InstaEncouragements Blog

Sweeter Than Honey: Sacrifice Should Cost Something

10/4/2022

In 1 Chronicles 21, we find David wanting to build an altar to God on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. The story begins in verse 1 when Satan puts in David’s mind to number Israel. David does this thing, but it displeases God. Maybe it was a pride thing? The Bible doesn’t tell us. But in verses 20-30, David is building an altar. There are a lot of ways we can make a sacrifice to God, but it’s got to cost us something to be a sacrifice. If it doesn’t cost something, it’s not sacrifice.

From the Old Testament to the New, the eternality of God's Word is clearly proclaimed:

Job tells us, “I have treasured the Words of His mouth more than my portion of food” (Job 23:12).

Isaiah reminds us that, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

And Matthew records Jesus saying, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

God's Word is like an eternal Love Letter to us!

Have you ever received a love letter, friend? Did you read it? Did you read it just once, or did you read it over and over again? A Love Letter is a treasure when you love the One who sent it!

1 Comment

Sweeter Than Honey: Fasting and Praying for Protection

9/27/2022

6 Comments

Ezra is making his way from captivity in #Babylon, with a group of returning exiles, back to #Jerusalem. It took #Ezra and the caravan he was traveling with four months to traverse the nearly 900 miles. Before their #journey, Ezra leads the group of returning exiles in fasting and #praying. Ezra not only proclaims a time of #fasting and praying, but he also leads the people in humbling themselves before God as they seek safety for their long journey. #Biblestudy #devotional #goodreads #amreading

6 Comments

Sweeter Than Honey: This is What Restoration Looks Like

9/20/2022

8 Comments

Zechariah 10-12 begins with the restoration of Judah and #Israel and end with a spirit of #grace and pleas for #mercy. Although much of the Old Testament seems like something that happened a long time ago, that doesn’t pertain to us today, when we dig deep we clearly see how so much of it does pertain to us today. The #restoration of #Judah and Israel is much like our own restoration. Just as the people of Judah and Israel, we too wandered like sheep in need of a #Shepherd. #devotional #Bible

8 Comments

Living By Faith

9/16/2022

0 Comments

How do we please the #God of the universe? We please Him when we obey His commandments. We please Him when we show #love to others. We please Him when we sacrifice for those in need. But what pleases Him most is our #faith and our #faithfulness. Just as He is #faithful, we are to be faithful. These 7 words sum up the entire #Christian life:

“If we pray to God we must expect answers to our prayers. Do we in fact, after we have prayed, continue to look to God and eagerly await the answer? Are we like this man [Habakkuk] on his watch-tower, expecting it to come at any moment?” —Martyn Lloyd-Jones, From Fear to Faith

After our lesson on An Unwanted Answer, I sat in the Sunday morning service and listened as the choir sang Bow The Knee.

"In His hands, He holds the power of creation.
With His voice, He spoke, and all things came to be. Yet He hears each simple prayer I bring before Him When I humbly seek His face and bow the knee...

0 Comments

Sweeter Than Honey: Our Influence Matters

9/13/2022

8 Comments

In Daniel 4-6, we read about 3 kings of Babylon--Nebuchadnezzar, his son Belshazzar, and Darius the Mede. Daniel had influence, for the Most High God [#ElElyon], over all 3 of these. Our influence matters! We know from reading about King Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream that he had a problem with pride. He reveals through that dream,

8 Comments

A Tree Planted by the Living Water

9/9/2022

0 Comments

As I was reading through God's Word using the Sweeter Than Honey Bible reading plan this summer, on July 29, I came across this passage in Jeremiah. Chapters 16-18 of the book of Jeremiah talk about a tree planted by the water and how it flourishes.

I don't know about you, but I love the word "flourish," It's exactly how I want to live my life!

We discovered a lot about flourishing in our Summer 2022 Book Club-Style Bible Study using the book Aging With Grace by Sharon Betters and Susan Hunt. You can read week one here.

I also love the story of the potter and the clay found in Jeremiah 18, but this is what caught my attention most when I read those chapters—the comparison of a person who does not trust in the Lord to a person who does trust in Him.

0 Comments