Category: Encouragement For The Downcast

“⁸ Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. ⁹ But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’” ~ Nehemiah 1:8-9

God loves His people, no matter what they do. Because of that love, God holds them accountable for doing right and wrong. When they refuse to be faithful to Him, He removes Himself from their presence, by scattering them among the nations. We are His children whom He loves, yet He will do the same to us. If we do not obey His commands and stay faithful to Him, then we will no longer be covered by His love, but instead sent out among the ungodly.

Even though we choose to leave God, God always makes a way for us to return to Him. He says to turn around, and He will bring you back to your rightful place, His arms. You could be farther away than you think it is possible to be saved, done more than can be forgiven, but nothing is too hard for our God. He is great and greatly to be praised. He is God Almighty and nothing is too hard for Him. No matter how far you’ve strayed, He will come look for you and He will find you if you let Him.

So be encouraged today, for the LORD your God will bring you back from the ends of the Earth if you return to Him. He will pick you up out of any hole, clean you up, and carry you home. You don’t have to do that yourself, you just have to allow God to do that for you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Return To God.

“¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” ~ Ephesians 2:10^NLT

Paul writes to the Ephesians that we are God’s masterpiece. How amazing is that? You are God’s masterpiece. Your old has been cast down and you were made new in Christ Jesus. He has made you new so that you can fulfill every good and perfect plan He has for you. God has blessed you with a new life, every wrong thing you’ve done has been erased, and you are a new creation. You can overcome any and every obstacle because you are a new creation in Christ Jesus. So be encouraged, because your past no longer holds you back. It no longer controls you. You are now a new creation. God’s masterpiece.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be New.

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“But the angel said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.’” ^~ Luke 1:13^NLT

Did you hear what the angel of the LORD said to Zachariah? He said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer.” That is extremely important. Why? Because, when we read that, we read it superficially, or in other words, we read it at face value. But there is more going on here. Look with me at verse 18. It says, “Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.’”

Did you catch that? It’s been years, probably decades since Zachariah last prayed that prayer. It’s been so long forgotten that he has given up, no, he has lost all hope, because his wife can no longer bear children. Therefore, God did not answer his prayer and now it’s too late; they’ve missed their opportunity. But God, our God is a good God and He never forgets. The prayers that have come up before Him are lasting prayers.

Look at Acts 10:4^NIV “…The angel answered, ‘Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.’” It wasn’t the prayer he was praying at that time, it was those he had prayed in the past, coupled with his giving.

Look also at Revelation 5:8^NIV, “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” Our prayers don’t just go up and eventually fizzle out just because we don’t see something happening when we say amen. Our prayers are ever before God and they will have their turn coming up as a memorial before Him. So, don’t ever think, or feel that your unanswered prayer is just that, an unanswered prayer. We are probably all still reaping the benefits of prayers that our parents, or grandparents, or even great grandparents prayed.

Be encouraged, your prayers have been heard by your heavenly Father, and if they have been heard, then they will be answered if we don’t lose heart. Be blessed and stay blessed.

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“And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’” ~ Luke 5:4

In part 1, we looked at how God rewards people for doing His will even if they don’t realize it, or even if it was something they would want to do naturally. In Part 2, let’s look at the obedience of someone who might not necessarily want to do God’s will, but does it out of obedience.

Jesus was preaching by the lake of Gennesaret on one occasion when the crowds became too big and started pressing in on Him. He spotted two empty boats and saw their owners washing their nets as they listened to the sermon. Their faces were probably tired and withdrawn from the disappointment of the night because they had caught no fish.

Jesus gets into Simon Peter’s boat and asks him to push off from the shore so He could finish up His message. After the benediction, Jesus wants to pay for the use of the boat. He isn’t carrying a money pouch with gold or silver coins in, so He does the next best thing, He gives them what he does have, a miracle. He instructs Peter to launch out into the deep and let down his nets for a catch.

