Encouraging Words Devotional

You Are More Precious Than Diamonds

In God’s eyes, are you more precious than diamonds? Could it be true? 

Think for a moment about diamonds. They are one of the most precious items in creation, rare, beautiful and highly prized. But they are nothing compared to how God values us--yes, we who trip and fall and fail more often than we care to admit.

Me and Miss California

One day my husband called me and said that Lisa needed a place to live for a few months.  “What do you think of inviting her to live with us?” Not one to wait long before making a decision, my husband stayed on the phone for my answer.

Online with God

I’ve been giving some thought to the fact that my brain never seems to turn off.  I’m always thinking.  If I try not to think, I’m only thinking that I’m not thinking! I wonder if God made our brains so that they never turn off so that we could truly “pray without ceasing,” as 1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us. Or at least center our thoughts on God throughout the day--not just at the beginning and end of each day.  If that is true, I realize a lot of my brain energy goes to non-essentials.  God made me with the potential to fellowship with Him at any time.  But do I take advantage of that ability?  Not as often as I could or should. 

Life At Its Best

In his book Senior Moments, Willard Spiegelman expressed a very pessimistic view on life: “We come into the world alone, with a cry,” he reminds us. Then he adds, “We exit alone, to confront the final eternal silence. The fun, all the pleasure and adventure, lies in between.”

Is Your Situation Hopeless?

If you feel that the situation you face is hopeless, you may fall into a pit of depression that can even lead to suicide. After all, you reason, if there is no hope of change, why continue living?

Is Prayer Enough?

Allie Pohlmeier Smith served for a period of time as a missionary in Kenya. After she returned to the U.S., violence broke out in that country that she had grown to love. As the atrocities mounted, her heart ached to help. Yet, all she could do was to pray. And pray she did. But she became haunted by that thought “All we can do is pray.”

Introvert or Extrovert?

I would have knots in the pit of my stomach when I was headed to an event where I’d be making conversation with people I had never met before. What if I couldn’t think of anything to talk about??

            I had sweaty palms when I was about to address a group and saw professionals sitting in the audience. I had a terrible fear my mind would go blank.

Need Peace?

Have you noticed that when you see something in your home day after day,  soon you fail to notice it? My husband experienced that when a brass plaque appeared on his desk next to his computer monitor. The message? A verse from Paul’s letter to the Colossians that reads: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts!” (3:15). 

God's Grace Giftwrapped

The man had a physical challenge—he was crippled and couldn’t walk. The only way he knew to get support was to beg at the temple gate in Jerusalem. One morning the lame man awakened to what seemed like any other day. But on this day his life was to be forever changed. When the apostles Peter and John came to the temple that morning, he asked them for money. What they gave him could never be bought. “I have no silver and gold,” Peter told him, “but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). The Bible says, “And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.”

Interruptions

Author Jill Briscoe asks, “Do you ever have days where you have all your time wonderfully organized and then you get nothing done as planned because of constant interruptions?”