Encouraging Words Devotional

Does God Really Care About The Little Things?

Sometimes God does big things for us and sometimes He does little things.

Learn How To Spend Eternity In Heaven

Dave was dying—no doubt about it. His wife and daughters had been with him for several hours, talking to him and telling him how much they loved him. But Dave was not responding. So, when a pastor came to visit, they left Dave in his care long enough to grab a quick bite of lunch. He appeared to be sleeping. But when the Pastor gently touched him, Dave moved slightly, then said to the pastor, "I've got the keys to my new house."  He died peacefully within the hour.

How To Quiet Your Heart

One morning not too long ago, I started my day as usual with some time spent reading the Bible and talking to the Lord in prayer. But I was not at peace in my heart. It was one of those times when I felt agitated and pressured by all the work that needed to be done.

It Is Time To Seek Out God

In her book The Alabaster Box[i], Ione Denton tells of looking out the front window of their home and seeing her five-year-old son Eric straddling his bicycle, his hands together in earnest prayer, head bowed. Then off he went.  And, plunk, to the ground he fell.

 

[i] Ione Denton, The Alabaster Box (Self-published 2004), p. 25.

Start Letting God Heal Your Past

Rachel grew up in a terribly abusive home.  Beatings, and burnings, threats, slave labor, family members sending her to men for sexual favors to repay their gambling debts—Rachel endured all these and more.

Taking Care of One Another

Take a guess how many times the phrase "one another" appears in the Bible. You may be surprised to learn the answer is 448 times—at least, in the King James Version! Almost half of those, or 214 occurrences, are in the New Testament. For example, no less than 16 times in the New Testament we're told to "Love one another."

What Is The True Meaning Of Love?

“What does love mean?” A group of professionals posed that question to a cluster of four-to-eight-year-olds. The answers they got were more profound than anyone anticipated.

Can God Help In Troubled Times?

Pastor Jim Cymbala tells of the time when as a boy he was learning to swim at Coney Island.  He had been told to stay in the shallow water but the undertow began to carry him out deeper and deeper.  Salt water filled his nose, and he soon realized he was in serious trouble. Struggling to keep his head above water, he was gripped by panic. Then all at once he unexpectedly felt the arms of his dad underneath him, holding him up. He could relax in his father's arms, knowing he was safe.

Does God Really Love Me?

Do you ever have difficulty believing that God really, truly loves you? Perhaps you are so aware of your own imperfections that you think, "Why would He love me?  How could He?"

 

What Distracts You from Jesus?

The story is found in the Bible in Luke chapter 10:

 

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me."

But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:38-41 NLT).