Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

"I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt ENLARGE my heart" (Psalm 119:32).

Men, the closer our hearts get to God, the bigger they will be. If we are tight, insular, and self-entered, we have not really discovered the love of God's great heart and need to pursue a closer relationship with Him.

Having a large heart will cause us to run to do His commandments. We will not drag our feet to go where He wants us to go.

Question: Am I running with enthusiasm to do His will?

Be encouraged. Colin

More tomorrow on this subject.

"And there were two thieves crucified with him" (Matthew 27:38).

"And he made his grave with the wicked" (Isaiah 53:9).

Big-hearted men are men who do not hold grudges towards those who have messed up and fallen in life. Honestly men, where would any of us be if God held grudges like some of us do towards each other's faults and failings? Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that we should be big-hearted towards sin, for that is compromise. But, we must be big-hearted towards sinners in order to lovingly draw them back to God.

May God save us from our self-righteous attitudes towards sinners which can hinder the loving heart of Christ who died to save them. Jesus Christ was willing enough to die between two thieves in order to save them. That was not a coincident. It was a statement in order to save them. Now, that is being big-hearted, is it not?

How far are we men willing to go to save thieves, adulterers, etc. Honestly men, condemning  sinners and criticizing drug addicts, alcoholics, and perverts might make us feel more godly, but is it really godly? Keeping our distance from them won't get them saved.

Big-hearted men are more than willing to give sinners a second chance, or even "seventy times seven" chances that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 18:22. We may not trust them, but we must forgive them, Big-heartedness will often necessitate that our shoes will get a little dirty in order to win the lost or restore the fallen back to God.

Be encouraged. Colin

We must, by the grace of God, have our hearts changed from being self-centered men who are primarily taken up with our own comforts. Even the comforts of our family can be self-centered and far too tight and restricted for the great heart of God who so desires to bless others in their state of need.

Some may say, "Charity begins at home." Yes, that is true. Charity does begin at home, but it does not end there! God "so loved the WORLD." Not just the home. Not only Israel, although He has a special love for Israel which we will soon see displayed.

I believe that the great big loving heart of God that beholds the poverty and pain of so many in this world must be grieved by His own people's narrow mindedness and self-centeredness. I believe that God has ordained that all the human suffering in this world should be relieved and overcome by the intercessions, prayers, and love-giving of His people. In a way, God has divinely, although not entirely, limited Himself to the prayers and intercessions of His people.

God's people are called to be gap-standers (Isaiah 59:16; Psalm 106:23; Ezekiel 22:30), binders and losers (Matthew 16:19; 18:18), and intercessors (1 Timothy 2:1). In some cases, when God looks for His people's involvement but finds none, He acts sovereignly. But, His judgments may be tempered, even averted, by His people who have hearts big enough to be involved with the painful needs of this world.

Be encouraged. Colin

I believe that one of the greatest purposes for our lives on this earth is to be a blessing, to God and to our fellow man. It is a wonderful thing to hear it said of some woman that "She is really blessed to have a husband like that!" In other words, her husband is loving, caring, devoted, and kind. The truth be known, this should be said of all of us.

The same should be said about our fathering, "Isn't that child blessed to have a father like that!" In other words, the child's father is wise, understanding, caring, loving, and giving. These words should be said of all fathers.

If we really want to be a husband who truly blesses his wife, we should begin right now to devote our life to make this happen. If we want to be a father who greatly blesses his children, we should seek with all our heart from this time forth to devote ourselves to pursuing this end.

Acts 20:35 says, "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." Men who bless, and are blessed, are men who are givers. They give themselves to serve, to love, to say good things, and to encourage their wife, children, and others. They are so taken up with giving, that they never think about receiving.

Be encouraged. Colin

David exclaimed in Psalm 16:2-23, "O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; but to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight."

Each one of us have been born into this world to be a channel of blessing. As a child in my mother's Sunday School class I remember singing the hymn...

Make me a channel of blessing today,
Make me a channel of blessing I pray,
My life possessing, my service blessing,
Make me a channel of blessing today.

The root meaning of the Hebrew word, "bless" means "to kneel, to bow the knee." We bless God by kneeling before Him in adoration. In a sense, when God blesses us, He bows His knee in love and kindness toward us. We do this too when we attend to a plant we have planted in our garden. We bend the knee to fertilize and water it. We look at it and bless it.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 speaks of God blessing those who obey Him. These Scriptures are packed full of the most amazing blessings for both individuals and nations. All who earnestly seek to lovingly obey Him have the right to claim every one.

