Encouraging Words Devotional

We know it as “The Prodigal Son” story—the experience of a young man who talked his father into giving him his portion of the inheritance, which he immediately took into a far-off country, wasting it on “wine, women and song.”

David Platt tells about an Englishman who decided to buy a Rolls-Royce, the car advertised as the one that would “never, ever, ever break down.”[1] 

[1] David Platt, Follow Me (TYNDALE, 2013), 61.

Someone asked an associate of author Max Lucado, “What Biblical precedent do we have to help the poor who have no desire to become Christians?”

In his book Victorious Grief, Dr. Charles Browning gives a step-by-step lifeline to those who struggle with grieving when they lose a beloved and believing loved one.

As parents sometimes our main concern when our children do wrong is disciplining them so they remember never to make that mistake again.

When it comes to the magnificent things that God created, my mind is simply inadequate to grasp how God could start with nothing and create anything so complex as the universe.

The Bible has a wonderful verse that says,“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). The Bible word “upbraid” means “to scold; reproach; reprimand; rebuke.”  That word is from the King James Version of the Bible, which was translated in the year 1611.

When Jesus started His public ministry, two of John the Baptist’s disciples left John and started following Jesus.

It’s wonderful that the Bible contains so many verses that assure us that God does not change. Malachi 3:6 says, “I am the Lord, I change not.”  Hebrews 13:8 tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Many a time I’ve come to God and prayed a similar prayer, telling Him I don’t know how to express my thoughts and feelings.