Encouraging Words Devotional

When my husband does a seminar called “Ten Commandments for Parents of Teens,” I have often heard him say that what your teens want and what you, their parents, want for them is not the same thing. What your teens want more than anything else is independence—that is, the right to make their own decisions.  On the other hand, what you want for your teens is maturity—the ability to make the right decisions.

Our oldest grandson was just a toddler when that evening our daughter called him to come to the table for dinner. She was taken aback when she heard him say, “No, Mommy, I’m not going to come. I’m going to play now.”  As you can well imagine, that day he learned the meaning of the scripture verse that says, “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord” (Colossians 3:20).

Is your life right now a “bed of roses” free of all problems?  “Are you kidding?” I can hear you say. “Right now I can’t even remember what a rose smells like!”

I used to wonder how much I should compliment my kids as they were growing up. After all, I didn’t want them to get the big-head and think they’re better than they are.  On the other hand, how are our kids they going to know they’re good at something unless we tell them? They need to know we believe in them and believe they’re going to survive the struggles they go through as they pursue their dreams.

In her book The Broken Way, Ann Voskamp tells about the time her daughter Shalom came to her, paper heart in one hand and a roll of clear tape in the other.  Tapping her chest, Shalom observed, “We need to tape hearts right to us, Mama….So we always know His love’s around us everywhere.” The words struck a note in Ann’s mind. She writes:

“If only we could all wear a heart right across the center of us so there wa... Read more

If you are between the ages of 22 and 37, society has labeled you a millennial. Do you hate being called that? I understand your feelings. “Business Insider” says that most people over 40 tend to clump all millennials together as “spoiled, lazy, selfish, obsessed with technology, superficial, indecisive, [and] disrespectful.”[1] No wonder you hate the title.

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Many times in the Bible, God calls Himself the “God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” I can understand why He called Himself the God of Abraham, because Abraham was a man of faith. I’m also not surprised He called Himself the God of Isaac, because Isaac was obedient—even when it nearly meant his death!

Near the end of her book The Broken Way, author Ann Voskamp leaves her readers with a challenging thought in just two words:  live given.[i] She encourages us to change our attitude toward the circumstances in life that make demands on us. Most of us have a rough idea what we think we’re going to do each day. But often when needs and interruptions crop up unexpectedly during... Read more

Her baby was just two weeks old when missionary doctor Margaret Brand received a note from Dr. Carol Jameson, director of the Vellore, India hospital.

There’s a verse in Psalm 32 that says, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness” (NKJV).  

“Feed on His faithfulness!” I like that phrase.  It infers that all our needs will be met because God is faithful to His promises. 

I wouldn’t want you to read or listen to Encouraging Words and not know how to be sure you’re going to heaven when you die. It’s just too important a matter not to know for sure. Your eternal future depends on whether you have a personal relationship with Jesus, because that relationship determines where you will spend eternity.  So, this devotional is dedicated entirely to just that one thought: do you know for sure th... Read more

Mephibosheth—what a long and unusual name! It would be hard to print his name on the back of a basketball uniform! Mephibosheth was the five-year-old grandson of King Saul, the first king of Israel.

I’ve found a cure for the blues.  Well, it works for me, anyway, and maybe it would work for you. It’s very simple—just get outdoors and take a look at what God has made. 

Scientists recently discovered in space the largest ball of hot gas that has yet been found. “The size and velocity are truly fantastic,” says one of the physicists who discovered it.

Robert Fulghum says, “Don’t worry that your children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.” Yes, like it or not, what we moms do is a pattern that our kids tend to follow. From us they are learning skills for their own lives. So, Paul’s words speak loudly to us when he says, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good” (Titus 2:7).

We usually think of jealousy as being a bad thing—a sin.  On the contrary, you may be surprised to know that the Bible says God Himself is jealous.  But He’s jealous for all the right reasons. You see, God loves you deeply, and when you love someone deeply, you are jealous of anything or anyone who would steal away that love.

Kay Warren, wife of pastor and author Rick Warren, says, “In parenting, if you don’t insist on anything else, insist that your kids learn to obey two words, “Come” and “No.”  She explains that if your children learn to come to you when you call and to accept your “No” when you have to deny them something they want, they will learn to obey God when He uses those same two words.

Before a temple was built in Jerusalem, the people of Israel met in a portable structure called “the Tent of Meeting.” Inside the Tent was an altar for sacrifice as well as a number of other articles, including a bronze wash basin for the priests. God instructed Moses that whenever the priests entered the Tent of Meeting to offer sacrifices, they were to first wash their hands and feet with water from the bronze basin.

She sat across the table from us, and with tears in her eyes, she said, “I’d like to have Jesus in my heart, but I don’t think I can be good enough.”