Promise #2: God Made You Brave and Bold For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.–2 Timothy 1:7 My husband’s middle name, Bernard, means “brave (or hardy) bear” he is usually very brave but at times he will show signs of shyness. […]
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise—Galatians 4:28 There are approximately 8, 881 promises of God recorded in the Bible. Some are conditional, some are automatic. Some prophetic: yet to be fulfilled, and some are being revealed presently. Some hold the promise to prosper us in our life, […]
He leads me beside still waters—Psalm 23:2 Life on this earth will never be completely devoid of storms. Whether we experience them metaphorically or meteorologically; they will occur. Sometimes they are distant and do not impact us personally and at other times they are close and affect our environment, our […]
You hem me in, behind and before—Psalm 139:5 Think of the perfection of intuition our Lord has toward his beloved sheep. As the One who has created us, he knows us perfectly: inside and out. His intuition toward us is spot-on, flawless. Think of the perfection of a skilled shepherd […]
For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.—I Peter 2:25 It happens every day all over the world: a prodigal returns home. Rejected, dismayed, chewed up and spit out by the world. The same world they thought they could make […]
Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the […]
Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you—Hebrews 13:5 The magnitude of the Shepherd’s promise, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you,” must be repeated to us over and over again, must be revealed to us through a series of events: during storms—both literal and […]
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits—Matthew 7:15,16 We might think of the number of tragedies that might be avoided when the sheep become much better at discerning spirits, spotting false teachers and wanna-be […]
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me—Psalm 23:4 David did not write that the Shepherd abuses his sheep, but comforts them and brings them back in line, he does lovingly discipline them and the rod and staff are a means to do so. Even a good earthly parent knows […]
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.—John 10:14 Sometimes we will say “Oh, I know him, or I know her.” But we don’t really know that person. We may have heard of […]
Daily Encouragement for the Soul 