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Encouraging Words, PO Box 2035, Mission Viejo, CA (2025)

08/04/2025

Have You Encouraged Anyone Today?
By: Darlene Sala
August 4, 2025

One Bible student has counted 3,237 different people mentioned in the Bible.[1] Granted, we're not given all their names, but still, each one serves as an example—for good or bad. One is a man called Onesiphorus, a friend of the apostle Paul.

Onesiphorus is mentioned only twice in the Bible, but the meaning of his name is interesting: it means "bringing profit," or "useful." Paul tells us about him in 2nd Timothy, chapter 1.

"May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 . . .You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus."

Okay, how did Onesiphorus help Paul? First, he often refreshed Paul. I hope someone can say that about your life and mine. Ask yourself: what have I done today to encourage another person? A word, a touch, a kindness?

Second, Onesiphorus was not ashamed of the fact that Paul was a prisoner, nor did that embarrass him.

Third, the Bible says at one time he cared enough about Paul to search hard for him until he found him. Probably he knew Paul was Rome in prison somewhere, but he didn't know where. He traveled from Ephesus to Rome looking for him until he found him and could bring him encouragement.

Then, fourth, the Bible says in many ways he helped Paul. And Paul never forgot his kindness. Yes, Onesiphorus was useful to Paul, just like his name inferred.

Today, Lord, use us to refresh someone who needs Your touch.

[1] https://www.wordsearchbible.com/authors/2646/david-g-stephan, accessed 12-30-2021.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/have-you-encouraged-anyone-today-2/

07/28/2025

God Can Heal Your Past
By: Darlene Sala
July 28, 2025

Rachel grew up in a terribly abusive home. Beatings, and burnings, threats, slave labor, family members sending her to men for sexual favors to repay their gambling debts—Rachel endured all these and more.

Rachel's story, however, has an amazing ending. Thanks to a Christian woman who took her into her own home and shared the love of Jesus with her, Rachel's life was transformed. Today she is a pastor's wife who ministers to needy women who have endured similar trauma.

I asked Rachel what helped her recover from the fear of death and darkness than descended on her because of the horrors of her young life. Here are the steps she took:

First, she got a Bible promise book and wrote out every verse that spoke to her heart.

Second, she kept a journal writing down thoughts, feelings and scripture that was meaningful to her situation.

Third, she printed out scripture promises and hung them all around the house.

And, fourth, every time there was a Bible study, she was there.

Was her healing instant? No, far from it. Rachel recalled, "There were times that I would cry out, 'Lord, Your Word says that You have "not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind [2 Timothy 1:7]." I feel like I am going insane.'" Soon she would feel that she was okay.

But in a short time the wave of fear would again engulf her. Again, she would cry out to the Lord, read the scriptures on the walls around her and say, "Lord, help me to bring my fearful thoughts into subjection to You." It was literally a moment by moment battle—altogether, a year-long process, but eventually the healing was complete.

And God's Word can do the same thing for you.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/god-can-heal-your-past-2/

07/21/2025

Does God Really Love Me?
By: Darlene Sala
July 21, 2025

Do you ever have difficulty believing that God really, truly loves you? Perhaps you are so aware of your own imperfections that you think, "Why should He love me? How could He?"

Dwight L. Moody, the famous evangelist, used to tell a story about a farmer who was found kneeling at a soldier's grave. Someone asked him, "Why do you pay so much attention to this grave? Was your son buried here?"

"No," he said, "During the war my family were all sick, and I was drafted. I didn't know how I could possibly leave them. One of my neighbors came over and said, 'I will go for you; I have no family.' During the battle the neighbor was wounded and later died. And, sir, I have come a great many miles that I might write over his grave these words, 'He died for me.'"[1]

You and I could write those same words on a hill called Calvary—the place where Jesus was crucified. There the Savior took your place and died for your sins—yours and mine so that we did not have to. You can say those same four words that the farmer wrote: "He died for me."

The Bible says, "We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us" "God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins" (1 John 3:16, 1 John 4:9,10).

