Category Archives: Comfort

Accountability, Battles, Bible, Burdens, Comfort, Family, God's Will, Ministry, Obedience, Scripture

SO, YOU THINK YOU’RE SOMETHING

GALATIANS 6:3

“For if anyone thinks that he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Ouch! This verse feels like Paul is stepping on my toes. How about you? We have all been there. We think we are better than someone else. We think we would have never fallen like that person did. Some of my hardest falls have been the result of overconfidence. I like what Doddridge says about this verse. “The worst part of the fraud falls on his own head.” Man, that stings.

Don’t forget that this verse immediately follows the verse about bearing each other’s burdens. This is why. Because you may wind up in the same fix and need help yourself. Paul is warning the Galatians against vanity – spiritual vanity. Oh, it was so easy for them to think they were better than others. They had arrived. They were above those who struggle. Paul is saying, “Not so fast! You too may need a hand down the road.”

APPLICATION

I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 10:12 where it says, “Now, when you think you are standing firm, be careful lest you fall.” We can never get overconfident, unless that overconfidence is in Jesus. He will never fail – NEVER! His promises are true. In Joshua 23, Joshua repeats a statement from chapter 21. He says in verse 14, “‘Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; they all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.’”

Those promises still hold true. He is a promise keeper to the end. Even the last words Jesus spoke on earth after His resurrection says this. In Matthew 28:20 we read, “…‘and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” So, when we fail (and we will), He is always there – to the end.

Let’s back up a minute to the previous verse since this is important to the context. We must bear one another’s burdens because we need each other. There will come a day when you fail and that brother or sister to whom you gave a helping hand will run to your aid. That is how the body works.

Thank You, Father, for the body of Christ that looks out for each other.

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Abiding, Bible, Choices, Comfort, Commands, Decisions, Following, Grace, Law, Scripture

CASTING OUT

GALATIANS 4:30

“But what does the Scripture say? ‘DRIVE OUT THE SLAVE WOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE SLAVE WOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN.’”

In our recent move from Chattanooga to Knoxville, my wife and I did some “casting out.” We got rid of furniture that would not fit in our new home. We got rid of clothes that we had not worn or did not fit anymore (I will not say why, lol). And we cast out household stuff that we just did not have room for anymore. All these things didn’t  make the cut, so to speak. Downsizing meant things had to go.

Paul quotes Genesis 21:10 in today’s verse. I mentioned 21:9 yesterday in my blog. Paul continues the story of Ishmael and Isaac (Hagar and Sarah) and uses this story to point out why the old law could not coexist with the grace of Christ. There was no room for the old way in their new faith. It just did not fit. Paul was not rejecting the Jewish people. He was rejecting what those Jewish believers were trying to insert into their faith in Christ.

APPLICATION

Before you get all self-righteous and say, I would never do that, you might better check out your way of living in Jesus. Do you demand people do certain things? Do you put your church’s traditions above doing what the Word says? What does God require of us? We are told that in Micah 6:8, “He has told you, mortal one, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” We don’t need a bunch of rules and regulations to tell us to do that.

I noticed a bottle the other day on my desk. Can you make out the name on it? It says “Purity.” It’s a brand of eyeglass cleaner my eye doctor gives to her patients. Don’t you wish we had a spiritual eyeglass cleaner so we could see more clearly. Oh wait, we do! He’s called the Holy Spirit. If we will just listen to Him, He will tell us what to keep and what to cast out, how to live pure lives.

As you go through your spiritual closet, look for those things that just don’t fit God’s Word. Look for the old, worn out excuses you have hanging up that you continue to put on every day. Throw out those things that hold you back from living the victorious Christian life. You will be all the better for it, He promises.

O Lord, I want to have only what will draw me closer to You.

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Bible, Comfort, Death, Grief, Holy Spirit, Mourning, Scripture

INDIVIDUAL MOURNING

ZECHARIAH 12:12

“‘The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves;’”

Mourning is a family affair. When a loved one passes, the whole family comes together to remember them, to share stories, to laugh and to cry. But in all my mourning experiences, it has also been my private mourning. I have mourned the death of a child, my dad, my mom, my brother and both my in-laws. Each death caused me to search my own heart to find the comfort from Christ.

