1 Thessalonians (Program #11) – Encouragement for Faith, Love, and Hope

When the apostle Paul first passed through Thessalonica and established the Church there, he set the young and new believers on a solid footing not just preaching the gospel to them but also anchoring them in the three strong elements of their life in Christ, faith, love and hope.

Chapter 1:3, “Remembering unceasingly your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father;”

Then some months later, Paul found himself excessively burden to see how the young Church in Thessalonica was progressing. So much so he can bear it no longer, so he sent his faithful co-worker, Timothy to help foster their faith and encourage them.  Chapter 3:1-2, “Therefore when we could bear it no longer….. we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and encourage you for the sake of your faith.”

These are precious words. We want to have a chance to really look into the heart of the apostle and the lives and the experiences of these young believers in Thessalonica.

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Exodus (Program#58) – The Function of God’s Word as His Living Word to His Loving Seekers

Have you ever wondered why to some people the Bible can be full of sweetness and satisfaction, even encouragement; while to others it can be quite the opposite – it may seem harsh, demanding or may be just boring. Even within a single person, it may be one moment the former and in another moment the latter. What changes?  Well, God’s word is eternally the same and it is His very breath. Whether we experience it as life or death altogether depends on us. If you’ve ever struggled to enter into the richness and sweetness of God’s word, please don’t miss this classical presentation on today’s life study of the Bible.

All believers have struggled with this matter at one time or another in their Christian life. Maybe the Bible was very living, very sweet when we first got saved. But then something seems to change and we can’t seem to get the same burst of spiritual energy or nourishment from simply reading and studying. This is probably very common for most believers. It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s not supposed to be this way. more…

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Zechariah (Program #11) – The Prophecies of Encouragement (3)

Zechariah is one of those hidden treasures in the Old Testament. As a book of prophecy it does seem mysterious and rather vague to many readers of the Bible. But as with all Scripture, with the Spirit’s illumination and the right keys to unlock our understanding, it reveals marvelous treasures. The main treasure in Zechariah is how compellingly and marvelously Christ is revealed. We see Him as the Shepherd of God’s flock in chapters 11 through 13, as He comes in, in an intimate way to feed and supply God’s suffering people. But we also see how this One was fully rejected, attacked, judged and ultimately crucified as well.

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Zechariah (Program #10) – The Prophecies of Encouragement (2)

In Zechariah 10:3, Jehovah promised to visit His flock and make them like His horse of majesty in battle. This is a wonderful picture of the Lord’s loving visitation to His people and quite an encouragement to all believers in Christ today.

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Zechariah (Program #9) – The Prophecies of Encouragement (1)

About 2500 years ago, the prophet Zechariah’s burden was to help the returned people of Israel to see God’s purpose. Today, God’s intention and His desire is that we will be one with Him. He’s brought us back to the very site, to the ground, even to the foundation of the temple typified by the recovery back to Jerusalem from Babylon in Zechariah’s day. Now God wants us to see that His interest, His desire and His burden are to finish the building of the temple, to build up the Body of Christ.

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Zechariah (Program #6) – The Visions of Consolation and Promise (5)

Zechariah chapter 5 verses 1 through 4 say, “Then I lifted up my eyes again and I saw, and there was a flying scroll, And he said to me, What do you see? And I said, I see a flying scroll, its length twenty cubits and its breadth ten cubits. Then he said to me, This is the curse that goes forth over the face of all the land; for everyone who steals will be purged according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged according to what is on the other side. I will cause it to go forth, declares Jehovah of hosts; and it will enter the house of him who steals and the house of him who swears falsely by My name; and it will lodge overnight within his house and consume it, both with its timbers and its stones.”

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Zechariah (Program #2) – The Visions of Consolation and Promise (1)

The New Testament tells us that Christ today is in the heavens as the Great High Priest interceding always for us continually before the throne of God. For all of us as believers, this is the most encouraging and comforting realization of Christ. But interestingly, this aspect of His ministry can be seen not just in the New Testament book of Hebrews but also in the Old Testament visions of the prophet Zechariah. In fact, the book of Zechariah is full of visions that reveal Christ in His sweet comfort, care and encouragement for His suffering people.

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Mark (Program #15) – The Move of the Slave-Savior’s Gospel Service (2) & (3)

Mark chapter 6 presents us with 4 seemingly unrelated cases. To our shallow understanding these 4 cases seems to be merely 4 separate stories of events that took place during the Lord’s earthly ministry. However if we receive even a little enlightenment we can see that once again the sequence in the divine record of how these events are unfolded is really marvelous.  And that when taken together these 4 cases really are layers of meaning and significance.

So here are 4 cases, 2 negative and 2 positive. That individually show us the rejection, hatred and justice even martyrdom that typifies the world’s response to the gospel. But collectively they fill us with encouragement, conviction and even a renewed determination to go forth to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to the whole inhabited earth.

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Lamentations (Program #4) – God’s Eternal Being and His Throne

The book of Lamentations has often been praised for its rich poetic expression of the human suffering and anguish that was experienced by the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. And from this perspective, it is an astonishing work. But recall that Jeremiah, more than any other Old Testament figure, has seen much and experienced much of God in the principle of God’s New Testament economy. Even in the midst of His lamentation, he offers a very new testament encouragement in 3:22-24, “It is Jehovah’s lovingkindness”, he wrote, “that we are not consumed, For His compassions do not fail; They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. Jehovah is my portion, says my soul; Therefore I hope in Him.” It is Jeremiah’s realization and expressions of God’s New Testament economy that should leave the deepest and most profound impression on us in reading his two Old Testament books.

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2 Thessalonians (Program #5) – Chosen by God Unto Salvation in Sanctification of the Spirit (1)

After speaking of the Lord’s second coming and our being gathered to Him in some detail. The apostle Paul comes back to a word of further encouragement in 2 Thesssalonians chapter 2.  Surely it was in his heart to point the new believers in Thessalinica to God’s purpose in His selection of them with the goal of sanctifying them. His sweet word in verse 13 sets the tone for this loving word of encouragement. “But we ought to thank God always concerning you, brothers beloved of the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”

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