Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Amos 3:3: “Can two walk together except they be agreed?”

Psalm 23:2 ”He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside he still waters.” Sheep need peaceful pastures where they are not threatened by raging, dangerous waters. In the same way, how can God’s sheep feed and grow healthy if the leadership are in conflict and disunity? How can the sheep be healthy and strong in the midst of in-fighting and strife among themselves?

Disunity, argument, and divisions are chains that bind the free flow of the Holy Spirit. They must be broken.

Psalm 133:1-3: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Notice the exclamation mark in this Scripture) It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the bead, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments. As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.”

The traditions of men are strongly spoken against by Jesus in Mark 7:1-13. Jesus states in verses 9 and 13: “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition . . . Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”

The washing of hands (v. 1-5) is not a bad tradition in itself because it can save the body from destructive contamination. However, to allow the washing of hands before eating food to become such an emphasis that it overtakes other matters of doctrine and conduct which are far more important is a serious problem. Hand washing, if neglected, is not a sin that will damn the soul, but fault-finding of the brethren and judging one another that breaks fellowship and writes others off is a chain that destroys the unity of the spirit. It hinders the commanded blessing God talks about in Psalm 133.

It is a far greater blessing to pray for one another than to constantly find fault with one another. Fault-finding causes our prayers to be hindered and revival to be squashed.

Fault-finding is a serious sin and many Christians do not realize how destructive it is. Of course, major sins must be addressed and rebuked in the spirit of meekness and love. However, many Christians find fault over so many non-essential matters with one another and this makes us no better than the scribes and Pharisees.

In Mark 7: 14 - 20 Jesus told us that it is not what enters into a man that defiles him, but the things which come out of his heart.

In Verses 20-23 Jesus lists the sins of the heart, that when spoken or acted upon, cause a man to be defiled: “And he (Jesus said), That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Many get so concerned about clean hands, yet are not so concerned about these soul damning sins of the heart.

How sad it is that we make God’s Word of none effect by the rituals and ways that we run our church services and family lives. As Christians, we need to examine the rituals and traditions with which we have been raised to see if they hinder the river of God from flowing freely. They can often negate and stop God’s Word from having full impact in our lives.

Is my knit-picking critical eye, which I regard as spiritual, hindering the flow of the Holy Spirit?

The question the Pharisees and scribes should have asked themselves is: Is there any real evidence that God is moving in my life other than the fact that I wash my hands? Are the sick healed? Devils cast out? Blind receiving sight? Deaf people hearing again? The dead raised up? People being saved and brought closer to God? If not, why not?

God did all these things through Jesus, but the scribes and Pharisees were more concerned about eating with unwashed hands. How petty can we be? Why do we get upset over so many trivial things?

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Pride is another chain that seeks to bind Christians and render us ineffective and powerless. The blessing of John 8:36 is conditional upon John 8:31, 32 “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

“The fear of man bringeth a snare” (Proverbs 24:21).

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

The fear of man is another chain that each individual follower of Christ must shake off. This chain hinders the operation of faith. It causes us to fear persecution by those who do not hold to our faith. This persecution can take many forms such as the fear or being imprisoned, tortured, or even martyred which is happening right now in many countries around the world.

Jesus addresses this fear in Revelation 2:10: “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall be tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

There is also the fear of losing family and friends for the sake of exercising faith in Christ in a manner that your family or church are not used to. In order to step out and exercise faith it may even cost you your job. One can easily be afraid of losing financial support.

In some cases, in order to step out in faith regarding healing, the medical profession could really make it hard on you and your family.

Hebrews 11 describes the “heroes of faith.” In order to exercise faith there were many difficult and challenging battles to overcome. Exercising faith is a fight of goodness against unbelief, all manner of human logic, and often times pure evil.

A revival of the anointing of the Holy Spirit will strengthen us to break free from the chains of fear.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Isaiah 10:27: “And the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”

The church must face the following question. How can the world have its chains broken while the church in general has not by faith appropriated the anointing of the Holy Spirit to cast off its own chains? We know that much of the world outside of Christ is bound up with chains of drug abuse, sexual perversions, violent tempers, mental oppressions and disorders, and all kinds of addictions. Our health experts do their best to try to help with all manner of drugs but they often have their own dangerous side effects.

WE BEGIN A NEW SERIES TODAY.

“He bringeth out those which are bound with chains” (Psalm 86:6).

