July 5 –Joy, Cheer, Courage, and Peace

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” – John 14:27 (NASB)

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NASB)

Joy, Cheer, and Courage have their origin in one ultimate victory and that is Christ’s victory over hell and the grave. Old Testament saints looked forward to this promise being fulfilled and the New Testament church (post Christ’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection) looks back on the beginning of the fulfillment. The essential ground for endurance in trials and persecution is the Jesus’ victory over the world system and its prince of darkness. Through Christ’s impending death, and he is looking for it to happen momentarily, in just a few hours. He rendered the world’s opposition null and void. While the world continues to attack His people, such attacks fall harmlessly, for Christ’s victory has already accomplished a smashing defeat of the whole evil rebellious system. This means that all the promises of God, all the promises Jesus gave to us through His disciples are imminently pending and are guaranteed by His Word.  In the middle of our topsy-turvy world where all that was stable is being uprooted and discarded, we have the assurance that the peace Christ gave to us is the real thing. Let’s trust the peace.

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February 20 – Taking Courage, Not Fear

“But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”” – Mathew 14:27 (NASB)

A very young boy arrived at his new home deep in an African jungle. He was asked what he was afraid of. “I’m not afraid of nothin’!” That first night, in the darkness, in his bed, under a mosquito net, the unfamiliar jungle sounds frightened him so he could not sleep.” Fear comes on us from what we don’t understand. Jesus using a few loaves of bread and pieces of smoked fish, created enough food to satisfy far more* than 5,000 people. Each disciple ended up with their own small basket of left-overs. Jesus sends them across the Sea of Galilee in their boat and He remained on shore. In the middle of the lake, a sudden storm blows in and threatens to upset their boat. The disciples, see Jesus approaching their boat walking on the surface of the lake. This wasn’t familiar and they cry out in fear, “It’s a ghost!” Jesus calls out to them, “Take courage, It is I; don’t be afraid.” Jesus says the same to us when we’re overcome with fear. Take courage, Jesus is with us. He's promised to always be with us in all circumstances.  

* The number of men was 5,000, not including women and children, who probably brought the total up to 20,000.

John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible., (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Jn 6:10.

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August 11 – Whom To Please

“Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.”– 2 Corinthians 5:8-9 (ESV)

Because heaven is a better place than earth, the apostle Paul would rather have been in heaven, with God. This sentiment simply states Paul’s feelings and longings. There is nothing wrong and much is right to desire to enter heaven in the presence of the Lord God. What might you choose to have instead of being in the presence of Jesus Christ right now? Is there anything that would hold you fast to this world? We are not suggesting that anyone should attempt to change God’s plan or timing. Because He has us here for a purpose to please Him in all we think, say and do. To tell others of His grace and the Gospel. God’s timing for us is perfect. We will be here right up until the moment God has for us to be in His presence. And when we are, all that we hold dear now on this earth will be gone from our desires. Someday, we will be transformed to be like the body Jesus has after His resurrection (Philippians 3:20-21). But now, we have our goal to proclaim the love of Jesus Christ and help others find Him as their Lord and Savior.

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August 10 – Home But Away From Home

“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:6-7 (ESV)

True believers in Jesus Christ are confident with respect to the future even though we do not know what the future is going to be in this world. It is the very presence of the Spirit in the lives of believers that provides this confidence with the promises of God. Eventually our time and life on this earth will come to an end, when it does, we will be with the Lord. Now we are at home in a world that is not our own and even our bodies will someday be done away. Also it means we not in the Lord’s presence physically. ‘Being at home’ and ‘being away from home’ refer respectively to being in one’s own country and being a stranger living abroad. In other words, the image of the external being that we observe, is passive and passing, while the internal provision of faith is active and abiding. We focus our attention not on visible things that are temporal but on those that are invisible and timeless. We live not by what we can see in this world but by the faith God has given us to believe.

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July 17 – No Fainting, Eager Waiting

“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
    In the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
    Be strong and let your heart take courage;
    Yes, wait for the Lord.” – Psalm 27:13-14 (NASB)

Does the chosen verse today bring to our minds the times when we have struggled to hold firm our faith and trust in God’s promises? David declares that despair was threatening him because of the threats his enemies were throwing at him. But his faith helped him waiting on God with eager and patient anticipation. Charles .H. Spurgeon has this commentary on our passage. “Faintness of heart is a common infirmity; even he who slew Goliath was subject to its attacks. Faith puts its bottle of cordial to the lip of the soul, and so prevents fainting. Hope is heaven’s balm for present sorrow. In this land of the dying, it is our blessedness to be looking and longing for our fair portion in the land of the living, whence the goodness of God has banished the wickedness of man, and where holy spirits charm with their society those persecuted saints who were vilified and despised among men. We must believe to see, not see to believe; we must wait the appointed time, and stay our soul’s hunger with foretastes of the Lord’s eternal goodness which shall soon be our feast and our song.”*

 *C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 27-57, (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers), 2:5.

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December 12 – Feeble Hands, Shaky Knees

“Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Isaiah 35: 3-4 (NASB)

We have looked in the past and considered the promise of our eternal source of encouragement and today's verse shows us a way we are encouraged. These words are interesting because they mention exhausted and feeble knees that give way. The ‘exhausted’ are those with slack hands not from lack of work but from much work the hands give out. The ‘feeble’ are those with tottering knees.  They have become worn out and need new energy.  But it is also clear that weak hands and shaky knees are caused by fearful hearts. So, what the Lord promises us is that He will come and He will strengthen our hearts so that we do not need to fear. When we trust him to help us not fear, that will make our hands and our knees strong. When we have needs like this in our lives our God is aware of them and He promises to come to help us. If we know that God will respond in this way, it encourages us to depend on Him and press on. He will supply whatever we need for whatever is ahead in our path.

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August 12 – Hope Is In God

Love the LORD, all you his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage all you who wait for the LORD!  Psalm 31:23-24  (ESV)

The words in this Psalm of David are addressed to God in praise for His goodness. This is a frequent theme in the Psalms that David wrote.  But in the last verses of Psalm 31, David wrote words of reassurance and hope which we can use for encouragement and strength. We realize that one of the real purposes in the expression of praise to God is to encourage us and also those who hear us praising Him. Of course God wants to hear our praise and He responds by blessing us more. But as others hear us expressing praise, they are reminded how good God is. And this is what happens when we read a psalm of praise such at the one, we are reading from today. Our hope and our expectation are in God. We are looking to Him in expectation, aren't we? When we are reminded how He helped David and others who praise him, our hearts are strengthened and our boldness is bolstered while we wait for the LORD to fulfill the promises He has given to us.

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August 11 – Be Strong Now

And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” – Daniel 10:19 (ESV)

Since he was in his mid-teens, Daniel had been an exile in Babylon - almost all his life. In these words, the prophet is replying to a message from God and Daniel is now a man of many years. God had spoken to Daniel in many ways and this time it was through an angel sent specially to deliver this message.  We are reminded of what happens when the Word of God comes to us. As God communicated to Daniel it very likely is Gabriel, the Archangel sent by God. He was sent to Daniel to answer the prayers Daniel had been offering.  This may not be the way God communicates to us because now He has given us His Word in the Bible. When we recognize the Lord speaking to us through His Word, we can feel the strength that it gives us.  So when we feel the need of spiritual strength, we can find it in God's Word as he gave it to us.  Aren’t we then eager to have him continue speaking to us. We too can say as Daniel did, “Speak my lord.”

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February 19 – Again, Only One Way

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NASB)

What were the ‘things’ Jesus has spoken to his disciples?  Jesus was spending the last extended time with his first disciples away from the crowds and in relative safety.  Jesus knew exactly what was coming at him in just a very few hours.  One of them was about to become a turncoat and the others would be facing a freighting time. Peter hung in until his third denial but only John was at the foot of the cross with the women who loved Jesus.  Knowing the trauma and stress they would face; Jesus wants them to know that He has promised them a peace that comes only from Him.  He had promised them true peace. (John 14:27 NASB)  The peace promise in our verse comes from Jesus who has overcome any tribulation that the world will throw into our faces. Jesus knows our lives contain trials, testing and tribulation that come with temptations.  The world is very good at pressing us off the path and into the bog and miry muddy ditches. But for each time, Jesus has given us what we need to overcome that tribulation through Him.  Abide in Him today, that’s the only way.

