the words spoken in the world and of the world come our way. Not only does the grass wither and the flower fall, the words of men wither and fall as well.

Proverbs 29:23 NIV

A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honour.

Personal Challenge…

There is that difficult word again, humble (lowly spirit). Isn’t this what our Lord desires of us on a regular basis, to be humble before Him and our fellow man and woman? Isn’t this part of that daily struggle within us, pride versus humility? He not only desires us to choose Him, but to choose how we live before Him…in humility.

Psalm 30:5 NASB

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Encouraging Words…

Living a life in Christ is not a life filled with our every wish being fulfilled, our every want provided. A life in Christ is one of discipline, especially when we walk away from Him and His teachings. It is a life of commitment and work…for Him. But is also a life that is filled with His favor, His love, His presence. There will be those hard times, but they are times where weeping will last for the night, but the morning will be greeted with a shout of joy. I would have nothing other than a life in Christ.

Numbers 14:18 NASB

The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.

Personal Challenge…

I am so thankful that the LORD is so loving and forgiving. It is because of this that He is so patient with my propensity to sin and to turn my back on Him. I have often viewed this verse as God warning us that our sins will be paid for by our children and their children. Actually it seems to be saying that the seeds of sin, the lessons that we teach our children through our sinfulness, will be planted in our children’s lives and begin to grow. Oh how important it is for us to live Godly and righteous lives before our children…especially when it means going against what is popular in our culture. I hope and pray that my children and their children will forgive me for the seeds of sin that I planted in their lives in my younger years.

1 Peter 1:13-16 NASB

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Personal Challenge…

As followers of Christ we are holy…this means that our lives should be full of actions that both demonstrate that holiness and continue to drive us deeper into being holy. Some of these actions are clearly presented in these verses. All I know is that I certainly need the Holy One to be doing this work within me because I cannot do it on my own.

Galatians 6:9 NASB

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

Encouraging Words…

The life a Christian is a life of works. It is true that our works do not earn us our entry into the Kingdom of God, however our life is to be filled with doing those things that God calls us to do. Our journey toward righteousness is not passive but active.