Helping Each Other Out...
“Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (The Message)
Have you ever had anyone encourage you? I mean really encourage you. I have. Sometimes they ‘almost’ give me a kick in the pants as they ‘encourage’ me to grow in the Lord, to use the gift He’s provided, or to not watch so much television…
Other folks come along the way remind me to ‘stay in the Word’ or ask ‘how is your prayer journal coming’ [this, I think a sly way of saying… ‘keep praying…] and others come along beside me and take me to church when I really don’t want to go… or just talk when/if I’m down or depressed…
Each one… each of you… on many occasions pull me to my feet and say, ‘o.k. soldier, you call yourself a Christian… why don’t you start acting like one…’ and I’m reprimanded, and yea it hurts but you know… that’s encouraging… cause’ someone’s got my back—someone cares enough to confront me and tell me when I’m wrong. Do you do that with your friends?
You know, we need help sometimes… we fight the Devil, the world’s temptations, and also our own ‘flesh’ [our nature that is inclined to sin, such as lie, cheat, steal, lust, fear, anger, ect…]… and sometimes as believers in Christ we really get down on our selves—we mess up and we beat ourselves up pretty good over it. Or, we take a left when God wanted us to take a right and we find ourselves in a bad place spiritually… sometimes a brother or a sister just needs to come along and pull us out of the ditch… help us with the problems that… we created. Other times we just need a shoulder to cry on…
Have you ever had anyone encourage you? I mean really encourage you. I have. Sometimes they ‘almost’ give me a kick in the pants as they ‘encourage’ me to grow in the Lord, to use the gift He’s provided, or to not watch so much television…
Other folks come along the way remind me to ‘stay in the Word’ or ask ‘how is your prayer journal coming’ [this, I think a sly way of saying… ‘keep praying…] and others come along beside me and take me to church when I really don’t want to go… or just talk when/if I’m down or depressed…
Each one… each of you… on many occasions pull me to my feet and say, ‘o.k. soldier, you call yourself a Christian… why don’t you start acting like one…’ and I’m reprimanded, and yea it hurts but you know… that’s encouraging… cause’ someone’s got my back—someone cares enough to confront me and tell me when I’m wrong. Do you do that with your friends?
You know, we need help sometimes… we fight the Devil, the world’s temptations, and also our own ‘flesh’ [our nature that is inclined to sin, such as lie, cheat, steal, lust, fear, anger, ect…]… and sometimes as believers in Christ we really get down on our selves—we mess up and we beat ourselves up pretty good over it. Or, we take a left when God wanted us to take a right and we find ourselves in a bad place spiritually… sometimes a brother or a sister just needs to come along and pull us out of the ditch… help us with the problems that… we created. Other times we just need a shoulder to cry on…
It’s a tough life… and for the believers it gets even tougher at times… we have a Heavenly Father who just won’t allow us to behave just any old way… no, He wants our best… because He knows best… and sometimes He gives us a scolding, or a little cold-shoulder, or a few whacks on our bottoms… and we don’t like it but it’s really all for our good.
So, just a reminder to encourage one another, help one another, and look out for one another. We are family and I would rather have family correct me… than my Heavenly Father do it… :)
posted by Michael Byrd at 11:13 PM
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