Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Psalm 103:8-11: “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.”

Psalm 145: 8, 9: “The LORD is gracious , and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.”

I often find myself tempted to get stirred up in my spirit at people who are not considerate to others, especially people who are too pushy and want to control others. Thank God, I do not get aggressive and have learned to quickly take control of my spirit so my mouth does not react too badly.

God is so much more gracious with people’s offences than we are. However, we must all realize the danger of all forms of anger, whether it be violent or just mild and simmering. We must not let anger or disappointment hinder our prayers.

Prayer is one of the greatest needs of this hour and we must allow nothing to weaken or hinder it. To love the people of God with all their faults and failings is paramount.

One of the best ways to pour water on anger or offence is to pray for those who persecute us or offend us. This quickly sweetens our spirits.

Matthew 5:44 says: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them at curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

Proverbs 14:29 says: “He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.”

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

One of his strategies is to get us into disunity with one another. Disunity pours buckets of cold water on our prayers, no matter how artfully they may be crafted, how fervently they may be spoken, or how long they may be said.

Effective prayer must be in the spirit of agreement. Jesus says in Matthew 18:19 states: “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” However, this powerful statement concerning united agreement in prayer must be seen in the context of the preceding verses (v. 15-17) where everything possible is done to restore broken fellowship with anyone and everyone who has trespassed against us.

In Matthew 5:21-26 Jesus speaks very strongly against all who angrily speak hatred and unloving words against their brothers and sisters in the Lord. Verse 24 exhorts us: “Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; FIRST be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”

We must earnestly make things right between each other before expecting God to accept our prayers, praises, or anything we seek to offer Him.

To be continued.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Most believe it is Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. However, his condition is deteriorating rapidly whereas Hodgkin’s is usually slower. We hope to receive results today. We pray he will not need to have chemotherapy which would hinder his fertility. They are newly married and desperately long for children.

Isaiah, of similar age, is in the Trauma facility in the same hospital and miraculously recovering well from his near fatal car crash. We will leave soon to go up and visit them again today.

Our nightly prayer meetings still continue. We are now in our ninth week. Our eyes are upon Jesus Christ who bore all our sins and sicknesses on the cross. We believe for God’s miracle of healing for Arden.

All that has happened has caused us all to draw much closer to God. Even in the midst of so mu h crises, God holds up our spirits. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers at this time.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Men who go to war with that kind of attitude should really stay at home. Cannot God give us a willing and zealous hearts for the good fight of faith? We have to come to a place where we actually enjoy the battle. In God, I believe that we can.

God’s battles are not for the nervous and faint-hearted. God’s battles deserve soldiers who are more than timid, complaining, griping whiners. This good fight of faith needs soldiers who will run like David did to slay the giants of sickness, disease, and all the evils of our time. There is no failure or shortage of strength to win the fight from God’s perspective.

Our attitude should never be, “How much more can we take?” We have been born again, not to cruise through life on soft, cushy beds of roses. Never. Perish the thought. “Through our God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies” (Psalm 108:13).

Our attitude should be, “Wow, how exciting is the battle. Bring it on, God.” “Because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

David’s mighty men of valor were certainly not men looking for a way out to escape the fight. No, a thousand times, no. Because of our faith relationship with Jesus, the mightiest Warrior of all, we can face the giants of cancer, damaged brains, and broken backs with willing zeal and inner joy.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

We usually begin the prayer meetings with encouraging words from F. F. Bosworth’s book, “Christ the Healer,” first written back in 1924. This book is a “must read” for all Christians. It is one of the most excellent treatises and study on this important subject.

Following a portion of the book, others share Scriptures, words of encouragement, and sometimes even dreams they have currently received. Even the children love to read words of Scripture. Following this we zero in on specific targets we are strongly concerned about who need healing.

We then turn on the worship songs through our P.A. system. We the love the worships songs that encourage us to rejoice in His power, love, and mercy to heal, no matter how bad the symptoms. During this time people are free to walk around, lift up holy hands, dance, sit, or lie prostrate before the Lord. During this time adults and children spontaneously lay hands on Arden. Mark 16:18 states ¨They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

This last Sunday night one of our grandsons, Isaiah Allison (Arden’s 20 year old adopted brother) was with us for the prayer meeting. While journeying home to his apartment in Franklin he had a very serious car crash. The car rolled and his head was crashed so many times and his left ear ripped off. It took them two hours to extract him from the car and he was air lifted to Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville. He is currently in an induced coma especially because of the swelling of the brain.

