Encouragement For The Downcast Archives

October 7, 2020February 13, 2021

Come Home

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.’” ~ Luke 15:21-23

Jesus tells this story of the Prodigal Son, who took his whole inheritance and left home. He spent everything he had on riotous living and ended up in the pig pen. Have you ever been around a real pig pen? It stinks, it is full of muck and real nasty, and for a rich Jewish boy that was as low as you could get, there was nothing lower.

But the young man realized he still had a father, and though he probably wouldn’t be accepted as a son, he might be accepted as a servant. But after he explained to his father how unworthy he was, his father didn’t even acknowledge what he said but threw a big celebration at the return of his lost son. This is how our Heavenly Father feels about us. You’ve never gone too far or sunk too low for God to accept you. He will give you new clean robes and your rightful place as a child of God.

Father, thank you for the grace you have lavished on me, and for Your blood that was poured out for me. I know that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Give me strength to live for You each and every day.

In Jesus name, I pray, amen.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

You Shall Reap

“When He [Jesus] had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets'” ~ Luke 5:4-5

Jesus had just finished using Peter’s boat to preach to a huge crowd of people, and now it was time for payment. God never uses anybody or anybody’s things for free, anyone He uses will receive compensation. Peter and his men had worked hard all night and caught nothing. Besides that, they had just finished cleaning all their equipment, including those big bulky nets. He very well could have said, “You know, Jesus, we are tired, we’re hungry, we just want to go home to our families now, but next time for sure.”

Instead, Peter was obedient and did what seemed like a useless task. The reward was that they caught so many fish that the nets began to break, so they had to call for their partners to come and help. Then the two boats began to sink from the amount of fish they hauled in. What a payday! So never feel like the volunteer work you have done, the finances you have given, the help you have freely lent is all for naught because it’s not. Your labor is not in vain with the LORD, you will reap a harvest if you don’t give up.

Father, remember those who give of their time and effort. Those who give of their finances and their possessions, LORD let their payday come and come quickly. For Your Word says for us to cast our bread on the waters and in many days, it will return to us, press down, shaken together and running over, because we know we can never out-give You.

Thank You, Father, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Look To The Eastern Sky

“¹⁷Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

I heard a man once say that we need to stop preaching End Times messages. Enough with the rapture messages, because we are only taking away hope from our up and coming generation. Oh, how The Church has strayed… Paul said, “encourage one another with these words.” How can it be taking away hope if it is encouragement?

The message that we aren’t forgotten, that soon enough the Bridegroom will return for His bride, now that, that’s encouraging. We always get caught up with the things of this world. And why shouldn’t we? It was perfectly designed for us, but we messed it up. We continuously talk about how horrible the Earth is. How wicked humanity has gotten, yet the thought of being taken away to a better place for celebration and everlasting joy, is taking away hope. I don’t think so.

It’s not even that we will be with the LORD forever. Or that we will get a new perfect Earth. It’s that even though we ruined God’s masterpiece. Even though we destroyed ourselves and this beautiful Earth that He gave us, He didn’t just abandon us here to rot. He promised that He would be back. Jesus even went the extra mile and gave us clues on when this would take place. If it isn’t encouraging that the God of the entire universe would think us valuable enough to come back for us and save us from our own mistakes, then I don’t know what is.

At the end of the day, everyone will have their own feelings about this, but I do implore you, don’t get caught up in this world. Don’t get stuck seeking out the things of this world if it causes you to no longer desire His return. Because this, this is all temporary. This won’t last, but what He wants to give us, now that, that is worth putting up with this crazy, messed up world for. Jesus returning, now that is the most encouraging thing I can think of.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look To The Eastern Sky.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Choose To Be Happy

“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” ~ Psalm 118:24 KJV

The Psalmist is saying, “We WILL rejoice in this day that our LORD God has made,” not necessarily because we are happy or because everything is going our way, food is on the table, bills are paid, and all our enemies have called a truce and decided to support our endeavors. But because it is a gift from our God. Therefore, rejoicing is a choice, we choose to be happy or to let the enemy steal our joy.

Psychologists suggest that if we are angry on the inside, but smile on the outside and act happy, our equilibrium will soon match and we will become happy on the inside. Same is true with the opposite. If you’re happy on the inside but act angry and look angry on the outside, you will soon become angry on the inside as well. Being happy is a choice we can all make daily. So choose to be happy, choose to rejoice because of the gift of life and salvation that is freely offered to us all. Always see the glass as being half full instead of half empty.

