Category: Encouragement For The Downcast

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” ~ Philippians 4:8

Paul is encouraging the Philippians to think about positive things as opposed to negative things. God is a God of possibilities. Therefore His people should always be positive. Don’t you feel drained whenever you are around people who are always negative? The very atmosphere around them feels negatively charged. We tend to gravitate towards more positive people. Why?

Because we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We are more than conquerors. We are mighty upon the earth because we are children of the Most High God. Let’s make an extra effort to be positive and to encourage each other no matter how bleak things may appear.

Heavenly Father, I pray for a mighty move of Your Spirit in the lives of Your children today. May they be a source of encouragement to those around them, in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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“And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.'” ~ Mark 16:6

He has risen! He is no longer in the grave! He is no longer dead! He has risen! He is alive! He is alive! Jesus rose 2000 years ago and we shall rise with Him when it’s all over.

The grave has no victory. Death has no sting. Jesus has overcome them both and took their keys. Jesus is alive and we are as well! For we have crucified our flesh and our spirit has been awakened. Be encouraged this morning, for our King was dead, but now He is alive! We do not serve a dead God, but the Living God!

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live!

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“¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’” ~ Revelation 1:17-18

Jesus was dead in the grave for three days and three nights, but the grave could not hold Him. Death could not stop Him. Jesus went down to the grave dead but came back alive and with the keys to Death and Hades. What does that mean? He bought us back. He redeemed us. When Jesus was dead in the grave for three days, and three nights, He wasn’t sleeping. He wasn’t resting. He wasn’t relaxing. He was getting back the freedom for all.

He was taking back the right sin had over us. The right to take our lives and keep us trapped in Hades dead, never receiving rest. But when Jesus died and went to Hades, He took back the rights to all of mankind, giving us the chance to receive Eternal Life. Jesus not only died for our sins to be forgiven but also so that sin wouldn’t have any kind of hold on us. Jesus died so that we could overcome sin. Jesus promised us that we would be able to overcome the world, through Him, because He overcame the world.

Jesus’ death wasn’t a failure as some may try to persuade us. Jesus’ death on the cross was our victory over the world, sin, the grave, Hell, and the enemy. So never feel like you can’t overcome something, Jesus already overcame it for you, you just have to ask for help and do it His way. Your way hasn’t seemed to work, has it? What’s the harm in trying it Jesus’ way, who has already overcome?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be The Overcomer.

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²⁸ And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹ He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ~ Matthew 14:28-31

A lot of us are like Peter. We have the faith to ask God. We even have the faith to step out and start it. But we don’t have the faith to continue. We don’t have the faith to finish it. We lack faith. Why? Why do we lack faith? Why do we allow the storms surrounding us to overwhelm us? Why do we allow the storms surrounding us to frighten us? To freeze us? To cause us to sink? Why do we allow this to happen? We know who we serve. We know we serve The God who commands the winds and waves to cease. We serve The God that spoke, and light was. The God who spoke the Earth and the Heavens into existence. We serve The God who raises the dead. Who heals the sick. The mute. The blind. The lame. Why do we doubt?

It’s because we know God, but we know Him through knowledge. We know Him with our head. We know He’s done these things. We know He can do these things. But we don’t believe He will do these things. We don’t know Him spiritually. We don’t have that faith. We have such small faith that it isn’t as big as a mustard seed. For if we had faith as big as a mustard seed, we could speak to the mountains and they would move. Nothing would stop us. But our faith is weak. We know God on a knowledge level, but what does it take to know God on a spiritual level? I guess it takes more than just stepping out of the boat, but we must continue walking. We must continue walking until we reach Him. But how? That’s easier said than done.

Since faith is an action word, it requires action. You can’t say you have faith and not act in faith. So, imagine every step forward towards Jesus, as doing as the LORD leads us. Whether it’s quitting your job. Starting a business. Starting a company. Joining a new company. If we step out in faith and continue to do so, our faith will grow. We will continue to walk closer to Jesus. So, continue to walk. Don’t look to the right or to the left, but continue to keep your eyes on Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Continue Walking.

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²⁶ When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, ²⁷ Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” ²⁸ They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, ²⁹ that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.” ³⁰ So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. ³¹ In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. ³² That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” ³³ He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. ³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, ³⁵ and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. ~ Genesis 26:26-35

Isaac began to prosper in the land to the point that Abimelech sent him away from him and his people. Then every well that he dug the people claimed as theirs. But he never let any of that get to him, he kept going. He pushed on. He never allowed them to steal his blessing. When Abimelech saw how blessed Isaac truly was, he became intimidated. He became fearful, so he went to him and asked to make a treaty between them.

Imagine if the church was like Isaac, never allowing people to hold us down. Never allowing people to take our joy. Never allowing our cheap, unfair, thieving boss to steal our blessing. Instead, we continue to work hard, we continue to do our best, to the point that our boss sees that we are blessed and give you that promotion you’ve been praying for. They give you that raise you’ve been praying for.

We can pray for these things all we want, but unless we refuse to let our surroundings dictate our lives and our attitudes, our prayers are just sitting there motionless under Heaven. They are just sitting there waiting for us to do our part.

Sometimes our part is more than just praying, it’s living out our prayers and not getting discouraged, not getting disgruntled and angry because we’re being treated unfairly. Isaac dug and dug and dug, and every well he dug they took from him, but he didn’t let that stop him. He didn’t let that discourage him, and neither should you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Continue Digging.

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“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” ~ Psalms 34:19_KJV

We will have difficulties, trials, and even some failures. But we don’t stay down, we pick our self up, dust our self off and keep on going because the LORD is our help, He will deliver us out of all troubles.  Once there was a young man testifying in church, he stood up and said, “Please pray for me I’ve only been saved a few weeks but I’ve fallen down so many times already that I’ve lost count.”

An elderly gentleman got up next and said, “Unlike this young man I’ve been saved for 70 years and have never been down.” Then he sat down.

After the meeting, the young man found the elderly gentleman and said, “Sir, I find it incredibly hard to believe you’ve been serving the LORD for 70 years and have never been down!”

“Oh,” replied the elderly gentleman, “I’ve never been down because I’m either up or getting up!”

The moral of the story is, if you get knocked down, don’t stay down, God is for you, He will deliver you out of the many afflictions and trials that life will toss your way.

Heavenly Father, please deliver those today who are hurting. Provide a job for the one who is job hunting, finances to the one who is in need. Give your peace to the troubled and wisdom to the distraught. LORD to the one who is hooked on drugs or alcohol rebuke that spirits of addiction and destruction that want to destroy them. Give sight to the spiritually blind and show them the way of righteousness. Let all things work together for Your glory and for their good, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.

“…O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.” ~ Isaiah 33:2

Do you need strength? Are you in distress? Cry out to Jesus.  Isaiah cried out to the LORD to be gracious and to be his strength.  The LORD longs to do the same thing for you that He wanted to do and did do for Isaiah.  Do not think you are alone, cry out to the LORD He will hear, He will answer and He will bring you comfort.

Our Father and our God, this is our humble prayer, the cry of our heart. For we are nothing without you, you O LORD is our everything. Would you meet our needs today? Would you let us know we are not alone in our struggle, but that you’re right there beside us every step of the way even when it doesn’t feel like you are there. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

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“The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior’” ~ Judges 6: 11-12

Unbelievably, Gideon was hiding from the enemy, scared that they would find him and take away his lunch (the wheat he threshing), but God called him a mighty warrior anyway. Why?  Because a warrior was who God saw and not a scared little man hiding from the enemy.  What are you facing today? Bullying at school?  Maybe an overbearing boss or fellow-employee? Maybe it’s physical or mental abuse at home.  Maybe it’s a medical report you just received.

Whatever the trial know this, God sees you as He has equipped you. You are a mighty warrior as the result, armed, ready and able to achieve mighty feats for God.  Don’t let circumstances or people make you hide from who God has created you to be.  Instead, speak to your circumstances and call those things that are not as if they are, in faith.  Go on, take on the world, you are destined to achieve great things you mighty warrior.

Heavenly Father, please help us to see our self as You see us. Help us to connect with who You have called us to be. Please remind us of whom we are in Christ Jesus: we are mighty warriors in an army that has never known defeat. Provide the resources, whatever they are, according to Your riches in heaven. In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.

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