Words of Life - Encouragement

 Words of Life - Encouragement 

April 16, 2026

1 Thessalonians 5:11

11Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:13b-14

13 …Live in peace with one another. 14 We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

Encourage one another… wise counsel for trying times. The modern, social media, generation does not foster encouragement. A post is more likely to go viral if it tears someone down or exposes some deep dark secret. Love and encouragement are not as popular online. We are also finding out that social media fosters social isolation. Encouragement is an aspect of true community. Real human bonds, especially in a church or family, build one another up. 

Peace and patience also go a long way towards encouraging a brother. Impatience is another trait fostered by our online society. We are a society that wants instant gratification. We have fast food and 24x7 news that wants it all and wants it now! In the church it should be different.  Making disciples requires patience and encouraging the faint hearted. Building one another up is not an instant process. So take time today to encourage a brother and pray for one in need. Build up the community of believers with encouragement.

Words of Life- Hope

 Words of Life- Hope

April15, 2026

Hebrews 6:11-12

11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize thefull assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:17-20

17 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise theunchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

“It’s a hopeless situation.” “The doctors gave her no hope of survival.” Or you might hear people say, “it’s so dry. I hope it rains.” This is not what the Bible says. So what is Biblical hope?

According to the book of Hebrews, hope is an anchor of the soul. That is something a lot more concrete than “I hope it rains”. It an expectation that the promises of God are sure, reliable and trustworthy. It is an assurance that when Jesus “entered within the veil”, that is he entered the holy of holies, into the very presence of God, that He made a way for us to enter as well. In fact, our hope is anchored there, so that we have a firm connection to the presence of the Lord. It is not just a once a year event, like in the old temple, where the high priest entered to present the blood of the lamb on the mercy seat. This hope is an eternal expectation that we can dwell in the presence of the Lord and that He is with is at all times and in all places. The only thing more firm that our hope is our faith.

Hebrews 11:1

1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Our hope is in the promises of God, and our faith gives this hope assurance or substance. Watchman Nee says that he prefers the translation here as “faith is the substantiating of things hoped for”. Faith adds substance to hope, and gives us assurance that the things hoped for are not only going to come to pass, but are in fact already real, we just don’t see them yet. We get sidetracked by our logical mind when we doubt when we don’t see, but spiritual reality is not based on physical substance. Our hope and our faith are in things that are more real that what we perceive as reality. The God who created the whole world with His word, gives substance to our hope with a reality that is more real than our physical reality. I don’t know if that explains it very well, but it is true. As a scientist, trained in various aspects of physics, this was a hard thing for me to accept, but after following after the Lord lo these many years, I have come to understand that this is true. As the old hymn goes, “Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness”. That is a hope that will not disappoint and a faith that is a firm foundation.

So if you see difficulties in your world. If there are diseases and ailments that the doctors don’t fully understand, do not lose hope. Our God is greater than these things and He is able to do far more than we can think of imagine.

Hb 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,

Words of Life- Compassion

 Words of Life- Compassion

April 14, 2026

Colossians 3:12-17

12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

In studying words of life, this week, one particular word stuck out for me — “compassion”. Our guest speaker this Sunday, from India, also highlighted this word as applied to Jesus in Matthew 9:36:

Matthew 9:35-36

35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

36Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

I don’t know about you, but for me this is not a word, or concept, that comes naturally to me. To feel compassion for people, like Jesus does, required a change of heart. In my life, there had to be a great healing in my heart for me to feel compassion for others. And when the Holy Spirit touches your heart in this fashion, then it comes more easily to speak words of life to other people. Out of a heart of compassion, can flow kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, and love. I’m still working on these but it starts when you allow the Holy Spirit to touch your heart, to put on a heart of compassion. So be encouraged today. Receive the word of Christ and put on a heart of compassion.

Opposition

 Opposition

April 9, 2026

Luke 8:11-15

11 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. 12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart,so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

This week, we have been considering the word about being dedicated to the Lord. In the parable of the sower, Jesus teaches that opposition comes after the teaching of the Word. The devil is not happy to have us follow the Lord wholeheartedly, so will make every effort to dissuade and distract us. This can come as outright opposition or more subtlety as distractions and worries of life. What is there in you life that keeps you from following the Lord wholeheartedly? 

