Category: Encouragement For The Downcast

²² Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. ~ Hebrews 9:22

The blood couldn’t be just any blood, though. It had to be the blood of an innocent sacrifice. Therefore, no ordinary human sacrifice would do. Because everyone, even a newborn baby, is born with the sin nature, having the knowledge of good and evil. So, God had to find two innocent animals to sacrifice. Now, one would think that that would be good enough, and no more sacrifice would be needed, but that is not the case. The problem with that is the blood of an innocent animal could only roll the sins ahead, or in other words, it could only temporarily put off judgment.

Only the blood of our Kinsman Redeemer could purify us from all unrighteousness and cleanse us from our sins. Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer. He is our only Savior. He paid our debt for us on the cross. He didn’t come to earth as an angel, a Beast of the Field, or an animal. Jesus came as a baby. He came in the image of man. Jesus took on our form so that He could save us through Him. So that He could take our place, forgive our sin, and blot out our sins.

There is nothing that you could ever do to earn forgiveness. Your debt was already paid. All you have to do is accept His free gift of Salvation through confessing Jesus as LORD and repenting.

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“¹⁰ Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” ~ Exodus 3:10-12

The LORD came down to Moses to speak with him. God audibly called Moses. He spoke with him directly. He even promised to go with him, but Moses still could only ask, ‘Who am I?’ All he could see was a nobody. Sometimes we get so disillusioned with our good deeds, working in the nursery, the youth, ushering, or whatever ministry you are involved in. We get disillusioned with praying; God’s not answering my prayer anyway, so what is the use. I’m just little ole insignificant me. What can I really do?

Or we get so comfortable in our little comfort zones we become spiritually lazy. We are content with coming to church…almost every Sunday and warming a pew. Moses’ attitude was like, “LORD, I know that I’m in a dry and desolate land, I know that I’m on the far side of the desert, I know that I’m on Mt. Horeb…but I’m comfortable LORD.  I have these sheep to tend, they need me, and it’s my job to take care of them. Could you please send someone else?”

Maybe Moses was remembering the Egyptian he had killed and how the Israelites rejected him, and he did not intend to replay that scene again. Don’t let your past circumstances dictate your future. Don’t let your perceived lack of education stop you. Don’t let perceived lack of finances stop you. Don’t let intimidation be a stumbling block to you. Don’t let people talk you out of your blessings.

God can use anyone. He designed you for a specific purpose. He created you to fulfill a specific call. Moses was called by God Himself, yet he allowed his own fears to stop him from fulfilling all that God had in store for him. Don’t let your past control your future.

LORD God, please help us to overcome our fears of what we can’t do. Help us to overcome any obstacle that may come our way. Show us who we are in you, not who we were before you. Be with us and guide us so that we can fulfill everything that you have planned for us.

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¹⁹ Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, ~ Acts 3:19

When we sin, it’s as if we are killing ourselves over and over again. Sin is the road that leads to death. It doesn’t matter if your sins seem to be ‘less sinful’ than someone else’s sin; both of your sins lead to death. Both of your sins take you to the same place. But no matter what you’ve done. No matter how far you’ve strayed, forgiveness is still an option for you.

Jesus came to save all of mankind. He paid our debt because He knew we would never be able to pay our own debt, so He took our place. When we repent, we are accepting His free gift of Salvation. Because of His great love for us and His great mercy and grace, He blots out our sins. He washes us clean. He molds us into a new creation. After we have accepted His salvation, our sins no longer have any hold on us.

We can become whoever we want, and we can achieve whatever we want. Salvation not only frees us from our past but it also gives us a future. So, never give up on your dreams because who you were yesterday isn’t who you are today. You can overcome any obstacle in your way because Jesus has already overcome the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Turn Back.

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¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 3:13-14^ESV

I believe it would be fair to say that we are not where we want to be, neither have we achieved all that we’ve planned. The goals we set for ourselves (plans to move our careers forward, ideas to promote and market our businesses) can sometimes feel daunting; set back by no’s, not now’s, and not interested.

But forgetting those things that are behind you can make your ways seem clear. When we let go of the past, we can move forward because they are in the past, they’re over with, they’re done with, they’re over. The past has no hold on us; we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Now we grab hold of today, and we press on, always moving forward toward the goals we have set for our success.

Heavenly Father, help us to move forward from our past so that we can pursue our call. The call you have given us. Oh, LORD, help us to remember that we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Please show us the future you have planned for us that we may not stray from the path you have paved out just for us. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

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⁹ For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time—to show us His grace through Christ Jesus. ~ 2 Timothy 1:9

From before we even sinned, God planned a way for us to be saved. Before we were even born, before time was even created, God knew mankind would sin. God knew exactly how we would sin and how we would save us from our sin. There is nothing you could do that could make you too unclean to forgive.

