Tag Archives: encouragement

I Have Overcome the World – John 16:33

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John 16:33 – (KJV)

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

John 16 -(KJV)

16 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?

6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;

10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?

18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.

19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?

20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.

26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:

27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.

29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.

30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.

31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?

32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Source:  King James Version, Public Domain:   http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/King-James-Version-KJV-Bible

Peace I Leave With You – John 14:27

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John 14:27 (KJV)

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth , give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled , neither let it be afraid.

John 14 (KJV)

1 Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God, believe also in me.

2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am , there ye may be also.

4 And whither I go ye know , and the way ye know.

5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest ; and how can we know the way?

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way , the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7 If ye had known me , ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father.

13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do , that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive , because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance , whatsoever I have said unto you.

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth , give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled , neither let it be afraid.

28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away , and come again unto you. If ye loved me , ye would rejoice , because I said , I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

29 And now I have told you before it come to pass , that, when it is come to pass , ye might believe.

30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh , and hath nothing in me.

31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment , even so I do . Arise , let us go hence.

The Lord is a Strong Tower – Prov 18:10

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Proverbs 18:10 (KJV) – The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Run to the Lord oh son or daughter of the most high God, run to him, he is your strong tower that cannot be breached, run to him in your time of trouble! 

Blessings, Kitty <^.^>

Proverbs 18 (KJV)

01 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.

02 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.

03 When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.

04 The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.

05 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

06 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.

07 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

08 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

09 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.

12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.

13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

15 The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.

16 A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.

17 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.

18 The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.

19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

20 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.

23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.

24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

“The Divine power, made known in and through our Lord Jesus Christ, forms a strong tower for the believer, who relies on the Lord. How deceitful the defence of the rich man, who has his portion and treasure in this world! It is a strong city and a high wall only in his own conceit; for it will fail when most in need. They will be exposed to the just wrath of that Judge whom they despised as a Saviour. (Pr 18:12)”

Source:  Proverbs 18:10-11 – Matthew Henry Commentary: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/Matthew-Henry/Prov/Proverbs-18-10-11

God is Our Refuge – Psalm 46:1

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Psalm 46:1 – God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46 – (KJV)

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted .

7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Is God your refuge during times of trouble? The person that has God the Father as his refuge has it all. I know during times of trouble in my life I know I’m not alone. I have a heavenly Father that cares even about the little things in my life and has tender mercy towards me and walks with me through those troubles. He doesn’t always take the troubles away but he does walk me through them. Thank you Father for your mercy!

Blessings, Kitty <^.^>

In My Distress I Cried Unto the Lord

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Psalm 120:1 (KJV) … In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me.

Psalm 120 (KJV)

1 In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me.

2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.

3 What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?

4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.

5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!

6 My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace.

7 I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.

I don’t remember how many times I’ve cried out to the Lord in anguish but I know I’ve done it many times. One time I remember crying out because of anguish and longing for the Lord’s return and a little while later I had a dream of the rapture and felt my body being pulled heavenward and then I woke up. It was a wonderful reminder that though we may have many trials on this earth, God has promised a new eternal life of peace and love to those who are his children.

Blessings, Kitty <^.^>

God is Our Daily Guide

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Video Title: Daily Devotional, April 15, 2012, God is Our Guide

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/reflexionydevotional

Devotional Playlist on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Su1WCgcCGc&feature=share&list=UUGKTEPAodO5Rz88JMlvlGdA

God Our Daily Guide

Isaiah 58:11 -King James Version (KJV) 11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.   ~Daily Promises, Blue Letter Bible, May 19, 2011

For this God [is] our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide [even] unto death. (Psalms 48:14)

“When the storms of life assail us and we feel as though lost at sea, take heart, O Christian, take heart! Our Lord will never fail to lead us in the paths of righteousness, conforming us daily to the pure, holy, and loving image of His very Son, Christ our savior!”

Above excerpt from the following ministries: Blue Letter Bible

I know I would sure be lost if I didn’t have God guiding my life. God knows what is going to happen before it ever happens. On one occasion that I can recall God suddenly brought my husband and son to my mind and that of my daughters, although we didn’t realize until the next day that she was called to pray for them too. They were away from home and just out of the blue thoughts came to mind to pray for them, and we did. When I asked them if anything had happened while they were out, my son slowly said yes. They had a near miss accident on the interstate and were almost side swiped by a speeding vehicle.

Praise God for His mercy in allowing my daughter and I to intercede for them!!!

He also knows what we need before we ever say the words of the prayer to ask for it. On another occasion my husband was on vacation and it just happened that this was the week of a terrible ice storm that left 3″ – 4″ of ice in a layer everywhere. It was awful! But God knew it was going to happen at least a year before it happened. You see my husband picks his vacations for the whole next year in November of the previous year. Thank God that my husband was on vacation and could be home with us!

There is no such thing as chance when you’re a child of the MOST HIGH GOD. His eyes are upon his children guiding their every foot step.