Friend, you need never doubt that God loves you—no matter what the circumstances. Your proof is those four words, "He died for me."

[1] Dwight L. Moody, Prevailing Prayer (Abbotsford, WI: Aneko Press / Life Sentence Publishing, Inc., date unknown), chapter 5.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/does-god-really-love-me-2/

07/14/2025

What Distracts You from Jesus?
By: Darlene Sala
July 14, 2025

The story is found in the Bible in Luke chapter 10:

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me."

But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:38-41 NLT).

Notice, first, that it was Martha, not Mary, who invited Jesus to their home. So, the big dinner she was preparing was her idea, not Mary's. Note, also, that the work was not trivial. Luke describes it as diakonia—the New Testament word for "ministry." Simply put, she had attempted more than she could handle on her own. Jesus said she was "worried and upset"—that is, "pulled in opposite directions" over details that weren't nearly as important as listening to His teaching.[1]

"Her fault was not that she served," observed Charles Spurgeon. "The condition of a servant well becomes every Christian. Her fault was that she grew [distracted]…, so that she forgot him and only remembered the service."[2]

Lord, help me to learn from Martha and remember that "While the world applauds achievement," You "desire companionship."[3]

[1] Thoughts gleaned from Joanna Weaver, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World (Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Press, 2002).

[2] Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening (Nashville: Nelson, 1994) January 24, Evening.

[3] Weaver, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, 9.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/what-distracts-you-from-jesus-3/

07/07/2025

Three Ways to Combat Aging
By: Darlene Sala
July 7, 2025

When we were kids, we could hardly wait for birthdays to roll around. Parties with friends and family, presents, cake, ice cream—to children it's all so exciting. You've probably noticed, however, that the older you get, the faster birthdays seem to come around. And while they're still fun, we begin to see the effects of aging that birthdays bring to us.

The Bible does not avoid the issue of growing older. 2 Corinthians 4:16 confronts it head on saying that "outwardly we are wasting away." As the years slip by, we find ourselves developing wrinkles, hair loss, and aches and pains we never felt before. We may even shrink an inch or so in height.

But the Bible doesn't stop with saying that outwardly we are wasting away. The same verse goes on to say, "yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." Are we? While we can't stop aging, can we really be renewed day by day? Yes, I believe so, and here are three ways:

First, we are renewed when we feed on God's Word. New insights from the Bible give us a fresh understanding of God each day.

Secondly, we're renewed when we worship. When Paul and Silas had been beaten in Philippi and thrown into prison, they sang praises to God in spite of the pain. And their strength was renewed.

Third, we're renewed when we change our focus. 2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT says, "So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." Those three practices—reading God's Word, worship, and focusing on the eternal will renew your strength for the work God yet has for you to do.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/three-ways-to-combat-aging-3/

06/30/2025

How to Do the Will of God
By: Darlene Sala
June 30, 2025

It's one thing to know what God's will is for you in a situation—that is, what He wants you to do. It's quite another thing to follow through and do His will. In one of his sermons, Bible teacher and author A. W. Tozer pointed out that we have a part to play in doing God's will. God has given us a free will, and we can use that free will either to do what we know God wants us to do, or we can choose to disregard it and do what we want to do. Tozer reminds us,

The Old Testament tells us "Jacob vowed a vow," and Daniel "purposed

in his heart." … Above all, we have the example of the Lord Jesus "setting

His face like a flint" and walking straight ahead toward the Cross.[1]

Each of these from Bible times made up their minds that they were going to do what they knew God wanted them to do. God doesn't force us to do His will. Yet, the free will God has gifted to each of us can be firmly set to do what pleases Him. It's a decision we each make—God's will or my will?

After God's people, the Israelites, under the leadership of Joshua, had entered the Promised Land, Joshua realized he was soon going to die. So, he gathered the leaders of the nation together and challenged them: "Choose you this day whom you will serve." God presents that same choice to each of us today. Who will you serve—the supreme, eternal God or the god of this world?

Joshua made his decision—and it has echoed down through history: "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15 ESV).

