Tag Archive - Encouragement

Daily David, Week 11, Day 4

November 10, 2011 in David with 0 Comments

Today, we look at Hebrews 12:1-12. These verses give encouragement when going through difficult times.

What does it mean to throw off everything that hinders us (12:1)?

It means to get rid of everything in our life that keeps us from experiencing an intimate relationship with God.

Another challenge is that we sometimes put ourselves in the place of God. We think we need to do more than God has called us to do. But when we do more than what God has called us to do, it gives us less time to do that which he has called us to and we do not do it as well.

Where do we fix our eyes (12:2)? What was Jesus’ focus when he walked this earth (12:2)? Why was it not easy for Jesus to keep his focus (12:3)?

We fix our eyes on Jesus. When Jesus walked this earth he kept his eye on the Father’s will which was to die on the cross for the sins of the world. But Jesus constantly had distractions. Satan was out to distract him. He had many good things he was doing on the earth like healing people and preaching incredible sermons. But none of those things were the ultimate purpose for which he was sent.

What might we remember when we go through suffering to help us endure (12:4-7)?

We remember that Jesus suffered. We also remember that God disciplines those that he loves. A parent that fails to discipline their children would be considered a neglectful parent. Discipline is not pleasant to go through as a child, but it is for the ultimate good of that child. It is really hard for that child to understand it when that child is going through it.

Why is discipline considered loving (12:8-11)? What does a person’s reaction to hardship reveal about them?

The person will learn from the discipline and will have a fuller and more peaceful life as a result. A persons reaction to discipline will reveal the type of relationship they have with the Lord.

What have you learned in your life through hardship?

I have learned that God is always there. I have learned to trust him. I have learned to know his peace. I have learned that what I think is bad is often for my good and that all things work for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose.

The Answer is Jesus

July 7, 2011 in Weekly Email with 1 Comment

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” Isaiah 55:10-11

This sounds like a long way from where many of us are. Many of us are limping along. We are exhausted. We are depressed. We sucking wind. It is not joy that fills our hearts, but grief. We feel like we have been beaten up. We are stressed to no end. We don’t know of this bounty that is spoken of in Isaiah.

If this is where you are at, I have a simple message for you: Receive God’s love shown through Jesus Christ. That’s it. It’s that simple. Receive God’s love. Create space in your life for Jesus to wash your feet and to cleanse you.

I have been a pastor now for 11 years and this is something I have learned the hard way. It is easier to go and do things for God, than it is to sit and to be with God.

It is easy to loose Jesus in the church. There are meetings to attend, strategies of church growth to study, sermons to be prepared, and worship to be planned. It is easy to focus on the business of the church rather than a relationship with Jesus.

You maybe heard the story about the pastor who was sharing a children’s message. He asks the question, “what is furry, lives in trees, and likes to eat nuts?”

One of the boys raises his hand and the pastor calls on him to answer. The boy replies, “it sounds like a squirrel, but I know the answer is Jesus.”

We’ve been conditioned to know the answer is Jesus. We talk about him. We sing about him. Everything we do as a church is about Jesus. We know the answer is Jesus. It is hard to miss. And yet, Jesus too often turns up missing even in the church.

We make it about a lot of different things. We make it about worship. Is worship contemporary or traditional? We make it about the programs. Do they offer what I am looking for? We make it about the pastor. Is he a good preacher and teacher? We make it about facilities. Are they accommodating and comfortable?

If it is not about Jesus, then nothing else matters. Psalm 42:1 says, As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. We cannot live apart from God. He is our real need above all else.

In John 6:35 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” In Jesus there is 100% satisfaction guaranteed! We will never be lacking no matter how much or how little we have.

So is there a place where you are feeling unsatisfied? I will give you a simple answer: “Jesus!” Any place where you are feeling less than satisfied there is a very good possibility he is either missing or lacking in that place in your life. Receive his love! Stop trying to find satisfaction anywhere else. Let him give you living water.

Seeing the Best in Others

June 17, 2011 in Weekly Email with 1 Comment

Last Sunday I shared about celebrating the success of others. There is plenty of God’s favor to go around. He is a big God. There is no reason to be jealous when someone else appears to be getting all the recognition. If our heart is on the kingdom, we will celebrate kingdom success no matter who gets the credit. If our heart is on ourselves we will be jealous and envious of others.

On a similar note, along with celebrating the success of others, we can believe the best in others as well. It is easy to see the fault and flaws of others. Faith in God gives us the ability past the faults and flaws and to see the potential in that person to be used by God.

When Paul came to Jerusalem after his conversion he was looked upon with suspicion (see Acts 9:26-28). Everyone saw what he had been. He had persecuted Christians. He had been an evil man. But God changed his heart on the road to Damascus. Yet, it was not the changed heart most people saw in Paul. They still saw the old Saul, who was out to destroy the Christians. It was only Barnabas who could see past that with the eyes of faith to see the great potential in this man.

