Tag Archives: encouragement

October 25, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

Lament is a necessary action among God’s people. In a day that we forbid anything that’s not positive we wrongly cut off the means to praise and thanksgiving. Until we have grieved over our sin that has offended the Holy God of the universe we will likely not be moved to repentance and faith.

As I read the book of Lamentations, I’m thinking the glorious verses of chapter 3…

Lamentations 3:22-23 The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

…do not come to mind without a thorough lament. And the book does not begin with the sentiments of 3:22-23, it begins with observing what merely has happened.

Lamentations 1:1-2 How lonely sits the city That was full of people! She has become like a widow Who was once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces Has become a forced laborer! She weeps bitterly in the night And her tears are on her cheeks; She has none to comfort her Among all her lovers. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies.

There’s no repentance in the beginning chapters BUT it was necessary to weep in the selfish reality of the consequences first. It’s not until verse 8 of chapter one that any mention of sin comes up. And a telling phrase pops up in that acknowledgment in verse 9–She did not consider her future.

When you live merely for the present you cannot live in light of the future. To trade living it up in this short and temporary life for eternal life just doesn’t make sense when you actually think about it. But that’s the problem, we find it hard to consider when sin is so much fun.

I mean the one lamenting doesn’t even mention God’s name until verse 9. And when the writer brings it up they are still not in the right place of repentance—See, O LORD, my affliction.

My question is how does one get from that statement which leads to chapter two’s rightful claim that God is their enemy in 2:5 and then to this posture of chapter 3–Let him give his cheek to the smiter.

The one in exile is now willingly receiving God’s just judgment against them in hope of redemption…in hope of God’s vengeance on the enemy he used to punish them by the end of chapter 3.

My conclusion? Do not bypass lamenting, even selfish lamenting because it is often the process we go through to bring our hearts into glad submission to the Lord and the hope of forgiveness through repentance and faith.

Giving your cheek to the smiter is a clear expression of faith in the Lord. It says I deserve this and more but I will wait upon my Savior because I’m banking my life on the Lord’s steadfast love and mercy.

This language of giving your cheek to the smiter shows up again in Isaiah 50:4-9 which I believe is describing the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. Jesus is the only one who continued to offer his face like a flint in perfect obedience to the Father. He obeyed to the point of death even death on a cross. Therefore this is what that obedience accomplished:

Hebrews 5:9-10 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

You can be made right with God through repentance and faith in Christ alone. Will you have him?

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Daily Exhortations and Encouragements

October 24, 2023

Daily Exhortation

By Jason

Be careful how you suffer. The reality is suffering will come to all people in some form or fashion throughout our lives. In part because we live in a fallen world and we are fallen people. God created this world and it functions a particular way and when we do not follow his way or someone else doesn’t follow his way then suffering occurs.

In 1 Peter 4, some of that suffering that happens to Christians is a test for us. Fiery trials are meant to reveal where we are and if we are in fact trusting the Lord. Indeed, each test either matures our faith or reveals a lack of faith.

How we understand suffering in our lives matters. Peter describes it as sharing in the sufferings of Christ in 4:13. He goes on to encourage us to rejoice in them because if you are rejoicing in your sufferings now you will rejoice with exultation when Christ returns. Peter even calls those who suffer for the name of Christ blessed. Why? Because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on us.

However, we can suffer wrongly. There are consequences for evil even in this world…even for troublesome meddlers. But if we suffer as a Christian, we are not to be ashamed. If we suffer due to consequences of sin then we ought to be ashamed. May our suffering be for the name and may it glorify the Lord.

How do you do this? Is there a “How to” YouTube video to learn this? Well here’s how it ends:

1 Peter 4:19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

Trust the Lord and do what it right according to him. Let us pray for each other to know God’s ways and trust and gladly obey him.

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Daily Exhortations and Encouragements

October 12, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

I suppose this is a simple encouragement but I hope helpful nonetheless. James ends with a list of things as do several of the NT letters. He begins that list like this…

James 5:13

[13] Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

I’ve often wondered what a service like this would look like. It seems as though it’s in the context of the gathering. How do you decide who is to pray? Anyone among the body who is suffering. Who sings? Anyone among the body who is cheerful.

Obviously, there are other places where order is demanded and rightly so. But where does this fit in? And did you notice, we often pray for those who suffer and we should. But here the one suffering ought to pray. The one who is to sing is one who’s of good courage not the one most talented in musical skills.

Maybe this isn’t meant to be something done in the assembly. Nevertheless, we ought to pray when we suffer and not merely leave it to someone else. When we are cheerful we ought to sing praises to the Lord and not just enjoy our own cheerfulness as though we have obtained it on our own.

Prayer and praise are fundamental responses of the believer! We are going to suffer and we are going to be cheerful. Let’s spend them on godward things not ourselves.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Daily Exhortations and Encouragements

October 11, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

I am encouraged as I read through Jeremiah to see the obedience of some to accept hard things God pronounced against them that will essentially last for 70 years. In chapters 26-29 this morning, their obedience to give themselves over to Babylon which came from the Lord through Jeremiah was displaying their TRUST in the Lord.

This has been a good reminder of how obedience works with faith. They heard His word prophesied and it was a hard word but they trusted the Lord to do what He promised. Like this one:

Jeremiah 24:6-7

[6] I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. [7] I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

Jeremiah sent the exiles a letter that said, “Settle in. It’s going to be a while.” Build houses. Plant gardens. Get married. Pray for the city to prosper and you will prosper too. But remember that the Lord will keep his eye on you and you will return to the promised land someday.

There’s a nice connection in my reading from James this morning too concerning endurance.

James 5:7-8

[7] Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. [8] You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

We too are waiting for that heavenly city, the lasting one. There we will be under the perfect reign of our perfect King who will also be our Shepherd/Pastor forever as our great High Priest. He will protect us forever and lead us in worship and service of our great God—forever.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Daily Exhortations and Encouragements

October 10, 2023

Daily Exhortation

By Jason

James 5:1-6 is a sad reality that exposes the lure of pleasure in this present life by way of unrighteousness. Take a look.

James 5:1-6

[1] Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. [2] Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. [3] Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. [4] Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. [5] You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. [6] You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

A few observations: Misery is coming. Therefore they ought to be very troubled by that coming reality. It seems they have so much that it’s just lying around getting rusty and moth eaten but much is never enough.

They’ve either gotten this excess by withholding due payment for services they had hired others to do or they already have excess and continue to pile up their riches by withholding the rightful payment of services rendered. Either way, both are wrong in the eyes of God.

Look, it’s not that we cannot enjoy pleasures now in this life. The problem is that we would do evil to pursue pleasure. It would be like us wanting to go to the Vols football game this weekend but robbing a bank on the way to Knoxville to pay for the tickets or let’s say we had the money but it would take away from our family’s needs. Do not pursue pleasure by doing evil.

But don’t miss the last verse. It seems the righteous live in light of future pleasures that will have no end. They do not resist the rich who do them evil. They expect to be taken advantage of in this world. But one day, that will be over forever. Disadvantaged now but only advantage on that glorious day.

Do not fret in the day of trouble. The Lord is with you and the sufferings of this world cannot compare with that glorious day for those who long for Christ’s return.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

[17] For this light *momentary affliction is preparing for us an *eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, [18] as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are *transient, but the things that are unseen are *eternal.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Daily Exhortations and Encouragements

October 9, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

“Thou hast given me to read my pardon in the wounds of Jesus.”

That’s it. That’s the encouragement for the day.

—Divine Promises, “Valley of Vision” p. 240

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Daily Exhortations and Encouragements

October 6, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

As I was preparing for our Wednesday night study in Proverbs, one of the phrases that we did not get to was the one above from Proverbs 3:7. So, fearing the Lord in part is turning away from that which God says is evil. The wise see God’s instruction as good and life-giving.

As I was reading Ecclesiastes this morning, the Preacher says this:

Ecclesiastes 4:13

Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.

As we know from Proverbs, the wise become wiser by continually seeking to gladly walk in God’s amazing ways. To be wise does not mean there’s nothing else for us to learn. While it may be that you know God’s ways, it’s another thing to do them and apply them to every situation that is thrown at you in life all of your days.

As we get older as the passage from Ecclesiastes points out concerning the youth and old, even the aged can be foolish. Old age does not guarantee wisdom. Indeed, there are temptations for us all. But in particular, those advanced in years tend to think they need no further instruction nor any need to grow. That’s just not true.

But don’t miss the great value spoken of concerning wisdom: it’s better to be poor and wise than foolish and king (powerful and wealthy). If God’s good ways are not valuable to you then you will likely find yourself thinking you are wise in your own eyes which is a dangerous place to be.

Seek the good in your youth and when you are advanced in years. Seek wisdom no matter the current outcome. Do what is right no matter the cost. In other words, trust in Christ and follow him and you will save your soul forever.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Daily Exhortations and Encouragements

October 5, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

At the beginning of our journey with Christ, we see things differently than we do later. It seems one way but later we see the true reality of what happened.

Notice how the disciples understand how they found Jesus but in reality notice how it really happened:

John 1:35-37

[35] The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, [36] and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” [37] The two disciples *heard him say this, and they *followed Jesus.

We know that God sent John to testify of the coming of the LORD. He does that to these two disciples and they follow Jesus. But notice how they explain that to Peter:

John 1:41

[41] He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have *found the Messiah” (which means Christ).

The pattern continues with Jesus and Philip:

John 1:43

[43] The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He *found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

John 1:45

[45] Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have *found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

God is the one who pursues us and finds us! But you might say, “But were they not looking for Messiah anyway?” But then I’d ask, “Why are they looking for Messiah and how do they know what to look for?” The answer is God had made promises to them through his word.

We must not miss the fact that God sought us and bought us with his redeeming blood. He is the one who reconciled himself to us. If we get this wrong we will not live a very Christ-centered life. It will be me-centered and we know how that plays out. It is simple but true: God saves! Turn your eyes upon Jesus!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Daily Exhortations and Encouragements

September 30, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

As I was reading these psalms together, I kept hearing a lot of the same things but presented differently. By that I mean for example the statements made in Psalm 23 given as what is believed. They declare certain things to be true.

Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

But notice this…

Psalm 25:4–5 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 25:6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

I only offer two parallels though there are more to be sure. I’m sure you noticed that Psalm 25 sounds like petitions to the Lord to do and be what David believes to be true of the Lord. Both are necessary. In fact, I’m not sure why you would pray these things if you did not believe them to be certain of God’s nature.

We don’t pray to change his nature but rather we appeal to him to be who he be! So, the exhortation is to believe and pray. Hold confidently these amazing truths about who God is and hold him to be who he says he is.

Maybe to understand this on a more human level let’s think about it this way. Let’s say I’ve neglected to be the father I should be and the kids notice it. Would it not make perfect sense for the kids to ask the father to be who he is supposed to be? Would it not be fitting for the father to hear that and rejoice in the desire of his children to want that to be so of him?

In other words, not asking may indicate that you do not want or have even noticed or need your father or the Lord to be who they are supposed to be. This is a relationship in which we walk with the Lord now albeit in a strange and distant land for which we long to be in his presence forever on that glorious day.

Let us love the Lord now by believing and pleading and longing for this…

Psalm 26:8 O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Daily Exhortations and Encouragements

September 28, 2023

Daily Encouragement

By Jason

Psalm 20 has an interesting arrangement. It doesn’t follow the pattern of many psalms. It begins with a series of blessings. Its focus is on the King—the king of Psalm 2 to be sure.

From the promise of Gen 3:15 to 2 Samuel 7:16, the Lord fulfilled his promise for this child who would crush the head of the serpent as God’s Anointed! It seems impossible for those promises to be fulfilled. Each promise seemed to be in jeopardy from the wickedness of Judah to the line of David nearly being snuffed out.

As the psalm seems to acknowledge, troubles came and God answered the pleas and protected the King. All of God’s plans were fulfilled according to verse 4.

This brought about a salvation in which it must be celebrated. The streets are filled with shouts of joy. Like a victory in battle, they parade through the city with banners!

Indeed, it is a battle of sorts. One that cannot be won by mighty horses and iron chariots. They cannot be trusted but it is the Lord we trust.

Psalm 20:7–9

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
O Lord, save the king!
May he answer us when we call.

You will have need of calling on the Lord today. He’s worthy and capable to answer.

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Daily Exhortations and Encouragements