Category: encouragement

An Overwhelmed Heart

Friday, June 22, 2012

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:1,2 KJV).

Sometimes, the circumstances of life can be overwhelming. To where does the psalmist (David) in today’s Scripture turn during these disheartening times?

King David continues, “For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name” (verses 3-5). David had faith in the LORD: he knew that his God would always be there for him, even if no one else were.

Life in this sin-cursed world is not always easy, but let us remember, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

“And he [the Lord Jesus Christ] said unto me [Paul], My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9,10).

Just as King David could flee to God for peace and consolation, we can too! We can go to God’s Word rightly divided for comfort, and talk to God in prayer during disturbing times (Philippians 4:6,7). What a privilege!

David concluded the chapter of today’s Scripture with, “So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever…” (Psalm 61:8). Let us sing praise unto God’s name forever… even when we have an overwhelmed heart!

Father: A Godly Man

Sunday, June 17, 2012

“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4 KJV).

Since today is Father’s Day, we dedicate today’s devotional to the godly (Christian) fathers.

What is a godly father? Oftentimes, fathers are either too authoritative (very strict) or too carefree (little to no concern for their children). According to the Bible (today’s Scripture in particular), fathers must have a balance between setting boundaries and enforcing them, and refraining from being a heartless tyrant.

  • On one hand, the Christian father is to “bring [his children] up in the nurture of the Lord.” “Nurture” is simply defined as “caring for and encouraging their growth or development.” All too often, fathers (sadly) ignore this, usually being too rough, or even, apathetic (unconcerned).
  • On the other hand, the Christian father is to “bring [his children] up in the admonition of the Lord.” “Admonition” is simply defined as “authoritative counsel or warning.” He is to lovingly guide them in life, instructing them from God’s Word rightly divided.

A father is not simply one who procreates. God’s Word makes it very clear that they should serve a lifelong, active role in their children’s lives. A Christian man, especially a father, should be a godly man in beliefs as well as in deed. He needs to set an example for his children (especially his sons): it is his duty as an older Christian man to set an example for younger men.

He should be a hard worker, he should meditate on the things of God (the Bible), his speech should conform to sound Bible doctrine, he should be hospitable and caring, kind and loving, he should respect and love his wife, he should love his children, and he should be reserved and cautious in his actions.

Are you a Christian man or Christian father who desires to be the man God intends you to be in Christ Jesus? Place your faith in this sound Bible doctrine, and God will take care of the rest! Then, you will become the godly man described on the pages of Scripture.

*Adapted from a larger Bible study with the same name. The Bible study can be read here or watched here.

Take Heed to Thy Ministry

Saturday, June 16, 2012

“And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it” (Colossians 4:17 KJV).

Each of us members of the Church the Body of Christ has a role in what God is doing today. Are we willing to “fulfil” (complete) that ministry? Do we even realize we have it?

Archippus is only mentioned twice in God’s Word—in today’s Scripture, and in Philemon 2, where he is called Paul and Timothy’s “fellow-soldier.” While we do not know much else about Archippus, we gather that he resided in Colosse (perhaps someone who fellowshipped in the church who met in Philemon’s house?).

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul instructed the Colossian believers to admonish Archippus to “take heed to the ministry which [he had] received in the Lord, that [he] fulfil it.” Exactly what opportunity this “ministry” was, we can only speculate (teaching Scripture? giving? leading the Colossian assembly as bishop?). Whatever this ministry was, it was of great importance (hence Paul’s warning to Archippus to “take heed [pay attention!]” to it and complete it. (Do not overlook your God-given responsibility, Archippus!!)

Paul could have written today’s Scripture to you and me as individuals. All of us Christians have been given “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18). We are God’s ambassadors, His representatives in the earth, temporarily left here to declare His wonderful grace in Christ Jesus to this lost and dying world (verses 19-21)! We need to “take heed” to our ministry, to “fulfil” it.

As a Christian brother once stated, “God did not save us so we could sit on the stool of do-nothing, saying, ‘I shall not be moved!’” Brethren, let us exploit our resources to further the message of salvation found only in Jesus Christ. We do not have to all teach and preach, but we can pray for, give to, and help in local grace churches in whatever role we wish, as God’s Word instructs us. Time is precious, so let us not waste it on trivial (temporal) matters. “Take heed to [thy] ministry,” which will reap eternal benefits….

Are We of All Men Most Miserable?

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19 KJV).

Is our Christian service done in vain? Today’s Scripture explicates.

Today’s Scripture is excerpted from the Bible’s greatest passage regarding resurrection (1 Corinthians chapter 15). According to verse 12, some of the Corinthians deny bodily resurrection (thus denying Christ’s resurrection). So, the Holy Spirit through Paul provides 58 verses on the topic. Notice the argument Scripture gives for bodily resurrection (verses 13-18):

  • “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:”
  • “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”
  • “Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.”
  • “For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:”
  • “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”
  • “Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.”

