Author: njbc-editor

One way to encourage others is to send them a note, card, or letter. There is nothing better than getting kind words from a friend or loved one. When we open the bible that is just what we are receiving; a handwritten message from heaven, sometimes when we need it the most. Isaiah 55:12 tell us “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Try reading his word every day and receive your personal note of encouragement from our heavenly Father. May God bless you through His word today!

Do you make checklists for shopping, chores, packing, etc.? Do we prepare for our daily lives? Do we have everything we need? The truth is: because we know Christ, God has given us the perfect checklist – everything we will ever need to complete our daily walk with Him! Galatians 5:22-23 tells us: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” We need to have those things on our checklist, a checklist where He has already marked the boxes for us. With a checklist like His, how much more prepared could we be, amen?

Every day we are faced with some sort of temptation. When this happens we experience a battle between good and evil in our hearts and minds. We want to please God, but there is a strong urge to give in to our earthly desires to do what is wrong. When we encounter these temptations in our lives, we can pray for God to deliver us from this battle. We should acknowledge to Him that we are weak and feel like we are going to stumble. Our God is sufficient to give us the strength to resist evil and do good! 1 Corinthians 10:13 says “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” I am praying that He will sustain you in every temptation. God bless you today!

Most of us can quote the Lord’s Prayer; it is the example that Jesus gave to the disciples about how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13. The Lord’s Prayer has seven petitions and in scripture the number seven often symbolizes completion or perfection. It is a complete and perfect example of how to pray to our God. It begins with “Our Father, who art in Heaven” affirming that He is indeed, our celestial Father. It is followed by the seven petitions: It starts with “Hallowed be thy name,” which means that God is holy. 1 Samuel 2:2 says “There is none holy as the Lord: For there is none beside thee: Neither is there any rock like our God.” When we acknowledge that He is holy we are recognizing that He is to be praised above all other things. There are six more petitions in the Lord’s Prayer; I encourage you to read them in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (11:1-4). I hope you’ll remember His example as you pray; God bless you!

Each of us looks to the future when we will be with our King. We wait with hope, trusting in the word of God that promises us eternal life if we put our faith in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We wait expectantly for His return; some of us more expectantly than others, but all of us who believe are waiting for Him to split the skies with a trumpet and a shout. Psalm 130:5-6 says “I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.” I look forward to the day we all will be gathered at his feet, worshipping him forever!

Praise may be one of the highest, noblest, best, most satisfying things we can do with our day. All of us praise Him for the “big” things: recovery from illness, a new job, the birth of a healthy child, but consider the small things. As I sit at my table each morning I can see the beautiful blue sky He has created. I watch the different species of birds feasting on seeds and insects and the squirrels gathering acorns, each of them working side-by-side in perfect harmony with each other; even the rain is a blessing from Him. At night, I gaze at the majesty of the stars, each put in place by our creator! Psalm 9:1 says: “I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth (tell) all thy marvelous works.” What will you praise Him for today? There are thousands of things, and we can’t praise Him enough! May He fill your day with blessings!

Have you ever felt alone and discouraged? Imagine how Christ felt, alone and dying on the cross for us, and yet he persevered! Isn’t it fantastic that we have a savior that endured agony and defeated death – for us! Now we can be optimistic about our future. We have to remember that no matter how discouraged we get, our Jesus was not discouraged because He had us in mind. We have hope in Him! Romans 5:13 says: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” When you feel lost and discouraged, do like Jesus did – Persevere! May He richly bless you today!

Have you ever considered the word “honey?” It is used in so many ways in our lives! In songs: “Sweeter than Honey;” in food, “Honey Nut Cheerios;” in movies “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids;” and even pet names for our spouses, “Honey, I’m home.” Honey also has many health benefits, such as dialating arteries to increase blood flow! Did you know that honey was used 61 times in the bible? The land was flowing with milk and honey; honey was given as precious a gift, John the Baptist survived on honey in the wilderness, and honey was a symbol of good health in Samuel. Proverbs 24:13 says: “My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste.” The next time someone asks if you want honey with your tea you can use it as an introduction into the scriptures! God bless you!

Have you ever heard anyone ask “what’s in it for me?” Sadly, that is the attitude of some people. JFK once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” The same can be said for our walk with Jesus. We, as believers, need to realize that we are here to serve Him! He isn’t there to make our wishes come true, but to lead us in a life that glorifies Him. Colossians 3:23 says: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” Today, as you go about your tasks, ask Jesus what you can do for Him! May God bless you today!

Simply pray! These words can have two meanings.  When you are in a trial – you can simply pray for God to help, but when you are praying – pray simply because God already knows what you need, he doesn’t need long, fancy dialogs from us.  In Matthew 6:7 Jesus said “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Praying should not be hard, but simple: Romans 8:26 says “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered.” God knows our hearts; it is enough to simply pray “Dear God,” or “Heavenly Father” please help me! He already knows our innermost thoughts so we can “pray simply”  God bless you today and forever!