An Encouraging Word

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Jesus — Our Shield of Faith
2009-03-30 14:37:00
The River Church We’ve been talking about Jesus being the armor of God, as mentioned in Ephesians 6:11-18.   Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. - Ephesians 6:16 Psalm 119:114 says of the Lord, “You are my hiding place and my shield: I hope in your word.”  Psalm 28:7 affirms, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped ….”  Notice that Ephesians 6:16 exhorts, “Above all, take the shield of faith ….” Faith is critical to successful Christian living. Hebrews 11:6 states, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.”  Faith, essentially, is about whether we believe He is Who He says He is, and whether we trust Him to do what He has said He will do. To not have faith in God is to ins...
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Jesus — The Boot
2009-03-23 14:09:00
The River We’ve been talking about Jesus being the armor of God, as mentioned in Ephesians 6:11-18.    And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. — Ephesians 6:15  The gospel is the good news, and of course, Jesus is The Good News! He is all our hope of salvation.  The armor of God in Ephesians is a picture drawn from Roman fighting gear.  Roman soldiers did not wear flimsy sandals; their footwear was closer in appearance and function to a boot, with heavy hobnails driven into the bottoms.  In Genesis 3:15, God said of the “seed” which was to come (which was the Savior), “It [the seed -- Jesus] shall bruise your [the serpent -- Satan's] head, and you shall bruise his heel.”  Jesus was bruised for our sins (Isaiah 53:5), and now is the covering for our heels so that the devil cannot bruise us!  We are not only protected from the enemy’s attack by Jesus, but it gets better yet. Romans 16:20 tells us, “And t...
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Jesus — Our Belt of Truth and Breastplate of Righteousness
2009-03-16 13:37:00
The River Church Last time, I mentioned that Jesus is the armor of God mentioned in Ephesians 6:11-18.    Stand therefore, having your loins girded around with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. - Ephesians 6:14  The Belt of Truth   Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life …” (John 14:6).  Jesus not only gives us truth; He is the truth!  When we are wearing the belt of truth, we are wearing Jesus around our middle, the place where our vital organs are located.  Wearing (abiding in) Jesus the Truth keeps our spiritual vital organs protected from harm.  The belt and the sword are closely associated. When we are not actively wielding the sword, it rests in its scabbard, which hangs on the belt.  Ephesians 6:17 tells us that the sword is the Word of God, and Jesus said of the Scriptures, “Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth” (John 17:17). We are sanctified (cleansed and made holy) through living in Go...

I Am the Armor
2009-03-09 13:52:00
The River Church I was a young mom, up to my earlobes in baby wash, and thoroughly frustrated because I had not been able to get my prayer time in that morning.  “God, it’s so hard to find time to pray today.  Why, I never even got a chance to put on my spiritual armor this morning!”  His answer was quite calm and distinct: “I am your armor.”   It was new revelation for me.  Jesus is the armor.  The Lord then explained in detail how each piece of the armor of God mentioned in Ephesians 6:11-18 is a depiction of Him.  I would like to talk about this in greater detail in our next few installments of An Encouraging Word. Many of us have been taught to start the day off right by mentally putting on the whole armor of God.  It’s a good spiritual exercise, but if we are walking moment-by-moment with Jesus, we’re never without our armor.  It doesn’t mysteriously disappear while we sleep, so that we are unprotected until we once agai...
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God’s Savings Plan
2009-03-02 15:31:00
The River Church In hard economic times we naturally want to be savvy managers of our finances.  We tend to be more careful about where we spend and how much.  There is a tendency to pull back, close in on ourselves, and hang onto what material possessions we have. What would Jesus do, if He were living in our time, with our economy?  He has already told us:  Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust can corrupt and where thieves break through and steal.  Instead, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust can corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there your heart will be as well. - Matthew 6:19-21  The odd thing about God’s banking system is that we don’t fill our accounts by withholding our spending.  Our accounts increase as we spend more - as long as what we spend on is the Lord and His kingdom.  When we give with joyful, abundant abandon to Jesus, He some...
