Encourage Each Other

Prayer – Lord God, You are such an encouragement to us. Thank you for all You’ve done for us—without anger but filled with love and acceptance. Help us to be encouraging to others.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

 

Meditate. Consider what it means to “encourage” someone.

 

Imagine Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They were God’s ultimate creation…in His own image. Think how proud and delighted you’ve been to see your own children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews—created in the image of your family.

 

Bird of Paradise
Was this flower in the Paradise of...
the Garden of Eden?

We don’t know how long Adam and Eve lived in a perfect relationship with God before they disobeyed Him. They got selfishly deceived and ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil from which He had told them to specifically not to eat. Can you imagine how disappointed God was? But being all knowing, He knew what they were going to do…and He had a plan in place. There must be a sacrifice for sin—any wrong doing. That sacrifice was God’s own Son, Jesus. God chose not to be mad—no anger, but mercy. Jesus chose to obediently go to the cross—to please His Father and to rescue us. Without His sacrifice we would all have to die for our sins—but as believers, we will never face a second death. Sure, our bodies will die, but our spirits will live on—eternally with God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let that sink into your very brain. We are loved so much by God that when we declare that we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are welcomed into God’s family. God has chosen us. Doesn’t that make you feel loved, needed, appreciated, and special? Still, there is a choice for you to make. God has chosen you. How do you respond to this opportunity? If you choose Jesus, can you use this experience to encourage others?

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25 NLT

 

Verse of Salvation ~ Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. Jude 1:3 NLT

 

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table

The Fourth of July has just passed…and now summer is in full swing including the heat. Where I live in Richland, Washington, we have a Severe Weather Alert with temperature over 100 degrees for at least the next nine days. The weathermen are predicting temperatures as high as 111 degrees. I’ll be inside on that day. The most important thing to “feast” upon in weather like that is WATER!  Staying hydrated is very important. Be sure to drink eight or more glasses of water…and add some lemon or lime juice or cucumber slices for flavor, thirst quenching and hydration qualities. My urologist has been very encouraging to drink water with lemon or lime to help prevent kidney stones! At any rate enjoy some cool, clean water throughout the day.

 

© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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