I can almost see it now how the Christians in Jerusalem were whispering how this man Paul was up to no good. They talked among themselves how they believe he was infiltrating their ranks so that he could destroy the movement. Paul was looked upon with suspicion and people did not want much to do with Paul. I imagine the more people talked about it, the more the perception seemed to become reality. In the midst of all this Barnabas defended Paul when no one else did. He knew there was a different story to tell than the one that was being told.

As believers we are called to defend one another and stand up for the reputation of those doing the things of God. It is clear that those who are serving the Lord in the greatest ways are often the biggest targets for criticism and even hatred. The first thing we agree to on our membership covenant at Lord of Life is the refusal to gossip. Not only do we refuse to gossip but we will confront it and call it out when others participate in it. It has no place in the church.

The moral of the story is to see the best in others even when everyone else only sees the worst. It is much easier to be a critic especially when everyone around us is being a critic. Critics love company. Your role is when others are the critic you be the one to see the potential in the other person to be used by God. After all, it is God who sees the potential in you to be used by him in spite of all your own flaws. He is your biggest cheerleader and there are many who need you to be their cheerleader.

Difficult Problems and Simple Faith

March 3, 2011 in Weekly Email with 0 Comments

Last week our family headed to the Wisconsin Dells for a wild weekend vacation at one of the waterparks. Before leaving I wanted to make sure our tires were properly inflated. So I took our family minivan to the gas station around the corner from our house to fill up the tires. After I finished filling the last tire I noticed the sound of hissing air. Pssssssssssssss. I held the air hose up to my ear and did not hear anything. I then put my ear next the tire and sure enough the tire stem was leaking. This is not good. Air was coming out about as fast as I could fill it. We were not going anywhere unless I could get this fixed fast.

Fortunately, there was a mechanic shop next door to the gas station. I quickly drove the van across the parking lot before the tire deflated, walked inside, and said “HEEELP!” The mechanic told me to pull the van into the shop. He pulled out his little tire stem tool twisted the stem on the tire and in about three seconds I heard him say, “next!” It was all fixed and ready to go.

Now don’t you wish every little crisis we face in life was fixed so easily? Rarely do we encounter such simple solutions. To “fix” these crises of life it often seems like we are left choosing the lesser of two evils. There are no easy answers. Sometimes I find myself wishing there was a step by step manual that left no room for interpretation. It would be much easier if life was more black and white and did not have so many shades of grey. As our world becomes increasingly complex, our problems also become increasingly complex. So how do we navigate through life’s challenges, especially when it seems there are no easy answers?

I will give you one word. The word is faith. It is not faith as faith is often defined. Faith is often defined as having a positive attitude in spite of difficult circumstances. I will contend faith is more than a positive attitude. Rather it is confidence in Jesus the Savior. It is confidence that God’s plan will prevail. The pathway may not be the pathway we really want to go down. Sometimes God will take us down a path that we would rather not go, only to bring us to a destination that is beyond anything we could have ever imagined.

The book of Hebrews says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 There may be some rough days with incredible challenges. It may not seem like there is much light at the end of the tunnel and that there is no solution in sight. But that is why we look to Jesus, because Jesus is the light. When everything else seems dark, he will shine.

Learning from Hardship

January 20, 2011 in Weekly Email with 0 Comments

Grrrrrrr! It was not what I wanted to hear. At least two more weeks on the crutches the doctor said. The foot still has a ways to go before it is completely healed. I have been limping on these crutches for the last four weeks since my accident on Christmas Eve. I was so much hoping the doctor would have said I would be done with the them and that would be it. But limp on I shall.

It has been a frustrating time. I have not been able to do the things I am normally able to do. I have needed to rely on others to do things I previously had no problem doing on my own. I am not getting around as quickly as before. It has been hard. But in a very strange sort of way it has been good experience.

Through this whole ordeal, I believe I am learning patience. I am learning to slow down. It is not like I have a choice in the matter. Maybe the problem was I could not get it through my thick skull, so God just forced my hand a bit and gave me no other option. I am not going to be running any marathon on these crutches anytime soon.

I am also learning better to listen to my wife. She is a nurse. She knows what she is talking about. She takes good care of me. But I need to do what she tells me. She tells me to rest my foot, but in my stubbornness I continue to walk on it, only to regret it later. Yep, should have listened. But I am getting better.

I am learning to rely upon others. I have great confidence in myself. Maybe too much confidence. I am learning to allow others to help me because, through this ordeal, I am learning more and more I cannot do it on my own. Most importantly it has led me to trust more deeply in our loving God. I need to place my confidence in him and not in myself.

So it is not all bad. Some lessons in life are learned the hard way. It might take a blow to your ego or your pride. It might mean falling on your face or breaking your foot. There is not one of us who doesn’t stumble a bit at some point in life. The question really is not if we will stumble or not. The question is will we learn anything from it. There are many people in this world who when they stumble they just quite and give up. Life hits a rough patch and they throw in the towel. They might get angry with God and tumble into bitterness, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

The next time life takes a turn ask “what can I learn from this? How will does this make me a better person? How does this make me a better servant for the Lord?” The challenges may seem like obstacles but with our amazing God on our side, they can be wonderful opportunities to learn and grow and to become all he has made you to be.

