Category Archives: Daily Encouragement

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

One of the things that we have to glean from this passage is that the Kingdom of God will probably not be a socially sanitized place. Heaven will be filled with people that are considered undesirable on this earth. Jesus was making this point to religious leaders; for religious adherence creates blindness to the reality that we are all sinners in the eyes of God, and in need of a Savior.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Perseverance is steadfastly, patiently, holding fast to our faith in Christ through the life course God set for us. As our gaze is fixed on Jesus’ plan, we move forward at a pace that allows us to stay within Christ’s reach, sustaining us to our finish line. Even through our struggles that may cause us to hit the wall, His strength pushes us through tough times. Relying on God’s strength, we cast aside sins and keep running the race. That is the perseverance that will get us to the only finish line that really matters.

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Notice that peace comes from God, and not our mind. Peace is the response of God to those who seek Him, for God’s presence places all of our circumstances in a different perspective. Our minds are prone to project the worst that can happen, but a mind that is steadfast upon God is confronted with the fact that God is in control. Renewing our minds with this reality causes trust, and that trust opens our hearts to peace.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

 

The Magi add a fascinating twist to the Christmas story. They were ancient astrologers who were regarded as the wise men of their time. They were not Jewish and this is the only time that they are mentioned in the Scripture. Their appearance and departure is mysterious and full of imagination. Notice the two groups who knew of the Christ: poor shepherds and respected wise men. Jews and Gentiles. God wanted to make it clear that the gospel was meant for rich and poor alike. It was meant for the smart and the uneducated. In other words, the gospel has been sent to the entire world.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

We find a pattern with the Scriptures: Abraham was called out of his established place in his father’s household to become a nomad. Once he was outside known territory, God could use him. Moses was required to live in the desert for 40 years before he could lead the Jewish people out of Egypt. It seems that God loves to take mighty things and make them smaller in order to confound the world and its wisdom. Bethlehem was a border town with the Gentiles. It was considered unclean and totally out of touch with the rest of the Jewish realm. Yet it was Bethlehem that God chose to birth the Savior of mankind, Jesus Christ. Do you feel that God is whittling you down? Rejoice, he’s getting ready to use you in a great way! Do you see yourself on the margins and insignificant? Congratulations! You’re positioned to do great things for God. He has a record of taking weak and foolish things to confound the strong and wise.

Zechariah was speaking to his newly born son who would become John the Baptist. Notice what he prophetically speaks to John and ultimately to us: We come to the knowledge of salvation when we understand our sin and the need for forgiveness. We can talk of Jesus being our Savior, but do we realize that means we are not able to change ourselves and need to be rescued? The good news becomes good when we truly realize the state of our souls before God. The birth of John the Baptist reminds us that we are more flawed than we want to admit, but more loved than we could dream. This exposes our fallen nature while embracing the love of God. This empowers us with salvation.

Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place.

One of the things that will mark God’s dwelling place is joy. This is more than happiness. Joy is a sense of satisfaction that causes us to be overflowing with life. A joyful person is a satisfied person. That is one reason why God tells us not to try to get life from the things of the world, for joy only resides in Him. As the saying goes: happiness is based upon happenings, but joy is based upon Jesus.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Jesus is very clear on how to love one another: lay down your life for your friends. This goes beyond just verbal expressions. Notice how forcefully Jesus states this; He commands us to live sacrificial lives for each other. Take some time to see how you can obey this command today.

You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.

 

One of the judgments that Daniel gave to Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, was that he worshipped his possessions. Like Belshazzar, we need to be careful of what we praise. What thoughts dominate our mind the most? What we think of the most, or what we fear losing the most, is what we actually worship. Remembering that God holds our life in His hands helps us to place our attention on the things that really matter.

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

You don’t have to be a scholar to understand the Bible, for the Scripture is a portal that reveals itself to us. This is not to diminish the need for scholarship, but that is not where wisdom starts. It starts when we approach the Bible with faith that God will use His words to open our mind. When we do, God answers with amazing insight that can cause the simplicity of the gospel to confound the wisdom of this earth.