[1] A.W. Tozer, “Moral Determination,” SermonIndex.net, accessed June 29, 2021, https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=18734&forum=34, 1.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/how-to-do-the-will-of-god-3/

06/23/2025

Relying on a Spider's Web
By: Darlene Sala
June 23, 2025

The book of Job gives us an interesting picture of the person who forgets God in his life. Listen to this:

"Such is the destiny of all who forget God ... What he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider's web. He leans on his web, but it gives way; he clings to it, but it does not hold" (Job 8:13-15).

While a spider's web is actually very strong for its weight, it is no match for the weight of a human being. Neither is anything else worth depending on short of depending on God.

Paul learned this. He wrote: "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us" (2 Corinthians 1:8-10).

Because of the intense circumstances he was experiencing, he knew he needed to rely on God. And so do we.

To His people in the Old Testament God said, "Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord Almighty is his name" (Jeremiah 50:34). When they were about finally to enter the land God had promised them, Moses cried out, "O Sovereign Lord ... what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?" (Deuteronomy 3:24). The Psalmist declared, "One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: that you, O God, are strong" (Psalm 62:11).

When the winds are raging in your life, hold on to Him. Unlike a spider's web, God will never let you down.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/relying-on-a-spiders-web/

06/16/2025

Find Out How to Put Back Together a Broken Life
By: Darlene Sala
June 16, 2025

A young woman in prison wrote me the following story:

My life was like a bottle. I always thought I was going to be something special. Maybe I'd be used to hold some costly medicine, or I might be used as a fine vase on some rich person's table. But I ended up just a plain green bottle sent down a conveyor belt and filled with cheap wine.

I was packed with a bunch of other bottles and shipped to a big city, where I sat on a dark, dusty shelf for a long time. Then something even worse happened. An old wino pulled me off the shelf and carried me out back into a dark alley. Some of his drinking buddies met him there and they all passed me around and finished me off. Finally, that old wino staggered to his feet, drew back and heaved me into a brick wall, smashing me to pieces.

For years I lay there in that alley, so shattered that I knew there was no way the pieces of my life could ever come back together.

Then one day someone came towards me—someone who actually kneeled down in that dirty, smelly alley and began sifting through all those broken pieces. How He did it, I don't know, but that Man found all my shattered pieces and one by one He pieced me back together. It's been two years and six months since He found me in that alley and He has been polishing away the cracks ever since.

The same Man who sought me out can make you whole. His name is Jesus, and He can piece anyone's life together, like He did for me. The Bible says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Don't stay in your broken condition. Call on Him today and let Him put your life together again.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/find-out-how-to-put-back-together-a-broken-life-2/

06/09/2025

Stop and Turn to God for Today for Your Needs
By: Darlene Sala
June 9, 2025

Sometimes Bible verses become so familiar that we gloss over them without applying them in a practical way to our lives. Isaiah 9:6 is one of those. It reads,

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be upon his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

We generally assign that verse to the Christmas season, for it prophesies the coming of our Savior some 700 years before the event happened. But look again and you might find exactly what you need this very day, for that verse contains four different names for our Lord.

For instance, do you need wisdom and guidance today? He is your "Wonderful Counselor," who has all knowledge and sees the end from the beginning. Let Him advise you which path to take.

Perhaps you need a big job done that no one else can do. Remember that He is your "Mighty God," who has all power in heaven and in earth.

Or maybe you're hurting right now, and you need God's comfort and care. Isaiah says He is your "Everlasting Father,"—more loving than the best of earthly fathers could be. He will never stop being your Everlasting Father, for He has promised never to leave you—ever, ever.

If, however, your heart is in turmoil over the circumstances you're facing, you need the "Prince of Peace," who can bring the calmness that you so desperately want.

Friend, don't wait until Christmas to let Him be to you the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Turn to Him today as the source of all that you need.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/stop-and-turn-to-god-for-today-for-your-needs/

06/02/2025

Discover God's Purpose for You
By: Darlene Sala
June 2, 2025

While I'm convinced that every one of us is here on earth for a reason—that each of us is created for a purpose, whenever I speak on this subject, inevitably the question comes up, "But what about people with disabilities? How can they ever attain their purpose? Did God make a mistake when He made them?"