I cannot help give praise to God for the victory for Ted Cruz in Wisconsin. The country needs a man with a proven track record of standing up against the liberal agenda of the Washington establishment. We simply cannot afford to put in another president just because he seems to say some good things, but has little if any history to back it up. We must continue to earnestly pray that God will continue to give Ted Cruz great favor in all of the remaining states, no matter what the polls or pundits say or think.

Men, we should never underestimate the great doctrine of grace. Where would any of us be without the grace and love so lavishly poured upon us through our Lord Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection on our behalf? At the same time, we must never underestimate the consequences of God’s wrath and judgment upon those who refuse to follow Him according to His terms.

The doctrine of judgment upon those who reject and rebel against God’s laws, His truth, and His love is indeed a strong doctrine in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Yes, even in the New Testament. I cannot help but applaud the teaching on the grace of God. At the same time I cannot help but disapprove of many Bible teachers who refuse to speak of the strong warnings given throughout Scripture on those who are willing to accept God’s grace, yet are not willing to forsake the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Exodus 34:7: “Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

How do we reconcile this statement by God concerning His judgment upon the offspring of fathers to the third and fourth generation? God has just stated in the same context that He is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Why is this beautiful picture distorted by His judgment upon the the children’s children?

What is the testimony of our God? “Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:7).

Naturally, there are not many kings who forgive those who commit rebellion and sin against them. In fact, most kings, even good kings, either banish them like Pharaoh did to Moses or they kill them outright.

James 2:13 (ESV) states: “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

God gave the law through Moses. While the law was perfect in itself, its application to the human race which is “born in sin and shapen in iniquity” pronounced doom, guilt, and judgment.

God wants the whole world to not only know Him for the greatness of His power, but rather for the greatness of all His goodness.

Exodus 33:18, 19: “And he (Moses) said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he (God) said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”

"If family worship is established in a home, it will be found that the following results will be apparent in that home. The father and the mother will be truer to Christ, for it will be quite impossible to pray in the presence of one's children and then to live inconsistent lives.

It will also be true that the children will have a sweeter and better memory of the home and if it be true that the father is able to provide few of the luxuries of life, he will make up for the absence of these things by the fact that he has put into his child's memory the consciousness that Christ was real in his early home, and that His influence was always felt, not only in time of sunshine, but quite as effectively when the shadows fell across the family life. In these days of stress and strain it is worth everything to a youth, or a man or woman of middle life, to have a memory that can hold when everything else has failed."

“Our daily devotions are the most needful of our daily works, and the most pleasant of our daily comforts. Prayer time must be kept up as duly as mealtime.”

~ Matthew Henry

“If the incense of prayer is to glow all day, it has to be renewed and kindled daily. The modern talk about being independent of times and seasons, so not needing definite periods of worship, is worse than rubbish. No man will have reverence diffused through his life, unless he has a consecrated reservoir of worship in the background of his life.”

~ Alexander MacLaren

The following are the qualities of a man who would lead the church of God. However, they should also be the qualities of all men, especially husbands and fathers. Each one of us have our own little church, our family. God shows us the way to lead our families. Let’s check list our lives against God’s Word:

“He must be a man whom no one can criticize. He must be the faithful husband of one wife. He must be abstemious, wise in the art of living, with an ordered beauty in his life.

He must be hospitably inclined and he must be skilled in teaching. He must not be too fond of wine. He must be gentle and not pugnacious. He must be peaceable and money must have no attraction for him.

He must preside well over his own family, with children who give him complete obedience and perfect respect. If a man does not know how to preside over his own household, how can he look after one of God’s congregations?

He must not be a new convert, in case he should become inflated with a sense of his own importance, and so incur the same judgment that was passed on the devil for his pride.

He must have a good reputation among those who are not members of the church, for he must never incur the risk of making himself a target for abuse, and he must never pride ammunition for the slanderer” (1 Timothy 3:1-7 William Barclay translation).

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

God reveals His glory in the fact that He is abundant in truth (Exodus 324:6). God is full of truth and He never holds it back from those who really want it.

John 8:32 says: “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

God’s abundant goodness is His glory that He revealed to Moses, but also to us. (Exodus 34:6). God’s goodness toward us is lavish. God does not give sparingly, but exceedingly and generously.

Annie J. Flint writes:
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

God’s glory is revealed in His longsuffering (Exodus 34:6).

Psalm 86:5: “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.”