Please open your Bible and read 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. People love encouraging people, and the Lord intends that each of His children be one. An encourager is able to stand beside someone else to give hope and the motivation to persevere through difficult times. We are not born with this ability, but we can follow several essential steps in order to become capable of supporting and empathizing with a hurting friend. First, we must be willing to experience pain. The apostle Paul, who was a great en...

“We must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God” Acts 14:22 God’s people will encounter many hardships. It was never God’s intention when He chose His people that they would be untested. They were never chosen just to experience worldly peace and earthly joy. Freedom from sickness and the pains of being mortal was never promised them. But when their Lord wrote the charter of privileges, He included discipline among the things which they would inherit. Hards...

“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free?’” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not r...

“I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart” Psalm 9:1 Praise should always follow answered prayer, just like the mist of earth’s gratitude rises when the sun of heaven’s love warms the ground. Has the Lord been gracious to you, and heard your voice as your earnestly pray? Then praise Him as long as you live! Don’t deny a song to Him who has answered your prayer and given you the desire of your heart. To be silent over God’s mercies is to incur the guilt of ...

It is said that you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. Well, the same is true of church. If we are Christian believers, then God has adopted us into a family, a household. Now, some of the people God has adopted into his family might not be the people we would have chosen. We are thrown together as a church with people we would run a mile from if we weren’t Christians. This is one of the glories of the church, but it is also one of its great challenges. Because...

IT IS TIME FOR US TOO ARISE AND AWAKE TO THE GREAT HARVEST THAT WE ARE LETTING SLIP THRU OUR FINGERS. The Great Awakening… resulted in an outburst of missionary activity among Native Americans by such men as David Brainerd, Eleazar Wheelock, and Samuel Kirkland; in the first movement of importance against slavery; and in various other humanitarian undertakings. It led to the founding of a number of academies and colleges, notably Princeton, Brown, Rutgers, and Dartmouth (”Great Awake...

What would you say if God asked you to: lead many others, as Joshua did? Speak His words to prominent leaders, as Daniel did? Become a traveling missionary like Paul? God wants us to respond with courage when He calls us to tackle something beyond our ability. Our first step toward bravery is meditation on the Word of God-we are to search for its meaning as if for treasure. With the Spirit’s help, we will understand the Bible and learn how to apply its wisdom to our situation.Next is obedi...

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10 What is true in track and field is equally true in life: how we end the race is more important than how we begin. God does not take new believers straight to heaven upon salvation. Instead, He leaves...

“Exceeding great and precious promises.” 2 Peter 1:4, KJV If you would like to put into practice the preciousness of God’s promises, and enjoy them personally, meditate on them. God’s promises are like grapes in a wine-press: If you tread on them the juice will flow. Thinking over God’s holy words will often lead to their fulfillment in your own life. While you ponder them, the blessing you seek will often come to you in ways you don’t even expect. Many Christ...

“I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through h...

Things that Cannot be Shaken Please open your Bible and read: Hebrews 12:25-29 Television news is often filled with interviews and images of people who have suffered some unimaginable tragedy. One day we’re shown tornado survivors whose homes were torn apart by winds. Another day we may see massive floods sweeping through an unsuspecting neighborhood. Occasionally, we even view homes that are swallowed whole by terrible earthquakes. The expressions on the faces of those who have suffered l...

Love is a Choice “… That you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Deuteronomy 30:20 Love is a choice and a commitment. You choose to love or you choose not to love. Today we’ve bought into this myth that love is uncontrollable, that it’s something that just happens to us; it’s not something we con...