Daily encouragement for Christians
The same words are spoken from two opposite corners for completely different purposes: “Whoever is unsure of himself, turn in here!” One voice is Wisdom, the other is the foolish woman. They both speak to the weak-willed. Do you ever find yourself wandering around aimlessly, or unable to move at all, unsure of where you […]
My dad raised me to believe that anything worth having is worth working for. I wonder if that thought was in Naaman’s mind as he traveled to Israel seeking a cure for his tzara’at (leprosy). After first being given no hope from the king of Israel, who declared only God could do such a thing, […]
Do you know what the word shalom means? It can be used as a simple greeting–hello or goodbye, but when used in the Bible it goes much deeper. Many translations use the word “peace” in place of shalom. Do you ever think about how deep God’s peace is? Shalom is defined as peace, harmony, wholeness, […]
Do you take for granted the possessions you have accumulated, diminishing their value? It’s an easy thing to do in the U.S. because we live in a land of plenty. Our land flows with milk and honey–things the Israelites only dreamed about for decades. We have enjoyed peace within our borders for the majority […]
Are you a lover or a fighter? Do you know that we are all called to be both? We are to love each other as God’s precious children, always. We are also called to fight the powers of darkness and evil, always. We fail miserably at the “always” part. A contemporary Christian artist, Jamie […]
Have you ever considered how beautiful and peaceful the Garden of Eden must have been before the fall of Adam and Eve? The first garden was planted by God. There were no weeds and the soil was rich, full of all the nutrients needed for proper growth. “A river went out of ‘Eden to water […]
“If I shut up the sky, so that there is no rain; or if I order locusts to devour the land; or if I send an epidemic of sickness among my people; then, if my people, who bear my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn from their evil ways; I will […]
How often do you just drift through the day, going through the same motions that you have repeatedly performed? Maybe you dream your way through. Perhaps you are devising ways in your mind to solve the problems of the world, as you robotically perform your daily duties. You may stand in the mirror making yourself […]
Have you ever listened to a sermon given by a feel-good pastor? It seems more and more people are drawn to that “come on, get happy” type of message that only looks at the good side of God’s blessings and never mentions Jesus. They don’t talk about what happened at Calvary; how the blood of […]
Does your day feel overwhelming? What does a day’s work look like to you? My view definitely contains less now than it did as a young adult. I once worked, against my will, a twenty-three hour day, but I can’t even imagine how one day in Elijah’s life could have contained as much activity as […]
