Category: Encouragement For The Downcast

² The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. ~ Isaiah 9:2

Isaiah described the people as those who have walked in darkness and dwelt in a land of deep darkness, because of spiritual, political, and now physical darkness. Zebulun and Naphtali were the two most northern territories and were steeped in idolatry and Baal worship for generations. At the time of Isaiah’s writing, these two territories had fallen to the Assyrian army and were now under the direct rule of a pagan king, Tiglath-Pileser III.

Assyria had just invaded Zebulun and Naphtali and had destroyed cities, killed or deported most of the Israelite inhabitants, and turned the region into empty, ruined provinces (2 Kings 15:29). Villages were burned, fields lay abandoned, survivors were marched away in chains — literal gloom, desolation, and night had fallen over the land. This region became known as Galilee of the Gentiles. A place despised by orthodox Jews, as Nathanael said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46), because Nazareth was a town in Lower Galilee.

Now here is the good news: being the first to fall, Zebulun and Naphtali, now known as Galilee, were the first to have the Christmas light of Jesus the Messiah shine on them. Capernaum in Galilee was the headquarters of Jesus’ ministry, Cana, also in Galilee, was the place of Jesus’ first miracle, and Jesus was known as the Nazarene, or Jesus of Nazareth.

A place spiritually cut off, devoid of hope, and emptied of any expectation was chosen to be the first to have the great light of hope shine down upon them. The Savior of the world had come and made His dwelling among them. That is the Christmas message—a message of hope.

The very place where the darkness fell first and deepest, God had already planned for the Light to rise first and brightest, and that is the heartbeat of Christmas. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. Jesus came for the lost, the forgotten, the contaminated, the unlovable, and the despised. A land of deep darkness, behold, a light has shone on us.

So this Christmas, lift up your eyes. The same Jesus who turned a nowhere town into the epicenter of eternity is still moving in hopeless places, still dawning on forgotten people, still choosing the last, the lost, and the least to be the first to see His light.

A land of deep darkness?

Behold — the Light has shone on us. His name is Jesus.

Father, thank You for letting Your light shine on us, though we are unworthy and despised by the world. Thank You for loving us and sending Your Son to die for us so that we might live. We thank You and give You praise, in Jesus’ Name, amen.

⁹ But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time He brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time He has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. ~ Isaiah 9:1

At the time of this writing, they, the Israelites, were still walking in darkness and much gloom hung over the region. Ahaz was king of Judah, and he had led the nation into deep idolatry. He made metal images for the Baals, burned incense in the Valley of Hinnom, and even offered his own son as a burnt sacrifice to Molech. He used sacred vessels from the house of God and cut them into pieces. He shut the doors of the temple so that regular worship ceased in Jerusalem and Judah, and he set up altars on every street corner along with high places in every city in Judah to offer sacrifices to false gods.

So yes, under Ahaz’s rule, Judah was a land of deep darkness and God had brought it into contempt, meaning He gave them over to the Babylonian army because of their idolatry, their unfaithfulness, and their constant straying from the things of God. They suffered much because of their unfaithfulness, and their stiff-neckedness.

But with God, there is always a silver lining behind every dark cloud. Even though the punishment might be severe, the promise is greater than the punishment. He will build back more abundant, will make stronger, and He will increase more prosperous. He is a God of more than enough. So, while the verdict was indeed severe for the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali God’s promise for the future was bright. He would not leave them in darkness, but a glory, His glory was coming. Jesus is that promised glory, the birth of the long awaited Messiah.

Sometimes we feel like we are living in a time of bad news, violence, and gloom. But a brighter day is coming. A time of refreshing is promised for God’s people. Just as Jesus came 2,000 years ago as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, so He will return riding on a cloud, at the sound of the last trump, and the dead in Christ will rise first and those of us who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet Him in the air, and there we will be with Him forever, and then there will be no more gloom, forever.