For those of us who are getting on in life, a common distraction is health. As our bodies slow down, we tend to worry. We get distracted by our aches and pains and forget that we still can serve the Lord. Perhaps we look to our doctors too much and stop trusting in the Lord to sustain and heal us. Or maybe we worry about the world situation instead of praying for our leaders. But whatever the devil brings across your path, know that the Lord has a plan and a purpose for your life and regardless of what difficulties may try to hinder you, it is you duty and privilege to serve the Lord. So hold fast and bear fruit with perseverance. One day the Lord will return, or we will go to be with Him, and all of our troubles will be over. But for today, decide who you will serve and do not get distracted. 

Rest

 Rest

April 8, 2026

Matthew 11:28-30

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take Myyoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

When you commit everything to the Lord, you can rest in the assurance that He has everything under control.That’s a lot easier said than done. When we look around us, we see all sorts of problems and turmoil. How can the Lord possibly be in charge when we see wars, destruction, death, disease and personal conflicts? Nevertheless, the Lord is in charge. He tells us directly that “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” It is an act of faith to rest in that assurance and trust in Him when all around you is in chaos. 

I’m really preaching to myself today, because we have had a lot happening here. Many prayer requests have come in for various problems that are happening all around us. Some have had relatives pass away. Others have had problems with children and some have had family members sick and even in the hospital. It is overwhelming to consider all the things that can go wrong, but our faith is not in what we see, but in what we know that the Lord can do. We pray and trust the Lord to do only what He can do. We are powerless to solve these problems on our own, but we know that He is able. That is where we find rest, in knowing, in really knowing and having assurance that the Lord has all of these things under control. So Lord, help us to look only to You and give us rest for our souls, for we are weary and heavy laden, but we give it all to you, for your burden is light.

Songs

 Songs

April 7, 2026

Colossians 3:16

16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

There is a song in the old Methodist Hymnal call “There’s a Song in the Air” that reminds me of the admonition in this verse to admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

Verse 1

There's a song in the air 

There's a star in the sky 

There's a mother's deep prayer 

And a baby's low cry 

And the star rains its fire 

While the beautiful sing 

For the manger of Bethlehem 

Cradles a King

Verse 4

We rejoice in the light 

And we echo the song 

That comes down thro' the night 

From the heavenly throng 

Ay we shout to the lovely 

Evangel they bring 

And we greet in His cradle 

Our Savior and King

When we rejoice with thankfulness in our hearts, there should be a song in the air. And also, when thee are troubles around, there should also be an encouraging hymn in our ears. This was one of my Mother’s favorite songs and I’m reminded of her in the phrase “There’s a mothers deep prayer, and a baby’s low cry”. I can imagine her singing this when I and my sisters were babies and had reason to cry. A mother’s love will somehow find a way to sing even when the baby’s are crying at night and it seems the dawn will never come. But hope is there and the song reminds us that the dawn will come and the light will shine and that Christ is the King and our troubles will one day be over.

So encourage yourself and one another with songs and hymns and spiritual songs, for Jesus is our savior and king and there is faith, hope and love; and singing will help us find it.

Thorns

 Thorns

April 8, 2026

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 - A Thorn in the Flesh

7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan totorment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

When it comes to dedicating our whole lives to the Lord, we have to consider both our strengths and our weaknesses. When young people are starting out to become disciples, they need to discover their gifts and talents to discern the type of work they need to do for the Lord. When we get older that is less of a concern, but our weaknesses become more apparent.When  we are young, we can usually get by with youthful enthusiasm and bluster, but as we age we lose some of that energy and have to rely on the Lord more, just out of necessity. 

Some of our thorns may also be exposed as we lose our emotional filters that keep us from saying everything that is on our minds. When we get to be a crotchety old man, it takes too much energy to restrain ourselves and we just say whatever comes to mind! Everyone has ‘that uncle” that you resist inviting to Thanksgiving dinner because you are afraid of what he might say. It is the true saints of God that become sweeter and more compassionate when they age. I remember my mother-in-law who gradually lost her mind to dementia, but never failed to be polite and concerned about other people as long as she was still able to talk.

So the question is, can you say, like Paul, that the power of Christ dwells in you? Is His power perfected in your weakness? Can we agree with Paul that we are content with our weaknesses? That is the acid test of our faith, that we can rely on the Lord more and more our weaknesses and infirmities are exposed. Growing old and continuing to walk in the Holy Spirit is not for the faint of heart! Most of us will never encounter the type of insults, distresses and persecutions that Paul experienced, but nevertheless, we need to be able to say that we are content with our weakness for when we are weak we are strong in the Lord.