Tag Archives: encouragement

November 18, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

1 John 4:4

[4] Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

This could stand alone without any explanation and likely encourage you. However there’s more to consider here than only thinking, “I’ve got this! God is in me!”

This verse is in the context of deciding who to listen to. It began in 4:1 by saying do not believe every spirit. You might ask, what is a spirit? Well, he defines what he means. Spirits in the plural here means people who speak or attempt to speak on God’s behalf.

False prophets would be an example of a spirit that you should not believe. Then you might ask, how do I know whether this is a false spirit or not. John says this—1 John 4:2-3

[2] By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, [3] and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

My guess is that you might think, can someone confess Jesus Christ has come from God to deceive me? Well in fact they can. There a tons of examples throughout the bible showing us that.

The next test is this—1 John 4:5-6

[5] They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. [6] We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

People/spirits that do not listen to God’s word are not of the Spirit of truth. They are the spirit of error. They may say they love Jesus but it usually shows up very clearly in their actions. Like the previous encouragement, you can say you love your brother but if you see him in need and refused to give him what he needs then the love of God is not in that person.

There are likely people who can put on a show over some period of time. But eventually and usually in private they are who they really are. I’d pay attention to the people who listen to them. The world listens to these people but God’s people do not. They like people listening to them and that weakness usually exposes them.

But remember, he who is in you is greater than those false spirits that are in the world. The Lord will protect you. And I would strongly suggest that you know the Spirit of truth by knowing the Spirit inspired Word of God.

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November 17, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

I suppose that it’s easy to doubt the things we believe about God. We have an enemy that is working to deceive us. It seems that there is a passive deception in the world when we see so many things that are evil and wrong. The glimpse of reality is darkened by the clouds of doubt that actively or passively seek to hide the truth.

There’s a clear connection between our confidence in God and our obedience to the Lord’s commands. When people who claim to believe the truth do not do what he commands of us that actively and passively hides the truth and attempts to deceive us.

When we gladly obey the good things God has told us to do such as loving our brothers not only word but in deed then we not only display that we believe the truth but we also know that we are of the truth. This assures our hearts before God. No doubt it also assures others that we and they are of the truth. Instead of deceiving your fellow brothers by disobedience you encourage them actively and passively.

1 John 3:16-21

[16] By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. [17] But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? [18] Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

[19] By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; [20] for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. [21] Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God

Let us know the love of Christ in that he didn’t merely say he loved us but proved his love by laying down his life for us. So too, prove your love for Christ by loving your brother and then you will also prove your love for your brother. And you will be confident in the truth because his love and truth have become visible and abides in you.

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November 15, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

The cross comes before the crown. Suffering comes before relief. Immaturity comes before maturity. Unbelief comes before belief. Darkness comes before light. Chaos before order. War before peace.

In John 11, Lazarus dies. He was Jesus’s friend. Indeed, Jesus was not only friends with Lazarus but his two sisters, Mary and Martha. They send word to Jesus that Lazarus is sick and near death. It says very strangely that Jesus hears the news and because of his love for them he delays his response for two days knowing that Lazarus will die. Or to put another way, he delayed so that he died.

It states clearly that Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. However this act doesn’t seem loving at all. When Jesus has the power and availability to stop this he decides the best thing for those whom he loves is to see his glory. But to see his glory they must experience a great deal of pain. Pain that could have been avoided but pain that was necessary.

We all know how the story ends but are we okay with how Jesus loves here? Is Jesus on some ego trip to make himself look good? How is pain like this in our best interest?

The Bible often uses the birth of a child to explain this. When the baby arrives the pain is forgotten about. No doubt the joys of life swallow up the pain. The sting of death doesn’t get the final word. God does. And he will burst open the graves and clothe us with a new body that will never die again.

The second death is the worst and eternal death. If you want heaven NOW hell comes later. If you want light now darkness will come later. If you avoid suffering now it will come later.

There are two paths or we might say two ways of life: a crown now and a cross later. Or a cross now and crown later. The death of Lazarus gives us a visual picture of that reality.

And Jesus wasn’t on an ego trip, he was giving them and us the best thing he could possibly give us—himself.

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November 14, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

After preaching and hearing a strong warning from Hebrews 6 on Sunday, it is fitting to hear the assurance offered to those who believe. However one works out assurance of salvation, we must at least hold to that the promises of God are only for those who believe.

And if you believe which was a work of grace through the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Good Shepherd that laid down his life for the sheep then assurance is available because of the Good Shepherd.

John 10:14-16

[14] I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

He’s not like the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. He’s not like the hired hand who abandons the sheep when the wolf comes. He saves the sheep by laying down his own life for them. The thief and hired hand always seek to save their own lives but not the Good Shepherd.

It might seem strange that the sheep are saved by way of the death of the Shepherd. It seems normal to think that the life of the sheep lie in the life of the Shepherd. In this analogy, the life of the sheep that is eternal life rests in the death of the Shepherd but this Shepherd doesn’t remain dead.

John 10:18

[18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

He died but was raised to Shepherd his sheep to eternal life. Because he’s alive, we will be kept safe forever by our loving Good Shepherd.

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November 11, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

There are actions (good and bad) that people do that grab our attention sometimes. They speak more than words sometimes and do far more to move us away from evil or toward righteousness. Seeing examples of living out the faith is good for us and that’s one reason the Lord designed the church. It is intended to be the visible body of Christ.