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May 22 – Peace to Overcome

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NASB)

Yesterday's promise included the appropriation of the Gospel of Peace in order to stand firm against a world set on our failure as Christians.  The attack is on all around us.   Today's verse gives us the promise of peace.  Jesus, as he spoke to His disciples that last night at Passover Supper did so in order that they would have peace.  He knew what was ahead was going to be very difficult and include tribulations and persecutions.  But, as Jesus said, with His peace we can overcome whatever the world dishes out to us.  Why can we trust this promise?  How do we take on the courage we need and know it will be there for us?  Because, Jesus declared the He had already overcome the world.  As difficult as it was going to be, Jesus promised that what He had done for them and for us was to give us what we need to overcome the world – and that included His peace.  Not a worldly idea of peace but a Godly kind of peace that lasts forever.  

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April 16 – Waiting With a Heart of Courage

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!  Wait for the Lord;  be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”  Psalm 27:13-14  (ESV)

We can have the same confidence and believe the same way that David did when he wrote this song.  We are serving the same Lord and He is as good to us as He was to David.  He watched over His people in those days and He watches over us who are living today.  Therefore we can have this same confidence in His care for each of us today.  We may not see immediately or quickly the answer to our prayers for help and we may need to look forward for the Lord to act in His perfect time.  These are the times when we may need to wait for the Lord to demonstrate His goodness and His love. Having confidence and believing in His will is a part of living by faith and living that way is what God is looking for in our lives.  God will never fail us.  We can always expect Him to demonstrate His love and concern for us.  

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October 4 – Take Heart Through Hope

“Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the Lord.”  Psalm 31:24 (NASB)

We often talk about the songs that we find in the Book of Psalms in our Bible.  God has provided for us many reminders of His love and faithfulness in these songs as well as in the rest of the Bible.  The songs, often express feelings of praise to God but there are also promises for all who believe, and that includes us.  In Psalm 31 David gives many expressions of praises to God and then ends the song with a promised encouragement for us in the final verse.  It is for us who are looking to God for His blessing and His help.  If our hope is in the Lord it means that were looking to Him with assured expectation.  We're expecting Him to help us in every situation we face.  If that is our attitude we don't lose heart.  We take heart and are encouraged because we know God is able and He is faithful and our hope in Him will not disappoint us.  Whatever each of us are facing today, be strong and let your heart take courage.  

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April 10 – Faith, Hope and Promise

“Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24 (NASB)

At the end of this song in which David praised the Lord for keeping him through difficulties which he had encountered, the psalmist gives this short word of encouragement. It is encouragement which we can apply to ourselves today.  We, too, can have strength and courage if we hope in the Lord and we trust you have this hope if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. If you are, then you have put your faith in Jesus. Our verse for today doesn't mention faith. It speaks of hope, the kind of hope that includes faith. Faith and hope are closely related but there is a difference.  This kind of hope means we have assurance and expectation. Our verse is for people who are expecting something from the Lord because they have faith in His Word. When we hear a promise from God we believe it by faith but then we continually expect him to keep His Word – that is this kind of hope. Having this hope is the basis for the encouragement spoken in our verse and it gives us strength and courage – that too, is a promise.

September 29 – Strength and Courage

“And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”” Daniel 10:19 (ESV)

Although Daniel had lived almost all his life away from his home in Jerusalem, he had served God as His prophet. In this verse today we read what a messenger from God to Daniel had to say when he delivered God's message. When Daniel heard it he was strengthened. God sends us messages too. Perhaps not by an angel appearing to us but through His Word the Bible. We also received messages when we hear others teach and preach the Word of God. We can hear the message and recognize that God is speaking to us and we find encouragement and strength. When God truly speaks, what He speaks is truth. Today, if we will listen, we too can be strengthened through hearing God's messages to us.

August 31

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:20-21 (NIV)

Whatever our responsibilities and our plans let us remember that we need God’s help. So we put our trust in Him and look to Him for guidance, for wisdom, for courage, and for patience – to name only a few of our needs. As we look to God for His help, we expect Him to give it. And the attitude of expectation is really what is meant by the word “hope” as the Bible uses it. So when we wait in hope we are really expecting God to do something for us. And waiting in hope is really a matter of trusting. Trusting brings assurance and there is joy and rejoicing for us today in this kind of expectant trusting.