RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

"If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ, because He Himself is the way."
Thomas Aquinas

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION FRI DEC 31

Romans 13:11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Maranatha!!! 2011 could be the year of our Lord's return!!!

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

"For I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe-that unless I believe I shall not understand."
Saint Anselm

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION THUR DEC 30

1 Corinthians 12:4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

"I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden."
Saint Augustine

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION WED DEC 29

Job 1:20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”

22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words."

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION TUE DEC 28

2 Timothy 4:1...I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you."—Unknown

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION MON DEC 27

1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION SUN DEC 26

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

“Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.”
William Carey

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

Love means to love that which is unlovable; or it is no virtue at all.
Gilbert K. Chesterton

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION SAT DEC 25

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given...And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

"The most astonishing thing about miracles is that they happen."
G. K. Chesterton

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION FRI DEC 24

Luke 2:13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION THUR DEC 23

Psalm 89:1 I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. 2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever,that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

"If there were no God, there would be no Atheists."
G. K. Chesterton

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION WED DEC 22

Romans 13:11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION TUE DEC 21

Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
As the saying goes, "Wise men still seek him." (Women, too.:) )

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION MON DEC 20

Luke 7:47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

"One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. The first requisite is life, always."
A.W. Tozer

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION SUN DEC 19

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

“Oh, the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth!”
Jim Elliot

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION SAT DEC 18

Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION FRI DEC 17

Mark 8:27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of ...the prophets.” 29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION THUR DEC 16

Philippians 1:9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

"Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if He wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you strength."
Philip Neri

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION WED DEC 15

Matthew 21:31b "Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him."

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES QUOTE--TUE. DEC. 14

"A man who governs his passions is master of the world. We must either command them or be enslaved to them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil."
St. Dominic--1170-1221

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION TUE DEC 14

Romans 6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION MON DEC 13

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION SUN DEC 12

Psalm 33:20 We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice,for we trust in his holy name. 22 May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

RESTORATION & ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES BIBLE SELECTION SAT DEC 11

2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

HELPING PEOPLE

I was raised as a Roman Catholic. When I came to know the Lord at the age of eighteen, I remained a Roman Catholic for the next few years. During that period of time, I felt a calling to the pastoral ministry, and I left the Catholic Church to pursue my ministerial studies. I joined an African-American Holiness Church where I was mentored by the pastor, who became my spiritual father in the faith.

It was right after I got saved, before I even left the Catholic Church, that the words of our Lord came to pass, ”I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” The division was between my mother and me. She did not like the fact that I was now “religious.” Things got worse when I left the Catholic Church. For years, all I heard from my mother was, “but what made you change?” Meaning, why did you get so religious and leave the Catholic Church? Paradoxically, she was the proud mother of a minister, always telling people that her son would perform their wedding ceremony or officiate at someone's funeral.

But at the same time, she would occasionally ask me what made me change. Every time that she would ask that question I would answer with the salvation message or another word from the Bible, or I would explain that this was what the Lord had called me to do. Nothing that I said would satisfy her.

One time when she asked, I got distraught. However, my response this time was, I believe, a word from the Holy Spirit. I said, ”Mom, didn't you and dad raise Johnny (my younger brother) and me to help other people?” “Yes,” she responded. “Well,” I replied, “that's what I'm doing, I'm helping people.” That was the last time that she asked me that question.

All Christians, not just the clergy, should be helping people, whether they are believers or not. Jesus ministered to all people. For example, Jesus ministered to His disciples, as well as the Roman centurion and the Canaanite woman. He didn't ask them where they were spiritually, he ministered to their needs whether they were spiritual or physical.

The Apostle Paul's exhortation in Galatians 6:10 is, “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (italics mine)

There are so many ways that we can let our light shine in a world of darkness. Sometimes it's just simple things that can mean so much to a person. Letting a person know that you are available to assist them in any way you can is very encouraging. It's so nice to know that they are not alone. Someone cares about me!

So many people identify with the psalmist and say, “I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me.” Psalm 142:4, New Living Translation.

So then, what are some of the ways that we can help and encourage someone who feels like that?

Here are a few suggestions:

A simple phone call or email or a greeting card saying that they are in your thoughts and prayers goes a long way. Let them know also that you are available to talk and pray.

Love them and show compassion! If the person has committed sin or hasn't been to church in a while, don't make them feel guilty or condemned, show them the love and compassion of Jesus. Remember that we are His ambassadors, we represent the Lord!

