Christian Encouragement
Praise to God, Our Supplier
Do you ever feel empty or drained? What about anxious or uptight? Does mad or angry describe you at times? Or, sad and melancholy?
Whatever the condition of our countenance or state of our mind or emotions, we have a supplier to whom we can turn.
Are you short on perseverance?
Are you ready to give up or cave in?
Do you feel like you’re going to blow a fuse?
Do you wonder if you’ll ever smile again?
Those are feelings we may have at times, but if we’re a Christian, we have hope.
God offers to supply all our needs. Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Rather than hold tightly to feelings of anger or discouragement, open your mind and heart to the Lord’s perspective and counsel.
Take hold of what you need through God’s supply of glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Heavenly Father, thank You for being the SUPPLIER of all I need through Jesus. I confess my shortcomings, ill temper, hopelessness, and discouragement. Fill me with Christ’s perspective, presence, and power as I look to You.
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Remember This On Dreary Days
Dreary days. Gray skies. They can make us feel gloomy.
The death of loved ones, separation or estrangement from family or friends weighs heavily on our hearts. What can we focus on in those times?
Malachi 4:2 tells us. “But for you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”
What does Malachi mean?
Theologian Charles Spurgeon explains: “Jesus, like the sun, is the center and soul of all things, the fullness of all good, the lamp that lights us, the fire that warms us, the magnet that guides and controls us; he is the source and fountain of all life, beauty, fruitfulness, and strength.” 1
Jesus is called the Sun of Righteousness because on the most dreary of days when we are gloomy and despairing, we can ask Him to fill us with His Spirit and shine in our hearts and minds.
Call on Jesus now to rise in your heart. Ask Him to fill you with the light of His glory.
I praise You, Jesus, SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Please enlighten my mind and lighten my heart as I look to You.
Praise is a powerful weapon we can use to turn around feelings of hopelessness or discouragement. Download this free printable of the attributes of Jesus from the book of John. As you read through them, praise God for each one!
1 The Spurgeon Center, Accessed October 5, 2023, http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/1020.htm.
Do You Want More Strength?
An AT&T commercial once asked a group of children, “Who thinks more is better than less?” A little girl quickly responded, “We want more. We want more.”
We can identify with her plea for more when we’re going through a difficult time. We want more of God’s strength. We want more of God’s grace to get us through our day. The truth is, we already have it. Second Corinthians 12:9 reassures us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
What does it mean that God’s grace is sufficient? Does it mean barely enough? No. Rather, the Biblical word means, “to be possessed of unfailing strength, to be strong, to be enough.”
God’s strength is the answer to our cries when we are weak. Call on Him. Yield to Him. Ask Jesus to fill and empower you. He will.
Heavenly Father, thank You that when I’m weak, You respond to my cry for help. Thank You, that Your grace is SUFFICIENT.
Would you like to experience God’s sufficient grace and peace in your life? Check out Debbie’s Bible study, Experiencing Grace and Peace in Cultural Chaos by clicking HERE. You can also access the free accompanying videos and podcasts by clicking HERE.
When What You Want Is Different From What God Wants
There are times we’re called to do something we’d prefer not to do. Perhaps for you, it’s a medical procedure. For a parent, it may be changing another diaper. A person might wish they could stay in bed rather than go to work. Then, there are those excruciatingly painful occasions when we may be called to help with an intervention or change the lock on a door to keep an abusive person out of the house.
There is only one person who has known the great sacrifice of dying on the cross so the human race could be saved. Jesus asked His Father for a way other than the cross, but when it was the only way, He submitted His will to His Father’s will.
“He went a little beyond them and fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will'” (Matthew 26:39).
Is there something you don’t want to do or perhaps want to do that is different from God’s will? Will you trust your Heavenly Father, submit your will to His, and walk through it in Christ’s strength?
Lord Jesus, thank You for modeling being SUBMISSIVE and for modeling trusting our Heavenly Father’s will. Help me be submissive as You were.
Are you facing disappointment or struggling with unmet expectations? Get a copy of The Plan A Woman in a Plan B World: What to Do When Life Doesn’t Go According to Plan.
God’s Perspective
Perspective. It’s everything. We can look around and feel hopeless and vulnerable, wondering why God has abandoned us. Or, we can turn to the Lord, scale the heights of heaven and gaze on who God is, what He’s done, and what He has promised to do.
Proverbs 18:10 reminds us, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.”
Did you catch the promise? Is safe. Say it out loud. “I am safe.”
Think through the implications for your loved ones who believe in the Lord. They are safe.
Yes, far from what some people seem to be, uncaring and distant, God is the opposite. He is caring and He is actively present in our life.
Pay attention to the ways God has proved and is proving to be active in your life.
Be mindful of God’s Spirit, who comforts and strengthens you. Let your mind relax in the reality of the new heaven and world awaiting you and your believing loved ones. Purposefully ponder your life and your loved ones’ lives from the perspective of heaven’s heights. Say a prayer to the Lord thanking Him for being wonderful, loving, and faithful.