Let me tell you about John and Christine Haggai's son, Johnny, who was born with severe cerebral palsy. He could not talk or walk or feed himself and required 24-hour-a-day care. He lived to be only 24 years old.

It was an intoxicated doctor's negligence that caused Johnny to be born with these acute limitations. But his parents chose to accept his birth into their family as God's divine design for them. They devoted endless unselfish hours to his care. Yet both say he was an incredible blessing in their lives.

"Chris and I are thoroughly convinced," says Dr. Haggai, "that Johnny came to us in the sovereign and loving will of God. Johnny lived a significant life. Significant not just because there is worth in every person, as there surely is, but ... [Johnny] had a role to fill, a destiny to realize."[1]

God used Johnny's loving heart and sense of humor to touch the lives of many people and to deepen his parents' faith and dependence on God.

What a contrast to the attitude most have toward people with disabilities. Our culture strongly values perfection. Yet clearly the Bible points to a purpose for each of us being on this Earth—whether whole or broken. Hold tight to God's promise in Psalm 138 that says, "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me" (Psalm 138:8).

[1] MY SON JOHNNY by John Edmund Haggai (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.: 1978), 80.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/discover-gods-purpose-for-you-2/

05/26/2025

How to Wait and Trust in God's Timing
By: Darlene Sala
May 26, 2025

When I was growing up, we used to sing a country Gospel song that went,

"Farther along we'll know all about it,

Farther along we'll understand why."

Linda, who served for many years as our accountant at Guidelines Ministries, has had some of those experiences that you just can't understand; Cancer showing up in her body three times, requiring four surgeries and radiation that destroyed half of her thyroid. She's had open heart surgery as well as five angioplasties.

In addition, because of tough problems in her daughter's life, Linda raised her grandson since he was 22 months old. But the crowning blow was when she received a phone call one morning that her daughter's life had been taken by two women with whom she had been sharing a house. Her grandson now had neither mother nor father.

If you met her, you'd never know Linda carries such difficulties, for she exudes love to everyone she meets. I think that's because her heart has been made tender, not bitter, by the difficulties she's had. When I asked her how she has coped, she told me,

My prayer was just to live long enough to raise my grandson. God has granted that and more to me, for which I am grateful. I believe what Paul wrote, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJ), and this promise has carried me through the difficulties without fear.

Why did all of this happen to one person? I absolutely do not know. As Linda says, "God's ways are not ours." But one day we will understand. And in the meantime, Linda says, "Trust the One who knows." He is worthy of our trust.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/how-to-wait-and-trust-in-gods-timing-2/

05/19/2025

Where is God When We Pray?
By: Darlene Sala
May 19, 2025

Sometimes when we pray, we sense the very presence of God in the room with us. Other times God seems so very far away. Somebody quipped, "If God seems far away from you, guess who moved!" But I don't think that is necessarily true. That would be tantamount to asserting that if you can't "feel" God's presence, then He must not be there.

Feelings are something that follow faith, not precede it. I like the familiar illustration of a train, where Facts are the engine, Faith is the railcar attached to the engine, and behind it Feelings follow. Facts, then Faith, then Feelings.

Moses declared that God is always near us when we pray. He wrote these words so that we don't have to be in doubt: "What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?" (Deuteronomy 4:7).

Just because we live in a universe of enormous size, don't be tricked into thinking God is a long way from where you are when you pray. Don't believe it for a moment. Our God is big enough to be everywhere at the same time.

When David tried to think of a place where God is not, he gave up, saying,

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

If I settle on the far side of the sea,

Even there your hand will guide me,

Your right hand will hold me fast. (Psalm 139:7-10)

So, when you pray, remember that God is listening. Moses said, "the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him." (Deuteronomy 4:7) He's paying attention to every word.

Listen at: https://www.guidelines.org/sermons/where-is-god-when-we-pray-2/

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