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The Father Problem
2009-02-23 15:05:00
The River Church Many of us have a distorted view of God the Father .  We may have received wrong teaching in our church upbringing, or our earthly dads may not have treated us well, causing us to have a Father problem.  We may be able to relate to Jesus, but God the Father?  That’s another story! Hebrews 1:3 gives us a better understanding: “[Jesus] is the brightness of his [God the Father's] glory, and the express image of his person ….”  Some translations say Jesus is “the exact likeness of His [Father's] nature.”  Jesus is the mirror reflection of God the Father’s complete love and goodness.  So, if we have a loving relationship with Jesus, it is possible to have a loving relationship with God the Father as well.  Many of us wince when we think about God as a Father, because we have not had good experiences within our families.  “Father” brings pain to our emotions.  Yet, God does not want us to deny or ignore His ...
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Arise and Eat
2009-02-16 14:26:00
The River Church [Elijah] went a day’s journey into the wilderness…. An angel touched him, and said to him, “Rise up and eat.”  He looked, and there was a cake baked on the coals, and a pitcher of water by his head.  And he ate and drank … and the angel of the LORD came again and touched him, and said, “Rise up and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”  And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and nights to Horeb, the mount of God. - 1 Kings 19:4-8  After great spiritual victory, Elijah suddenly ended up in the wilderness, tired and disheartened.  He has been criticized in countless sermons for succumbing to fear and discouragement, and the conclusion often reached is that he was a prophetic has-been from that time forth.  But God didn’t see it that way. He continued to use Elijah for years afterward, both as a prophet and as a mentor of up-and-coming prophets.  Did God scold ...

Costly Giving
2009-02-09 14:16:00
The River Church Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom Jesus raised from the dead.  There they made Him a supper, and Martha served.  But Lazarus was one of them who sat at the table with him. Mary took a pound of spikenard ointment, very costly, and anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped his feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. - John 12:1-3 Often when we pray, we ask the Lord for anointing to heal, or to prophesy, or to do some other ministry work.  Our focus is on receiving anointing from Him.  But in this passage, we see that Jesus was the One receiving an anointing, as Mary was lavishing her precious ointment on Him.  Spikenard came from a plant that grew in the Himalayas, which was why it was so costly. Judas said it could have been sold for 300 denarii (John 12:5), which equaled almost a year’s wages for a common laborer. Mary put deliberate forethought into spending he...
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God’s Economy
2009-02-02 14:30:00
The River Church  Each day we hear more about deepening economic troubles.  It affects us all, and many are tempted to be afraid.  But the Lord has been showing me that this is a time of opportunity for God’s people — opportunity to step into His economy.  He wants to show Himself mighty on our behalf. The Bible is full of promises to hearten us when economic times are bad.  I’ve noticed, however, that financial promises are given only to those who are fully devoted to the Lord - those who fear [revere] Him, seek Him, and put Him first.  For the eyes of the LORD run here and there throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect toward him (2 Chronicles 16:9).  Here are some of the Lord’s promises for financial security.  You can claim them and speak them over yourself to get the breakthrough you need:  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. – Philipp...
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Anybody Can Give Up
2009-01-26 14:42:00
The River Church It’s a tough time for many people, and the Church is no exception.  Sometimes we get tired of fighting through all the difficulties and feel overwhelmed by our circumstances.  What does God say about it all?  And why does He not come to the rescue quicker than He does? There may be a number of reasons, but one of the biggies is that God wants to raise up an army of believers who will live by His Word, not by what they see around them.  He wants His people to be strong, so that we can be victorious over the enemy of our souls.  Solomon commented, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10).  That doesn’t sound like the way to win a war, does it?  David understood what God was doing through difficulties in his life: “It is God who girds me with strength ….  He teaches my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms. … I have pursued my enemies, and have overtaken them;...