Heavenly Father, You are a loving, faithful STRONG TOWER to whom I can run. May I be as David and boldly testify that I run to You and am safe.
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THE STRENGTH-TRUST-HELP CONNECTION
Do you ever feel weak or like you can’t go on? If so, remember Psalm 28:6-7 that comforts us with the reminder that the LORD is, in addition to many things, our strength. “Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.”
“I am helped.” What great words David, the psalmist, said. He was helped. You can be helped, also. You don’t have to do this thing called life – being an employer, spouse, parent, widow, single person, or bread winner alone. You may be weak but God is your strength.
God is your strength, but did you notice a key to David experiencing God as his strength? He said, “My heart trusts in Him and I am helped.”
Does your heart trust in God? If so, you can say with David, “The Lord is my strength. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.”
A person with a trusting heart may not know how they will get through their day or night; but they know God is with them and will give them the strength for whatever they face.
Is your heart trusting in the Lord in the midst of your circumstance?
Will you pray today, “Lord, You are my strength. My heart trusts in You.”
Heavenly Father, thank You that You are always present and no matter how weak I feel, You are my STRENGTH. I trust in You, Lord.
Are you looking for some more encouragement and Biblical teachings? Listen to Debbie’s podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Podbean!
Just You Wait and See
Things aren’t always as they appear. Just you wait and see. For instance, Jesus had no earthly possessions, wasn’t married, and when arrested, His friends abandoned Him. He was lied about, mocked, and beaten almost to death before being crucified.
It would appear that Jesus was defeated in the worst of ways. However, in Mark 14:61-62 notice Jesus’ response to the high priest’s question, “‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’”
Jesus responded, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, AND COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.”
“I am the Son of the Blessed One,” Jesus said. We can almost hear what He may have been thinking, “Just you wait and see.”
When we think about our lives or circumstances and it doesn’t seem like, feel like, or look like we are the “blessed child of God,” remember that is who you are, child of God. Things aren’t always as they appear. Just you wait and see.
Heavenly Father, I praise You for Christ, SON OF THE BLESSED ONE, and for bringing me to salvation through Him so that now I am also Your blessed child.
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What Song Are You Singing?
Are you dragging through your day singing the blues? If so, that can change. You see, we have a choice about the music and songs we allow to play in our mind and heart as well as the ones we sing.
In Exodus 15:2, Moses tells us the music that empowered his walk. “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him.”
The word “song” in Exodus 15:2 means music or melody. In effect, Moses says, “The Lord is my melody. He’s the music by whom I walk through my day.”
What music or words play in your mind as you go about your day?
If you’ve been singing the blues, you can make the choice to change to a different playlist. You can tune your heart to God’s voice and walk through your day singing His praises. Isn’t it time to tune your heart to His praise playlist?
Heavenly Father, thank You for being the melody by which I can walk through my day. I sing Your praises. You are my strength and SONG.
Want to fill your day with songs that encourage and strengthen your spirit? Visit our Encouraging Music for the Cancer+ Journey page. You’ll find uplifting songs to help you keep your heart tuned to His praise.
To Jesus
Are there any Bible verses that make your heart sing because they’re so beautifully written and the praise so magnificent?
Such is the case with Jude 1:24-25. “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
In these verses, Jude proclaims that the LORD is our only Savior, but not only that. Our Savior is able to keep us from stumbling!
Our Savior is able to make us stand blameless in God’s presence and glory with great joy.
If you’ve ever attended a celebration where a toast was made to the person being honored, then you heard words of accolade for the person. No words could be greater, however, than Jude’s praise of the LORD, our Savior, who rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13); who saved us from the penalty of sin and death and made us holy and righteous, able to stand before God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jude’s heart overflows in praise of the Savior. Use his words as your words of praise. “To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
Lord, I worship You; my only God and SAVIOR.
If you enjoyed this content and want to watch video teachings by Debbie, subscribe to her YouTube channel. Go HERE and click the subscribe button to be notified of new teachings.
If You’re Tired of Sinning
I wish I wouldn’t sin. I long for the day when I’m perfected in Christ’s image. How about you? Do you ever tire of your impatience, bad habit, or perhaps careless words? The fact is, as long as we’re in our earthly bodies, we’ll contend with our sin nature. As a matter of fact, not only will we contend with it, Galatians 5:17 says, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another.” So we have this little, um, big war going on inside of us.
Here’s the wonderful news recorded in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
God in His grace has chosen to sanctify us, to set us apart for Himself as holy, without blame. Think about it! What we can’t do for ourselves, God has done and will continue to do. We who call upon the name of the Lord will one day live in heaven completely holy because of Christ. Does knowing that cause you to want to lift your voice in praise to God?
Heavenly Father, SANCTIFIER, thank You for setting me apart for Yourself and for taking it upon Yourself to sanctify me completely and without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am so ready!
The Apostle Peter, who contended with his sin nature, boldly encourages us that we have everything we need for life and godliness in 2 Peter 1:1-4. To listen to Debbie’s teaching on the subject, click HERE.