Encouragement Archives | Council Fire

March 14, 2026

http://Gospel%20Freedom—“Cast%20it%20off”

March 14, 2026

Gospel Freedom—“Cast it off”

“And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.” Mark 10:49-50 (KJV) Life is unfair and hard at times. Unforeseen events, pain and tragedy seem to confront us. Events can prevent us from continual spiritual growth and happiness in our Christian life. Blind Bartimaeus begged daily in order to survive. During this time in history, such disabilities were often considered a death sentence. As a result, Bartimaeus was likely hopeless and […]

March 12, 2026

http://Lord,%20Use%20Me%20for%20Your%20Glory

March 12, 2026

Lord, Use Me for Your Glory

“Who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood.” 1 Peter 1:2 (NIV) When the Lord first called me to His work, I was so excited and ready to go about sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. But then things happened to destroy all that. I felt shame. There were people relying on me, but I had come up way short of everyone’s expectations— most of all Jesus, who gave up all things for me. I felt like […]

March 10, 2026

http://How%20Do%20You%20Take%20Your%20Coffee?

March 10, 2026

How Do You Take Your Coffee?

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NIV) I was thinking about the different ways we do things. For us coffee drinkers, we seem to have a wide variance in the way we like our coffee. The coffee chain I gravitate to has four sizes of coffee: S, M, L and XL . . . three kinds of coffee to choose […]

March 8, 2026

March 8, 2026

Seeing Myself

“You are the one who put me together inside my mother’s womb, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this, I have no doubt.” Psalm 139:13-14 (CEV) As a child I had difficulty in seeing value in my life. I looked at other people and compared myself to them. When I didn’t think I measured up (which usually happened), I would look down on myself, thinking I was less than them. That whole thought pattern followed me into my adult years. It took a long time before I realized […]

February 28, 2026

February 28, 2026

Every Promise

“The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made.” Psalm 145:13B (NIV) We need to be spending time in God’s Word every day, claiming all these promises. It’s a gold mine, and they are there for us to claim! Sometimes we tend to get discouraged and, for some reason, we choose to stay there. But if we get into the Word, it becomes hard to stay discouraged! I remember there was a time when I was so hurt and discouraged that I found it next to impossible to read and pray, until I realized […]

February 25, 2026

February 25, 2026

I Have a Father

“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as His own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’” Romans 8:15 (NLT) In 2010, the opportunity arose for me to visit Israel and, of course, I jumped on that chance. My two aunties and cousin and I were ready to visit a place we had only read about in God’s Word! We were waking up one beautiful morning at a hotel near the Dead Sea and decided to go for breakfast. Although we were able to visit many […]

February 24, 2026

February 24, 2026

Drive Safe!

“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.” Hebrews 12:1b-2 (NIV) I went for an eye exam the other day—my first time since 1994. I thought I should make sure that it was okay for me to drive without glasses. I guess it was, ’cuz I passed! It got me to thinking about the conditions and stipulations we have on our driver’s licenses. Ken Antone (of the Antone Indian Family singers) used to laugh about the “No […]

February 23, 2026

February 23, 2026

Patience and Perseverance

“We who are powerful need to be patient with the weakness of those who don’t have power, and not please ourselves.” Romans 15:1 (CEB) Moose hunting requires a hunter to be patient and to not be discouraged. It is about wind direction, body scent, camouflage, how to push a moose out of the bush and, most of all, have a careful aim. Moose are very large animals and have very thick hides, so you need to ensure that if you are going to harvest a moose, you need to make sure that your kill shot is very accurate. But the […]

February 22, 2026

http://When%20Forgiveness%20Seems%20Too%20Hard

February 22, 2026

When Forgiveness Seems Too Hard

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:25 (NKJV) She (we’ll call her Sarah) and her friend Maya have been close chums since elementary school. They were more like sisters than friends. Then Sarah finds out that Maya has ditched her for a new crowd. Sarah is hurt. Angry. And vows to spread nasty rumors about her “friend” to avenge the betrayal! Sarah’s inner voice—which is the way God sometimes speaks to us—tells her to open her Bible. Sarah searches the concordance […]