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.
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? 
Bird of Paradise
Was this flower in the Paradise of...
the Garden of Eden?
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
© 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.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
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