Jesus Christ, in is blessings can flow. This is His primary way of blessing. The truth is, according to the measure we bless others, we will be blessed.

Husbands, abundantly bless your wife. Fathers, abundantly bless your children. Men, seek earnestly to find ways to bless others, even when they don't deserve it.

Be encouraged. Colin

How thankful and grateful we should be that the God we serve is a God who loves to bless all His creatures, especially those who seek to follow Him.

I am sure that most of the prayers that Heaven receives day after day, year after year, even from the beginning of time, are prayers requesting God to bless. We all know that no matter how difficult our situation, God is more than able to bless us with deliverance and divine help.

When you pause and think of the multitudes of people who are calling on God every day and the millions of individual needs, whether small or great--from a toothache to a broken back, from a sore throat to a serious case of pneumonia, from the need of a few hundred dollars to pay the rent to several million dollars to save a business from failing--our God is more than willing to bless and supply all our needs.

I think that if Heaven is divided into departments, the blessing department would have to be the biggest of all. Perhaps the main reason why we love God so much is that He loves to bless us, despite all our failures.

Men, do you think that we who are created in God's image should also be big on blessing others? Just like our Heavenly Father?

Be encouraged. Colin

Faithfulness gives victory in battles.

Revelation 17:14 says, "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and FAITHFUL."

Men, when it comes to overcoming the enemies of the Lamb of God, one of the three requirements is faithfulness. If we want to be victorious in overcoming the many battles we face in life, we cannot possibly succeed on our own. We need the company of the Lamb. "And they that are with Him" and "the Lamb shall overcome them" the Scripture says.

The Lamb speaks of His meekness, humility, innocence, and faithfulness. Isaiah 53:7 describes him, "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." These character qualifications are also necessary for us in order to overcome the evil one.

Relation 19:11 says, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." The world does not understand lambs winning wars. Neither did Goliath with David. And guess who won? David.

Be encouraged. Colin

"Easy believism" could well be the greatest deception of the Christian church!

Psalm 116:10 says, "I believed, therefore have I spoken." This Scripture is repeated again in the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 4:13.

Men, I believe that faith without confession is just a lot of religious humbug. It counts for nothing. Bread is not bread until it is baked.

John 12:42-43 tells us, "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." I believe that their failure to confess Jesus revealed that they did not have saving faith at all. Their so-called belief in Christ was not sufficient to make them faithful to confess Him before their fellow men.

"Easy believism" could well be the greatest deception of the Christian church. It's okay to divorce one's spouse because of so-called "irreconcilable differences." What a cop out! It's okay to cheat on your spouse? No, it is not! Where is the faithfulness in that?

Faith without faithfulness is part of the broad way that leads to destruction.

Men, it is definitely not my desire to sound judgmental, for it is the grace of God that leads us to repentance, but repent we must for this sloppy, mushy thing we call the 21st century church.

Be encouraged. Colin

Men, the opposite of faithfulness is faithlessness. Now here is something to really think about.

I believe that one of the reasons why Christianity is so weak and ineffective in this 21st century, compared to the Christianity of the 1st century early church is that today's church has separated faith from faithfulness. And what do we have left?

• Faith without fullness.
• Faith without works (James 2:20).
• Faith without commitment.
• Faith without adherence.
• Faith without Christian discipline.
• Faith without following.

When Jesus saw Simon Peter and Andrew casting their nets into the sea, He said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him" (Matthew 5:18-22). This is faith with commitment. This is faith which is legitimized by following.

In the Greek, the two words "faith" and "faithfulness" are the same, "pistos." Check the Strong's concordance 4102 and 4103.

Each one of us will have to give an account to God as to our faithfulness. In this dark hour God is calling for men who are like Himself, created in His own image. A big part of this image is FAITHFULNESS.

Revelation 3:14 says of Him, "These things saith the Amen, the FAITHFUL AND TRUE witness."

Be encouraged. Colin

We love to sing the amazing hymn, "Great is Thy faithfulness." It seems a pity to me that the same words cannot always be sung about us men who profess to be His followers. And yet, the great faithful One dwells within us (1 Corinthians 3:16). What a paradox!