This has added much pressure upon the immediate family. Fortunately, we are told he has no bones broken and miraculously his life was spared. We have now seen pictures of the car. When it was taken to the Wreckers, the guy said that no one could live from that car.

God has given us a measure of peace and now our prayer times are ramped up even more than ever as we pray for two grandsons who both need a mighty miracle from God. Please pray and believe with us.

Our faith is indeed being tried in the furnace of affliction, but our God is faithful and His word is faithful. All His promises are Yes and Amen in Christ. And it is impossible for God to lie. Our desire is that our faith be purified and come forth as pure gold.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

We must fight against all negative statements that want to come out of our mouths. Our confession is the affirmation of biblical truth that we have embraced. However, we have to fight the enemy of our confession in order to maintain the continual affirmation of these biblical truths.

It is right and proper that we confess our sins to the Lord as well as our faults one to another so we can be forgiven and healed. 1 John 19: says: “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

James 5:16 says: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” Whatever God says He has accomplished for us at the cross we must confess the same thing. The enemy will always try to silence our confession and therefore we have to fight the fight of faith in order to say what God says.

The negative faults we have confessed and are forgiven are not our continual confession, but rather the positive, the edifying, forgiveness, and healing should be the constant confession of our mouths.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Just in case some may dislike the whole idea of fighting, this Scripture tells us it is a GOOD FIGHT! Some folks are laid back and would rather retreat from the battle. Others just love to get into the midst of the fight; they can’t help themselves.

However, not all fighting is good. If the fight has no spiritual value it is better for us to stay out of it and not get involved. Those who are always wanting to fight it out with someone would be better to spend time and energy fighting the GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH against the devil, instead of people.

Every Christian must get the revelation that we have all been called to fight. If we don’t stand up and fight the devil will win and cheat us out of our land of many promises. We must fight to maintain our confession of truth. All the promises of God hold within them “eternal life,” the abundant life, the dynamic spiritual life that we are to lay hold of (Ephesians 6:12).

Eternal life is not only futuristic or only for when we get to heaven. No, a thousand times no. This attitude tends to complacency. “Laying hold” in this context means “to seize and hold ground from the enemy.” The enemy does not have the power and authority to stop us from possessing and laying hold any promise from God, but he tries to trick us, deceive us, and resist us in every way possible. We must not let him cheat us. We must not allow him to fool us any longer, for greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).

We have been called to fight. We will arise and fight. We will lay hold, grasp, snatch, and seize every square inch of the promises He has bequeathed to us by our inheritance in Christ.

Men, we need to ask ourselves: what promises are we fighting to lay hold of and possess today? Giving mental assent to truth is not good enough for it does not require much fighting We must get into the action of believing in our hearts and CONFESSING WITH OUR MOUTHS (Romans 10:9, 10). Only then will we possess ground.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

As New Testament believers in our heavenly Joshua (Jesus Christ) we are also possessing a promised land which is heavenly and with many “exceeding great and precious promises” ( 2 Peter 1:4) that are to be claimed and appropriated even while we are here on this earth marching towards our heavenly Zion. It is a far greater type than the earthly promised land.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Has not God given to us EXCEEDING GREAT AND PRECIOUS promises that by these promises we are able to escape the corruption that is in this world? Not only through immoral lusts, but also the corruption of spiritual attacks, e.g. fears, oppressions, depression, inferiorities, poverty, sickness, and diseases.

God has given us many amazing promises. The Bible is full of them. How sad it is that although we say we believe in the God of miracles, we miserably fail to demonstrate His miraculous power in our daily lives. Every promise of God remains static and ineffective until we act upon it by appropriating faith.

As parents we owe it to our children to teach them how to appropriate the promises of God. Every promise of God has a miraculous element to it. Every promise of God has a spiritual element to it. Every promise of God has to be appropriated, acquired, acted on, claimed, believed in, and fought for.

Passive believism is intellectual, mental assent that believes the promises, but does not fight for them in order to possess them. We may sing about them, such as “Standing on the Promises,” but singing alone, without active faith is static and dormant. We may even preach about them and yet still do nothing to appropriate them. It takes effort and the will to fight for the land of the promises.

And this is where God’s people hesitate. People may say, “Hasn’t Jesus fought the great battle for us at the cross? Indeed He has. Amen and Amen. But this does not exempt us from the warfare. We have to fight to take the ground Jesus fought Satan over in order to experience full salvation.

