Christian Encouragement

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.

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. 

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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.

Have you ever heard someone say “that stinks” when something awful happens?

If bad things repeatedly happen, they might even say, “Life stinks.” 

Instead of focusing on the foul, though, we have a choice to breathe in what Song of Solomon 2:1 refers to as the Rose of Sharon, a reference to Christ and His splendor, heavenly fragrance, and beauty.

When life stinks, stay extra close to Christ. Breathe in His fragrance. “I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys” (Song of Solomon 2:1).

Lord Jesus, You are the ROSE OF SHARON, the fragrant aroma of heaven. Thank You that I can breathe in the beauty of Your fragrance in the midst of whatever my day brings. 

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Tragic. Frightening. Unreal. Evil. Infuriating. Senseless. What words well up in you when you think about the blatant lawlessness occurring today? We can evacuate cities when hurricanes are predicted, but we can’t predict when evil will raise its ugly head. People are asking, “What can we do?” and “To what can we cling?”

As Christians, we don’t need to be overcome by emotions of worry and fear when we see what’s happening in the world around us. Instead, we can seek refuge in our Heavenly Father and find encouragement and comfort in the words of Isaiah 41:10. 

“Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” 

In the midst of evil, terror, and natural disasters, God promises to strengthen us and help us. He will hold us up with His powerful, righteous right hand. Knowing that God is righteous should provide us with even greater comfort. God is the only One who is completely perfect, upright, holy, just, and faithful. He is the only One in whom we can place our absolute trust, knowing that He loves us. Rather than dwelling in fear, let’s turn to Him and pray for our nation and world. 

Heavenly Father, thank You that in these evil times You are RIGHTEOUS. Help me to seek You, knowing that You will strengthen me and uphold me in every circumstance. 

“Upholder” is one of God’s 26 character traits that Debbie delves into in her book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion. Get it for yourself or to give to a friend.

Do you ever think about pleasing God? Did you know that it’s possible to please God? It is, as Hebrews 11:5-6 points out.

“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:5-6).

Do those verses make you want to shout in praise of God? It does me. 

God will either “take us up” when we die or we will be as Enoch and be taken up before we die at the Rapture of the church. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15:50-54)

How can we be assured God will take us up to heaven? We can be assured because we have placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We will be rewarded with the glory of Christ’s presence in heaven. 

Are you saved? Then shout hallelujah and ready yourself to meet Christ. He’ll be handing out rewards on the basis of what you did for His kingdom. (Luke 19:11-27)

If you’re not a follower of Jesus, seek Him. Why? God is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 

Lord God, thank You for being a REWARDER of those who seek You. We give You praise. 

Learn to seek God in prayer through Debbie’s book, Pray With Purpose, Live With Passion. Purchase your copy HERE. 

Trials! They come in all sizes and shapes, but we can rest assured that none of them are wasted. Discover 4 good things God can bring out of the trials we face in a fallen world by watching Debbie’s teaching on James 1:1–12 HERE.

I know, I know, I know. We sing about Jesus’ resurrection. But is it ever hard for you to get your mind around the fact that Jesus was literally dead and came back to life? Do you ever stop and ponder whether you believe what you do because you’ve always been told that or if it is your own conviction?

In John 11:25, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” In this verse, Jesus was talking to a woman named Martha who was saying with her mouth she believed, but wasn’t expecting Jesus to raise her deceased brother.

Jesus is patient with us just like He was with Martha. If you’re struggling to believe or you have questions, Jesus is always present so you can always talk to Him. Ask Him your questions. Listen quietly in His presence. Open your Bible and ask Him to guide you through it. Keep seeking. He’s a prayer away and able to lead us to deeper faith.

Lord, You are the RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. I profess my faith with thanksgiving that You are ever-present and able to lead me to a deeper faith in You.

Are you looking for some more encouragement and Biblical teachings? Listen to Debbie’s podcasts on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify!

Have you ever been in a “dark place”? Perhaps you are now. Everywhere you look, it’s dark, and what’s worse, you don’t see a way out. If you have been there or you are now, can you imagine what it would be like to be in darkness forever and to know that you could never, ever escape?

God and Satan are powerful. They each have domains/kingdoms. 

Satan’s domain is a place of evil and darkness (Colossians 1:13). First John 5:19 tells us the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. That is, you lie in the power of the evil one unless you have responded to God’s invitation to be saved, rescued, from the domain of darkness and transferred to His kingdom. (Colossians 1:13)

If you’re a Christian and in a dark place today because of circumstances beyond your control or even because of sin, turn to your Savior. 

Stand against the darkness by singing songs of praise to Jesus. 

Lift your hands and voice in praise to God. Claim your place as a child of the Kingdom of Light.

Lord Jesus, You are my RESCUER! I love You! Thank You for rescuing me and transferring me to Your kingdom. 

 If you have not yet responded to God’s invitation to rescue you, why not? Please consider His invitation. If you have friends or family who don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, you can prayerfully share this with them.

A new teaching from the James Bible study is now being uploaded to YouTube each week. Click HERE to watch or listen. Don’t forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe so you don’t miss future videos!

Are the storms in your life overwhelming you, perhaps literally? Whether the storms are literal or metaphorical, fear can flood our emotions. Lightning bolts of regret can strike us to the core. Worry can flood our minds. But God doesn’t want us to stay overwhelmed, drowning in fear, worry, and regret. That’s why He has given us His Spirit, His very presence to be with us.

Psalm 46:1 reminds us that “God is our refuge, a very present help in trouble.” Just as shelters offer a place for flood victims, God calls us to come to Him for refuge. The Hebrew word “refuge” means shelter from danger or falsehood. 

The more closely we stay under God’s arms of truth, the more protected we are from the enemy’s lies. So go to Him. Shelter under the truth of His love for you.

Lord, You are a REFUGE who shelters us from Satan’s lies, worldly deceptions, and life’s storms. Remind us to not stand in the rain of discouragement, but rather shelter under You.

The Lord is always present and wants us to talk to Him through prayer. Learn to pray more purposefully through Debbie’s book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion.

Tomorrow, we kick off our James Bible study. If you haven’t signed up, there’s still time! Click HERE for more info and to register. 

“Lord, are You there? Speak to me.” Have you ever wanted to hear from God? If so, be encouraged. Zephaniah 3:17 tells us that God is in our midst. He’s a victorious warrior but also quiet in His love. 

What does that mean? 

I like to think of when I’ve held our little ones. My heart felt like it could jump out of my chest because I’ve been so full of love for them. However, I’ve not been loud with them. Instead, I held them close to my heart and wondered if they could feel my heartbeat as their little bodies nestled against me.

God is magnificent. He is larger than life, the creator of life, in fact. The Bible is His love letter to us. If we wish God would speak to us, we need to recognize that He has. 

Open the Bible. Hold it close to your heart. Feel God’s heartbeat as you read His Word. Listen for what He is lovingly saying to you.

Zephaniah 3:17 captures both the Lord’s magnificence and His quiet love. “The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” 

Lord, thank You that although You are majestic in glory, You are also QUIET IN LOVE for me. Help me feel Your heartbeat as I read Your Word. Help me know Your love in new ways. 

Let God speak to you through one of our free online Bible studies. Click HERE to access them.