Men who profess Christ should be faithful in every area of their lives. God is calling for faithfulness in marriage, fatherhood, business deals, employment, prayer, and reading the Word of God. A man's word should be his bond. It should never be said that a Christian man cannot be trusted to keep his word.

One cannot be faithful, and at the same time go back on his word. It is wrong that politicians do it all the time. In some cases, they are respected by men, but they are certainly not respected by God. And in the end, they will have to answer to Him.

All stewards must be faithful. This is a number one requirement. 1 Corinthians 4:2 says, "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful."

Stewards are household managers. They are in charge of all the affairs and servants of the house or estate and are answerable only to the owner.

Men, we are steward of our body which is the house of God. We are also steward of our families that belong to God.

Be encouraged. Colin.

Christian men should be the kindest and most gracious men on the planet earth today.

A big powerful guy who can play a great game of rough football should also be a very kind man to all who know him. It would be wrong for a physically strong man to use his strength to bully and be roughshod with his fellow man. All men, whether weak or strong physically, should be known by all, including their wife and family, to be gracious and kind.

Manliness should never be used as an excuse to be mean and abusive to any one, especially to women (mothers, wives, and daughters). The Son of God may not have looked stronger physically than the average man, but He was not short on power to raise the dead, cast out strong devils, give sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf. He was a real man in the fullest sense of the word.

I do not agree at all with those who paint Jesus as feminine, or who preach a feminine Jesus. A man does not have to be physically strong to have authority. Jesus had authority to rebuke the wind and the waves and to bring forth Lazarus from the tomb. Yet, He was full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH."

If Jesus Christ lives in us, should not we also be full of grace and truth?

Be encouraged. Colin

Men, we should never equate graciousness only with femininity. It is wrong for us men to think that only women should be gracious and that men are to be rugged and tough and what we equate with real masculinity.

Talking of Jesus, Luke 4:22 says, "And they wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth."

While toughness and roughness tend to exemplify the masculinity of our nature, it must be kept in balance. To be continued.

Be encouraged. Colin

Christmas is all about loving and giving.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." 

Scripture reveals what the cradle of Bethlehem was all about. God never intended that loving and giving should be only demonstrated annually at Christmas. Christmas giving should only be the ICING ON THE CAKE.

May God open our eyes to the full revelation of becoming men who know and practice the love that causes us to be the greatest givers at ALL TIMES.

Be encouraged, Colin

Men, we who call ourselves born again Christians firmly believe that Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. This truth is one of the strongest pillars of our faith. The paradox is that this truth is not manifested as it should be in and through the daily lives of us "Christian" men who dare to call ourselves believers.

We know little of laying down our lives for Him who laid down His life for us. The obvious question is, how do we lay down our lives for Christ? The answer is not at all complicated. It is laying down our lives without reservation for others with the new dynamic that only the new birth in Christ can give.

Men, I do believe that before the fall in the Garden of Eden that loving and giving were like a great river that was not tainted or restricted, but flowed deep and wide. After the fall, love and giving became contaminated by self gratification and self idolatry. In other words, what can I benefit from giving and loving? The new birth must change this old selfish mindset of loving and giving to be all that Christ Himself exemplified by the laying down of His life.

Be encouraged. Colin

Men, there are too many of us who are somewhat tight-fisted when it comes to giving. This is not Christ like. I heard a testimony once from a daughter of missionaries who received a Christmas package from the USA. Part of it consisted of used tea bags! How disgusting!

The wise men that came from the Orient far brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Son of God. Our Lord and Savior gave His all for us, even to the shedding of His precious blood.

I believe one of the greatest evidences of our new birth in Christ is that we lose our stingy selfishness and become givers in thousands of different ways. It is possible to give with loving, but it is impossible to love without giving.

Our giving back to God cannot be separated from our giving to one another.

Be encouraged, Colin Campbell

Men, we often stir ourselves with desires to be more godly and more and more filled with the Holy Spirit. We may give earnest endeavor through much prayer and study of the Scriptures and yet in the end fail to reach out desired end.

I am a strong believer in the doctrine of earnestly seeking God, coupled with fasting and prayer, and yet there must come a time in which the seeking heart must come to the place or believing that our heavenly Father has heard our prayers and will faithfully provide us with the answers in His own time and way.

All physical and natural endeavor, even though pointed toward spiritual attainments, must in the end cease from struggle and in childlike faith and trust yield to the truth that "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). The truth is that every aspect of our salvation is a free gift from God and can never be earned by our most earnest endeavors. This is not saying that there is no need to seek God for higher plains, but rather that this endeavor is only that God can get our attention away from ourselves and earthly things. When God gets our attention, and not that we need to forever try to get Luke 11:13 says, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

Men, I believe that one of the greatest deceptions in our lives is to think that all that is required of us is to be good men. No, a thousand times, no. This is not good enough. Now, please do not misunderstand me. I am not putting down the truth that men need to be good. What I am saying is that just being good as far as God is concerned is not good enough.

In all religions there are some very good people who love their wives and families and are prepared to lay down their lives for their country and friends. There are many good men who are hard workers and faithful in their convictions as to what the believe. Even some atheists can be good men in many ways.

Likewise, in Christianity there are many "just good men," born again, but that's it! That's the beginning and the end of it!

But, this is not all that God is looking for in us men. He wants men who are born of the Spirit, led by the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, and filled with the Spirit. This indeed is real New Testament Christianity.

The old covenant written on stone lacked the power and fullness of the Spirit. All Christian men must shake the deadness of what is called "normal" in their church and learn what it means to experience the fullness of the Spirit.

Acts 6:3 says, "Look ye out among you seven men of honest report, FULL OF THE HOLY GHOST AND WISDOM, whom we may appoint over this business."

The fullness of the Holy Spirit is certainly not normal!

Be encouraged. Colin

Men, our greatest example of good works is Jesus Christ, whose life on this earth was full of good works. Jesus said in John 10:32, "Many good works have I showed you from my Father." If it was good enough for Jesus Christ to live a life full of good works, it should also be good enough for who say we are His followers.

Acts 10:38 says, "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." Jesus "went about doing good." Sometimes we just "go about."

Why is the church is reticent when it comes to preaching good works? Many evangelical churches avoid the subject like the plague which they do to their own detriment.

The neglect of the doctrine of "good works" has come about by the danger of churches believing that we can be saved by good works, which we cannot. However, justifying faith, which is not evidenced by a life of good works, is dead.

James 2:17 says, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." This means that true saving faith is manifest by good works. The truth is that just as an over emphasis on good works is dangerous doctrine, so is an over emphasis on saving faith without being substantiated by a changed life full of good works. This has possibly led many people in today's church to believing they are saved because they said a sinner's prayer.

But, we must ask ourselves, "Where is the evidence?" And "What is the evidence?"

Be encouraged. Colin.

God is looking for these men. Where are they?

Titus 2:14 says, "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

The word "peculiar" in the Greek means "being beyond usual, special, over and above, super abundance." In other words, we are God's "treasured people, His special chosen ones." I realize how much I need to claim in prayer this special zeal for good works in my own life, as well in all my fellow Christians around me.

Good works should not be something we do grudgingly and miserably measure out to our fellow man. We men, who claim to be Christians, should literally be oozing with creative and helpful ways to assist our fellow many on a daily basis.

Ephesians 2:8-10 makes it very clear that we are not saved by good works, but rather by faith. However, it also makes it very clear that we are saved by faith "UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Putting it plainly, we are to walk in nothing else but GOOD WORKS. And we are to be very zealous about them. This is what makes us special and different to everyone else.

Be encouraged. Colin

The Greek word for "zeal" is "zecos" meaning "heat, ardor, fervent mind." It's most important for us men to be zealous for our work, our families, our homes, our principles, and most important of all, our service to God.

A man without zeal will tend to be overly casual. He will be a "moocher" (Do you know this word? We use it in New Zealand and Australia for loitering about aimlessly.)

A man lacking a zeal is like trying to drag around a heavy weight. He has no spring in his step, no oomph in his personality, no twinkle in his eye, and no passion for anything. He is like a dead man walking. He is a bore to be around, a fire without heat, a drag on society.

This is not the man created in the image and likeness of God. The devil creates zombies. God creates men with fire in their bones.

Zeal knows no apathy. It deplores laziness and slackness. It believes in creativity, enthusiasm, and a job well done. Zeal cannot tolerate sitting around and accomplishing nothing (mooching!)

Zeal loves motivation. It rejoices in challenges. It will fight for what is right.

Seven times God is mentioned as possessing and acting with zeal. Zeal is a great motivator. If God uses it to get things done, so should we.

Isaiah 9:7 says, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

Be encouraged. Colin