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The Abishag Ministry of Worship
2008-06-02 14:13:00
The River Church Some of us may feel like we don’t have a very important place in the Body of Christ.  We look around at others who seem to have great purpose, and we wonder, “God, why can’t I do great things for you?”   Abishag might have felt like that. Her story is recorded in 1 Kings 1:1-4.  In his old age, King David became feeble, and a young woman was sought to keep him warm and care for him.  It doesn’t sound like the most exciting place to be.  It was not a place of recognition, but a place of seclusion.  Yet we read of Abishag, in verse 4, “And the young lady was very beautiful; and she cherished the king, and ministered to him….”  We wouldn’t naturally think of her as being important, yet she is mentioned by name in the Bible.  Most of David’s other wives’ names were only recorded in connection with the children they bore. Their place in the kingdom was recognized because of what they produced - t...
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The God Who Satisfies (Part 2)
2008-05-26 13:19:00
The River Church “…And my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,” says the Lord. - Jeremiah 31:14  Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. - Psalm 103:5  For he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. - Psalm 107:9 Recently, a profound statement was made by a guest speaker at The River Church.  He said that each of us has three voids inside that must be filled in order for us to live a happy Christian life.  The first void is filled when we give our hearts to Jesus in salvation, the second when we are baptized in the Spirit, and the third when we come into the destiny that we were born for, our place in God’s kingdom.  Many Christians have gotten the first two voids filled, but are feeling most unsatisfied when it comes to the third.  We have an innate sense of great destiny within us, but we don’t know how to come into it.  As we said last time, true sati...
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The God Who Satisfies
2008-05-19 13:48:00
The River Church “…And my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,” says the Lord. - Jeremiah 31:14  “Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” - Psalm 103:5  “For he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” - Psalm 107:9 Many Christians live in frustration, feeling as though there must be more to life than what they are experiencing.  Many have a gnawing sense inside that they have a greater destiny, a greater purpose, than what they are currently experiencing.  God never meant it to be this way.  He wants His people to be satisfied. How do we come into living a fulfilled Christian life?  How do we attain to our destiny calling?  Before we can know the God Who satisfies us through a ministry, we must know the God Who satisfies us with Himself.  In Genesis 15:1, God says, “Fear not, Abram: I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward....

Abdicating the Throne of Self
2008-05-12 13:59:00
The River Church … Behold, the kingdom of God is within you. - Luke 17:21  The goal is for the kingdom of God to be inside of us, but also that it will spill out to the spiritually dying world around us.  The good news of the gospel is not only “fire insurance” salvation, but a reestablishment of God’s kingdom on earth, for His glory and for mankind’s benefit.  Jesus preached a kingdom gospel. Why, then, is the kingdom of heaven not spilling out into society at large?  One reason is that too many of God’s people have two kingdoms warring within, and the one with the upper hand is not God’s, but that of self.  Our job is to renounce our self-throne, and exalt Jesus in our hearts as Lord alone. This is not easy to do.  Our natural man is very concerned with its own ambitions for recognition.  “What’s in it for me?” is the way we tend to think.  But God wants to give us a new mentality of building His kingdom, not our...

Contending for Our Promises
2008-05-05 13:57:00
The River Church And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. - Hebrews 6:15 Abraham endured, and finally received his promised son Isaac.  Enduring is more than passively waiting.  Marathon runners know that to finish they must endure. To win takes yet greater endurance: they must give their all.  When God makes a promise, He is committed to keeping it.  But He does not want us to sit back with the passive attitude, “If it’s God it will happen, and if it isn’t, it won’t.”  We have a part to play.  We must contend for our promises.  Contending means striving against opposition or difficulties; competing, as in a race; struggling; disputing the case. If God has given the promise, then why must we struggle to come into it?  It is because of the constant spiritual battle in the heavenlies.  Satan always wants to thwart God’s plans for us.  Although the victory is already ours, we must press into it.  How do we contend ...
