Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Spark denotes life. As men get older, they tend to lose their spark and zest for life, but I do not believe that it has to be this way. Men should take all the corrective measures possible to stop themselves from oxidizing and getting rusty. We know that drugs, alcohol, and pornography can ruin a man's personality. Sitting around and living a sedentary lifestyle, coupled with laziness, and not showing initiative, also takes the spark out of a man.

Mountain climbers would never dream of taking a man without any spark on such a dangerous expedition. God also wants men like Abraham and Caleb with lots of spark to climb His mountains.

Remember, it only takes a few sparks to get a fire going. The best sparks come from Christians filled with the Holy Spirit. Reading God's Word and praying daily are an excellent combination to create sparks.

~ Colin Campbell

God is calling for all Christian men to use every opportunity possible to be light shiners and salt preservers. It is high time for us men to tell it the way it is, no matter who is listening. We may get persecuted for it. We may lose our job for it. Even our friends at church, who we wish to impress, may despise us when we do not toe the party line. So what! It's time for men to "play the man" and get rid of all that is yellow and gutless.

No more time for powder puffs who hold their peace when the sword should be drawn.

~ Colin Campbell

But in chapter 14 we read of how with great courage, Jonathan and his armor bearer discovered themselves to one of the Philistine garrisons. Jonathan spoke words of faith and courage when he said to his armor bearer: "Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restrain to the Lord to save by many or by few."

In that first encounter, Jonathan, with his armor bearer, slew about 20 men, then God took over. Remember that the only people in all Israel with sword and spear were Saul and Jonathan. Through the spiritual weapons God has given us, we can be like Jonathan. Through prayer, we can expose ourselves, slay about 20 devils, and just see what God can do with the rest!

~ Colin Campbell

Abortion, adultery, divorce, homosexuality, marriage breakup and pornography are "accursed" and unless the church repents and cleanses itself through repentance and the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, we will continue to lose in the battles of the Lord.

~ Colin Campbell

~ Colin Campbell

All true Christians need to know that a once slain sacrificial Lamb dwells within their temple (body). He is risen from the dead and He will reign forever and ever. More than that, He is worthy to reign. It is a humble, submissive, meek, innocent Lamb who conquers sin, Satan, and all evil.

The truth is that God has chosen in Christ, lambs of meekness to reign over all of His creation. If we are not lambs in spirit and character, our use for God is very limited.

It takes lambs to make a successful marriage, a successful nation, a successful city, a successful church, and a successful in God's economy. We read in Revelation 19:7 that it is a Lamb that is wedded to the ready bride. The wedding of all weddings is called "The marriage supper of the Lamb." Two meek lambs joined together make a most successful marriage.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

In Revelation 5:6 John reveals Jesus Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, but also standing in the midst of the throne as a meek, submissive, innocent Lamb who is worthy to reign. His reign will be very powerful against His enemies.

Jesus was meek in spirit to those who had a repentant heart, but He was a Lion to those who opposed righteousness. Men, this is the kind of meekness God looks for in us.

Philippians 4:5 (JBP) says: "Have a reputation for gentleness."

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Meek men are not pushy, shovey, or demand their own way. They are not "bulls in a china shop" where there are lots of delicate porcelain dishes. They do not run rough-shod over other people's feelings.

Meek men are not haughty, proud, or arrogant in their associations with their fellow men.

It is wrong to associate meekness with weakness for Moses was a very powerful and strong leader as he led the Israelites out of Egypt. He was no pushover timid lamb when dealing with the hard-hearted Pharaoh. And yet Numbers 12:3 states: "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth."

Jesus Christ was not a man to mess with when it came to facing the devil or the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Yet in Matthew 11:28-30 He says, "Come unto me . . . learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Meek men are lowly and gentle with their wives and families but they are bold as lions when dealing with the enemy.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

The question is: Do we mourn over the innocent blood that is shed in the abortion clinics of our nation? Do we mourn more for the Christians who are beheaded, raped, and burned alive by ISIS? Both shed innocent blood and both deserve to be mourned. We should also mourn over the unclean pornographic addictions, not only in the world, but also via the Internet in the church. We should mourn over the marriage break downs within the church.

There are many things we should mourn over before the Lord in prayer. May God save us from insensitive hearts towards the great need in the world right now. What about the precious souls in North Korea who greatly suffer at the hands of a brutal, communist regime? What about the Christians who suffer and are tortured in Islamic nations? What about the multiplied millions of souls who have never once heard the gospel? Do we mourn over the corruption of our government? Do we mourn over the killings in our streets?

Does Jesus weep and mourn for the fatherless and widows? What do we do? Much of the time we seek for more pleasure and hardly shed a tear before out great High Priest and Intercessor. 

I think we desperately need our hearts to be softened so that we may feel something of the aching heart of Jesus Christ.

Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Should we not weep over our cities?

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Men, the poor in spirit are those who are not full of themselves and their own importance. They do not try to push their own way on others. On the contrary, the poor in spirit realize the importance of being broken for Christ. They have come to understand how much their spirits need Jesus Christ to fill them and take control of them.

Those who know anything about horses know that they are not much use to man until they are "broken in." The term "broken in" means that their will is broken to do the will of the master. The poor in spirit have their will broken in to Christ. They do not fill their spirits with this world's goods even though they may live in the midst of luxury. They realize that the gap in their spirits is uniquely made for God alone.

Any man or woman who enters into marriage with the idea of pushing or shoving their own unbroken will on to their spouse will find their house in ruins sooner or later. The Christian marriage must be Christ-centered, not self-centered. What's the use of even trying to hold a Christian marriage together when our spirits have not become poor (broken) to our own willfulness and selfishness?

There may not be many who can be rich in this world's goods and at the same time keep their spirits poor. I believe it is possible but the person would need to be mature and always on guard.

The kingdom of heaven that is given to the poor in spirit not only refers to the next life. Rather, it talks about the effects of the heavenly kingdom on our lives now. The joy, peace, and provision of the heavenly kingdom are for us to experience now. Our marriages also can experience the unity and love of the heavenly kingdom right now. However, the condition required to experience the blessing of the heavenly kingdom never changes. We must be poor in spirit to the things of this world.

God spoke to the prosperous farmer in Luke 12:20, 21: "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

In Song of Solomon 3:6 they ask the question: "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh, and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?"

The bride describes the Bridegroom in Song 5:13: "His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips (his speech) like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh . . . his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedar. His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend."

Men, this same Bridegroom lives inside of you and me by His Holy Spirit. Are you revealing these qualities to your wife? Do you speak gracious words to your wife?

John 12:16 says: "And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace." This anointing of the indwelling Bridegroom should make our Christian marriages very sweet, gracious, and full of gladness. This is what true Christian marriage is meant to be. These principle spices are in Christ for every Christian married couple to experience.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Those who begin their marriage by daily praying and reading God's Word together will soon discover the abundant happiness God wants them to experience. These principles, the most beautiful attitudes, that Jesus teaches are without exception to be learned and applied. It is sad that many Christian marriages are anything but happy and this is directly related to the amount of effort the husband and wife put in to apply these attitudes to their individual and collective lives.

What an amazing blessing for children to be brought up in an environment where these "principle spices" (Exodus 30:23), which I will talk about tomorrow, abound in both the marriage and family life.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell