The Encouragement Blog

Inmate Family Encouragement

Cover image for “The Power of the Tomb”

The Power of the Tomb

In an earlier blog post we wrote about The Power of the Cross. We detailed that God was a Holy God that cannot abide sin in any form. That being the case, we as sinful human beings were in a lot of trouble in the eternal destiny department. We were going to have to pay for our sins somehow if
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Aug 20 2015
Cover image for “Putting Lipstick on a Pig”

Putting Lipstick on a Pig

Lots of people give God the heave-ho when things in their lives don’t go according to plan. Prayers are sent upward to Jesus asking Him to bless the business, the kids and to watch over their flight when they take off from JFK. We recite a “wish list” for God to tend to as we clamor about thinking of new
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Aug 03 2015
Cover image for “Mick Jagger is right!”

Mick Jagger is right!

“You can’t always get what you want You can’t always get what you want But if you try sometimes you just might find You get what you need”  There is a story recorded in the Bible (Luke 5:18-25) of a paralyzed man being lowered through the roof of a house by four friends of the man, so that they could
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Jul 23 2015
Cover image for “Changing Trajectory”

Changing Trajectory

Webster defines trajectory as the path of a moving body through space; a taken course, a path.All of us are on a certain path or course, i.e., our trajectory. Some of us are on a paved, super highway, cruising along at 75 MPH. Others of us seem to be on an elliptical route, circling back to old friends, haunts, mistakes
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Jul 20 2015
Cover image for “Cosmic Justice”

Cosmic Justice

Artist Hieronymus Bosch, in his three-paneled painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights, c.1503-1504, depicts, in the second, main panel, the joy, lusts and delights that humans enjoy during a portion of their lives. The third panel of the triptych depicts a dark vision of the punishments of hell. Death and destruction follow the sins of man as humanity is forever
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Jul 13 2015
Cover image for “The Power of the Cross”

The Power of the Cross

So often we hear these words and fail to fully understand what “The Power of the Cross” really means. What does it mean and what important impact does it have for our lives. The discussion begins with the often-asked question, “Why did Jesus have to die?” We wonder why God just didn’t snap His fingers and take away the sin
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Jul 09 2015
Cover image for “Looking For Love…”

Looking For Love…

While on road trips between LA and Denver, I like to stop my truck in out of the way places and take a look around for evidence of life as it happens in the real world. On my last road trip, I pulled of I-70 at the Rulison (no services) exit to do just that. Why I pulled off there
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Jul 03 2015
Cover image for “The way to freedom…”

The way to freedom…

Yes, Jesus did very carefully and gently tell the women caught in adultery to simply “Go, and sin no more.” He did not want her to feel like scum as the crowd wanted but loved her at the same time of telling her to stop sinning. Confessing our shortcomings to an AA or Al-Anon sponsor should not be a humiliating
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Jun 16 2015
Cover image for “Great Sales People…”

Great Sales People…

When sales-professionals are successful there are many common threads. Three of the most important are a strong belief in their product, product knowledge and the ability to face down the fear of rejection. High producing sales people embody these three things and many others, but if they have these three, they are on the road to sales stardom. If we
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Jun 11 2015
Cover image for “Forgiving Ourselves”

Forgiving Ourselves

The late, Brennan Manning wrote this in an essay on Forgiveness in his book, Souvenirs of Solitude. “The proof par excellence of the Christian who has experienced God’s unbearable forgiveness and infinite patience is that he is able to be forgiving and patient with others.” This statement reflects what Jesus taught in the parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew
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Jun 08 2015