So go to God with PRAYERS, PRAISE and THANKSGIVING for his wonderful provision.

Our God is such an AWESOME GOD! Worthy of HONOR, PRAISE and GLORY FOREVER!

The Lord God is definitely a DAILY GUIDE in the lives of those who know Him!

Blessings, Kitty <^.^>

God is in Control of Things

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Video Title: The Thrill of Trusting God – Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley YouTube Channel:   https://www.youtube.com/user/InTouchMinistries

Charles Stanley Website:  http://intouch.org

Question:  “How can I learn to trust that God is in control?”

Answer:  Before we can learn to trust that God is in control of all of life’s circumstances, we have to answer four questions: Is God really in control? How much control does He have? If He is not in complete control, then who/what is? How can I learn to trust that He is in control and rest in that?

Is God really in control? The concept of the control of God over everything is called the “sovereignty” of God. Nothing gives us strength and confidence like an understanding of the sovereignty of God in our lives. God’s sovereignty is defined as His complete and total independent control over every creature, event, and circumstance at every moment in history. Subject to none, influenced by none, absolutely independent, God does what He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. God is in complete control of every molecule in the universe at every moment, and everything that happens is either caused or allowed by Him for His own perfect purposes.

“The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, ‘Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand’” Isaiah 14:24. Nothing is random or comes by chance, especially not in the lives of believers. He “purposed” it. That means to deliberately resolve to do something. God has resolved to do what He will do and nothing and no one stands in His way. “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please”

Isaiah 46:10. This is our powerful, purposeful God who is in control of everything. That should bring us great comfort and help to alleviate our fears.

But just exactly how much control does God have? God’s total sovereignty over all creation directly contradicts the philosophy of open theism which states that God doesn’t know what’s going to happen in the future any more than we do, so He has to constantly be changing His plans and reacting to what the sinful creatures do as they exercise their free will. God isn’t finding out what’s going to happen as events unfold. He is continuously, actively running things—ALL things—here and now. But to think He needs our cooperation, our help, or the exercise of our free will to bring His plans to pass puts us in control over Him, which makes us God. Where have we heard that lie before? It’s a rehash of Satan’s same old lie from the Garden—you shall be like God Genesis 3:5 Our wills are only free to the extent that God allows us that freedom and no farther. “All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: ‘What have you done?’” Daniel 4:35 No one’s free will trumps the sovereignty of God.

Some people find it appealing to think that Satan has control over a certain amount of life, that God is constantly revising His plans to accommodate Satan’s tricks. The book of Job is a clear illustration of just who has the sovereign power and who doesn’t. Satan came to God and in effect said “Job only serves you because you protect him.” So God gave Satan permission to do certain things to Job but no more Job 1:6-22 Could Satan do more than that? No. God is in control over Satan and his demons who try to thwart God’s plans at every step.

Satan knew from the Old Testament that God’s plan was for Jesus to come to the earth, be betrayed, crucified and resurrected, and provide salvation for millions, and if there was any way to keep that from happening, Satan would have done it. If just one of the hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah could have been caused by Satan to fail to come to pass, the whole thing would have collapsed. But the numbers of independent, “free will” decisions made by thousands of people were designed by God to bring His plan to pass in exactly the way He had planned it from the beginning and Satan couldn’t do a thing about it.

Jesus was “delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God” Acts:23 No action by the Romans, the Pharisees, Judas, or anyone else kept God’s plan from unfolding exactly the way He purposed it from before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1 says we were chosen in Him before the world was even created. We were in the mind of God to be saved by faith in Christ. That means God knit together Satan’s rebellion, Adam and Eve’s sin, the fall of the human race, and the death and crucifixion of Christ—all seemingly terrible events—to save us before He created us. Here is a perfect example of God working all things together for good Romans 8:28 Unlimited in power, unrivaled in majesty, and not thwarted by anything outside Himself, our God is in complete control of all circumstances, causing or allowing them for His own good purposes and plans to be fulfilled exactly as He has foreordained.

Finally, the only way to trust in God’s sovereign control and rest in it is to know God. Know His attributes, know what He has done in the past, and this builds confidence in Him. Daniel 11:32b says “the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” Imagine that kind of power in the hands of an evil, unjust God. Or a god that really doesn’t care about us. But we can rejoice in our God’s sovereignty, because it is overshadowed by His goodness, His love, His mercy, His compassion, His faithfulness, and His holiness.

But we can’t trust someone we don’t know and there is only one way to know God—through His Word. There is no magic formula to make us spiritual giants overnight, no mystical prayer to pray three times a day to mature us, build our faith and make us towers of strength and confidence. There is only the Bible, the single source of power that will change our lives from the inside out. But it takes effort, diligent, everyday effort to know the God who controls everything. If we drink deeply of His Word and let it fill our minds and hearts, the sovereignty of God will become clear to us, and we will rejoice in it because we will know intimately and trust completely the God who controls all things for His perfect purpose.

Source:  http://www.gotquestions.org/God-is-in-control.html

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