September 27- Each and Every Day

“The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.”  Isaiah 50:4 (ESV)

The Word from the Bible which we have today is a testimony of the prophet Isaiah.  We do know that God did give this prophet many messages to deliver to His people of that day.  And, we believe that God spoke to Isaiah about personal matters as well.  We are taking this verse today and applying the promise to ourselves.  An experience like this would not be only for special people like Isaiah but for all who know God.  We all can be used by God to give words of encouragement to those who are weary.  We also believe that God gives us messages when we awaken in the morning.  He has so much to teach us in our Christian lives and He want to teach us every day.  He knows first what each one of us needs to learn each day.  So, let's turn our ears and our hearts to Him and be willing to be taught by Him each and every day. 

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January 2 – He Hears Us

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. … He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1, 3 (ESV)

As we are starting our new year we can take time to think of what we have experienced in the past. And, because of that we can look forward to what is ahead of us.  Yes, our experience of God's love and faithfulness in the past is what encourages us so much to trust Him for the days ahead. Our verse today reminds us that God hears our cries for help, and in verse 2, which we did not read today, we know that He is the one that lifts us up and sets our feet on a solid foundation. God has been so faithful to keep his promises in the past that we can trust Him to keep on doing that.  He'll keep on hearing our prayers and meeting our needs and giving us a new song to sing. This includes his promise to meet the needs of our families and loved ones. 

November 11- Great Delight

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) 

Zephaniah was a prophet of God who wrote these words as he received them from God. He was in the royal line of Judah, a decedent of King Hezekiah. These words were intended to encourage God's people after a time of judgment. They are also for our encouragement. These are God's feelings about those who follow Him. We can be sure that our God is with us and that He loves us. Our verse says that He takes great delight in those who follow Him. When we put our trust in Him He is not only pleased, He also rejoices over us and sings about us. It is not a system set up to reward us for being good but it is what happens when we choose to follow and trust in God – it is the natural outcome.  Our trusting in God brings joy to our Lord. That's a promise.

August 22 – Understanding and Knowledge and Wisdom

“... that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3 (ESV)

The Apostle Paul wrote these words as a prayer to encourage the Christians in Colossi and to tell them what he hoped for them and for all believers. We are thinking especially of the two expressions in these verses.  The apostle said he was hoping that the believers would have “all the riches of full assurance of understanding and knowledge.” Then he said “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” which are found hidden in knowing Christ. Jesus, the Son of God does have many things to reveal to us – things which we cannot understand on our own. Truths which are of great value, like a rich treasure and they can only be found with our Lord's help. Let's turn to him and let him teach us each day and discover the understanding and knowledge and wisdom which are all in Christ. 

August 12 – Hope Is In God

“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24 (NIV)

Most of the words in this Psalm of David are addressed to God in praise for His goodness. But in the last verse, the words are addressed to us. We realize that one of the real purposes in the expression of praise to God is to encourage 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 is 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.

June 11 – Strengthen with Power

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. ” Ephesians 3:16-17a (NIV)

Much of our Bible in the New Testament was written by God's apostles through letters to the first century Christians to encourage them. The Apostle Paul often wrote about how he prayed for his Christian friends. Today's verse is from one of those letters to the Ephesian believers. But not only to the church in Ephesus. These words were inspired by God for us too. God is able and ready to strengthen us with power in our inner being. Whatever you are facing today the Holy Spirit will strengthen you and bring you through it. And, there is no limit to what God can do for each of us. It all comes, just as Paul prayed, out of God's glorious riches. Do your sense the need for strength and power? Don't hesitate to trust God for whatever you need today, even right now. 

January 11

“Yet their Redeemer is strong; the Lord Almighty is his name.” Jeremiah 50:34a (NIV)

These words were written to encourage God’s people of Israel during the time that is referred to as the Babylonian Captivity. Since Jeremiah was writing about the same God whom we serve we can take this message for ourselves. God has not changed and He never will. The God whom we serve has several names to express His character. The name in our verse today is Lord Almighty and it expresses His power and his ability. We need never wonder if God is able to keep His promises to us. So my friend, always remember that the God whom you serve is able to meet all your needs. Nothing is too hard for Him. If what you are praying for is in line with His will, He can and will do it for you. 

October 9

“Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.”  Psalm 22:11 (NIV)

Although we may not have the details reported on how exactly God answered this prayer, we can still read it to encourage us. We believe that God has preserved the Word to do just that. I believe that God did answer this prayer of David’s and He will answer it for us when we ask Him. He knows when trouble is near to His own and He will be near, very near at times like that. So this is a prayer that we can pray in perfect confidence. Although these words are not in a form of a promise, yet God has allowed the prayer to be included because He has already promised to be always with His own. So be encouraged to pray as David did whenever you need it.

September 16

“All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.” Psalm 38:9 (NIV)
We may sometimes think that no one knows the deep feelings of our hearts. Maybe we think that by not sharing our feelings with others we keep them to ourselves. Yet we must remember that God does know how we feel. What David says in this verse is that God is reading our feelings and our longings like an open book. And when we breathe a sigh without saying a word, God get the message. Doesn’t this encourage us to express our feelings to God? He already knows how we feel. When we express our longings He is ready to help. He wants us to turn to Him in faith and then He will act.

September 2

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.” Hebrews 10:35 (NIV)

Our God knows that we are often tempted to be discouraged. He has, therefore given us words to encourage us. Confidence, of course is a synonym of faith, and it is basic to our Christian life. When we become discouraged it is because our faith is becoming shaky and our confidence and reliance upon God is disturbed. What these words tell us is that God knows when our confidence in Him is being affected. He is encouraging us to keep our confidence unshakeable. And it means so much to Him that we maintain our confidence firm and strong. The power of this kind of faith will bring us through to God’s glory.

July 11

“Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.” Psalm 107:43 (NIV)

The entire 107th Psalm was written to remind God’s people of how He had helped them and their ancestors in various kinds of circumstances. And it concludes with this verse. The point of the verse is that people who knew how God had helped them in the past should remember that and be reminded of His great love for them. We should do the same. Think back of how God has helped us in past days and then remember that He has done it because of His great love for us. This will encourage us to trust Him for today, tomorrow and always. That is what God calls “wisdom.”