If there is no such thing as resurrection, everything we believe and do would be “vain” (worthless, empty): it would mean Christ never resurrected, that our preaching eternal life in Christ is “vain,” that our faith in Christ is also “vain,” that Paul lied when he preached Christ’s resurrection, that we are still dead in our trespasses and sins, and that we will never again see those who have died in Christ. We would be “of all men most miserable” if that were true: if we Christians had this brief, earthly life, and nothing else, we would be the most depressed of all people (today’s Scripture)!

But, verse 58 gives us hope: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” We are not “of all men most miserable!” Our Christian service is not in vain—there will be a resurrection! 🙂

Let Him Be Ignorant

Monday, June 4, 2012

“But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 14:38 KJV).

As Jesus Christ’s ambassadors, we are commissioned to tell the lost world of God’s saving grace in Christ. We are also instructed to impart sound Bible doctrine (Pauline dispensationalism) to other Christians so that they may grow spiritually. But what if individuals (including professing “Christians”) refuse to listen to us? Today’s Scripture MUST then be applied.

There is nothing wrong with Bible questions, but arguing for the sake of arguing is worthless and a waste of time. “But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive” (2 Timothy 2:23,24a). If someone deliberately and persistently rejects Paul’s apostolic authority, let them remain ignorant (1 Corinthians 14:37; the verse preceding today’s Scripture). If a person wants to go to hell, and refuses to accept sound Bible doctrine by trusting Christ Jesus alone, let them stay confused. Free will!!! God does not twist arms, and neither should we.

Proverbs 26:4,5 KJV is wisdom in this regard: “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.” Sometimes it is appropriate to respond to the scoffers; other times, you will decide to say nothing, and go on your way to those who will listen. Determine what action the situation requires by listening to the person’s tone, and comments, and observing their facial expressions, demeanor, and so on. But do not waste time arguing!

Be not discouraged when someone refuses to hear your testimony regarding God’s Word (the King James Bible). Just go on your way and speak to those who do want to hear what the Bible says! (Those who reject you as a Christian are not rejecting you per-say, they are rejecting God, and God will deal with them.)

Paul warned Timothy: “Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting [defeat, ruin] of the hearers” (2 Timothy 2:14).

*Adapted from a larger Bible study with the same name. It can be read here or watched here.

Our Kinsmen According to the Flesh

Sunday, June 3, 2012

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:” (Romans 9:1-3 KJV).

Sharing Jesus Christ with lost (unsaved) strangers is difficult. We need to tell them of their impending eternal doom and of the salvation in Christ, but we sometimes keep quiet, fearing ridicule and rejection. However, telling our own family about Christ is tougher….

In today’s Scripture, our Apostle Paul begins three chapters—Romans chapters 9-11—that discuss Israel’s past, present, and future statuses. Israel once had a special position before God (Romans 9:4,5). When Paul wrote today’s Scripture, God had already begun to set Israel and her program aside: Israel’s “diminishing” occurred between Acts chapters 7 and 28. Today, in this the Dispensation of Grace, Israel is temporarily spiritually “blinded” and “fallen” (Romans 11:11,12,25).

Compare today’s Scripture with Romans 10:1-3: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”

Oh, how Jewish Paul grieved for lost (hell-bound) Israel, who ignored Christ’s finished crosswork (“the righteousness of God;” Romans 10:3 cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21)! They disregarded Paul’s Gospel of Grace (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). They rejected Christ’s bloodshed, death, burial, and resurrection, and emphasized “their own righteousness” (doing religious works, hoping to obtain salvation, but actually heading for eternal damnation). How we grieve for our family members who are equally religious (and equally lost)!!!

Paul preached Jesus Christ “that he might save some of them [Jews, his kinsmen according to the flesh]” (Romans 11:14). Be not discouraged! We will not save all of our family members. Nevertheless, we BOLDLY preach, for “some” “of [our] kinsmen according to the flesh” will trust Christ alone and be saved.

We With Patience Wait for It

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

“But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it” (Romans 8:25 KJV).

We live in this fallen world, an environment abounding with despair, disease, and death. But, as Christians, we have hope. We patiently wait for the day when we shall be eternally delivered from the presence of sin and its accompanying miseries.

Since we have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, God has spiritually redeemed us: our souls are no longer bound for hell because God has forgiven us our sins in Christ, and He has delivered us from the penalty of sin (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14).

Spiritually, we are redeemed, but our physical bodies have yet to be redeemed. In the context of today’s Scripture (verses 18-24), the Apostle Paul discusses “the sufferings of this present time,” living in a world that is under the curse of sin (“the bondage of corruption” [verse 21] that God placed on creation in response to Adam’s sin [Genesis 3:16-19]).

