Good Morning All,
1 Thessalonians 5:11; “Therefore
encourage one another and build
each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
I was scrolling through FaceBook the other
day. It seems we get about 5 types of
posts. We get the irritating political ones,
we get the ones that someone thought was funny, we get the ones of family and
friends pictures (the one we really want), we get the ones about being invited
to play some game, and we get the sappy tearjerker post. There was one that showed a young man who was
getting married. He was paralyzed and in
order to kiss his bride the groomsmen held him up so he could “stand” and kiss
his bride. The bride was crying and the
groomsmen were crying; it was a tearjerker one for sure.
As I looked at it, I thought about how the
Apostle Paul would remind us to encourage one another. The word encourage is
used 39 times in the ESV version in the New Testament. The concordance has it listed at 109 times in
different forms or words but the same idea.
To encourage is to build up, to shore up, to lift up, to support; these
are a few ways to interpret this word.
Encourage one another, build each other up. Prop each other up so that they can reach
their potential or so they can be restored.
This is what Paul means when he says to encourage one another.
As we think of this, think of times and
ways to encourage one another. We do
this at funerals when we come together to comfort and console those who are
grieving. In one of the crucial portions
of Scriptures about our understanding of death and resurrection, Paul writes in
1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 about what will happen and then in verse 18 he writes “Therefore
encourage one another with these words.”
We are to build each other up, prop each other up and restore to
strength of faith our brothers and sisters who face challenges in this
life.
We do this when we sit with the loved ones
of someone who is having surgery or facing health troubles. We do this when we spend time together as we
wait for news about loved ones. There
are many ways we do this but it is critical to see that WE do it; Christian
faith is not a solo experience.
Christian faith is the uniting of all believers to each other through and
because of Jesus. We stand together, we
encourage, we exhort, we support, we build up because Christ builds us up and
he uses the created world to care for his flock.
This encouragement is what helps us face
the struggles of life. So encourage one
another, pray for and with your brothers and sisters. Support your brothers and sisters with words
of hope, words of comfort and words of healing.
Support their physical and spiritual needs. Encourage one another.
Father, lead me to encourage my brothers and sisters
in Christ to achieve their comfort and support.
Use my hands and my arms, my voice and my shoulders to bring comfort to
the hurting and the suffering. Proclaim
your grace through me to all in need. In
the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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