Tag Archives: Encouragement

The Beauty Of HIS Holiness!!! Bible Ballistics: BBs #580

21 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by in Blessed by God, Encouragement

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Bible Ballistics: BBs #580      The Beauty Of HIS Holiness!!!

 

We all have days when we’re down, when we aren’t ‘feeling’ well, when we just feel discouraged or confused.  Well, I tweaked my back yesterday and I was sitting here thinking of how blessed I am—that my/our God is so faithful no matter how I/we “feel”! I was so encouraged this morning when I opened my blinds to sit and write this post this morning, as I saw a cute little hummingbird, and then looked out a minute later and a lovely red cardinal was feeding at the seed feeder.  It was like a special delivery message from the Lord who loves me, that all would be fine.  In fact, as I’m writing now, those little hummingbirds are buzzing my cannas at the window!  How blessed we are, if we’ll but open our hearts and our eyes!  I just want to remind each of us that no matter our circumstances, or our feelings we can take heart knowing that:

“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude,

and as the voice of many waters,

and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying,

Alleluia:

for the Lord God omnipotent

reigneth.”   Revelation 19:6

God hasn’t slept through your crisis, nor has he been surprised by sudden calamity, for HE is working in our behalf—HE reigns—in your life, in my life, in our world!  Remember, as Bro. David Ring often says, “God never says ‘oops’!”  Amen! So, here are just a few tidbits from The Word to encourage your heart and mine this morning.  I pray that God will use them to lift your eyes to the skies, and your heart to our KING!

“Then he said unto them,

Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared:

for this day is holy unto our Lord:

neither be ye sorry;

for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”   Nehemiah 8:10

The joy HE gives—the joy HE is—the joy HE has for you/me!

“And when he had consulted with the people,

he appointed singers unto the LORD,

as they went out before the army,

and to say,

Praise the LORD;

for his mercy endureth for ever.”  2 Chronicles 20:21. (Read the entire chapter for a real boost to your day!)

Praising God will always send the enemy fleeing! We can stand with Job in the midst of chaos and hold fast to God’s faithfulness.

“Though he slay me,

yet will I trust in him:

but I will maintain

mine own ways before him.”   Job 13:15

As. my brother-in-law is always saying, no matter what’s happening in our lives we must just, “Do right, do right, do right, and then just DO RIGHT!”  God will always be honored when we do right—for it is as ‘unto the Lord’ knowing that our soon-coming King sees, and knows, saying, “and my reward is with me” (See Rev. 22:12)!

“For I know that my redeemer liveth,

and that he shall stand

at the latter day

upon the earth:

26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body,

yet in my flesh shall I see God:”  Job 19:25-26

Be A Can-Do Believer??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #575

02 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by in A Father's Love, Abiding In Jesus, Blessed by God, Choose You This Day!, Comfort, Confidence, Remember, Sanctuary

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Bible Ballistics: BBs #575       Be A Can-Do Believer???

 

Just a brief word of encouragement this Friday morning.  We talked the other day about things that distract and discourage us, and life gets so hectic around us, we just need to be reminded that believers in Jesus belong to the “God Who Sees” (See Genesis 16 for the whole story).  Our God has provided for us through the redeeming sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, and in His power and through His Spirit we can ‘be’ what God has called us to ‘be’; we can do whatever God calls us to do, we can go where-ever God sends us; we can truly be victorious in Jesus (oh, that might make a great song—ha ha)!  So, let’s just take a few minutes this morning (or whatever time of day you are reading this) and rehearse the goodness and provision of our God!

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying,

All power is given unto me

in heaven

and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore,

and teach all nations,

baptizing them

in the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them

to observe all things

whatsoever I have commanded you:

and, lo,

I am with you alway,

even unto the end of the world.

Amen.”  Matthew 29:18-20

It’s said that the “go ye” can literally be translated as “as you are going”—be, do, and take the truth of the cross everywhere you go!  I can do that—because Jesus said I could, because “all power” is HIS, and HE has shared it with His own! And remember that “all” is a simple Greek word that means, “ALL”! Yet God never asks us to be, do or go ‘alone’!

“Let your conversation

be without covetousness;

and be content

with such things as ye have:

for he hath said,

I will never leave thee,

nor forsake thee.

6 So that we may boldly say,

The Lord is my helper,

and I will not fear

what man shall do

unto me.”   Hebrews 13:5-6

Jesus is our strength, our sustenance, but we are so often distracted from His presence that we allow ourselves to ‘feel’ alone! But remember as we rehearse these truths from The Word of God, we need to rehearse because we are human ‘forgetters’! When one of my granddaughters was a 2 or 3-year-old, she used to say, “Somebody stole my rememberer!”  Well there is more truth to that than we might think, for the enemy of our soul is ever trying to ‘steal’ our joy, our confidence, our assurance, our hope and keep us from “remembering” what GOD has said; for God cannot and does not lie! Count on it!

“In hope of eternal life,

which God,

that cannot lie,

 promised

before the world began;”   Titus 1:2

Whoa momma!  God is our hope and confidence and unlike our enemy, who is the “father of lies”, God IS truth, Jesus IS truth; therefore, we can stand in His truth—always.  And of course, we can’t leave out the most familiar of all the passages on ‘do’:

“I can do

all things

through Christ

which strengtheneth me.”   Philippians 4:13

My friends—you “can do” whatever God is leading you to do today!  Don’t lose hope, don’t give up, don’t believe the lies of the enemy—but remember who has called you, who has saved you, who has provided us “all things” that we need.

