Pastor Stephen Dedman

Category: Encouragement

Remember The Lord

Encouragement

“And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8:18‬

It’s a disturbing thought that someone could actually forget about where God has brought them from. But we are just like the Israelites. We need to be reminded that we cannot live without the power of God. 

The Lord blesses us because He loves us. He extends an over abundance of grace and mercy even when we don’t deserve it. He shows favor and forgiveness when we haven’t earned it. 

The Lord does not operate on the same scale as humans. He does not do good things for us just because we do good things for Him. Neither does he withhold good things just because we have done bad things. 

God wants us to remember who He is even when we are in a season of dryness. When our life seems to appear that He has removed His blessings, He hasn’t. 

If life was always rainbows and roses we would not need God and we would forget the need for God. This is what the instructions where about when Moses was telling the Israelites to never forget that He is the One who supplies our every need and blessing. 

It is God who gives the abundance of everything. He should never be forgotten. God should never be viewed as a endless gift giver. He should be lifted up and honored at all times. We can never give back what He deserves. 

Have you considered all that God has done for you?  Have you shown thankfulness and gratitude towards God’s everlasting love?  His love will never end and His blessings prove it. 

If you think that God is not blessing you, you need to evaluate all that He has done for you and you will change your mind.

Pray

Lord, I need you every hour of the day. I depend on you for my next breath. Thank you for your endless love for me. 

He Gives Even When We Don’t Ask

Encouragement

He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”
‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭11‬

We all have something that God has done for us that we didn’t deserve. That is because God is so good. He does good things for us even when we don’t ask for them.

Jesus happened to walk by and see a man who was blind from birth. From birth this man was told he would never be like everyone else. He lived a life of no hope for a brighter and better future.

The disciples asked Jesus who sinned his parents or himself that he was born that way. Jesus replied and let them know and the man know that his blindness was for the glory of God. And instantly Jesus made a cure for blindness and gave him sight.

John chapter 9 is loaded with truths about Jesus and what Jesus can do. One of the great things about Jesus is he does things for us even when we don’t ask. The blind man never asked for his sight. He never asked for mercy. But Jesus did it anyways.

Is there anything that God has blessed you with and you didn’t even ask for it? God wants to bless us even when we don’t deserve it or ask for it. He does it so we will praise and honor Him.

People need to witness the mighty works of God in our personal lives. People need to see and hear how good God has been to us. Take a moment and think about how good God has been to you and give Him praise.

Pray

Lord, thank You for being so kind to me. Thank You for giving me what I don’t deserve. You know what I need even before I ask. You are a good, good Father.

Forgiveness

Encouragement

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:32‬ 

Is there someone you are having a difficult time forgiving? We’ve all had people that did something against us to makes us bitter. 

Maybe it was a false accusation or someone stole something from you. Maybe it’s your spouse, a family member, a co-worker, an ex-employer, or even yourself. We must come to the point of forgiving that person and that offense. 

We should know what the Bible says about forgiveness. But do we do it? The Bible says to forgive others just as Jesus has forgiven you. 

How many times have you asked for forgiveness and recommitted the very same sin? Over and over we sin against God but He is gracious to forgive us. 

The reason we must forgive others is to show the love of Christ that is living inside our hearts. When we don’t forgive we are storing up bitterness and anger which will eventually pour out like water. 

If you don’t forgive that certain person you will eventually become a miserable person. Just save yourself the time and energy and start practicing forgiveness. 

Sometimes forgiveness can be a difficult task. There are some very cruel people in our world that do cruel things. But here’s the thing… we cannot let someone else’s action dictate who we are or who we become. We cannot let a bad situation control our lives and make us live in agony. 

The power of forgiveness is beautiful. It releases the turmoil that has been living in your soul and gives you freedom to live in peace.

Pray

Lord, help me to understand true forgiveness and mercy. Help me to have a forgiving heart that shows others Your grace. Forgive me of my sins.