Heavenly Father, make us an instrument of peace and encouragement, and a source of joy and comfort that others may see and hear and live and not die, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Be A Dreamer

“But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. ‘Here comes that dreamer!’ they said to each other. ‘Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.’” ~ Genesis 37:18-20

Joseph had two dreams that he told to his brothers. They didn’t appreciate the gesture at all. And so it is still today. When you excitedly tell others about your dreams and what God spoke into your life, they will not feel the same excitement as you do. They will find a way to discourage you and to successfully kill the dream. But God keeps watch over His Word to ensure it comes to pass.

Don’t lose hope, and don’t be discouraged no matter what people may say, for God is able to bring to pass everything He has said and everything He intends to happen, we just have to be patient and obedient.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You who watches over us and keeps us neither slumbers nor sleeps. Neither are You swayed by popular opinion, but rather, You use the simple to confound the wise, and the weak to overcome the strong. Thank you that Your Word will not return unto You void, but will accomplish everything You desire it to accomplish. In Jesus name, I pray, amen.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Join The Righteous

“¹⁰And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ ¹²But when he heard it, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’” ~ Matthew 9:10-13

When you feel like you’re not good enough to be saved, remember Jesus went to the least of those in His time. He didn’t go to the Pharisees and Sadducees, He went to the fishermen, the tax collectors, those who would be deemed insignificant. Jesus went to the lowest of the low, Samaritans.

Why did He go to these types of people? Well, verse 12-13 tells us why. Jesus didn’t come for the righteous, but for the unrighteous. Jesus said this because He knew that they looked down on the tax collectors and sinners because they saw themselves as righteous. He said this so that they could understand that Jesus came not just for them, but for all people. He came for the sinners.

We’re all sinners, Jews, Gentiles, addicts, alcoholics, murderers, adulterers, fornicators, thieves, everyone. Jesus came for all of us. No one is too sick for this doctor. Because this doctor is perfect. He makes no mistakes. He does the impossible. He does what is best for His patient. He will never do any of us harm. He will never turn us away because we can’t pay Him. Why? Because it’s already paid for in full, we need only accept His free gift.

Jesus is the Good Doctor. Jesus is our Savior. He loves us so much, that before we even commit tomorrow’s sins, He created a way for forgiveness. He created the plan of forgiveness before we fell into our sinful ways. Before we fell prey to addiction, lust, anger, murder, adultery, God created a way that we may still come to Him. A way that we may be saved so that we wouldn’t stay sick. So that we wouldn’t die in our own filth, but instead live, and live more abundantly.

Salvation isn’t for the righteous, but the unrighteous, that we may be made righteous through His Holy Spirit. We don’t have to continue empty, but God made a way that we can all be filled through the Son and by the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is accept that free gift of salvation by confessing our sins and declaring Jesus Christ as our God and Savior.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Join The Righteous.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Got off Again?

^“¹⁰He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. ¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; ¹²as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. ¹³As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” ~ Psalms 103:10-13

Our sins and our iniquities called for swift and just judgment, but praise the LORD for He indeed is good. He does not repay us as our sins deserve or deal with us as our iniquities demand. But in love, and with grace and compassion, wrapped up in a whole lot of patience does He forgive our rebellious ways, because of the blood of Jesus shed on the Cross. Every time we fail or get tripped up, God is not waiting with some big stick to give us a good whack with. But He is watching in hopes to see a true turning away from sin.

Just like we want to give our children good things, He wants to bless His children even more. Don’t be fooled by the religious spirit that tells us that God is like an old ogre just waiting to smite the next sinner. No, He sent His only begotten son to die on Calvary that we don’t have to suffer. Think about the cost of our salvation. How Jesus was beaten beyond recognition. How He suffered shame, and humiliation in our stead. How He hung on the Cross, enduring pain and more insults to buy our pardon. Now, does that sound like someone who hates us, or is trying to get us? No, it does not.

The problem is, we look at things from a temporal viewpoint, but God is seeing eternity and is working all things to the good for an eternal reward. Things that seem important to us now will not even matter in eternity. Remember no eye has seen, no hear has heard, neither can we imagine what God has in store for us in eternity. Let us not second guess God, but endure, and run the race marked out for us. Accept the bad with the good, the reward will be worth it all. Paul said these light afflictions cannot compare with what God had in store for us.