Zechariah continues his thought on mourning in verse 12, but this time he turns to individual families. He looks at the house of David and also the house of Nathan. Who is this Nathan? 1 Chronicles 3:5 says, “These were the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, four by Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel;” So, Nathan was David’s son, the brother of Solomon. You see, this mourning had to be individual, not just a national mourning, but a family mourning.

APPLICATION

Or role as believers in this grief process is to be real. We don’t need to hide our tears. Believe me, that is not possible with me. I am Mr. Waterworks, lol. Be transparent without being dramatic. Go to the Psalms. They are full of words to comfort during these times. Psalm 34:18 is one of those verses. “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Here’s another one. Psalm 147:3 tells us, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” The point is this – His Word has the power to heal that gaping wound in your chest when your loved one is gone. Only Jesus can soothe you. No prescription, no counselor, no support group (and these are all fine and good things to tap into, if needed) will ultimately heal you. Only Jesus.

In all my grieving moments, nothing brought me more peace than to get alone with my God and talk to Him, knowing He was listening. God speaks to us if we will listen. His Spirit speaks to our spirit. I don’t understand how the heavenly cell service works. I just know it does. Spend some time listening today.

O Lord, I thank You that in my times of grief, You show up and take me into Your arms.

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Abiding, Belief, Bible, Comfort, Deliverance, Justice, Righteousness, Scripture, Truth

HE WILL BE OUR GOD

ZECHARIAH 8:8

“‘“and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.”’”

I was raised in church. My family attended every Sunday when I was growing up. It’s just what you did. If you didn’t go to church, then you didn’t fit into the community. It didn’t matter whether you went to the Baptist church or Methodist church or whatever. You just needed to be in church. However, I knew many people (myself included) who did that but did not live like they knew God or that He was their God.

Here in verse 8 of chapter 8, Zechariah finishes God’s fifth promise in this chapter by saying that they will be His people and He will be their God. How consoling! The people probably felt protected once again. God had welcomed them home with open arms. They were secure in His embrace. They had been redeemed from exile to return to their resting place.

APPLICATION

Is God your God? Well, of course, Carl. I pray that is true. I pray you know Him fully. Jeremiah 9:24 says, “‘but let the one who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the LORD.” It is interesting that the last part of today’s verse and this verse in Jeremiah include the same references to righteousness and truth (justice).

Why is that important? Why is it important that we recognize God as the God of righteousness and truth? Because without that, anything goes. There is only one right thing and one truthful thing. I was watching an old episode of “Touched By An Angel” on tv recently where one of the characters was a shady lawyer who bent the truth to get what he wanted. You can’t bend what is right. You can’t shade the truth.

We serve a God today who promises us the same thing He promised the Israelites in Zechariah’s day. He will be our God in truth and righteousness. That is made possible through His Son, Jesus. 1 John 5:12 says it clearly. “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” Isn’t that what you want?

I am so thankful You are my God in truth and righteousness. Help me live in the same way.

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Abuse, Affection, Bible, Blessing, Comfort, Commands, Deceit, Family, Friends, Goodness, Mercy, Scripture

DOING GOOD TO OTHERS

ZECHARIAH 7:10

“‘and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’”

When I read this verse today, I thought Who would hurt a widow or orphan? Who would mistreat a stranger or a poor person? However, I am very aware of the evil in this world. The intentions of man are not normally in tune with God’s principles. It’s a dog eat dog world, and some people will take anything from anyone at any time just to get ahead.

The Lord, through Zechariah, continues his instructions to the people. In verse 10 He expands His commands to include how to treat the widow, orphan, stranger and poor. The Hebrew word for “oppress” can be translated as deceive, defraud or violate. In other words, He is saying do not treat these people badly. All through Scripture we read how God cares for these individuals.

APPLICATION

I spent over thirty years caring for the “orphans.” My years in the child welfare field had me involved in residential care, foster care and adoptions. Nothing stirs the heart strings of people like sharing stories about these children. Is there a children’s home near you where you can volunteer? They always need volunteers. You will be blessed.

James 1:27 is one of my favorite verses. “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Our good treatment of these individuals is pleasing to our heavenly Father because they are near to His heart.

Look around you. There are tons of opportunities for you to minister to this population. Widows and widowers need friends they can talk to. Orphans need loving families. The strangers and the poor need a hand up. Just ask the Lord how He could use you. You might just be surprised at His answer.