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Sounds Change the Atmosphere
2008-04-28 14:23:00
The River Church God has been speaking to me about sounds - those that reproduce the sound of Heaven, call armies to battle, announce shifts in God’s work, worship His name, send demons fleeing, cause walls to crumble, and change the atmosphere.            Exodus 28 describes the priestly robe Aaron wore. Bells adorned its hem, and verse 35 tells us: And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the LORD and when he comes out, that he may not die.  Aaron entered God’s Presence with sound. In fact, the sound began when he donned the robe and continued as he approached the Holy Place. This sound that God gave Aaron to produce did not start at the moment he stepped through a curtain. It was identified with his priestly office, his anointing, rather than with his entrance into the physical place of ministry, and was well underway when he entered the Holy Place. Stepping out with his ministry comp...
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Wake Up Church — Jesus is Calling!
2008-04-21 13:26:00
The River Church This devotional is called An Encouraging Word.  It’s supposed to lift our spirits and make us feel good, right?  I wonder, though, how good Jesus feels as we diddle our way through life, carrying on with our personal pursuits, while zillions of folks are dying unsaved.  But hang on, I am not going to put an evangelistic guilt trip on you.  I don’t like those, either.  God has been speaking to me about His concern for the lost.  People’s souls are of primary importance to Him, and He wants us to line up with His heartbeat.  It is not some new revelation; He’s been speaking it all along, but we haven’t been listening very well.  Most of us know that the Church in America today is a lot like the Laodicean Church in Revelation 3:14-22.  We are lukewarm, thinking we have it all, yet we exhibit little biblical power.  We’ve gotten used to the idea of running church by our own programs, without even asking for input from heaven...
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Worship — Weapon of Warfare
2008-04-14 14:16:00
The River Church For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds - 2 Corinthians 10:4.  God has given us many weapons with which to overcome the enemy of our souls - the Word of God, the blood and the name of Jesus, our faith, and the word of our testimony, for starters.  Worship is primarily to honor the King of Kings, but it has a by-product effect of being a weapon of warfare.  2 Chronicles 20:1-30 tells the story of Judah being attacked by an army too great for them to overcome.  As the people sought the Lord, a prophetic word was spoken that God would fight on their behalf.  Their immediate response was worship.  But King Jehoshaphat’s next move is entirely surprising.  He sent out an army to meet the foe, with worshippers going before, whose only job was to praise the Lord!  As they worshipped, God caused such confusion among the enemy that they killed each other.  There is a dynamic of worship that ...
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Face to Face
2008-04-07 14:01:00
The River Church My dear friends, we are now God’s children, but it is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is   – 1 John 3:2.  It will be the most awe-inspiring, wonderful moment in history - when God’s people, the Bride of Christ, meet our beloved Jesus.  What will it be like, to look into His eyes, to meet Him face to face?  The Bible says we will be changed.  We will be like him, because we will see Him as He is.  Although nothing we experience now could ever come close to what it will be like on that day, we can have a foretaste of that face-to-face knowledge of Him.  It comes through intimacy with Him in worshipful prayer.  As we spend time with Him now, focusing on Him alone, we catch shadowy glimpses of what it will be like when we are with Him forever. God spoke to Miriam and Aaron about His relationship with Moses: “I speak to him face to face, ...
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God Will Keep You Safe
2008-03-31 14:24:00
The River Church Fear.  It runs epidemic throughout the world today, and unfortunately, the Church seems to succumb as much as those who do not have Jesus.  We know that fear is not of God, and yet we give in to the temptation to indulge it.  Why?  The answer is fairly simple: because we do not truly believe in and appropriate the Word of God. I have had to learn this the hard way through many years of taking a few steps forward, and then slipping and sometimes falling.  But I have seen my God come through for me every time, when I was not all that sure that He would.  It has been a gradual overcoming, but I’m pressing into my victory. I’d like to pass on to you some Scripture verses that we must know, believe in, and appropriate, if we are to overcome fear: Proverbs 29:25 - The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever puts his trust in the LORD shall be safe. Isaiah 52:12 - For you will not leave in a hurry, and you will not have to take flight; because the LORD is...