God is waiting for you to come home. He’s waiting for you to call upon His name. No matter how far you’ve strayed, salvation is always only one step away. All you have to do is repent. Jesus already paid your debt. He already took your penalty upon Himself. Jesus didn’t die to save the ‘righteous’ because there aren’t any righteous without Him. Jesus died to save the broken, the needy, the hopeless, the sinner. Jesus died for you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept His Plan.

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³ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. ~ Romans 5:3-5

When we go through tribulations and struggles, if we hold to God and trust in His name, we will come out on the other side stronger than ever. So, when we become stronger, we gain endurance. In other words, what once tripped us up won’t continue to trip us up. The more we overcome, the more we begin to transform into the perfect image of God. And when we transform, we are filled with hope that cannot be shaken, nor can it be taken away.

So, don’t be discouraged when trials and tribulations come because when you make it to the other side, you will be stronger. Never forget that when diamonds are only made under intense pressure, and that’s what we are becoming, perfect diamonds. So, don’t be discouraged, trust in God and He will strengthen you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Become A Diamond.

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¹⁹ Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ~ Genesis 2:19-20

I believe one of the biggest reasons why young people or people, in general, do not become Christians or associated as Christian in their businesses. Our Christian artists now only want to be known as regular artists, and a lot of the time, it’s because they do not want to lose their creativity or be placed in a box. We don’t want to own Christian businesses because we can’t mix God and our regular lives for the fear that will stop our growth.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, we have lost our creativity. We are satisfied with the mediocre and treat the things of God as common. But that is not how it was in the beginning. God planned for man to be a creative being, acting in the image of God the Creator.

Look at what the Scripture says, God brought every living thing to the man to be named with no help from God in the process. He not only had the capacity to name ALL the living creatures but also the capacity to remember their names. Wow! Talk about creative thinking. That’s your heritage; that is who you are. So go ahead, come out of your comfort zone. Do not let anyone tell you that you are not creative or that being associated with Christianity will somehow put you in a box. Being a Christian becoming more and more like God is exactly why creativity is in your DNA. It’s a part of your God-given image.

Heavenly Father, speak to and encourage those who do not even realize how creative they are. Open their eyes so that they can see the creative and smart being you have created them to be. Place a burning desire in the hearts of those who are creative to use their gifts to further Your kingdom. Give opportunities to those who are willing to step out in faith. Let them shine in Your light with the brilliance of the midday sun. LORD send a wave of creativity over Your people so that Your name may be glorified forever. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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⁶ The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, ⁷ “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.” ~ Exodus 5:6-9

If we read the previous chapter (chapter 4), we will find that “that same day” refers to the first day or the first encounter that Moses and Aaron had with Pharaoh. They had just had a town meeting with all the elders, and everyone was pumped about how concerned God was about them and their situation. Social Media was lighting up, and the whole internet came to a screeching halt as everyone chatted excitedly about leaving Egypt and slavery. I mean, these people had pure hope and joy excitedly surging through their veins. They probably even had detailed dreams in HD color – they were so hopeful and excited. But instead of Pharaoh saying, “Oh, my bad, I didn’t realize you needed worshiping God, please go quickly and do what you need to do.” He said, “No way! Get back to work! and by the way, let me help you with some of that free time you seem to be burdened with!”

So, instead of things getting better, things got extremely worse, and they gave up; they lost hope. And that is exactly what happens to us today. We think deliverance from our Spiritual Egypt should be quick and easy, and because it doesn’t work the way we think it should, or immediately, we give up and lose hope. But I am here today to encourage you that because conditions have gotten worse for you in Egypt does not mean the dream is over. If the LORD is your God and you have been groaning and crying out to Him, He has heard you. He will come to your rescue and deliver you and bring you into your Promise Land. So do not give in and do not give up. Keep the faith and do not lose heart; even if things get worse, God will deliver you.

Our Heavenly Father, You alone are God Almighty, and besides You, there is no other God. You care for us, and provide for us, and satisfy our mouths with good things, that our strength is renewed so we can soar on wings like eagles. Thank You, LORD. Now O LORD, please come down with great concern and see the plight of some of Your people. In Your great compassion, deliver them from their cruel bondage and bring them into a spacious land flowing with milk and honey. Bring lasting hope to Your people, I pray. Hope that can and will weather the storms that are sure to come before they reach the shores of their promise. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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