Encouragement For The Downcast Archives

April 25, 2021April 20, 2021

He Disciplines His Children

¹⁷But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin. ¹⁸For though He wounds, He also bandages. He strikes, but His hands also heal. ~ Job 5:17-18^NLT

When God disciplines us, it isn’t to destroy us. God corrects His children with love. He may take away, but He also gives. If God disciplines and corrects us, it’s out of love. God doesn’t just leave us in our sin; He corrects us. Then when we are corrected, He brings us back into His presence.

Jesus came that we may be perfected and made whole so that one day we may be brought before Him. Sometimes, our sickness causes us to need surgery. The surgery sometimes takes hours; it’s painful and uncomfortable when we wake up. We feel stiff and sore, but God gives us the medication we need to ease all of that. He gave us His very Spirit to dwell inside of us so that when we’re healed and we can help someone else who’s going through the very thing that we once did.

The only way for us to be children of God is for us to be disciplined. Sometimes it feels difficult, sometimes it feels frustrating, but if we take hold to His promises and put our trust in Him when we make it to the other side, we will be completely changed. We will be made new.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Disciplined.

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The Resurrected Peter

⁶And 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. ⁷But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.” ~ Mark 16:6-7

This is after Satan demanded to have Peter. Peter then denied Jesus three times and went out weeping. But Jesus didn’t leave Peter there in his sin; He called him by name through the angel. And what does Peter do? He comes running. He runs to Jesus. He doesn’t hesitate. He doesn’t stop to think it through. He doesn’t even walk. He runs to Him. Peter could see his second chance right around the corner.

This is us today. We’re each Peter. We’ve each been demanded for by the Devil, but we’ve also each been called back to God. But it’s up to us who’s call we decide to answer. When Peter heard, he didn’t hesitate he took off running to Jesus. And what did that get him? The chance to repent and be forgiven.

We have all denied Him, but we have all been called by name. And when we answer that call and run to our resurrected king, He resurrects us, just like He resurrected Peter.

LORD God, help us to not only hear Your call but to run towards You. Help us to heed every one of Your warnings and follow Your commands. Help us to watch and pray that we would not fall into temptation. In Jesus’ name, we pray amen.

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Enter Into His Places of Glory

¹¹And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹²But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, ~ Hebrews 10:11-12

Jesus came to earth for one purpose and one purpose only, to redeem ALL of mankind from their sins. He came to give the one and only sacrifice that could cleanse mankind of our sins and reconcile us to God. After His sacrifice, He was buried in a tomb, and a huge stone sealed Him in. But, on the third day, Jesus rose again.

We don’t serve a dead God. Our God is alive and well. His life wasn’t taken from Him. He freely gave it. It was His call to redeem us from our sins. No longer is even on this earth, but now He is physically seated at the right hand of God. And because He lives through us, and He is now our High Priest, we have been given the right to enter into the presence of Almighty God. We have now been redeemed, restored, and adopted as Children of God.

So be encouraged today; our Savior is alive and well. He goes before us. He clears the way for us to walk. Jesus has torn the curtain separating man and God. Because our Savior not only lives but is seated in Glory, we can now enter into those places of Glory. We are no longer separated from God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Enter Into His Places of Glory.

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We Have Been Redeemed

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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Don’t Let Anything Keep You From Your Call

“¹⁰Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹²He 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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Turn Back

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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Leave Them Behind You

¹³Brothers, 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, ¹⁴I 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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Use Your God-Given Gifts

⁷But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ~ Ephesians 4:7

Each of us was given grace in the form of the free gift of Salvation from Jesus Christ through faith, but we were each given spiritual gifts as well. Gifts of teaching, apostleship, prophets, evangelists, etc. In each of us is a spiritual gift given to us through the Holy Spirit. Our gifts can also be in music, sports, film, education, medicine, etc.

We don’t have to be a preacher in order to have a gift from God. Not all of us are pastors; if we were, we would all be one body part. If we are all one single body part, then we aren’t complete. God uses and utilizes every part of the body because each body part is important. And as each body part is important, each gift is important.

Peace. Go Forth and Use Your God-Given Gifts.

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Accept His Plan

⁹For 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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Diamond In The Rough

³Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and 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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