Tag: discouragement

Scripture for Monday, November 21 (11/21)

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The scripture for today, November 21, is Acts 11:21 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

PAUL COVER-KINDLE-“The Lord’s hand was with them, in and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”

What had just happened? Some Christians in Phoenicia (today’s Lebanon), Cyprus (the Mediterranean Island) and Cyrene (in today’s Lybia), went to Antioch in Northern Syria near the southern border of today’s Turkey. There they established a congregation.

This little congregation ended up being the home congregation of Paul and Barnabas for many years. It started small; we don’t know the size it grew to. Regardless of the size, it had foresight and eventually did great things.

Perhaps you live in a town full of churches, but you’ve compared them with the New Testament, and none of them follows that pattern. Perhaps you have even given up going to church because of this problem. What is stopping you from beginning a little congregation after the New Testament pattern in your home?  

New Testament churches were simple ~ not elaborate like those mega-churches out there. And those simple churches have always been dynamic in their simplicity. Who knows but that your new little congregation will some day produce a Paul or a Barnabas….

#discouragement, #church, #congregation, #scriptural, #pattern, #hope, #simplicity

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The scripture for today, March 22, is Lamentations 3:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 3-HEARTS AFIRE-COVER“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”

The name of this Old Testament book comes from the word “lament” or mourn. Jerusalem has just been destroyed and everyone except the poorest has been taken away to be slaves in another country ~ Babylon (today’s Iraq). Jeremiah, the prophet and author of Lamentations, is allowed to stay with those left behind.

Jeremiah had spent years warning people of the coming destruction of their country due to their sinful life and taking advantage of each other. He endured taunts, reprimands, imprisonments and threats to his life. Now it has happened. All hope is gone. Nothing left but ashes.

It is at this point that Jeremiah utters bravely, “We are not consumed.”

Are there things going on your life that seem to be consuming you? Look up. God is still there. He still loves you.

When we have the love of God, we have the courage to take the next step and the next and the next. We have the courage to keep walking and to hold our head high. Nothing and nobody can ever take away the love God has for us. With his love, we can never be consumed.

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The scripture for today, August 4, is Acts 8:4 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

WORSHIP THE FIRST-CENTURY WAY-COVER-KINDLE

Sometimes our plans get scattered, our dreams shattered. We lose our home, our job, our chance at an education, our savings, our family.

Satan loves to discourage us. He’s good at it. But Romans 8:28 says that God can make something good come out of all things ~ good or bad.

What about us? What if, for instance, we lose our home or job and go to another one? We are the same person we were at the old home or job as the new one. Are we sharing the Good News right now? If we’re not, then what is the likelihood we will be any different when our life is “scattered”?

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The scripture for today, March 22, is Lamentations 3:22 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 2-DREAM MAKER-COVER“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”

The name of this Old Testament book comes from the word “lament” or mourn. Jerusalem has just been destroyed and everyone except the poorest has been taken away to be slaves in another country ~ Babylon (today’s Iraq). Jeremiah, the prophet and author of
Lamentations, is allowed to stay with those left behind.

Jeremiah had spent years warning people of the coming destruction of their country due to their sinful life and taking advantage of each other. He endured taunts, reprimands, imprisonments and threats to his life. Now it has happened. All hope is gone. Nothing left but ashes.

It is at this point that Jeremiah utters bravely, “We are not consumed.”

Are there things going on your life that seem to be consuming you? Look up. God is still there. He still loves you.

When we have the love of God, we have the courage to take the next step and the next and the next. We have the courage to keep walking and to hold our head high. Nothing and nobody can ever take away the love God has for us. With his love, we can never be consumed.

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The scripture for today, January 9, is Joshua 1:9 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

CHANGES IN WORSHIP-COVER-KINDLE“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

God does not give us commands that are impossible to keep. Many require fortitude, but they are not impossible. Still, we fear we cannot keep them. Maybe we fear our co-workers because they do not keep certain commands. Maybe we fear our neighbors, our family, or even our church friends because they do not keep certain commands.

Fear can paralyze us. But God gives us strength and courage. Therefore, when challenged to keep a commandment of God, regardless of what others are saying and doing, remember the Lord your God is with you wherever you are.

Hold fast! Stand firm! Do the right thing!

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The scripture for today, December 25 is Proverbs 12:25 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-COVER---Star-Song---flat“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.”

Yesterday, did you see anyone sitting alone looking downcast? Go back there today. S/he may not be there, but someone else may be. It may be a gathering place for the lonely, the discouraged. Smile at them and whisper, “Jesus loves you.” Have a conversation with them and show them they are worthy of your time. Listen to them. Share with them.

Do you periodically see “beggars” at a certain location? They may squander donations or use them to buy food. Either way, being a beggar isn’t people’s life’s goal. You do not know their story. Everyone has a story. Their hearts are anxious about something.

Give them a little change, maybe wrap it in a verse from the Bible. Ask them if they have family and if their family would accept them back. If so, encourage them to “go home.” Tell them you will pray for them. Smile at them, and whisper, “Jesus loves you.”

Today, do you know of a place where travelers usually stay or gather? Are any of them there today, stranded and cannot get home? Go there, prepared to give each of them something special, or even invite them to your home for a Christmas feast.

Jesus encouraged and helped the downhearted. So can we. Dare to be a star shining on them in their darkness. Dare to show Jesus to the downhearted.

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The scripture for July 13 (7/13) is in Job 7:13ff in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine.  I despise my life; I would not live forever.  Let me alone; my days have no meaning.”

Job was extremely depressed. It happens to everyone sometimes.  His depression was certainly valid ~ he had lost all his income  and all his children in a recent storm.  Now he had what the Bible translated as “boils” but the symptoms indicate he had a form of leprosy.  This particular form leads to nightmares in addition to the physical problems.  Job had every right to be depressed.  So depressed was he, that he no longer wanted to live, for his life no longer had meaning.

But, as miserable as Job was, he hung on.  Patiently he hung on during the bad times. Sometimes during our bad times, the greatest thing we can do is “hang on” ~ be patient.

Romans 8:28 says all things work together for good to those who love the Lord.  Job loved the Lord.  Even in his misery and desire to die, he continued to love God and trust Him.

And although at such times you may believe your misery will never end, you may believe you will never even smile again, it will happen.  The misery comes to an end.  It did for Job.  He got his health and wealth back and more children to comfort him.  God will see you through too.

The scripture for today, June 9 (6/9), is Job 6:9-8 found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Oh that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off!”

Job was suffering terribly.  The Bible says he had sores all over his body.  There were other symptoms listed elsewhere in Job that indicate he had a form of leprosy.  Now he just wanted to die.

When we get into a life problem that seems hopeless, do we just give up and say, “God, I can’t go on like this.  Just take my life right now.  It’s too hard.  I can’t do it any more.”?

God knows what you are going through.  God knows that Satan is attacking you.  When things are desperately low, your job is just to hang on.  It often takes God time to shift around a lot of other people’s lives in order to alleviate your pain.

Remember, God hurts just as much when you suffer as when he watched his own Son suffer on the cross.  His Son’s suffering accomplished something wonderful for others.  So too, some day your suffering will somehow in some way accomplish something good.  And ultimately, just by surviving, Satan loses and God wins.

This too will pass.  You may not think so, but it will.  You may think you will never smile again, never want to go around people again, never sing again.  But you will.  Just like Job did.

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