Promise for Today - Inciting

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works...
Hebrews 10:24 NKJV

I love using Bible apps to help dig deeper in God's Word. If we go to BibleGateway.com and search for a single Scripture, we have the option to see it in all English translations. We can see our Promise for Today Scripture at this link: (To see it in all English translations).

I wonder how often this verse has been misconstrued. Just reading it at face value seems very calm in today's vernacular, doesn't it? To consider one another, perhaps being thoughtful in how to stir it up a little to have us think about love and good works. No, that's not it at all.

"To consider" will translate to thoughtfully and attentively think of one another. To take into consideration their personalities. What motivates one person would not necessarily motivate another. So, if we're going to "consider one another", let's do it with continuous care, paying attention, thinking about each other, and helping. Some translations even read to provoke, rouse, or encourage one another to love and good works. Those are not passive.

And to stir up love and good works is also translated as sparking, or to stimulate and INCITE them to love and good works. Incite them?!? That's a whole 'nother side of stirring up. In many Bible translations, it reads "spur each other on". Think about what spurs are used for...

Prayer:

Father,
           In James 1:5, You instruct us to ask for wisdom, assuring us that You will generously give it to anyone who asks and You won't reproach us for asking. Give us a deeper understanding of Your Word so that we may apply it in Your wisdom to our lives and to those around us. Incite us to love and do good works, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Still Called Today

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 3:12-13 NASB

There are times in life when day after day, it seems like we just can't get away from the ugly side of life. That seems to come in seasons, and lately, it seems to be a long season - one of disaster, disappointment, destruction, and death, no matter where you are. Sometimes it happens subtly - in the day-to-day of life. Other times, it happens overwhelmingly, day after day, with no relief in sight. It's in those times - in the day after day of it that the number one question I hear is, "Where is God in all this?"

Satan would like nothing better than to convince you that God isn't there for you, that He wasn't there for you, that He won't be there for you. How do we deal with that?

If we try to fight those lies on our own, more than likely, we'll end up in some deception. The Truth is that bad things are going to happen in life. Jesus warned us that they would. John 16:33, NASB These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  So, we need to come together and encourage each other day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” Because the Word of God also promises that He will take what satan meant for bad and turn it around for our good. 

Dear Ones, there IS good. Look for it. Remember, we find what we are looking for - good or bad. Let's shine the light of Truth, share the Light of His Truth, help each other, and encourage one another, while it's still called today.

Prayer:

Father,
           Keep us ever mindful of the Light of the World. Help us to properly hold the Light so others may see You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Singing Your Way Out

My friend, David Jackson, wrote the following and I want to share it with you. He is one of the Godliest, most humble men I know.

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“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.” Psalm 57.7

[King] David begins this Psalm by crying out for God’s mercy and seeking refuge under the shadow of His wings “until these calamities have passed by” (v 1). Even a brief reading of the Psalms reveals how often David was discouraged by the calamities incurred from those who opposed him. His chief discouragement wasn’t so much the political opposition of those nations seeking to overthrow Israel as it was the friends, family and fellow countrymen that misunderstood and betrayed him. This noticeably frequent calamity is expressed in Psalm 55.12-14: “For it is not an enemy who taunts me – then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me – then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.” Beyond the betrayal of close friends, David experienced the much deeper pain of family betrayal when his son Absalom attempted to overthrow his own father with a political coup (2 Samuel 15-18). The overwhelming grief of this situation was multiplied beyond measure when Absalom met with the promised Scriptural demise of those who so dishonor their parents (Proverbs 30.17). David’s grief was captured in a tearful lament: “O my son Absalom – my son, my son Absalom – if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18.33).

David was deeply acquainted with heart-rending discouragement. But he had a secret for repairing a ravaged heart: singing! In his deepest despair, while experiencing his most piercing pain, David’s heart was steadfastly committed to praising God through song. In the same way Paul and Silas, with scourged backs and chained limbs, took refuge under the shadow of Jesus’ wing and sang their way out of a Roman prison cell, so David would heave his broken heart into the heavens on the wings of musical notes and passionate lyrics to be gently caught and cradled by the One Whose love and encouragement he desired most. “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73.25-26). In those moments when David felt most forsaken, he found that God was his refuge and strength, a very personal, very present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46.1). The catastrophic calamities that often characterized his life served to focus him on the one true thing a man after God’s own heart really craves: communion with God. “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” (Psalm 27.4-5).

David’s secret is ours to share. Keep your hymn book handy. Beginning with your daily morning devotional, which is non-negotiable, “come before His presence with singing” (Psalm 100.2) and continually enter His gates with songs of thanksgiving and praise all day long, especially when the calamities are most crushing and your heart is most discouraged. Do your homework ahead of time and find those Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual songs that are a worthy offering of truth and beauty and that best capture your heart’s desires and prayers. Have them close at hand, ready to pull out at a moment’s notice and, as best you can under the circumstances, resort to a quiet place where you can sing and make melody in your heart to the One who will never leave nor forsake you – the One who loves you more than friends, family or compatriots – the One whose encouragement will sustain you when all others forsake you. Let David’s steadfast heart resolution be yours: “I will sing and give praise.” There in that holy place, your heart can find healing and the hope to carry on.