Because of sin’s curse, every living creature suffers: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). But even we Christians suffer sin’s curse! “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (verse 23).

Thankfully, “For we are saved by hope” (verse 24a). This is not soul salvation, but salvation from despair and hopelessness. Yes, we suffer sickness and we will experience physical death (short of the rapture), but there is hope! At the rapture, we Christians will receive glorified physical bodies, bodies fashioned like unto Jesus Christ’s resurrected body, bodies that will be eternally delivered (“redeemed”) from sin, disease, and death (Philippians 3:20,21; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:50-58; Ephesians 4:30). The rapture is God’s method for healing in this the Dispensation of Grace: be not fooled by the “faith healers” of our day!

We join our Apostle in faith and hope, and declare (without sight; 2 Corinthians 5:7), “The rapture—we with patience wait for it!”

A Wall, a Walk, and a Win

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?” (Joshua 5:13,14 KJV).

God is going to give Joshua some strange, almost ridiculous, battle plans for overthrowing Jericho. Nevertheless, Israel’s victory is imminent… but not because she is strong.

The LORD tells Joshua, “See, I have given into thine hand Jericho…. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat….” (Joshua 6:2-5).

Joshua then relays God’s instructions to Israel (verses 6,7). God’s Word sounds silly, but Israel, by faith, obeys Him. Jericho’s inhabitants watch (and probably laugh) as Israel peacefully and quietly walks around the city once a day for six days (verses 8-14). On the seventh day, they walk around the city seven times. After the priests blow trumpets, Joshua declares, “Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city” (verse 16). The Jews shout and “the wall fell down flat” (verse 20).

God taught Israel she did nothing to defeat Jericho—she had merely walked. It was His strength and brilliance that led to her victory!

Furthermore, no matter how silly God’s Word sounds, always believe and obey it.

The Greatest Hero

Monday, May 28, 2012

“For God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 KJV).

In the United States, today is Memorial Day, when we remember those who sacrificed their time and lives to provide our physical freedom. Likewise, as Christians, we have spiritual freedom, which was more costly. Someone had to die to give us the eternal life we now enjoy….

Scripture describes a spiritual warfare between good and evil, God’s truth program versus Satan’s lie program: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [schemes] of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:11,12; see also verses 13-20).

Satan distracts mankind from God’s pure Word, the Bible, keeping unbelievers lost (dead in their sins), and preventing unbelievers and Christians from knowing God’s will. The devil draws them away (seduces them) from God’s Word by using religious tradition and human “wisdom” (1 Timothy 4:1-3; cf. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Galatians 3:1-3).

God loves us, so at Calvary’s cross, Christ fought for us sinners, died in battle (today’s Scripture), shed His divine sinless blood, and eternally rescued us from Satan and sin: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:14,15).

Hebrews 9:12 says Jesus Christ has “obtained eternal redemption for us.”

If we have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). Now, God can use us for His glory for all eternity.

Beloved, let us rejoice in our victory over sin, death, and hell that Jesus Christ secured for us by going to Calvary’s rugged cross! Jesus Christ is now alive forevermore—He is our Hero, the Greatest Hero!

*Adapted from a larger Bible study with the same name, which can be read here or watched here.

Vengeance Belongeth Unto the Lord #4

Thursday, May 24, 2012

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19 KJV).

Injustices abound. The wicked are applauded and often go unpunished while the righteous (God’s people) are despised and penalized. As the cliché goes, “God never sleeps.” All wrongs will be righted one day (today’s Scripture).

When the Lord Jesus Christ went to Calvary’s cross, He purchased our salvation. There, He suffered God’s eternal wrath against our sin: “He became sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21; cf. Isaiah 53:10; Matthew 26:46; Galatians 3:13). Once we trust Christ Jesus alone as our personal Saviour, Christ’s finished crosswork for our sins is applied (imputed) to us, and we will never suffer God’s wrath (Christ suffered that wrath for us).

However, those who physically die without having trusted Christ will remain forever dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23): physical and spiritual death. Thus, they must pay for those sins by suffering the eternal wrath of God against sin (the everlasting lake of fire; the “second [or spiritual] death” [Revelation 21:8]).

For the past 2,000 years, God has been offering the world His grace and peace. But, when this the Dispensation of Grace ends (at the rapture), God “shall speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure” (Psalm 2:5). During that seven-year Tribulation—“the day of the LORD’s vengeance” (Isaiah 34:8), “the day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2), and “the days of vengeance” (Luke 21:22)—our wicked world will finally experience God’s righteous wrath. According to 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, Christ’s Second Coming will conclude those seven years, and fire will further execute vengeance on God’s enemies (Christ-rejecters).

“God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked…” (Nahum 1:2,3).

Indeed, “vengeance belongeth unto the Lord….”