This morning, I noticed a response of Jesus that grabbed my attention. In the story about the man born blind in John 9, Jesus hears about the healed blind man being put out of the synagogue. However he found out, Jesus responds to this information.

He goes and finds him and gives him something. I think in part he goes to find him because even with limited knowledge (limited sight) he understood some things about God that even the learned men did not seem to know. But he not only knows these things but says these things to the spiritually blind. He knew the risk of being put out of the synagogue but he spoke the truth in love anyway.

But Jesus going after him when he was all alone stirred my heart to love of God even more. It makes me want to live like that. It makes me want to speak up even when I know it may cost me dearly. And in doing so, if I find myself alone and hurting when I did everything right, Jesus comes near.

He’s not in the crowded synagogue but on a backstreet somewhere talking to this lonely man who stood up for him at great risk. Even his own parents did not have faith to speak up for Jesus but rather threw their son out on his own.

One of the great but simple truths of Scripture is the fact that God is with us. Indeed, Immanuel has come and he cares for us deeply. He doesn’t take the evil and pain away yet, but he strengthens us for the journey to the day when it will be made right. All of it!

What did Jesus give the lonely man? What does he need most? Jesus gave the man Jesus! He is his greatest need. And Jesus gave the best gift he could have ever received.

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November 9, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

This might be a strange encouragement but I needed it this morning as I face the uncertainty of events today. Not uncertain to God but to me. The Lord decrees that which is so and we have the opportunity to believe and gladly obey or not.

The encouragement came from John 8 where the Jews (“God’s people”) were arguing with Jesus (God’s Son). They said to him in John 8:48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

Obviously that doesn’t seem very encouraging for God’s people to say that God’s Son is a Samaritan and has a demon. It’s incredibly strange and altogether real that Jesus could live his life in perfect obedience to God the Father and reveal the Father exactly as he is but God’s people who claim to know God do not even notice him.

Jesus calls this what it is in John 8:54-55 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom *you say, ‘He is our God.’ But *you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.”

It very possible and quite likely that if you have faith in Christ and gladly obey him you will be perceived as having a demon and as 8:59 says they will pick up stones to throw them at you.

Now, you can avoid being thought of as a friend of the devil and being stoned to death *now by not believing the truth but it will eventually and eternally catch up to you. I would be encouraged to trust Christ and let the stones fall where they may. There are better things coming for those who do.

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November 8, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

“Give me to love thee, to embrace thee, though I once took lust and sin in my arms.
Thou didst love me before I loved thee, an enemy, a sinner, a loathsome worm.”

“Love brought the from heaven to earth, from earth to the cross, from the cross to the grave.
Love caused thee to be weary, hungry, tempted, scorned, scourged, buffeted, spat upon, crucified, and pierced.
Love led thee to bow thy head in death.”

Rejoice in the unmatched love of God in Christ for sinner like us. Glorious!

Love, Valley of Vision p. 290

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November 3, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

We were not eyewitnesses to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ but there were eyewitnesses like Peter who beheld his majesty. They heard the Father speak to the Son from heaven. Let me repeat that…they heard God say, “This is my Son with whom I am well pleased.” It seems that one could not get anything better than that.

However, even though we were not eyewitnesses we have something more sure—the written Word of God. Not only are God’s utterances from heaven recorded but we are told what they mean. The details of which the apostles didn’t probably know were given to them by God the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:21

[21] For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The image is that of wind being blown into a sail to carry along a ship. The Holy Spirit (Wind) carried along those eyewitnesses to write the prophetic word and it is more sure!

2 Peter 1:19

[19] And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts

We think that eyewitness accounts can’t get any better or we might even think since I wasn’t there then I’m lacking information and therefore cannot believe. Well the eyewitnesses have given us the Word that is more fully confirmed. It is the trustworthy source by which to know God! Be thankful for the Word and pay close attention to it.

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November 2, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

As I begin my yearly trek through the mountainous terrain of the book of Job, I bring with it certain expectations as well as an eagerness to see new things. As I prepare for this week’s sermon from Hebrews 5:11-14, I feel the warning there to be careful not to become dull of hearing. I’ve read the book of Job at least 20 times but like hearing the flight attendant on the plane explain the safety measures that I no longer listen to because I’ve heard them many times, I don’t want to do that with God’s word.

The simple but complex question that comes to mind from Job is that of Satan’s question concerning Job:

Job 1:9-10 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”

In other words, does Job only trust God for what he can get out of God? If trusting the Lord meant that he got nothing out of it or even worse he suffered because he feared God and turned away from evil would he continue to trust and fear the Lord.

The book of Job answers that question for Job. He passed the tests. It however doesn’t answer that question for us. How are we doing in the daily tests from the Lord? Would we stay with Christ even if we get nothing out of it now but must wait until the end? What if our obedience causes us to suffer? Will we give up?

We ought to continue to grow through the tests. If not we might stumble:

2 Peter 1:8-11 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Keep trusting the Lord and the fruit of your faith will blossom into gardens of righteousness for the glory God.

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October 26, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

“O my great High Priest,
pour down upon me streams of needful grace,
bless me in all my undertaking,
in every thought of my mind,
every word of my lips,
every step of my feet,
every deed of my hands.”

Valley of Vision, After Prayer [277]

Christ is with us and ministering to us as our great high priest. Pray this for yourself and each other! He will pour down grace upon us.

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