Father open our eyes to see the eternal and help us not to focus on the temporal. Help us not to get bogged down with things that are quickly passing. But rather, LORD, help us keep eternity in perspective that we might see Jesus when come to get Your children. In Jesus name, Amen.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Healing For All?

⁴⁹And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. ~ Luke 22:49-51

Is healing for Christians alone? Do you have to be saved to be healed? Do you have to have a personal relationship with Jesus to receive your healing? I believe that anyone can be healed as long as they have faith that they will be healed.

See Jesus saw this soldier who came to arrest him in order to lead him to his death. In order to have him brutally beaten and whipped, yet Jesus still touched his ear and healed him. I believe that healing is for anyone who’s heart is willing. For a willing heart is soft to the things of God and is impressionable for FAITH to find it’s way in.

See, sometimes salvation comes before the healing. But sometimes the healing comes before the salvation. Healing is for anyone who is willing to be healed. But just because you are healed does not mean you will be saved. See salvation will keep you from returning to that disease. Some will say that a disease isn’t a spirit that comes back. The only problem is that a disease is a spirit that comes back. Even science tells us that a disease and a virus need a host in order to survive.

There are spirits that cause diseases, that cause disabilities, that cause pain. How do we know, because Jesus casted out many evil spirits that caused men to be mute, blind, lame, etc. But what good is knowing this? The spirit will return to the house it once was in and if it finds it empty it will fill it again. And that healing is overpowered by that spirit because you are without salvation. Healing is for everyone who is willing to be healed. But healing will turn only to short relief if the house has been swept clean and left empty.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Receive Your Healing and Fill Your House.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Listen To The Rain

“²⁴And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.” ~ Genesis 7:24

Ever get tired of waiting for a promise to be fulfilled? Of course, you do. We all do. We all pray and pray and pray and wait for an answer that doesn’t seem to come. Imagine how Noah felt when the rain stopped, but the Earth was still completely flooded. There weren’t even mountains that could be seen, only water.

That’s how it is for some of us. God has destroyed everything around us that was evil, that was bringing us down, that was keeping us from Him, and we are currently seeing nothing. We look out expecting to see life and hope, but all we see is the water that took away everything.

Sometimes it feels like it will take forever for the floods to subside, but what we don’t understand is that under all that water is a new and better life. The life God intended for us. Sure some will take longer than others, but it will never come late. For God’s timing is perfect. His will for us is perfect. If we allow God to use us, He will destroy the evil in our lives and build us a new and better replacement for the old. But we have to have patience. We have to continue to try new things, Noah sent out a bird four times before he even considered taking off the covering of the ark to look.

Sometimes we have to focus on what God has for us right now, not outside of our ark. We have to wait for the rain to stop before we can send out a dove to make sure it’s safe to move on/forward. And if you listen really closely, God will tell you when to come out and go forward.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Listen To The Rain.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Rise Above

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” ~ Isaiah 43:2

It is plain that we will have trials, temptation, and hardships. We are not promised a rose garden with only sunshine and blue skies. No, there is also rain, weeding, sweating, and hard work. But the good news is, when we go through it, hard as it may seem, we will pass through, for our God is with us. He will not let our circumstances defeat us, or destroy us. He is there with us shielding us and protecting us.

Sometimes we feel like we are the Lone Ranger as we pass through the waters, and through the rivers, and through the fire, like no one is there, and there is no end in sight. But please notice that it said when we pass through, God does not intend for those situations to be perpetual, He does not intend for us to go through those situations alone. He intends for us to learn to grow and to draw closer to Him as we pass through.

Heavenly Father, please grant Your comfort and Your peace to those who are troubled today. Grant them peace where there is no peace. LORD, bring Your people safely through whatever troubles they may be facing today. Send Your hornet before them to clear their pathways, and may the confidence that You are their God and their protection, be a source of comfort to them today.

In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Category: Encouragement For The Downcast

Come Home

Similar Content

You Shall Reap

Similar Content

Look To The Eastern Sky

Similar Content

Choose To Be Happy

Similar Content

Be A Dreamer

Similar Content

Join The Righteous

Similar Content

Got off Again?

Similar Content

Healing For All?

Similar Content

Listen To The Rain

Similar Content

Rise Above

Similar Content