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Prayer:

Father,

          Thank You for the people You put in our path to encourage us and point us toward You. Thank You for every song You have inspired in mankind to lift our hearts in praise to You. Thank You that we only have to make a joyful noise to come into Your presence. We have so much to praise and thank You for! Bless my friend, David, and his wife. and their children. and all their generations till You call us home. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Being Timothy

We sent him [Timothy] to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith, and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles. Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come—and they did, as you well know. That is why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong.
1st Thessalonians 3:2b-5a

If you're on the upside of the dirt, there will be trouble. How do we handle it? Do we choose to ask God's direction or just ask Him "Why?" After all, He knew it was going to happen. He's God, isn't He? Why didn't He stop it?

How do we handle that?

Do we endure?  Become one with it, take it on? Identify ourselves with it? What IS our identity? Really...do we want to be defined by our troubles?

Do we run? Escape? Avoid it at all costs? We miss the lesson if we move away from it.

Do we enlist it? Make it work for us? James 1:2 reads, Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. Gee, I don't think I've met anyone who has said at the onset, "Oh, I'm so excited! All these troubles are gonna bring me GREAT joy!"

We've been talking about faith and control. They have nothing to do with each other, by the way. Faith is a relinquishing of control, based on trusting God. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. Without relinquishing control of our lives TO Him, based on our trust IN Him, it's impossible to please God. Kinda lends a new meaning to, With God, all things are possible...

Is our trust linked to our perception of what He's done for us or will do? Do we trust Him just because He is who He is - God - and for no other reason? Do we know Him? It's one thing to say we know Him, it's another to see what our actions are when we don't get our own way, or if we need to sacrifice something we want.

You see, faith is an action word. Here comes trouble - what action will you take?

Prayer:

Father,
         Forgive us for thinking of You only as our benevolent overseer. Help us to see You for who You are and what You are, no matter the circumstances. We place our trust in You. Help us to be a Timothy to those around us who may need to be encouraged. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

One of my favorites...

It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.
Matthew 12:34b-37 The Message

You know it's easier to clean when you don't drop stuff all over the place. You might be thinking to yourself, 'What does that have to do with our text for today?' Well, lots actually, depending on who you are.

Have you ever been flippant with someone in spite of the fact that you knew you should have kept your mouth shut? I hate it when that happens! No sooner than the words leave our mouth and in our mind we can almost hear the imaginary PA system blaring, "Clean up in Aisle 6. Bring the bucket." 

Tonight, as I sat here reflecting on the day, I got a mental picture of all my words in a day being gathered in a huge bowl and offered up to the Lord. What will be His reaction? Will He breathe deeply of the beautiful essence of love and care, encouragement and edification, hope and life contained in my spoken words? Or will He gag and hold His nose, turning away from the stench of hurt and hate, discouragement and insult, despair and death?

Words are powerful; take them seriously.

Prayer:

Father,
         According to Your Word in Psalm 19:14, May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Stay with God

O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!
Psalm 61:1-4 NLT

Encouraging the Discouraged - sometimes, we don't have the words to say, but we can always find what we need in His Word.

Psalm 27 from the Message Bible
 ¹ Light, space, zest— that's God!
   So, with him on my side I'm fearless,
      afraid of no one and nothing.

 ² When vandal hordes ride down
      ready to eat me alive,
   Those bullies and toughs
      fall flat on their faces.

 ³ When besieged,
      I'm calm as a baby.
   When all hell breaks loose,
      I'm collected and cool.

 ⁴ I'm asking God for one thing,
      only one thing:
   To live with him in his house
      my whole life long.
   I'll contemplate his beauty;
      I'll study at his feet.

 ⁵ That's the only quiet, secure place
      in a noisy world,
   The perfect getaway,
      far from the buzz of traffic.

 ⁶ God holds me head and shoulders
      above all who try to pull me down.
   I'm headed for his place to offer anthems
      that will raise the roof!
   Already I'm singing God-songs;
      I'm making music to God.

 ^7-9 Listen, God, I'm calling at the top of my lungs:
      "Be good to me! Answer me!"
   When my heart whispered, "Seek God,"
      my whole being replied,
   "I'm seeking him!"
      Don't hide from me now!

 ^9-10 You've always been right there for me;
      don't turn your back on me now.
   Don't throw me out, don't abandon me;
      you've always kept the door open.
   My father and mother walked out and left me,
      but God took me in.

 ^11-12 Point me down your highway, God;
      direct me along a well-lighted street;
      show my enemies whose side you're on.
   Don't throw me to the dogs,
      those liars who are out to get me,
      filling the air with their threats.

 ^13-14 I'm sure now I'll see God's goodness
      in the exuberant earth.
   Stay with God!
      Take heart. Don't quit.
   I'll say it again:
      Stay with God.