The devil does not want us to inherit all the promises Jesus won for us. He fights us all the way, and in every way, to deceive and cheat us out of our inheritance of all God’s amazing promises. But he has no authority to defeat us and we can push him back. We can overcome him by the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 12:11 says: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

Are you a “possessing the promises” man?

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Jesus Christ is the author, founder, and instigator of everything we confess. Therefore we must be careful to say the exact same things He told us to say. We better not confess what He has not told us to speak about. All that we say as followers of Jesus Christ must align with what Jesus Christ said in His Word and what He is still saying today. His message has never changed for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Jesus Christ has an unchangeable priesthood. Hebrews 7:24 says: “But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.” His message has not changed. He still wants all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).

When Peter went to the house of Cornelius the Gentile, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, he opened his mouth and spoke: “How 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.”

What Jesus did then, He still does today through those He has anointed. God the Father validated the words of Jesus with healing and miracles to reveal, as proof and evidence, that God was with Him. This has not changed to those who care enough to believe it. As much as we confess the power and authority of Jesus Christ to forgive repentant people of all their sins, even so must we confess His power to heal all those who are oppressed of the devil.

To those who confess that the age of miracles, signs, and wonders is over, it will be over for them, because they do not confess what Jesus said in Mark 16:15-18: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

As the High Priest of our profession, Jesus said it to his disciples, and He continues saying it today. If we are not saying what He said, and may I add, all that He said, and are saying something different, then He is not the High Priest of our profession. And we must be false prophets.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Men, there is something terribly wrong if we do not confess with our mouths that Jesus was put to death, buried, and raised again the third day. I believe our confession of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection on our behalf should never be considered a onetime act, but rather a present continuous confession. In other words, we are to believe and keep on believing, as we confess and keep on confessing.

The word “confession” in the Greek is “homologeo.” It means to agree and confess what another is saying and in this instance that other person is Jesus Christ Himself.

Hebrews 4;14: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (homologeo).”

Hebrews 10:23 says: “Let us hold fast the profession (homologeo) of our faith without wavering.”

Whenever we have the opportunity we must not be ashamed to confess our faith. To be ashamed reveals that is something very wrong with our believing. But this is just the beginning. We are to believe and confess all of God’s promises to us. This is the only way we can appropriate all the good things God has provided for us.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Unfortunately, many in the church continue to confess unbelief and negativity because they do not let God's Word dwell in them richly. Because of this failure to let the written words of God dwell in us richly we allow the enemy to fill us with doubts, fears, and negatives that do not profit us or anyone listening to us. In doing this we unintentially take sides with the devil by confessing all the fears, worries, and anxieties with which he loves to fill our hearts and souls.

We who call ourselves Christian need to take stock of what we confess to one another. As the day of Christ's coming draws ever nearer we are to exhort and encourage one another with life-giving speech from the Word of God (Hebrews 10:25). It's only God's Word that has the power to lift us up our of despair and heaviness of heart and mind.

Sad to say, most Christians have very little understanding of this truth. They would die quickly if they fed their bodies the same miserable diet they feed their souls.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Obedience to every word of Christ is paramount to our success in spiritual warfare. Every parent is blessed if they have compliant and obedient children to their parental authority. How grieving when children choose to be defiant and disobedient.

God speaks through Isaiah the prophet in Isaiah 1:2: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.”

In response to their disobedience He continues: “When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear . . . If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it” (read Isaiah 1:15-20).

Men, we need to take stock of our obedience to Christ. God does not approve of grudging obedience. He wants us to give Him willing obedience.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 states: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

What evidence do we display before God and our fellowman that we are indeed people of faith? Hebrews 11:1 calls faith a “substance” and an “evidence.” Do we demonstrate in our lives that we believe in things that as yet we do not see with our natural eyes?

We believe we are saved through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We believe that our sins are atoned by the shedding of His blood. I believe the difference between people of faith and the people who are not of faith is the substance and evidence of a changed lifestyle. A big part of this changed lifestyle is a changed confession.

Psalm 116:10 states: “I believed, therefore have I spoken.” Also confirmed again in 2 Corinthians 4:13: “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken: we also believe, and therefore speak.”

Our faith is revealed by our confession. Romans 10:9, 10 states: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

The word saved is “sozo” which means full salvation--saved, healed, delivered, preserved, protected, and made whole. It is the same word Jesus used when he healed the people and they were “made whole” from that moment.