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There’s a Ram in the Thicket
2008-03-24 13:23:00
The River Church  Genesis 22: 1-18 tells the story of God testing Abraham by telling him to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice.  Abraham was immediately and completely obedient to the Lord’s instructions, and at the very last moment, God sent an angel to intervene.  Verses 13 and 14 tell us, “Abraham looked up, and behind him a ram was caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him for a burnt offering instead of Isaac.  And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.’” Although we often hear that Jehovah-jireh means “God Who provides,” its literal meaning is “The Lord God will see to it.”  In other words, whatever your need is, the Lord will take care of it. God’s provision is always there.  The longer we live the Christian life, the more we tend to see His faithful answers in the midst of hard situation...

Carrying God’s Power
2008-03-17 13:32:00
The River Church As a new Christian, I was fortunate to join a church body that walked closely with God and believed in the supernatural. At a Bible study, a mature Christian told of a vision she’d seen. I asked, “What does it mean to have a vision?” The leader gently steered away from the question, replying that spending the time on our study passage would be more helpful. Later, I attended another meeting where a leader said, “We have study guides on both the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit. Which should we study?” Her partner replied, “Newer Christians often get too caught up in gifts. Let’s study the fruit, because that’s what we need to produce.” All three leaders meant well, and the studies were valuable. The books of Hebrews (Hebrews 5:12-14) and 1 Corinthians both discuss the concept of offering spiritual “milk” to new Christians, followed by “solid food.” Yet exploring and experiencing the power...
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Waiting
2008-03-10 13:21:00
The River Church  Isaiah 40:31 - They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength. We are familiar with the idea of waiting upon the Lord.  The Bible often encourages us to wait upon Him, or for Him.  Psalm 40:1 says, “I waited patiently for the LORD, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” But God also tells us that He is waiting for us!  In Matthew 11:28, Jesus invites us, “Come unto me, all of you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Jesus is waiting for us to come to Him in prayer. Revelation 3:20 gives us another picture of Jesus longing to spend time with us: Look! I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.  Jesus is waiting for us to open the door - the door to our hearts, our time, and our full attention.  How great and wonderful that Almighty God would be waiting for us! One of the best-loved stories in the Bible is...
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The God Who Prevails
2008-03-03 13:59:00
The River Church  Those of us who are serious prayer warriors often talk about “prevailing” in prayer.  To prevail means to win the battle, to overcome, to conquer.  We focus hard on obtaining our answer, we stretch ourselves strenuously, and we take hold of heaven’s throne with all our might.  We tend to think it is all up to us, and if we don’t pray it right or don’t keep at it long enough, God will not have the victory. It is true that we must faithfully persist in prayer until we receive the answers, and it is often hard work.  But it’s not really about us doing it at all.  It is the Holy Spirit Who is praying and prevailing within us.  He is the One fueling the intercession. When we understand that it is His battle, not ours, it gives us a different perspective.  We suddenly find freedom from anxiety about the outcome of our spiritual warfare.  If He has told us to fight it, we will win it.  It is His business to secure victory to H...

Keeping Company with the King
2008-02-25 06:56:00
The River Church We’ve all heard the old proverb, “A man is known by the company he keeps.”  When we were young, our moms pounded into our heads, “If you hang around with the wrong crowd, everybody will think you are like them.” I’d very much like to be known by the company I keep - because these days, I spend a lot of time with The King of Kings.  We tend to become like the people or things we spend our time with: if we hang with angry people, we will have a tendency to absorb their anger; if we fill our eyes and ears with suggestive material, we will take on an air of suggestiveness; if we spend time with kind and thoughtful people, we will pick up their generous ways.  I’d like to pick up Jesus’ ways - all of them! When we spend time with Jesus in prayer and in reading His Word, we absorb His likeness, almost without noticing or trying.  Holiness is not something we continually strive for; it just happens.  Our listening and vi...