Thank You LORD Jesus for Your great and wonderful promises that we can believe and depend on. We look forward to Your return, even so, come LORD Jesus, amen.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV

[1] For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: [2] a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; [3] a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; [4] a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; [5] a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; [6] a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; [7] a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; [8] a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

For everything under the sun, there is a season. And it’s okay to be going through a rough season. A season of pain, sorrow, and heartache. One of confusion, anger, and rage. A season where God seemingly is a miss. That’s how you could characterize this season. Right now. A season where you cry out “where is God?” And “why is He not near?” It’s during these seasons of mourning and weeping that we have to do a little more to see the light shining in the darkness. Because no matter how dark the darkness may get or how hopeless the nights seem, one thing does not change, and that is the goodness of our God.

Today, we buried my last grandparent. Emotions were high. Tears were shed. Feelings were felt. There was even chaos at one point but still nevertheless, one thing was constant. One thing remained the same. One thing kept our peace. The goodness of God.

When it feels like the entire world is crashing in, remember, it is the goodness of God that holds us together. It keeps us from falling apart because it is His love that is the goodness of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Depend On The Goodness of God.

He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor. ~ Luke 4:18b–19

Jesus was anointed or commissioned by the Father to set us free and to declare the year of the LORD’s favor. This is indeed Good News. It’s exciting news. Let’s unpack this and see how Jesus fulfilled His mission.

Because this is really exciting.

Jesus got up and read from the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 61:1-2, but in the middle of verse 2, He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down.

We never go back to check what Jesus eliminated from verse 2. Let’s read it together. Jesus stopped reading here:

² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, (Isaiah 61:2)

Now here is the part, or the rest of verse 2 that Jesus did not read:

and the day of vengeance of or God; to comfort all who mourn;

Jesus stopped reading at “…proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.” He outright snubbed the part about the “day of vengeance” of our God. Isn’t that amazing? Exciting even? …If it’s not, it soon will be. What does that mean for us?

Let’s break it down and see what it means for us today. Jesus said that He was anointed “to proclaim” (Greek: kēruxai pronounced as kay-roo-kai), which means to announce or herald publicly, like a messenger delivering big news, and this is significantly big news.

It is the year or the time of the LORD’s favor An acceptable year to the LORD. It’s the season of the LORD’s unfathomable grace. It’s a time of divine acceptance or goodwill toward mankind.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Enjoy Your Goodwill. 

²⁷ … it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment ~ Hebrews 9:27b

The Egyptians used to bury their kings with gold and silver in holes that they could take it with them in the afterlife. In fact, they even mummified their cats and buried them with them in hopes that they’d be able to take their cats with them. In ancient Greece, they would put two coins on the eyes of the dead so that they could bribe Charon, the ferryman who delivered the dead across the river in Hades.

See, there was no hope in the ancient world, so they tried to bring their money with them. They tried to bribe and pay for eternity, but here’s the thing, you can’t take anything with you.

Nowhere does it speak of a purgatory in Scripture, and especially not one where you’re able to buy your way out. That renders Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross useless, and null and void, if we can now purchase it for money.

Once you die, that’s it. There’s no second chance. There’s no buying your way out. There’s no praying your way out. It is allotted once to die and then the judgment.

Therefore, prepare for eternity now. Don’t wait for you to feel the flames of eternity creep up to repent. Today is your opportunity to be saved, tomorrow is promised to no one. You can’t take your money with you. You can’t buy your way out. Only accepting Christ, picking up your cross, and following Him will get you to Heaven. He paved the way. He canceled the debt. He paid for you. So, the only way to be saved is through Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Hope To Buy.

⁵ Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. ~ Psalms 126:5^NIV

For 7 years I’ve cried and mourned the death of a very close loved one. Her heavenly birthday became a day of deep dark depression that would turn into a week-long. If not longer. But this year, I just feel different. The sadness of missing her is still there, but the heaviness isn’t.

I think I’ve allowed myself to actually mourn. To finally allow myself to let go of the pain. Pain is a really weird emotion because it often comes with a lie. The lie that if you don’t give into pain, then somehow you aren’t honoring their memory. If you keep moving forward in life, then you’re somehow acting as if they don’t matter. But that’s not true. Life is never supposed to solely revolve around those who have passed. Yes, we are to remember them. But life is for the living. It’s for us to do as much as we can while we can.