Prayer:

Father,
          You've always been right there for us; don't turn Your back on us now. Don't throw us out, don't abandon us; You've always kept the door open. Point us down Your highway, O God; direct us along a well-lighted street... In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* To Encourage

 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.
Hebrews 3:12-14 NIV

I want to go on record declaring that I am a believer and follower of Jesus Christ and His gospel. I have a strong faith. I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the standard by which we are to live. I believe that we will live eternally somewhere and that both heaven and hell are real. 

So, I have hope in the Lord. It's hope - not born of desperation, but rather of relationship, knowing in Whom I have believed and having been witness to His mighty works and amazing grace. I truly believe that God is good even when I don't understand the dark times. Let the believers say "Amen!"

My brother died a year ago. It's been a hard year. I am doing better now than I was 6 months ago, but deep in my heart, I am sad beyond words. I feel as though a part of me has died, too, and in a way, it has. Following his death, a part of my heart seems to have gone dormant. But that's okay; it's just a season. Please know that I am not writing this for your sympathy. I am writing to reiterate these truths. Do not confuse my grief with lack of faith. Do not interpret my tears as signs of unbelief.  Here's what I know that I know. Jesus tells us in John 12:24 that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. There IS coming a time of rebirth.  I'm no farmer, but I understand many seeds = much harvest. 

My brother, Joe, was an encourager! He was the family cheerleader and story-teller and so funny! I miss him so much, but I will see him again. I know this because it's written in God's Word.

1st Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT, And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.  

May you be encouraged today.

Prayer:

Father,
          The heavens declare Your glory and I? I can only attempt to echo their praise. Thank You for Your grace and for salvation and for Your mercy, and help us to try to fathom the depth of Your great love...even in the dark times. May the many seeds bring about a great harvest, O God! In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* What Did You Say?

Watch your words and hold your tongue; you’ll save yourself a lot of grief.
Proverbs 21:23-24 The Message

How many times have you thought, "I wish I didn't say that..."? For me, it's too many times. And we can't un-say what's been said. We can't make them un-hear it, and the heart that was pierced because of something we said can certainly be healed, but it will be scarred.

The keynote speaker at a recent safety meeting emphasized the power of words. He'd gone on to a project as the safety rep and asked the project team how many safety incidents they thought they would have during the project. Their reply was - given the circumstances and conditions, they thought they would have quite a few. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. They did, indeed.

Then he chose tall men to volunteer for his next visual. He asked them to hold their arm straight out to the side at their shoulder height, and he told them he was going to press on it to try to make it go down and they were to resist. So he did a quick check, and sure enough, they all resisted. Then he instructed them to tell themselves three times, "I'm doing a lousy job," after which, he tested them again, and the arm came down somewhat. Then he put four people in front of them and instructed them each to say, "You are doing a lousy job!" When they finished saying that, the instructor pressed down on each of their arms, and they all failed, unable to resist.

By the same token, he then had the four say enthusiastically to the volunteers, "You are doing such a great job!" and each was able to fully resist the pressure on their arms. It was an eye-opening experience.

James 3:5a from The Message reads, A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! What are our words doing?

Prayer:

Father,
           To quote the plaque on my wall, "Please keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth." Let my words be used to edify, encourage and to lift up. I don't want my mouth to be a weapon of mass-destruction in league with the enemy of our souls. Give me the strength, the courage and the wisdom to guard my mouth. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen

An Encouraging Word +

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

Luke 22:31-32 NKJV

I am often surprised that we (myself included) allow ourselves to be deluded into believing that since we are Christians, nothing is supposed to touch us. That we can be shocked and confused when something less than wonderful comes our way… or when we fall down… Let me encourage you in the Word because we are to encourage one another while it is called Today.

Proverbs 24:16a - The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.

Job 5:19 - From six troubles He will deliver you, Even in seven evil will not touch you.

Selections from Psalm 37:

²⁴ Though they stumble, they will never fall,
      for the Lord holds them by the hand.

 ²⁵ Once I was young, and now I am old.
      Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned
      or their children begging for bread.

 ³² The wicked wait in ambush for the godly,
      looking for an excuse to kill them.
 ³³ But the Lord will not let the wicked succeed
      or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.

 ³⁴ Put your hope in the Lord.
      Travel steadily along his path.
   He will honor you by giving you the land.

 ³⁹ The Lord rescues the godly;
      he is their fortress in times of trouble.
 ⁴⁰ The Lord helps them,
      rescuing them from the wicked.
   He saves them,
      and they find shelter in him.

Jesus said, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.

Prayer:

Father,

          I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that they will be strong in the power of YOUR might – that they will lean on Your arms and not trust the strength of mere man. Let that same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and now resides in every follower of Christ RISE UP and cause us to be the overcomers You intend for us to be! You’ve done Your part – the shed Blood of the Lamb. Give us Your strength to do what You have planned for us to do. I pray for everyone reading this, whether on the Promise list or forwarded by a friend, for a renewing and a reviving of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Pour in, Father. We need more of You. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen