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Are You Wanting Too Much?

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We live such complex and dynamic lives. Life seems to progress rapidly and it can be very challenging just to “keep up”. Bills are always due, work is constantly challenging me, people can be demanding, always wanting results sooner than what I can deliver. I can’t please everyone, it’s just impossible. Can you relate?

 On top of the craziness, the consumer side of me (or should I say my flesh), struggles with ideas of a “faster computer”, a “cooler tablet”, “nicer clothes”, and other cool stuff that I really don’t need. As if life is not complicated as it is already, I think of having “something new” that I really don’t need, and, in some cases, would only require more of my time, which would only make life more complicated and stressful.

 This is not mentioning the people that love to remind us that there is, even more, to worry about than what’s already heavily weighing on our minds. These are the people who warn us about not having enough for retirement, or making sure we have enough insurance, or how about a new business opportunity which will require another 5-10 hours a week of which I really do not have because I’m busy as it is. Don’t get me wrong, those people may mean well and for some people, they are looking for solutions to problems that can address a certain need. So although these people have a worthy product, service or opportunity, it doesn’t mean that it is for me.

“Always wanting more” is never enough

 As you can imagine, thoughts and ideas are coming at me from all directions, most of which are driven by the underlying belief of “I want more” or perhaps “I want things to be different”. These two beliefs are the same as thinking “I am not content”, “I am not happy” or “Life isn’t good enough the way it is”.

 I am convicted as I write this. These are real struggles for me and now that I am reflecting, I realize that I need to repent. I am a child of God and a son of the King of Kings.

 Psalm 50: 
 10 For all the animals of the forest are mine,
      and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.
 11 I know every bird on the mountains,
      and all the animals of the field are mine.
 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
      for all the world is mine and everything in it.

 Let’s look at this from God’s perspective. Let’s say that you have a son, let’s call him Johnny, he’s just 6 years old and you are about to serve a nice dinner for him. It’s his favorite, homemade macaroni & cheese with hot dogs. Your 14 year old wouldn’t appreciate it, but Johnny absolutely loves it. So you start calling his name, “Johnny, Johnny, dinner’s ready!” but he’s not around. You peek out the window to see if maybe he’s outside playing, and he’s not in the yard. But then you see him at the neighbor’s house, and he’s eating a plain piece of white bread on the steps! “What on earth is Johnny doing, didn’t he know that we’d have dinner soon? And didn’t I tell him that I was making his favorite meal?” You might say to yourself.

 I am guilty as charged.

Do I fully trust my Father in heaven?

 Jeremiah 29: 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 

 There is no question as to why I should be reading the Bible daily. It helps me to refocus and cleanses me of unhealthy thoughts and to fill my mind with His truths and desires. 

How’s this for a great reminder:

 Matthew 6:  24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

 25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

 28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

 31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

 I love that last verse, don’t you?

That verse alone is great to be memorized and meditated on. But this is a passage that I need to read again and again, and this is not even the whole chapter. I think every book of the Bible has something for me to read and reminds me of God and His ways. Consider these thoughts:

 Ecclesiastes 1:  21 Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. 22 So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? 23 Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.

 And here’s another one:

 Psalm 73:
 3 For I envied the proud
      when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.
 4 They seem to live such painless lives;
      their bodies are so healthy and strong.
 5 They don’t have troubles like other people;
      they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.

Same message, different books!

Do you see how these three passages, from Matthew, Ecclesiastes, and Psalms relate to each other?

What’s really neat is that they each give a different perspective of the same topic. The first is straight from the Teacher, a direct message filled with illustrations and commands. The next comes from the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, who wrote his thoughts on the topic into a book. And the third is a great testimony from Asaph, someone who actually struggled with the same thoughts I do and he goes on to explain how God set him straight.

 The Word of God really helps me to see things from His perspective and this helps me to manage my expectations. As I read the Bible I read stories of people that suffered through enormous struggles and I get to witness how they handled the situation and what their attitude was…

 Job 1:  20 Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. 21 He said,
    “I came naked from my mother’s womb,
      and I will be naked when I leave.
   The Lord gave me what I had,
      and the Lord has taken it away.
   Praise the name of the Lord!”
 22 In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

 From this, I learn that grief is to be expected, to worship God in times of grief. I learn that the Lord gives me all that I have and He can take it all away. Also, regardless of any circumstance, I should Praise His name.

These lessons are priceless.

 Psalm 46:
  10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
      I will be honored by every nation.
      I will be honored throughout the world.”

 This says to me, be still, get to know God, spend time in His presence and be patient. He will have His day and He’s in control.

 And this relates to that:

 1 Chronicles 28: 9 “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”

 Again, get to know the Lord, not just superficially but on a deeper level. Give to Him my whole heart and be willing to serve Him. He knows every thought and plan that I have. If I seek Him, I’ll find Him, and if I abandon Him, He will reject me. I should approach this seriously. The Lord chose me to do His work and He will strengthen me.

Just one more and we’re almost done:

Let’s revisit Psalm 73:

 Psalm 73:
 27 Those who desert him will perish,
      for you destroy those who abandon you.
 28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God!
      I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,
      and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

 Can you see the connection between this and the passage from 1 Chronicles? Personal testimonies are powerful; they inspire me to know God even more.

 Do you see how I’m sort of playing “topic association” with His Word? I don’t know about you, but I enjoy this. This is my idea of a Bible Study and it gives me peace. This is just how my mind works I guess, but it’s come after becoming familiar with the Scriptures and I am thankful that God has done this in me. Notice how I started this message with worrisome thoughts and referred to related passages and then I thought of more passages, maybe relating differently, but it helped me to refocus my thoughts from me to Him. My thoughts were focused on my problems, but then transitioned to my God, the only One that can help me and also practical instruction for what I can do, as opposed to what I can’t control.

To summarize…

Our lives are crazy busy, sometimes overwhelming, and mostly out of our control. This naturally leads us to worry, doubt and negative thoughts. When we consider what God has to say and look at our lives from His perspective, He helps us to put our focus on Him, taking our mind off of our problems, and giving us practical actions we can take to draw closer to Him.

 So, to answer the initial question for myself, I find myself wanting way too much!

Psalm 23: 1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I have what I need.

Let me encourage you to seek Him with greater zeal. You will find Him and never look back! Here is a link for the entire chapter of Psalm 73, read it carefully for an extended study. 

 What lesson have you learned today?

 “Dear Lord, you’ve made me aware of my errant thoughts that lead me to want, be malcontent and unsatisfied. Lord you are everything to me and I am sorry for letting my mind veer off course. I know that you want me to focus solely on you and look to you for all my needs. You are my Rock and my Provider and my hope is in you, not in the world. Thank you for setting me straight and for giving me the words to write this. You are so good to me and I pray that you use this message to inspire others to surrender themselves wholly to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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If you desire a closer walk with Jesus, just want more fellowship or "Bible Time" come join us at TheBibleTeam.com. We have weekly calls where our sole focus is spending time in God's Word.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

What do you do when faced with adversity? Part 2

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One thing I absolutely love about the Word of God is that there are many examples of people faced with dire circumstances and we get to witness how they made it through, what decisions they made, and in a lot of cases, a commentary of God’s perspective is included. Remember, the best commentary about the Bible is the Bible itself. All other commentary is just a human perspective which leads to differences of opinion and ultimately to greater doctrinal differences which are seen in the many denominations that we have today.

The Church, aka the Body of Christ, can be united, but only when His followers focus only on what they agree on, which is the Scriptures, instead of what they disagree on. Can I get an amen?

Another thing I love about the Bible is finding obscure, tiny passages that pack a huge message. For example:

1 Chronicles 5: 18 There were 44,760 capable warriors in the armies of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They were all skilled in combat and armed with shields, swords, and bows. 19 They waged war against the Hagrites, the Jeturites, the Naphishites, and the Nodabites. 20 They cried out to God during the battle, and he answered their prayer because they trusted in him. So the Hagrites and all their allies were defeated.

Verses 18 and 19 are included just for context, the real excitement is found in verse 20. Keep in mind that this verse is found in the midst of a lengthy list of genealogies. I consider these finds “gems in the rough”. What caught my attention with this verse is the phrase “during the battle”. It seems that the warriors of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh forgot to call on God prior to the war. We don’t know this for sure, but I think it is implied here.

What we can learn is that it is NEVER too late to call on God. We are all in the middle of our own trials and challenges and even when we find ourselves in the middle of things and realize that we haven’t been putting God first, it is never too late to cry out to Him for help. God is good; He answers our prayers because we trust in Him.

Jehoshaphat found himself in an ominous situation and we’re going to analyze what he and the people of Judah did in the face of it.

King Jehoshaphat was the son of King Asa and the father of King Jehoram. Overall, King Jehoshaphat was a good king. He had his faults as most other kings, but he clearly had a heart for God. Consider these opening words describing his reign:

2 Chronicles 17:  3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the images of Baal. 4 He sought his father’s God and obeyed his commands instead of following the evil practices of the kingdom of Israel. 5 So the Lord established Jehoshaphat’s control over the kingdom of Judah. All the people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so he became very wealthy and highly esteemed. 6 He was deeply committed to the ways of the Lord. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah.

His heart was in the right place and by reading about the man, I have a hope of meeting him someday. I’d love to hear about his days fighting alongside king Ahab, I’ll bet he has some great stories to tell.

Did you know that Jehoshaphat personally lead a revival of sorts in the southern kingdom? Here is a revealing passage about that time:

2 Chronicles 19: 4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, but he went out among the people, traveling from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, encouraging the people to return to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 

Now that’s a pretty cool king, eh? We can call him king Jehoshaphat, the evangelist!

The event I’d like to focus on, however, happens later in his reign, after king Ahab’s death and seemingly soon after his preaching excursions.

The story picks up in 2 Chronicles 20 and it gets right into it:

2 Chronicles 20: 1 After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. 2 Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army from Edom is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea. They are already at Hazazon-tamar.” (This was another name for En-gedi.)

It’s really bad news. Three armies, vast, said the messengers, and not only that, they’re already on the way!

Can you relate? Getting bad news about something that’s in the works or imminent? It’s a sick feeling and we can’t begin to imagine what went through his mind at the time. He’s the responsible one, and in all of Judah, he is the decision maker. What does he do?

3 Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. 4 So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help.

We can learn a lot about this man of faith just from verse 3. It should not surprise us to see that he is terrified, but he doesn’t allow his fear to paralyze him from turning to the Lord for help. Then being the spiritual leader that he is, he orders everyone to begin fasting. This is similar to Esther when she agrees to go before the king, knowing full well that her life was in danger.

Esther 4:  15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”

It is in these similar passages (Esther 4:16 and 2 Chronicles 20:3) that you learn what godly leaders do when faced with a challenge. Fasting for yourself is one thing, but when a body of people are in peril it takes courage and true leadership to call everyone to fast.

Let’s read on…

5 Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the Lord. 6 He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!

Then Jehoshaphat assembles the people together for prayer. He makes a plea to God before the people; this is a great sign of humility and sets a wonderful example to all those present.

It is a wonderful, heart-wrenching prayer, we pick it up at verse 10:

10 “And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them. 11 Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance. 12 O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”

It’s a straightforward plea, telling the Lord about the situation. He is refreshingly honest, explaining to God that they are “powerless against this mighty army”. Can you imagine a king sharing that with the commoners? I believe it was clearly the Holy Spirit that directed this prayer, for their sake and for us to learn from today. And then my favorite part is the next sentence: “We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.” He’s the king and he doesn’t know what to do? Isn’t that incredible to read? I think he was right where the Lord wanted him.

Jehoshaphat didn’t know what to do. He didn’t call on the prophets of Baal, he didn’t call on Egypt, Israel (Northern Kingdom) or Syria for help (like his father Asa did). The only thing he knew to do was to look to God for help. Have you ever been in that kind of situation? Have you ever said to God “I don’t know what to do.”?

He purposely leads us into adversity for several reasons.

The trial alone causes us to grow, He tests us when there is seemingly no hope to see which way we’ll turn, and when we’re on the other side, it is a beautiful testimony to all those that hear about how you trusted in God and saw His hand of providence in your life when you called on His name. These stories, or testimonies of God’s love and power, are what leads most people to Christ. We cannot underestimate the power of personal testimony.

In verse twenty we read that the Holy Spirit got involved and spoke through Jahaziel:

13 As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children, 14 the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph.

15 He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!”

How’s that for a great word from God? What a soothing message. God makes it clear “for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” God fights our battles for us, this is so He can get the glory, and it is His desire to rescue us:

Psalm 50:
14 Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,
and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
15 Then call on me when you are in trouble,
and I will rescue you,
and you will give me glory.”

He doesn’t always keep us from trouble, as most of you know. On the contrary He allows us to get into trouble, so that our character grows and we continue to learn how to trust in Him.

So how does this battle play out? God tells them to go up against them, what happens next?

20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”

21 After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:

“Give thanks to the Lord;
his faithful love endures forever!”

What a great spiritual leader he is as he rallies the people in verse 20. Then what does he do, did I read that correctly? What? He puts singers ahead of the army??? Wow! I see a similar trend as we saw last week. Remember what Daniel did after hearing the news about the “Anti-Jewish” law they passed? He goes on to give thanks to God in prayer. And what do we see Jehoshaphat doing? He has the singers lined up in front of the army, giving thanks! Talk about thanks in advance! What faith that man had. Do you get it, by this time he was no longer worried, he had so much peace that he confidently put the singers out in front. He called on the Lord’s help and he received God’s Word from the Holy Spirit. As a result, he was encouraged.

And now for the finale, the moment we’ve all been waiting for:

22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.

So there you have it. Did you expect anything different? The Lord caused them to fight each other and that was it, another victory for the Lord.

Are you letting God fight your battles?

“Dear Lord, it is you in whom I place my trust. You are my savior and deliverer. You created me so that I might come to know you and have fellowship with you. These battles help me learn how to trust you more so that I might know you more closely and through this, other people might come to know you. Lord, use me. Draw others to you through me. For you are so good and my flesh is so weak. I need your help daily that I might live according to your ways. Thank you for drawing me close and showing me such wonderful things in your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen!”

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If you desire a closer walk with Jesus, just want more fellowship or "Bible Time" come join us at TheBibleTeam.com. We have weekly calls where our sole focus is spending time in God's Word.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Are You Being Encouraged?

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encourage: to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope

I believe that being encouraged or discouraged can make all the difference when it comes to having a good day or a bad day.

Regardless of the circumstances, this is a factor that can really help determine our attitude. It’s so much easier to smile at someone when we’re encouraged and in this way, we can be a blessing to others. When I’m discouraged nothing seems to go right, there’s very little hope. My whole outlook changes and it’s really hard for me to describe how I can be discouraged one day, feeling hopeless, and feeling great the next day, encouraged. Can anyone relate to this? I know there are various reasons that lead me to get discouraged. It could be receiving bad news, conflicts with others, work-related frustration, sin or just a combination of a lot of little things can get me down.

The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life

When I read “The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life” by Hannah Whitall Smith she was writing about Joshua after they were defeated at Ai, she wrote “Up, Sanctify the people” is always God’s command. “Lie down and be discouraged” is always Satan’s temptation. I think that is very well said, wouldn’t you agree? I believe that any thoughts that tempt us to be discouraged are ultimately the work of the devil, but God is in the encouraging business.

When Gideon was first approached by the angel of the Lord at the threshing floor, he needed all the encouragement he could get…

Judges 6:  13 “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”

Can you relate to Gideon?

I like his honesty. He asks a very direct question and we get a great sense of his frustration here. What was God’s response?

 16 The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”

How is that for encouragement? Does this sound familiar?

Matthew 28: 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Isn’t it nice to be reassured by our Creator that He’ll always be with us?

I think this is one of those truths that most Christians are familiar with, but it’s challenging in our day to day lives to be conscious of it. It’s so important to be reminded that He is present and it is only by faith that we can know in our hearts that He is there beside us. For the non-believer, however, they do not have this hope, but we who call on His name have this hope and promise. This hope and promise is what sets us apart, it’s what makes us “peculiar people”:

Titus 2:  13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (KJV)

It is clearly our duty, as ambassadors for God, to share this hope and encouragement so that others may come to know Him. If we’re not encouraged, how can we encourage others?

2 Corinthians 5: 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Read verse 20 again.

Do you think of yourself as Christ’s ambassador? That sounds like it comes with incredible responsibility, doesn’t it? Well, I think it does. But it is a responsibility that should be a joy and privilege to carry out and if it’s not then there’s something wrong. After all, the ambassador’s manual states clearly how we should be:

Philippians 4: 4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

I wish I could tell you that I consistently have this joy in the Lord, but I don’t. Ever since I started taking Him seriously, reading His Word diligently I have much greater joy and peace. My “secret” is this: I allow God to give me encouragement daily by reading what He’s written for me in His Word. If you lack encouragement, read Psalms 103. God’s given us enough encouragement in a written format that we can read something different each day for at least a year. I think that was on purpose.

Encourage each other

1 Thessalonians 5: For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. 10 Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. 11 So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. … 14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

2 Corinthians 1: 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

Be an encourager today. Call on a friend or relative that’s been on your mind and sow words of life into them. If you don’t know what to say, ask God and He’ll be certain to give you the words. He’s promised.

“Dear Lord, you are the Giver of life and Encourager to us all. Thank you for the wonderful words you’ve given us. Help us to get to know you more through them. I am confident that the more we know you, the greater we’ll be able to encourage others. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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If you desire a closer walk with Jesus, just want more fellowship or "Bible Time" come join us at TheBibleTeam.com. We have weekly calls where our sole focus is spending time in God's Word.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.