Encouragement

“Encouragement” is such a wonderful word. It is a word that by its definition wants to build up and not tear down. It looks for the good in a person even if it has to dig deeper mining for hidden potential. If I had to live marooned on a desert island I’d rather have a person with me who was overflowing with encouragement rather than someone rich or famous. So since I’m neither rich nor famous let me attempt to encourage all of you!

I know now where most of us fail when it comes to living a victorious Christian life. If I were a betting man I would put my money on the line that stated pride and selfishness as the root cause of most of our failures. When we trust in ourselves and our own abilities rather than relying on an all-powerful god we are doomed for a fall. 

God once stated that ultimate victory in life can only be found in Him. “It’s not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord!” God allows us to exercise our free-will by making choices through-out our lives; some good and some are not so good. It’s only until will begin to make godly choices, choices that align with His will that we truly become victorious in life.

The only life worth living is a life that is fully surrendered and available for God’s use. The only way to be completely available to God is to lose our self and fall at the foot of the cross. Until a man empties himself and allows God to fill him with His Spirit, he can’t be fully used by the Master.

For many believing Christians they know that they are in the middle of a great spiritual battle that rages on all around them just out of the physical realm. They feel the enemy’s influence and must choose to let it control them or not give it room to grow. Don’t go to bed after an argument with a loved one or in other words don’t let the sun go down on your anger.

Our enemy is battling for the souls of men and women especially those who have not yet put their trust, their faith into Jesus Christ. Satan hates God and as a result he hates us and wants to cause division in any manner possible. Our enemy wants to take as many unsuspecting souls with him to the place that was prepared for him and the fallen angels. It was a place so hideous that Jesus could only use a burning trash dump as a description.

Just imagine for a moment that you are an ordinary cup. Now you can fill yourself with anything the world has to offer you. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, lust, hate, envy and pride are just a few of the evils that you might choose to fill your cup with. So if your cup is full of these things how can an all-loving god pour into you His love or heal and protect you if your cup is already full of dirt?

I want to encourage all of you to evaluate yourselves to see what you have been filling your cup with? Take a deep look inside of your heart and see what your motivation is for living the way that you do. If God is right, and He is, it’s by only by being filled with His Spirit that we ultimately win the victory over death.

God says that our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. But He can’t live among the filth and debauchery our enemy wants to fill us with. He knows we are powerless without the Spirit living inside encouraging and empowering us to fight in this battle. Too many Christians are trying to fight this spiritual battle without ammunition and sometimes even forgetting to bring a weapon.

“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” The word of God is our weapon. Jesus used it constantly to fight His enemies. God’s word is living, sharper than a double edged sword able to divide the joints from the marrow or the soul from the spirit.

Don’t let the enemy take you out of the game only to sit alone on the sideline. Pull up on your boot straps, empty your cup of all unrighteousness and be filled with the Spirit of God! Walk with Him, talk to Him and let Him be your sustenance. Jesus said that man does not live on bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. It’s time to grow up into mature Christians, engaging our enemy on the playing field of life for the souls of real people who live all around us.