Open my eyes to people around me who need some love and compassion.

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Bible, Comfort, Contentment, Peace, Rest, Scripture

PICNIC TIME

ZECHARIAH 3:10

“‘“On that day,” declares the LORD of armies, “every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.”’”

People love to go on a picnic. You know, wicker basket full of fried chicken, potato salad, apple pie and sweet tea (of course). The tranquility of those times is precious. You can nap lazily under the shade or dip your feet in a nearby stream. The peace of these moments is hard to beat. Peace, peace, peace!

That is exactly what the Lord was saying here in today’s verse. After all the wars. After all the days of exile, they can now invite neighbors for a picnic under the vine and fig tree. He is telling them they can be at rest now. Don’t you know that thrilled their hearts? Don’t you know they felt that peace for the first time in a long time?

APPLICATION

Micah wrote of this in Micah 4:4. “Instead, each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, because the mouth of the LORD of armies has spoken.” The same is true today. Jesus told us in John 14:27, “‘Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.’”

Aren’t you tired of the weariness of life? There is no need to continue striving, chasing after the wind, as Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes. Christ offers you the supreme peace. His peace doesn’t end when the picnic ends. Oh no. His peace is everlasting. It will never, never, never end. You can put your complete trust in that.

I am thankful I have the peace of God through Christ. This peace allows me to be at peace with men. Recently, I was starting a trip overseas. My flight was postponed three times before it was finally cancelled. I was rebooked the next day, only to get on board and have about an hour delay due to engine issues. But I was at peace. Why? Because it was His peace, not mine that ruled the day. I pray you can experience the same.

Oh, the sweet, sweet peace of Jesus, that rules my heart and soul.

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Advocate, Angels, Bible, Caregiver, Comfort, Cowardice, Fear, Hand, Protection, Scripture

THE WAVE OF HIS HAND

ZECHARIAH 2:9

“For behold, I am going to wave My hand over them so that they will be plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the LORD of armies has sent Me.”

I have known several young ladies who were beauty queens. My high school sweetheart was Miss Pelham. So was my sister. They both went on to compete in the Miss Georgia contest. One thing you have to practice as a beauty contestant is your hand wave. When you are riding in parades and such, you are expected to wave like a beauty queen. Don’t ask me how to do it because I have no clue, lol.

The angel who was delivering this message now switches to the first person. As God’s messenger, he will wave his hand over their enemies and defeat them. Look at that again. All he has to do is wave his hand. Wow! Now that is power. That is all it took – a wave of his hand, as God’s messenger. His power wasn’t his power. It was God’s. He pointed to that. “Then you will know that the LORD of armies has sent Me.

APPLICATION

In Job 27:11, Job tells his friends this. “I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.” God’s hand represented God’s way of dealing with the wicked. His method of operation is evident in His hands. God will deal with the evil forces of this world one day. We just have wait and watch.

So why do we cower in fear? All God has to do is wave His hand at those who try to defeat us. We are under His protection. We are His children. God tells us over and over in His Word to not be afraid. Yet we doubt His abilities. Now, if you asked someone if they believed God could do all these things, you would get an affirmative answer. Their behaviors, however, tell a different story.

My hands have been used to protect, soothe, comfort, wipe away tears and hold someone dear. God does the same with His hands toward us. If someone was attacking one of my loved ones, I would use my hands to defend them the best that I could. If we, as humans, will do that, don’t you think our heavenly will do that and so much more?

You’ve got the whole world in Your hands.

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Bible, Comfort, Compassion, Faithfulness, Grace, Love, Scripture

COMFORTING WORDS

ZECHARIAH 1:13

“And the LORD responded to the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words.”

You have heard it said that it is not so much what you say as how you say it. That is true. I have experienced that many times in ministry. Comforting words are not hard. They can do so much for the person listening. When people are hurting or worried, words of comfort can soothe the wounds. Comforting words are also deliberate and thoughtful. As we look at today’s verse, think about that.

I love this verse. Just look at the words again. The Lord spoke gracious and comforting words to the angel who was asking Him the question we saw in verse 12. The word used for “gracious” is towb, which is the basic word for good, kindly, joyful or beautiful. It is used over 560 times in the Old Testament. In contrast is the word for “comfort,” which is only used 3 times (here, Isaiah 57:18, Hosea 1:8). It means comfort, compassion or repenting. The Lord is showing His comfort and compassion as He speaks.

APPLICATION

Oh, listen to this verse today. The Lord is the same Lord who spoke those words. Psalm 103:8 says, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love.” Do you believe that? Have you experienced His comfort and grace? Boy, I have time and time again.

I also love Lamentations 3:22-23. “22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” How comforting is that? That’s our Lord. That’s our God. He hasn’t changed. And now we have that same responsibility – to share comfort.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 some of the most comforting words. “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” Will you be the source of comfort for others?

Thank You, Father, for Your comforting words. Give me those same words as I comfort others.

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Accountability, Allies, Battles, Bible, Comfort, Friends, Laughter, Relationships, Scripture

ANOTHER PROPHET

ZECHARIAH 1:1

“In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying,” 

You have probably heard the saying “Two are better than one.” I had rather have someone with me when I am traveling so we can give each other a break when driving. Climbers will often have a companion with them as they transverse a difficult mountain in case they need a belay. I believe God made us to need others in our lives.

Well, we are beginning a new book today which will take us several months to complete. Zechariah, by whom this book is named, was a contemporary of Haggai, the book we just finished. These two prophets were both relaying God’s message to His people. I am sure, in a country no bigger than Israel, they knew each other or at least of each other’s message. Perhaps they encouraged each other. Hang with me as we look at these 211 verses in this book, the longest of the minor prophets.

APPLICATION

Who is your companion in your walk with Christ? It may be your spouse or a close friend (those could be the same person). Perhaps it is a mentor. Whomever it is, thank the Lord for that person right now. We all need someone on this journey. In the ministry I am a part of, Every Man A Warrior, we teach men that they need other men in their lives to hold them accountable, to be their allies in the battles of life and to encourage them.

Maybe you’re saying Carl, I don’t have anyone in my life right now to come alongside me. Then find someone. You may be needed in the life of someone. You need someone to cry with and to laugh with. My wife and I have friends with whom we can do that. What a comfort they are to us. Ask the Lord to show you that person or persons.

Through the years I have had the privilege to minister with a lot of different people from all over the world. I have been blessed by them and hopefully I have been a blessing to them. I am sure Haggai and Zechariah were like that, if only for a little while. But above all, I have the Lord Jesus who is always with me. He can be your best friend too.

Thank You, Lord, for putting others in my life to do life with. I know You sent them to help me walk closer to You.

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Affection, Bible, Bitterness, Brokenness, Comfort, Despair, Encouragement, God's Will, Healing, Kindness, Love, Scripture

A NEW MESSAGE

HAGGAI 2:1

“On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying,”

Have you ever tried to encourage someone who was intent on feeling sorry for themselves? It is difficult to get them to see beyond themselves. All they see is what they don’t have, who has hurt them or how unfortunate they are. All the coaxing in the world will not get them out of their funk. Sometimes, you just have to be like Job’s friends who showed up and just sat with him (Job 2:13).

In the second chapter of Haggai, he is going to deliver a message of encouragement to the people. The date he mentions, the 21st day of the seventh month, happens to be the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles when Israel is supposed to be dwelling in structures outside and praising God for all He has done for them. It was the time to gather in the harvest and celebrate it. For the Israelites, however, they were discouraged due to the lack of the harvest and no temple in which to celebrate. Haggai has his work cut out for him.

APPLICATION

So, how do you encourage someone? Well, all I know to do is to point them to Jesus. We do have instructions in His Word. I am thinking of 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”

You see, it’s not our words that do anything. We just have to be present and show His comfort. His comfort is always perfect. We can’t force this on anyone, but we can be there when the time is right. Just as Haggai was given a message from God to deliver to the people, He will give us the words to say at just the right time. He promises that.

I am thankful that God can use me like that. One of the greatest opportunities of ministry for me has been to comfort friends and family in the loss of loved ones. I have been there. I have lost both my parents, a child and a brother. I have grieved with my wife in the loss of her parents. Just be there. You don’t have to go with a prepared speech. Let the Spirit guide you in the words He has for you. You have a message for them. It’s one of grace and mercy in Jesus Christ.

Father of compassion and God of all comfort, comfort those around me who are in need of mercy right now.

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