One thing that is a great help to people is just to listen to them. So many times I wouldn't have an answer to a person's dilemma or I didn't know what to say, but they were so grateful that I just listened to what they had to say. Show empathy, show an interest in them and what they are saying and how they feel. In his book, How to Be a People Helper, Dr. Gary Collins writes about the importance of listening to others, “An unwillingness to listen can sometimes be a great obstacle to helping. […] Our task as helpers is to understand the helpee and show by our listening that we care.”

A number of years ago, heading home from Boston on the train I got into a conversation with a woman from Los Angeles. She had just dropped her daughter off at Harvard, and she was so distraught at the thought that her daughter would be 3,000 miles from home for the next four years. She poured her heart out to me the entire train ride to the airport. At one point, she said that she is not the type of person who would share things with a complete stranger. When I told her that I was a minister, she said that she wasn't surprised, because I listened to her and showed concern.

When she departed the train and walked up the stairs towards the airport, she turned and smiled and waved at me. I didn't have to say anything. I didn't have to give counsel or suggest she read a book on empty nest syndrome. All I did was listen to her and, having two daughters myself, I was able to show empathy. Although I didn't get the opportunity to pray and witness to her, the Lord brings her to mind from time to time, and I do ask that He would bless her and her family.

Like Jesus, be a servant. Find out what a person's needs are and serve them. Ask the Lord to give you opportunities to be an encourager to one that is hurting. Also, tell your pastor that you are willing to be a servant in the house of the Lord and you want to be put to work in the church. Oh, how we pastors love to hear that!

“Be sure to use the abilities God has given you […]. Put these abilities to work; throw yourself into your tasks […]. Keep a close watch on all you do and think. Stay true to what is right and God will bless you and use you to help others.” 1 Timothy 4:14-16, The Living Bible.

Lord bless you as you serve Him by helping others. Amen!

A SUCCESSFUL FAILURE

Everything was going well until they were over 55 hours into the flight and almost 199,000 miles from Earth. At that time, an explosion was heard and these famous words were uttered, “Houston we've had a problem.” (Although often misquoted in popular use, these were his actual words.) It was the voice of Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell. He and his crew were attempting the third lunar landing in April 1970.

Mission Control in Houston had no choice but to abort the mission and bring the crew home. It was easier said than done. The explosion in the command module was causing a loss of oxygen. Lovell and his two crew members needed to take refuge in the lunar module, which was made only to accommodate two astronauts to land on the moon. That was the least of their problems. They only had a two-day supply of oxygen left and the return trip to earth would take three days.

Because of the work of Mission Control and Lovell and his crew, they miraculously made it home. Commander Lovell said that the mission was called a successful failure in that they returned safely but never made it to the moon.

The plan was for Apollo 13 to land on the moon, explore, and return safely home. They did not set out to fail in their mission. A student studies for a test in order to get a passing grade. A teen practices her driving in a parking lot to prepare for getting her driver's license. An athlete runs for hours every week to prepare for a race. Regardless of all the time and effort the student may flunk the test, the teenager may fail to get her driver's license, and the athlete might finish dead last in the race. Nobody plans to fail, but sometimes it happens.

Moses did not plan to strike the rock when the Lord told him to speak to it in order for water to flow out of it. King David did not decide to fail the Lord and purposely set out to look for the beautiful bathing Bathsheba so that he could fornicate with her. The boastful, but lovable Peter meant it when he said that he would not deny the Lord even though the others would. I believe that these men did not deliberately and willfully plan to fail the Lord by committing these terrible sins.

And you and I did not devise a scheme that would ensure failure in our walk with the Lord. However, there were times that we yielded to temptation and fell into sin, missing the mark and falling short of His glory. Although we hate to admit it we failed. We may have had a failure, but we are NOT failures!

After we confess and repent of our sins, the first thing that is necessary for the failure to be a success is that we learn from our failures. What caused us to fall? What did we do or not do that contributed to our failure? What must we do so that we won't be deceived again?
Did we neglect the reading of God's Word? Did we not spend much time in prayer? Have we been faithful in attending church? Did we read something or watch a movie that we should not have? Did we dwell on a sinful or lustful thought?

I love what Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer says in his book Failure: The Back Door to Success, “Whenever we can pinpoint sin in our lives, we are on the way to true spiritual progress.”

