Encouragement Archives | Page 3 of 8

March 30, 2026

March 30, 2026

Casting It All

“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV) I always liked this verse, but I never really understood it until I watched some fishermen casting their nets into the water. The men waited patiently for the right waves to come rolling in, then they would take their circular nets that had weights around the edge and, with all their strength, they would cast their nets out into the water. The word “cast” had a new meaning. They threw their nets into the waves, and they cast them away as far as they could. […]

March 27, 2026

March 27, 2026

Why Should I Be Afraid?

“And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” Luke 12:7 (NLT) As a child and teenager, I used to think that God was distant—that He created this world and left. My mom started going to a church in our community, and it was quite obvious that there was a change in her life. She shared with us that she had become a Christian. I didn’t understand what that meant, but I did see the change in her life. She wanted to know […]

March 26, 2026

Doors

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) I took the time the other day to count the doors at our place. It took about 30 seconds to figure out that there’s 12 of them. Kind of a mundane exercise, but it got me thinking about “closed and open doors” and how God uses both kinds in our lives. The “open doors” are the opportunity ones. They can be captivating, motivating and exciting or, on the […]

March 24, 2026

March 24, 2026

Many Ways to Steal

“People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold.” Proverbs 6:30-31a (NKJV) A supermarket manager rigs his scales to make customers’ purchases appear to weigh more in order to overcharge them. God calls this “an abomination.” Some otherwise honest folks boast about cheating on their taxes by inflating their tax deductions: “Hey, we’re only working-class bums. Billionaires pay no taxes, so I hear.” But what does Scripture say about paying taxes? When the temple tax collectors come to Jesus, He honors their request and […]

March 23, 2026

March 23, 2026

Keep Generating

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Ephesians 6:10 (KJV) A while back I was driving along during the evening. My headlights started dimming down, and the truck started to hesitate. We were still quite a way from home. The lights kept dimming down, and the truck would slow down. Every now and then we had to stop, and it seemed like the battery was draining. Finally, we got home, and I realized what had happened. The day before I was working on the truck alternator, changing the brushes. So, I checked […]

March 18, 2026

March 18, 2026

God Is Our Provider

“Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’ ‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered. ‘Bring them to me,’ he said.” Matthew 14:16-18a (NIV) We used to have Sunday school in our home back when we lived in Cormorant, MB. We had people from all ages attend. This one day, there were families from our community, and a lot of out-of-town families, too. We used to feed the people who would come from out of town, but this day everyone decided to stay. We knew how much […]

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 […]