“According as his divine power

hath given unto us all things

that pertain unto life

and godliness,

through the knowledge

of him that hath called us

to glory and virtue:” 2 Peter 1:3

We can count on Jesus, our Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and best friend!

“Henceforth I call you not servants;

for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth:

but I have called you friends;

for all things that I have heard of my Father

I have made known unto you.

16 Ye have not chosen me,

but I have chosen you,

and ordained you,

that ye should go

and bring forth fruit,

and that your fruit should remain:

that whatsoever ye shall ask

of the Father

in my name,

he may give it you.”   John 15:15-16

Amen and Amen!

Greater Than Your Need??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #563

14 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by in A Father's Love, Encouragement, Faith

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Bible Ballistics: BBs #563    Greater Than Your Need???

 

“Ye are of God, little children,

and have overcome them:

because greater is he

that is in you,

than he

that is in the world.”  1 John 4:4

I have a few things to share that I pray will encourage your walk with Jesus today.  I know some of you are facing dire circumstances, carrying heavy loads, lifting the weight of the world (or it sure seems that way!), enduring seemingly unending trials—yet we have a hope! One of my favorite phrases in the scripture is, “but God”!  Oh how grateful I am that God has it; no matter the difficulties I may face, or how my ‘feelings’ seem to waver, no matter the fear, or anxiety, or tears that often flood my soul–God is my safe place, my strong tower, and I’m so glad! May these verses encourage you to “look up”!  God’s got this.

“The name of the LORD

is a strong tower:

the righteous runneth into it,

and is safe.”  Proverbs 18:10

Jesus calls us to take His “yoke” upon us, simply referring to a harness that joins two animals together to pull the load with the strength of two sharing a load.  Jesus wants to share your load.

“Come unto me,

all ye that labour

and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you,

and learn of me;

for I am meek and lowly in heart:

and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy,

and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus is a Savior who understands our every trial and promises to walk with us all the way.  I’d like to close with a few passages that I pray will speak to your heart today, whatever your burden is.  For:

              God is bigger than your problem—

              God is stronger than your heavy burden—

              God is greater than any load that you carry—

                     And HE has promised to ever walk with YOU!

“Let your conversation be

without covetousness;

and be content

with such things as ye have:

for he hath said,

I will never leave thee,

nor forsake thee.

6 So that we may boldly say,

The Lord is my helper,

and I will not fear

what man shall do unto me.”   Hebrews 13:5-6

“And when these things begin to come to pass,

then look up,

and lift up your heads;

for your redemption draweth nigh.”   Luke 21:28

“Wherefore he is able also to save them

to the uttermost

that come unto God

by him, seeing he ever liveth

to make intercession for them.”   Hebrews 7:25

Amen and Amen!

Did You Say Thank YOU??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #504

31 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by in Encouragement, Faith, Gratitude, Gratitude Is Timeless, Great is Thy Faithfulness

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Bible Ballistics: BBs #504 Did You Say Thank YOU???

 

I have had some situations of late that have allowed me to praise and thank GOD for His abundant care and mercy!!! I try to maintain an “attitude of gratitude” but sometimes we just get distracted and forget to say “Thank YOU Lord!” Whether it’s answered prayer, a special blessing you weren’t expecting, a close call for harm, or any other circumstance—we can always thank our precious Lord Jesus and our Heavenly Father God, for “Thank YOU” is always a reminder to humble ourselves with gratitude (and there’s not much as intolerable as an attitude of “ingratitude”)!

One of my favorite passages is found in Lamentations, first because I love the writings of Jeremiah; not because they’re always easy to read, but because he was a man with a single, God-given, “unpopular”, and often rejected message—but he faithfully delivered it with a broken heart for the judgment that was surely coming on his people and his beloved city of Jerusalem. Yet after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, he gave us one of the greatest writings on grief and sorrow in all of scripture, with one of the greatest reminders in scripture, of the source of our hope! All written from the broken heart of an obedient servant (Always a reminder that when we are called to preach/teach the hard things of God, we are to be humble and broken rather than puffy, self-righteous or arrogant.)

I would simply like to share Jeremiah’s wondrous words with you this morning. Perhaps you need a reminder to ‘say thank you’, or maybe you’ve been questioning why you should be thankful, or perhaps you’re just weeping from a broken heart or loss. I pray that this portion of God’s Word will encourage you, and bless you today!

“Remembering mine affliction

and my misery,

the wormwood and the gall.

20 My soul hath them still in remembrance,

and is humbled in me.

21 This I recall to my mind,

therefore have I hope.

22 It is of the LORD’S mercies

that we are not consumed,

because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning:

great is thy faithfulness.

24 The LORD is my portion,

saith my soul;

therefore will I hope in him.

25 The LORD is good unto them

that wait for him,

to the soul

that seeketh him.

26 It is good

that a man should both hope

and quietly wait

for the salvation of the LORD.”    Lamentations 3:19-26

As the great old hymn says, “Great IS THY Faithfulness” (written by Thomas Chisholm)! Thank YOU Lord for Your faithfulness, for because YOU are faithful we can say:

“Let your conversation be without covetousness;

and be content

with such things as ye have:

for he hath said,

I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

6 So that we may boldly say,

The Lord is my helper, and

I will not fear

what man shall do unto me.” Heb. 13:5-6

Amen and Amen!!!