This is a seasoned fisherman here. He was toiling all night and caught nothing. Now the tide has changed, and the fish have stopped biting. Besides, he had just finished washing and cleaning his nets. He knows there is no fish out there, and the thought of cleaning those nets again is overwhelming. Nonetheless, Peter responds, “And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word, I will let down the nets’” (Luke 5:5). Peter was a good Jewish boy, taught to be respectful to the Rabbi.

Though he did not want to do it, though he did not have a whole lot of faith in it, he did it anyway in obedience. The result? Well, let’s just say he didn’t just need to wash those nets because the catch was so huge the nets began to break. He had to signal for his partners to come and give him a hand with all the fish.

I’m telling you, God is no man’s debtor, He will pay for whatever He uses, including your time. So, “…stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58).

Our Heavenly Father, thank you for being a good, good Father. Thank you that You do not use us up and then disregard us. You not only take note, but you repay us according to what You’ve used, and then You will overpay us. Help us to be steadfast in good works. Look and see LORD, at what we do LORD and repay us according to Your heavenly standard.

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“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, plundering everything it has so he can pay his army. Yes, I have given him the land of Egypt as a reward for his work, says the Sovereign Lord, because he was working for me when he destroyed Tyre.” ~ Ezekiel 29:19-20 ^NLT

God uses people to accomplish His will on the earth. In the Scripture above, God used king Nebuchadnezzar to bring judgment on Tyre. God also used them to bring judgment on His people Judah. Even though the Babylonians were a conquering people, bent on expansion, they accomplished what God had in mind doing what they wanted to do anyway. So for their efforts, God said He was going to pay King Nebuchadnezzar for carrying out His plans.

If God will see to it that a murderous, heathen king is repaid for his work, how much more the child of God? That is why Paul could boldly and adamantly declare to the Corinthians, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58). So, keep on doing good, and the LORD will reward you for your work because He is no man’s debtor.

Heavenly Father, I ask You to help us not to become weary with doing what You have called us to do. But help us to be immovable and steadfast in work for You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

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“¹⁵ I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.” ~ Ezekiel 34:15

God, Himself, is our shepherd. When we run away, He comes looking for us. When we’re in danger, He protects us. There is nothing our Good Shepherd won’t do for us. So don’t be discouraged, your Heavenly Father will guide you in all things. All you have to do is to follow Him.

No disaster. No fear. No chaos or discouragement could ever separate you from your Shepherd. He will protect you, keep you, and hold you in times of trouble. So do not be afraid, nor be let your hearts be troubled for you shepherd is the God of all gods. The King of all kings. The LORD of all lords. The Creator of everything and everyone.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Follow Your Shepherd.

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“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” ~ Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT)

Paul’s writing to the Philippians telling them that he doesn’t focus on what he hasn’t achieved yet, but he focuses on the future. He doesn’t focus on his past failures, he focuses on what’s ahead of him. He moves forward with his eyes focused on the finish line.

We’ve all made mistakes. Failed. Messed up. And it sometimes becomes hard to move forward. We focus on what we don’t have. What we’ve failed at. What we can’t achieve. We spend so much time looking backward at our past that we lose sight of our future. Our goals. Our dreams. We allow our past to dictate our future. Take a moment and look forward. Look at your future. Yesterday may have been dark and rainy, but your tomorrow is bright and shiny.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look To Your Future.

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“Therefore, thus says the Lord: ‘If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them. And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the Lord. I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.’” ~ Jeremiah 15:19-21

The people lived in sin, and The LORD punished them, but He left them with a promise, if they returned to Him, He would forgive them and build them back up. We all stray. We all sin, but when we do, don’t turn your back on God. When you fall, look to God, and He will be there to pick you back up. No matter how far you’ve strayed. No matter how far you’ve run away, God is still waiting for You with opened arms. There’s nothing God cannot help you get out of, He promised He would pick you up, build you up stronger than before, and remove you from the hand of the wicked. Don’t be discouraged, call upon the Name of The LORD, and He will run to you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Call Upon His Name.

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