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A Nail in a Sure Place
2008-02-18 15:20:00
The River Church  Some of the names of Jesus in the Bible are easily seen, while some are hidden so that we have to read carefully to find them.  A Nail in a Sure Place is one of the hidden names. Isaiah 22:23 - And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house. On the surface, the verses leading up to this one seem to indicate that it is Eliakim, who replaced Shebna as treasurer during King Hezekiah’s time, who is being spoken of.  But the surrounding verses reveal that Eliakim was only a foreshadowing of the coming Messiah: Isaiah 22:21-25 - … I will commit your government into his hand ….   And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.   And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house ….  In that day, says the LORD of ho...

God of My Praise
2008-02-11 14:51:00
 The River Church A few years ago, I fell in love with the names of God.  As I read my Bible, I began to notice the wide variety of names and titles by which God reveals Himself to us.  Not only do His names speak of His glory and power; they also are a means by which He helps us to clearly understand His nature, His character.  How I have come to love His character! There are over 625 names of God recorded in the Bible.  Here are just a few of my favorites: He Who Speaks                   Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â         A High Priest of Good Things to Come             God of All Comfort                                           My Exceeding Joy God Who Answers by Fire                    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  A Very Present Help in Trouble Your Exceeding Great Reward                   Â  God Who Cannot Lie The LORD Who Heals You                Â...
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The Redeeming Power of Forgiveness
2008-02-04 14:39:00
 The River Church  When we forgive people, we supernaturally release freedom into their lives, so that they can come into their God-given destinies.  Even if they are not sorry for what they have done, by forgiving them we prepare the way in the spirit realm for them to hear God speak to them about repentance.  This is true because of the law of binding and loosing (releasing), which God has given to His Church: And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:19). Jesus gave us the perfect example of the power of forgiveness to set people free.  When He was dying on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).  Jesus forgave entirely unrepentant men for the sin they were committing against Him.  Some time later on, Acts 6:7 tells us that “…the word of God increased, and th...
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Forgiving in His Likeness
2008-01-28 15:35:00
The River Church  In a previous issue of An Encouraging Word, we said that God not only covered our sin with Jesus’ blood, but He washed it away.  This is how He wants us to look at other people’s sin against us, too.  Just as when God forgives us, He chooses to forget our sin, He wants us to forgive and let go of what people have done to us.  We choose not to remember it anymore.  Once we have forgiven them, as far as we are concerned, their sin is erased, not merely covered.  We can’t peek under a covering at their sin any more than we can for our own forgiven sin.  It is gone, and we must treat it that way.  This is especially true if the process of asking and giving forgiveness has taken place between the us and the one who has offended us. We can be like God in the completeness of our forgiving: Jeremiah 31:34 - For I will forgive their wickedness, and I will remember their sin no more.  We can determine that once we have forgiven an offense, we will ...

Offenses
2008-01-21 14:33:00
 The River Church “I will never forgive that person!”  Have you ever heard this said?  I have, more than once - by Christian people. Jesus said to His disciples, “It is impossible but that offenses will come ….” (Luke 17:1)  Offenses are a reality for all of us.  Sometimes we are on the receiving end, but it’s hard to avoid sometimes being the perpetrator, no matter how carefully we tread. Because we all tick differently, what bothers one person may not be a problem at all for another.  For this reason, an offender may not even be aware of causing harm, and therefore doesn’t know there is a need to ask forgiveness.  Even the kindest people can at times be unwitting tools in the enemy’s hands to create a festering wound inside of us. What should we do when we experience offense?  We must forgive the hurt and let it go - even if the offender is not sorry for what he has done.  Jesus said, “Whenever you stand praying, if y...