Let Encouragement Flow

As followers of Christ we have opportunity to help make a positive difference in the world. This is because our relationship with Jesus makes a difference in us. Following Christ and staying in close relationship with Him is not only wonderful and a blessing for us personally, but it reaches out past our individual lives and touches those around us. The Lord blesses us and in turn we have opportunity to bless others.

Matt 10:8 ... freely you have received, freely give…

In Ephesians we are instructed to speak the truth in love that we may all grow in Him because each joint (each person) is doing its part - the result is the growth of the Body in love.

Eph 4:15-17

15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

If we are encouraging and strengthening one another in Christ, the result will be a positive, powerful and healthy Body of Christ - one that will overflow with goodness and life and blessing that will touch the lives of those in the world.

God is so good, because as we are receiving and sharing His life it changes us for the better. Remember, He moves in us so that He can move through us. Let’s poise our hearts toward Him and let His life and love flow. As we do this we will see the Body of Christ come alive in the world and we will see people reached for Christ in a powerful way.

Most of the time in life it is the simple things, it is the small things that make the big differences. So don’t count out the power and the life changing impact there is in simple prayers and simple acts of love and encouragement. As we do this we will fulfill what Jesus prayed in John 17:20-21 – people will see love and unity in us, and they will come to Christ.

Beloved let us love one another, and let the love of Christ be manifest in each and every one of us.

Trusting in the Lord

Proverbs 3 is one of those sections of scripture that is good to keep coming back to. As we read this Proverb it has the effect to help remind us and ground us in the Lord.

Prov 3:5-6

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

To trust the Lord is vital, and without our dependence on Him we have nothing, and we are going nowhere fast.

In the OT (Hebrew) this word trust means to take refuge in, to put your confidence in, to be sure.

In the NT (Greek) this word means to have faith in, to believe, to trust.

Trusting in the Lord is active; it is something that we do. We rely on Him, we depend on Him, we put our hope in Him, we trust in Him. Simply put, as we trust in Him, we don’t have to depend on ourselves; rather we are depending on Him. The consequences of not trusting the Lord, not depending on Him, is that we get into trouble and sin. However, when we trust in Him, when we rely on Him, we are kept safe and life is so much better. Most times when we struggle with sin it is because we are trying to depend on ourselves and not on Jesus and the personal relationship we have with Him.

Prov 3:5 & 6 speaks right to this issue. It plainly says; trust in Him – not in yourself. It goes on to tell us to acknowledge Him, and this means to gain knowledge of Him, to know Him, especially as we look to Him (as we see).

As we look to the Lord and get to know Him better, we are able to see what He is about and we can simply follow Him. As we acknowledge Him (look to the Lord), the promise is that He will direct our paths – He will lay thinks out for us. This is pretty straight forward and simple; look to God, follow Him, and you will go the right way.

This same teaching came from Jesus. This is how He lived His life on the earth, He trusted in and depended on the Father and He looked to Him to follow Him and make sure He was on the right path.

John 5:19

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

Let’s thank God for the clarity and simplicity of the Word, and let us continue to look to Jesus, follow Jesus, and keep on the path that He has set before us.

One more nugget from Proverbs 3

Prov 3:13

Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding

It’s pretty easy to see that wisdom in the Proverbs is speaking of Jesus. We are instructed to seek wisdom, not our own ways and not the ways of those that would want to seduce us and lead us into sin.

A simple definition of sin is not trusting in Jesus, not depending on the Lord. If we hold fast our relationship with the Lord and walk through life depending on and trusting in Him – things go a lot better.

Prov 3:18 tells us one of the benefits of wisdom.

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who retain her.

Wow – wisdom is a tree of life.

In the beginning the Lord provided the tree of life for Adam and Eve, but as they got their eyes off of Him, and started relying on their own understanding as they were being tempted they fell into sin. The same happens to us every time when we look to our own reasoning and follow the voice of temptation.

Let us trust in Him, let us follow closely; and as we do He will lay out the path for us and we will find a tree of life.

God bless you all.