Second Corinthians 13:5 exhorts us to examine and test ourselves. With the Lord's help take a “spiritual inventory” of your life. In what areas of your life do you struggle? What sin do you seem to commit over and over? And why has victory over that sin eluded you?

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon, was once asked what he would do if the engine on his spacecraft failed and he had only one hour to live. What would he do? Aldrin replied, “I'd work on the engine.”

With the Lord's help “work on the engine!”

Secondly, let's allow our failures to draw us closer to the Lord in order not to commit the same sins again. In Hebrews 4:16 the Lord gives us a wonderful invitation to come boldly or with confidence to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. “Come near to God,” says James, “and he will come near to you.” (4:8)

Thirdly, do not listen to the lies of the devil or anyone who would try to condemn you. Remember, there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1. Feeling condemned will not help us to progress spiritually.

After the lesson has been learned and we are beginning to live victoriously with the Lord's help, help others so that they won't fall into the same trap that we fell into. Encourage and build them up if they have fallen. The Lord showed you mercy, now show others mercy.

An uplifting tune that I enjoy listening to is sung by one of my favorite singers, Natalie Cole. It is a secular song, but it conveys a word of encouragement when we fall. The song is entitled “Pick Yourself Up.” Here are some of the words:

Pick yourself up, take a deep breath
Dust yourself off and start all over again.

OK, my brothers and sisters it's time to take deep breath, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and continue to run that race set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:1,2.

“Pick Yourself Up.” Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, c 1936 (copyright renewed) PolyGram International Publishing, Inc.
“Stardust” Natalie Cole 1996 Elektra Entertainment Group

MY FAVORITE SCRIPTURE

“John 3:16.” “Romans 8:32.” “Psalm 23.” These are some of the responses that you may receive when you ask a believer what their favorite scripture is. Certain scriptures have a special meaning for us. It may be a passage that reveals the love of God, tells a moving story about forgiveness, or shares a faith-building word about prayer.
My answer to that question would be Philippians 3:13, 14. “...but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (KJV)
This scripture reminds me not to look back at my past sins, whether committed before or after salvation. I am comforted in the fact that they are under the blood of Jesus, never to rise up in judgment against me. Therefore, I am not allowed to experience guilt or feel condemned. Since I have confessed these sins and repented of them I am exhorted by the Word now to “Go forward!”
As a pastor, many times I’ve had people say, “But pastor, you don’t know what I’ve done.” I respond by saying “I don’t and I don’t have to know.” All that matters is that we confess our sins to God and repent of them. (Of course, if the sin was serious and especially if it was committed by a church leader then it needs to be dealt with. But that’s when a restoration process begins).
If we have confessed and repented of our sins we need to go forward. We need to stop beating ourselves up and rid ourselves of the guilt and condemnation. We must not let the devil or anyone lay a guilt trip on us and condemn us. Looking back will not allow us to be of service to the Lord and His church. I don’t know of any scripture that exhorts us to “Look back or stand still” in the matter of our sins and failures.
I encourage you to confess your sins, repent of them, and “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!”
“Life's greatest tragedy is not to fall down, it's to stay down. The greatest disaster in life is not to fail, it's to park there, and say 'What's the use?'” Rowland Croucher www.churchlink.com.au/churchlink/forum/life.html

THE MISSION AND VISION OF RESTORATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT MINISTRIES

“…nothing can be written about ministry without a deeper understanding of the ways in which the minister can make his own wounds available as a source of healing.”
Henri J.M. Nouwen in “The Wounded Healer”

As a Christian for 38 years and a minister of the gospel for 33 years, I have seen both the good and the bad meted out by the church. I've seen brothers and sisters torn down, ripped apart, gossiped about, neglected, forgotten, etc. Because of the wounds that I have — many as a result of my own sins — I believe that the Lord has called me to be what Brother Nouwen calls a “Wounded Healer.”
Some of our t-shirts and bracelets reveal the thought-provoking WWJD – What Would Jesus Do? Always a good thought before a decision is to be made, but how often do we consider what Jesus would do for the sister who has fallen into sin? What would He say to the brother who is troubled by the disappointments in his life?
The Word provides the answers: “Restore…in a spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1) and “encourage and build up one another” (1Thessalonians 5:11)
It is my prayer that this blog would aid in the restoration of the fallen and provide encouragement to wounded, hurting, and abandoned Christians. Amen.
“Think of me as a fellow-patient in the same hospital who, having been admitted a little earlier, could give some advice.”
C.S. Lewis in “A Severe Mercy” a letter to Sheldon Vanauken.