Encouragement

June 28, 2024 Fourth of July and Summer Activities Remind Me of God From Kay Meyer’s column in the St. Louis Metro Voice newspaper  What are your favorite memories of summers? What about the 4th of July—is it a holiday you and your family enjoy? Memories of this summer holiday may include: the fireworks, the American flag, picnics at home and away, visiting with family and friends, and barbeque chicken, pork steaks, or brats. The 4th of July and summer activities can offer us opportunities to enjoy time with our family and friends and give us opportunities to share our faith. It’s … More

June 6, 2024 Just Words? We all have heard the rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” But is the saying really true? When someone gives us an encouraging word, we feel our spirits rise, but when someone says something that is hurtful, we often find that the negative words seem to stay with us. The negative words spin round and round in our minds, often blinding us to the life that is going on right in front of us. We all have to be on guard when it comes to words. Words … More

November 10, 2023 Celebrating Life in the Midst of Opposition Luke 2:21—40 How did you celebrate the birth of your child or grandchild? Fathers sometimes hand out cigars when a baby is born. New parents send out birth announcements to family and friends. And they open their home to welcome family members and close friends to see the new baby. Soon after the birth, many Christian parents have their child baptized. Through the water and the Word, God makes the child His own. Baptisms at the congregation are often followed by a special baptism celebration with family and close friends. … More

September 25, 2023 Unshakable: Standing on the Rock When Life Quakes Yesterday I interviewed Donna Snow, the author of a new Bible study entitled, “Unshakable: Standing on the Rock When Life Quakes Hard.” It is such a great Bible study that I want to let you know about it. Donna and I talked about three Biblical characters. They included James, the half-brother of Jesus; Saul who became Paul after his life was shaken on the Road to Damacus; and the Apostle John, the disciple that Jesus loved. The Bible study shares information about eight remarkable men and women from God’s Word. Each of … More

September 7, 2023 Can God Ever Forgive Me? There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).  “God will never be able to forgive me for what I did. What should I do?” A distraught man shared this with his Christian friend. He went on, “I grew up in a Christian home and attended a Christian school. I knew Jesus as my Savior, then fell away and got involved in alcohol and drugs. Finally, I came to my senses, got help, and asked for forgiveness, but I just can’t believe God will forgive me.” … More

August 17, 2023 There is Light at the End of the Tunnel! written by Kay L. Meyer There is light at the end of the tunnel. I thought about this statement recently as I realized our nine-month project to restore the lower level of our home might soon come to a close. What’s the story? Last December my husband and I returned home from a 9-day vacation at our daughters to find that a water pipe had frozen and broken in our bathroom ceiling downstairs. Since we had been gone for days, water had poured down for at least six … More

June 14, 2023 Greetings from Family Shield Ministries Today’s devotion is written by Debbie Wittke. The devotion was originally written for Faith Family Reunion. FFR is now part of Family Shield Ministries. *** We pray that you are encouraged by this devotion today. The Power of the Gospel One of the passages of Scripture that beautifully summarizes the Gospel is one that we likely learned and memorized at a young age: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John3:16).  The message of the Gospel … More

March 29, 2023 Jesus’ Heart for the Lost The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the words the Lord had spoken to him, how He had told him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny Me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly (Luke 22:61-62). There are few moments in the passion story more poignant than when Jesus turned and looks at Simon Peter in the courtyard. Peter had just denied for the third time knowing Jesus. The Lord had warned him this would happen, but Peter said he would never deny him (Mark … More

August 24, 2022 God is in Control The following story was written by Pat Burke, a friend of the ministry. My husband, Rog, & I decided drive to a shopping mall about 40 minutes from our home. We had a great time and a wonderful lunch. Driving back we took the same route. After getting off the main highway you have to go on Fred Moore Hwy (this is not really a Highway but is a two-lane road through mostly farmland). I guess they call it a Highway so you can drive 60 miles per hour…and the scenery is beautiful. … More

January 21, 2022 Christians: Know and Love God’s Word Twenty years ago I asked my husband for a new Bible. He got me one that we thought had a leather cover, but as the years went by, we realized it was not leather.  Although I have many Bibles, this one has been my favorite over these years. I like the larger print and could find my way around it easily. It is a New American Standard version, one of my favorites. I also have lots of notes in the margins. But the cover of my Bible continued to get worse. … More

October 27, 2021 Can God Ever Forgive Me? “God will never be able to forgive me for what I did. What should I do?” A distraught man shared with with his Christian friend. He continued, “I grew up in a Christian home and attended a Christian school. I knew Jesus as my Savior, then fell away and got involved in alcohol and drugs. Finally I came to my senses, got help, and asked for forgiveness, but I just can’t believe God will forgive me.” His friend replied, “Jonathan, Jesus already paid the penalty for your sins on the cross and … More

September 24, 2021 Family Shield Ministries cares about families growing in Christ; and equips them to witness to each other and to the world. Relying on God Being unemployed is extremely stressful. But it has led many to rely on the Lord. Sometimes we don’t know how we will pay our bills. But God supplies us with what we need. At times the Lord supplies our needs miraculously, but He often supplies them through Christians that hear of our needs, and care and respond in love to us. Learning to rely on God is especially hard when we face difficulties. … More

September 10, 2021 Rev. Gregory Seltz and Kay Meyer at a Family Shield Ministries event God’s Word—Inspired by God! Miriam stood bravely in front of her college public speaking class. She was prepared to give her first three-minute speech. Her assignment had been to present a topic that meant a lot to her. She’d chosen God’s Word-Inspired by God. Would you have the courage to do what Miriam did? She was afraid. But she had prayed and asked the Lord to give her the words to speak. Hadn’t He promised to provide the words in the hour that we need … More

May 12, 2021 Eternal Life is Ours Today! And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12 After recovering from heart bypass surgery, Harold said to his wife, "Mary, isn’t it wonderful to be alive? Life is one of God’s great miracles." Sometimes we have to come face-to-face with death to appreciate and give thanks for life. Life can be wonderful. But it can also be very difficult. … More

April 8, 2021 A Family Shield Resurrection Quiz for You and Your Family Christians spend a lot of time before Easter learning about Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross for our sins. But, do we know as much about what happened after the resurrection? I prepared the Resurrection Quiz for You and Your Family.  Why not see if you can answer the questions below. Consider doing one question per day or per week as a family or a personal devotion. If you are not sure about the answers, Bible references are included following the question for you to look … More

December 7, 2020 For a child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sin. (Matthew 1:21) Dear Family Shield friend, It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? Not the one most of us expected or wanted. Rev. Mark Frith, the Board chairman, and I pray you … More