Tag Archives: Faith

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 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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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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