Considering our faith is revealed by our confession, why do we so readily quote Isaiah 53:5 “With his stripes we are healed” and at the same time confess our sicknesses? This is an opposing confession.

James 3:10 says: “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”

To be continued.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

“Be careful for nothing” means we should not be anxious about anything. Don’t fret about anything. The NCV translation says: “Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, ALWAYS GIVING THANKS.”

Worries and cares are part of the devil’s weaponry to defeat us. We need to wake up to the root cause of all our anxieties.

“Be careful for nothing” is not an exhortation that is impossible to apply to our lives Multitudes in this great and free country are bound with worries and anxieties, even in the Christian church. Living in a free country does not exempt us from worrying about all sorts of things. Instead of prayer and supplications, coupled with thanksgiving, many take anti-depressant drugs or stifle their problems with alcohol.

The more we worry, the more we magnify the problem, resulting in our becoming exhausted and defeated. The devil claps his hands and jumps for joy to see us miserable and defeated. The more we dwell on anxiety the more we magnify the devil.

Conversely, the more we pray and supplicate, coupled with the most important ingredient of thanksgiving, the more we magnify the Lord. Faith is released. We understand that God is on our side and He is much bigger and greater than our problems, whatever they may be.

The great question is: will we be foolish enough to magnify the devil’s attacks and strategies, or will we instead magnify God by turning each problem over to Him.

The greater the problems, the greater we should pray and intercede. The greater the problems, the greater we should worship, thank, and bless our great God.

We have not grown up into maturity as a church unless we put this principle into action in our own lives and in the lives of our families and friends.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Praising and worshipping God is a great booster, worshipper, and precursor of faith. When we magnify God, we enlarge Him in our faith. Faith cannot remain small in the souls of those who constantly magnify and extol Him. Magnifying God does not make God any greater than He is. Magnifying God opens up the eyes of our hearts to realize more and more just how great He already is so that we can apply the realization of His greatness to our every need.

Psalm 34:1, 2 states: “ I will bless the LORD AT ALL TIMES: his praise shall CONTINUALLY be in my mouth. My soul shall make her BOAST IN THE LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.” There is not a time when we are exempted from praising and worshipping God, no matter how bleak and dark the outlook. There will always be something for which to praise Him.

Apart from Jesus Christ, I do not think anyone could have suffered more than Job and yet he still found a way to bless the Lord. Job 1:20-22 says: “Then Job arose, and rent his mangle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”

Praise and worship increases our faith. Right now, more than ever, the world needs the church to be full of faith and power. Acts 6:8 says: “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.”

It seems wrong to me, and I am sure more so to the Lord, that when we sing the great hymn, “This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long” on Sunday that we do not practice it through the week. When will we learn that the more we magnify Him, the greater will be the release of our faith?

We will soon have revival when we daily release our hearts to worship our most worthy and awesome God. Acts 2:46, 47 says: “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart PRAISING GOD, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to church daily such as should be saved."

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

It wasn’t a coincidence or accident they went through the wilderness. God allowed it by His determinate design and will. God did not desire to have an unprepared and self-reliant people to fight the giants of Canaan. Nor could they bring down the high walls of their cities by the strength and power of their own arm. A thousand times, no.

They had to learn God’s strategy for every battle. Every battle would be a different plan of attack. The only principle that would remain the same for every new encounter with the enemy was the principle of seeking God afresh to find exactly His plan. What He wanted them to do. When He wanted them to go. Where He wanted them to go.

Seeking God was often accompanied with praise and worship. In a spiritual sense, this same principle applies to us today for we are fighting spiritual foes. In some situations, even in Canaan, singers and musicians sang and worshipped God as they went out a head of the armies of Israel. Trumpeters went before the army in the battle of Jericho. Also in Jehoshaphat’s time.

2 Chronicles 20:21, 22 states: “And when he (Jehoshaphat) had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth forever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.”

The first thing we should do when the enemy attacks us is to worship the Lord and invite Him to come in and fight our battles with us and for us. Worship and praise are great ways to invite the powerful presence of God to our defense. Worship and praise take away our fears and help us focus on the awesome power of God. This is the way we lift up the gates of our mouths, using our tongues and voices to praise the greatness of His strength power. As we worship and praise the Lord of hosts (the God of the armies of heaven) comes in! Yes He does.

If we do not praise and worship, we tend to talk more negatively about the battle. Our tongues will talk, no matter what. Therefore it is far more beneficial to use them to praise and worship the greatness and power of our awesome God.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell