The Encouragement Blog

Easter has passed. The celebrations have ended, but what are the lessons of Easter and the Cross for us going forward? What does the Cross tell us about ourselves and about God?If we broke the law but received a summons in the mail from the NYPD, we might not consider our crime is not all that serious. If we found

Jesus and the Apostle Paul place a great deal of emphasis on being a “Son” of God and being called into “Sonship” with Christ (See Matthew 5:9; Luke 6:35; John 12:36; Romans 8:14 & 9: 26; Galatians 3:26 & 4: 4-6). For many women, these passages and references to the Son and Sonship irritate and sometimes cause women to turn

We are all bombarded with self-help programs; programs to treat violent anger, addiction, and other behavioral abnormalities. Sometimes our anger management classes bump into our 12-Step AA and NA schedules. If we are not in group therapy, we are in book clubs that discuss Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Most of these give good advice and counsel.

Many people around the world admire Jesus. They like Jesus because they feel He taught a moral and ethical philosophy that is in tune with their lifestyle and outlook on life. Jesus’ teachings of loving your neighbor as yourself, forgiving others and treating others, as you would like to be treated, resonates with people as wisdom and words to live

Going to a funeral isn’t high on any of our lists. Funerals mean we’ve lost someone we know and love. We experience pain and sorrow, along with tears and crying. Not a very good time, usually. Yet for us to get right with God, we’ve all got to attend what Oswald Chambers would call our own “white funeral”—the burial of

Most of us are familiar with Saul’s “Road to Damascus” experience where he met Jesus, fell from his horse, accepted Christ…and was blinded by the light. For three days after Saul’s encounter with Jesus, he sat around in a room, blind, probably wondering what was going to happen next. What happened next is that God sent a Christian brother named

Last month our virtue was Patience. Love – Passive… We labeled it the least favorite of all virtues since patience requires discipline, silence and is usually lacking of any recognition whatsoever. Being patient is tough and mastered only by the spiritually mature. This month our virtue is Kindness. Love – Active. Love and Patience are really two different sides of

The apostle Paul, before his conversion and name change was known as Saul. Saul was a very well educated man on the fast tract to the High Priesthood. Sort of like going to Harvard undergrad with a Stanford MBA. But Saul, as he persecuted the early Christian church squandered his talent and intellectual prowess for a reputation of violence and

When our identity/serenity and self-worth are based on the approval of someone else or on our performance, we have abandoned the acceptance of Jesus and the peace and serenity that that acceptance offers. When we are anxious about not doing the right thing for fear of loss of love, reprisal or dismissal, we have traded the true gold of God

On one hand, salvation is a simple matter. When we trust Jesus to take away our sins, we are made right in God’s sight. C. S. Lewis said, “The central Christian belief is that Christ’s death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start.” On the other hand, salvation is a serious matter—it cost Christ