The Power of Negativity

January 11, 2011 in Weekly Email with 2 Comments

Have you ever thought about the power of negativity? Negative is the opposite of positive and has a powerful pull. Negative criticism will often stick much more in your mind than positive words of affirmation. As a pastor I will hear over and over the incredible stories of how God is working in the lives of his people, but there will be that one story without the happy ending that will occupy my thoughts and discourage my spirit. Negativity just has its way of standing out. It is a lot easier to become discouraged than it is to be encouraged.

It works the other way as well. I recognize it is important to be careful with the words I speak to others. Yes, there are times when you need to speak the truth in love to another, but you earn the right to do so by being a source of encouragement and affirmation. In Hebrews 10:25 it says let us encourage one another and even more so now as the day of the Lord’s return comes near.

The power of the negative is huge. But here is the thing: our God is is greater. Yes, we will face negativity in this life, but God has not left us without hope. Consider the following as you encounter negativity in your life.

1) Trust in Jesus. Jesus says in this world you will have trouble. In other words, we will face negativity. But that is not the end of the story. He goes on to say, “take heart for I have overcome.” (John 16:33) Jesus will prevail and you will prevail when you put your life in his hands and live obedient.

2) Remember the most important person to please is God. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says or thinks about you. What matters is what God says and thinks. This is why God’s Word says: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24

3) Occupy your mind with God’s Word. In Philippians 3:8, the Message Translation, says, “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”

Consider the following quote from Pastor David Platt in his book Radical: “The battle is intense, and it cannot be fought with little thoughts in a daily devotional or petty ideas from a preacher on Sunday. It certainly can’t be fought with minds numbed by the constant drivel of entertainment on television, DVDs, video games, and the Internet. If you and I are going to penetrate our culture and the cultures of the world with the gospel, we desperately need minds saturated with God’s Word.”

I love that thought. Saturate your mind with God’s Word. Anything less will allow the negativity to creep in and eventually overwhelm your thoughts.

4) Pray! Too many of us spend so much more time worrying than we do praying. We let the negative thoughts churn and churn in our minds without ever asking God what he has to say about it. Over the next few weeks I will be talking about the Sermon on the Mount on Sunday mornings. In this sermon Jesus says, “Do not worry.” The reason we worry is because we do not ask. The Apostle Peter would later write cast your cares on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

5) This is an important point that is often overlooked – Ask who are you running with? Do you associate with people who are negative? Or do you run with people who are encouraging? Do the people you associate with constantly criticize others and rarely have anything good to say about anyone or anything else? I have been among Christians who when they gather will do nothing other than complain about their church and individuals in the church. This is neither healthy nor helpful. When we hang around individuals who are constantly negative it will only bring us down.

6) With that said, consider the words you speak. Choose your words carefully. Other people are not the enemy. Satan is! Do you speak well of others? Are you a source of criticism or of encouragement? If you don’t have something good to say about someone, it is probably best not to say it at all. Be slow to anger and slow to speak. Before condemning others, pray for them. Jesus says, “I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44) When you start praying for someone, the negative feelings you have towards that person will start to be replaced with love, compassion, and generosity.

7) Know that from out of the negative God will do something incredibly positive in your life. Some of the most incredible movements of God are born out of the bleakest of circumstances. In Isaiah 6 we read about the calling of Isaiah. We read King Uzziah had died. Uzziah had suffered the judgment of God and died because of his spiritual failings. What was more was the people Isaiah lived among were morally bankrupt. They had nothing going for them. In many ways Isaiah was spinning his wheels. His ministry was less than effective with little impact upon the people around him. Next, God appears before Isaiah in the temple and all Isaiah can say is “I am ruined.” Not a good thing. Yet, it is in this bleakest of moments when Isaiah was at his lowest that God would revive Isaiah’s ministry and make him and a powerful voice of wisdom from on high. God will use negative events and circumstances to reveal himself in a might way.

8) Learn from criticism. Our default is to arbitrarily reject criticism directed towards us, but then we allow it to eat away at us on the inside. I hold a motto that is to be slow to take offense. We too easily become offended at what other people might say to us or about us. Rarely does the other person intend to give offense that we think they were out to give. Receive criticism graciously. No matter how off based the criticism might be there is usually some element of truth in it from which we can learn.

9) Put on your armor (see Ephesians 6). Know that there is a battle that is going on. Fighting negativity is not an easy thing. Satan is the great naysayer. He is out to convince you that you are not good enough, not smart enough, not talented enough, and beyond hope. He will use negativity to bring you down. If you desire to be a force for the good of God, there will be spiritual powers and authorities at work to discourage you and hinder your work. That you can be sure of.

So I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul as an encouragement to be strong: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9