Be Encouraged!
"God's Word changes us, and through us it will change others also"
This has been the theme of the Sunday evening series Pastor Andy has led us through and will complete this week. It has been a wonderful blessing to worship together and then be challenged about one of our major roles as brothers and sisters in Christ, to encourage one another. One main text of emphasis has been Hebrews 10:24-25, in which we are commanded to be actively involved in "one another's" lives in this way, encouraging.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
The thought that a believer can function outside of a local body is foreign to Scripture. All the "one another's" in God's Word make that abundantly clear (that's a blog for another day). The command to encourage one another is in the context in this passage of "meeting together". Church, worship, fellowship, service, prayer, breaking bread...TOGETHER. All these things are a part of encouragement. The word itself in the original is parakaleo, which carries the idea of being near and invoking to righteousness. It comes from the same root as the word for the Holy Spirit, our comforter and encourager. How encouraging is that!?
In our language, to encourage means to inspire with courage, spirit or confidence and to stimulate by assistance. Not sure that could be better said as to the importance of this command for the church, brothers and sisters, to encourage one another! Inspire and assist...requires meeting together, being with one another, spending time together. It often requires sacrifice, giving of yourself in order to inspire or assist someone else. It requires learning to see others as truly more important than ourselves. (Phil. 2:3)
Check out this video...quite an example of encouragement; of stimulating by assistance; of seeing others as more important than ourselves...get the tissues!
What do you think...would loving one another like that be an encouragement? Would we be a body that pleases the Lord? May we pray that we be filled with the parakletos (Holy Spirit) so that we may parakaleo (come near to encourage) one another. He encourages us, and we can encourage one another. We are commanded to do so.
"God's Word changes us, and through us it will change others also"
BE ENCOURAGED and BE AN ENCOURAGER!
"On The Way Home"
Pastor Jim