We’re all born to die. That’s the path of this life, but when we have Christ, it doesn’t end there. It doesn’t end with just death. To die is to gain, because we are united to our LORD, Savior, our God. We are also reunited to saved loved ones who have gone on to be with Christ before us.

Yes, mourning is necessary, but prolonged pain and suffering isn’t. It’s okay to move forward with your life. You’re not forgetting them. They wouldn’t want you frozen in time with them. They’d want you to live out your life following the plan God has for you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Keep Moving Forward.

[1] Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. [2] For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. [3] For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. [4] For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” [5] And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.” [6] Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, [7] again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” [8] For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. [9] So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, [10] for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. [11] Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. ~ Hebrews 4:1-11

The author of the book of Hebrews says that Joshua, though he led the people into the promised land, he never actually gave them their day of rest. See, when before they even fully entered the promised land they had to go to war with those in the promised land. Why? The people occupying the promised land at that time had corrupted the land. They were sacrificing their own innocent children to their demon gods. They were polluting the land with innocent blood and the LORD God said He had had enough of the senseless bloodshed. So, when Israel went into the land, they had to remove the wicked who were occupying that land and polluting it with their wickedness.

So, never did Joshua usher the people into a day of rest. They never had the pleasure of enjoying that promised day of rest, so what then? Is the promise forgotten? Is it too late? By no means. This day of rest will come for all who believe and follow Jesus the Messiah. That is what we are working to. The second coming of the Messiah when He will gather us to Himself and then at the very end of the age establish His throne on this earth and rule for 1000 years. That will be our day of rest. A time of peace when our God literally comes down to us and rules the earth from His throne.

So, how can we be sure that we will one day enjoy His promised rest? By working for Him today. We are to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. We are to build the Church by encouraging each other, helping each other grow, and winning souls for Christ. That is our work. We aren’t to keep Christ secret and tucked away in our hearts. He, the Light of Men, is to show through us every single day and lead others out of darkness and to Him.

So, this Labor Day, as you rest from your physical work on this earth, I want you to think about your spiritual work and that promised day of rest. I want you to truly think about and judge whether or not you are truly working for Christ. Are you building His Church? Are you winning souls? Are you discipling? Are you working?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Work To Rest.

[8] Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. [9] He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” [10] The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. [11] From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and [12] Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. ~ Genesis 10:8-12

Nimrod is often labeled or painted as an evil tyrannical dictator who forced the people of his time to build the Tower of Babel in rebellion against God. The Bible, however, gives us an entirely different man. In Genesis 11, it states that all the people came together and decided to build the Tower of Babel. Nowhere in Scripture does he say or even hint that Nimrod forced anyone to build the Tower of Babel. His one crime? The city was the beginning of his kingdom, which was never finished.

So, if it’s the beginning of his kingdom, that’s now his jurisdiction that he will be held responsible for. What I find interesting is that after their languages are confused and they disperse, Nimrod goes and builds cities in the land of Shinar and Asshur (Assyria). See, these lands are more filled with men and women who don’t speak the same language as Nimrod. God had just confused their languages and they now cannot communicate with each other.

Nimrod, however, is still used by God to be the great bridge, if you will, between the language barrier. See, Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the LORD. To be before the LORD is to be in His favor. To be His, just as Isaac was before the LORD. Now, Nimrod’s kingdom, was like a bridge across the land of Shinar and Asshur (Assyria).

See, even when the LORD punishes us, He doesn’t remain angry. He always creates a way to fix everything. See, God didn’t necessarily want us divided, but He wanted us to go throughout the earth He created for us in order to populate it and keep it. The earth was created for man and man for the earth. When we gathered in one spot attempting to break into heaven, that’s where the LORD drew the line, but He gave us a way to still communicate. We know this because Nimrod built up these important major cities of the ancient world in land that weren’t his.

Just because you mess up doesn’t mean God’s finished with you. If you have a willing heart, God will use you. We all have a past. But we all have a future as well. God knows the plans He has for you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Leave The Past For The Future.