Encouragement and God’s Promises

Encouragement and God’s Promises

1 Chronicles 29:12 

Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

Psalms 89:20-21 

20 I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him.

21 My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.

Isaiah 41:10 

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Daily Thoughts

. Be slow to judge others and quick to judge yourself.

. Resolutions are easier to keep when you rely on God.

. If you’re impressed with yourself, take a closer look at God’s awesomeness.

. God’s strength is best seen in our weakness.

James 5:16  

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Thoughts on This Verse....

To confess our sins means we do two things with our sin: 1) we recognize sin for what it is in God's eyes and 2) we get rid of our secrets and are honest with another Christian about our weakness, vulnerabilities, failures, and sins. James' language is powerful. He mentions that this confession doesn't just bring forgiveness, it also brings healing.

Faith Quotes

Norman Vincent Peale – “Frequently remind yourself that God is with you, that He will never fail you, that you can count upon him.  Say these words, “God is with me, helping me.”

James E. Faust – “Believing requires action.”

Martin Luther - “Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things that we do not see.”

Robert Louis Stevenson – “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.”

Divine Prosperity

Psalms 112:3 

Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.

Psalms 115:4 

But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.

Psalms 122:9 

For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.

Psalms 128:2 

You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Psalms 128:5 

May the LORD bless you from Zion all the days of your life; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,

Isaiah 45:7 

I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.

Deuteronomy 8:18 

But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

Deuteronomy 28:11 

The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.

Deuteronomy 29:9 

Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do.

2 Chronicles 20:20 

Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”

3 John 1:2 

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

Cases of healing by Christ

Luke 6:17-19 

17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 

18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 

19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

Luke 7:21-23 

21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 

22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 

23 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”

Luke 9:11 

But the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

Luke 13:16 

Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

John 2:23 

Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.

John 20:30-31 

30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 

31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 21:25 

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

Benefits of the Fear of God

Riches, honor and life

Proverbs 22:4 

Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life.

Freedom from envy 

Proverbs 22:17 

Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach,

Prosperity

Ecclesiastes 8:12 

Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.

Isaiah 33:6 

He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.

Humility

Isaiah 2:10-21 

10 Go into the rocks, hide in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty!

11 The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

12 The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled),

13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan,

14 for all the towering mountains and all the high hills,

15 for every lofty tower and every fortified wall,

16 for every trading ship and every stately vessel.

17 The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,

18 and the idols will totally disappear.

19 Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.

20 In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship.

21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.