The source...

"And having been made perfect, He became to all those obey the source of eternal salvation."--Hebrews 5:9.  The Hebrew writer giving us the third of what I consider to be among the most notable characteristics that makes Christ the perfect high priest.  This is not only among the most notable but also the most important.  Christ, because of His perfect obedience to God's will has now become to us the source of eternal salvation.

The source.  One thing I have noticed is that the further removed a generation is from a certain event, it becomes less real to that person despite the fact that the event was an actual occurrence in history.

The source.  To illustrate my point what I mean is that nowadays many of our World War I & II vets are beginning to pass away.  This is unfortunate because the sources of all those war stories will no longer be available to us and future generations will be less likely to believe these stories. Did you know that it has been said that in time future generations will believe that Hitler was not a real person and worse they may think that World War II never happened?

The source.  So what does this have to do with the passage in Hebrews 5:9? Well Jesus physically died almost 2000 years ago so he is no longer physically present on earth and his apostles who were eyewitnesses to His glory and teachings have also gone on to their reward.  So although those teachings are preserved in the pages of Scripture, society and to some extent even the Lord's church is moving into an attitude of the teachings of Christ and His apostles no longer have value today.

The source.  This passage in Hebrews tells us that Christ is the source of eternal salvation.  Problem is we are so far removed from the source that we are reluctant to truly believe it.  What people are failing to realize is that Scripture, no matter how many attempts have been made, has never been proven absolutely wrong.  Society and the church are even questioning the very existence of Christ which by the way has also been proven outside of the Bible itself.  My question is why have the Lord's people begun to question the existence of their Savior, the source of their eternal salvation?

The source.  Today, we have so much evidence that World War II and the events surrounding it are true historical events.  We have the same resources to prove the accuracy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the historical existence of Christ.  Please bear with me but the fact, yes the fact is that Christ did exist and He is indeed the source of eternal salvation and many of our own brethren are beginning to deny this as described in 2 Peter 2.  In application, I urge you to search out the historical existence of Christ outside of the Bible and if you are searching with an honest heart, I guarantee you will find that this is true. But also if there is some other part of the Bible you might be questioning, search that out and I guarantee your search will be fruitful.

Brethren, this blog is more of an admonishment for all of us to get back to the source, the source of our eternal salvation, Jesus Christ and His Word.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!

The Ten Commandments: God first.

"You shall have no other gods before Me."--Exodus 20:3.  The first of the Ten Commandments is that no other gods come before God Himself.  During this series I found myself asking why is the first commandment the first commandment and not the second, third, fourth, or even the tenth???  Then it hit me that this is the first commandment because God must always come first.

God and others first.  Jesus emphasizes the fact that God comes first in the commandments in Matthew 22:37-40 by saying that the whole Law and the Prophets depend on the commands to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

God and others first.  When you look at the Ten Commandments, commandments 1-4 deal directly with our relationship with God whereas commandments commandments 5-10 deal with our relationship to family and to one another in general further emphasizing the fact that God and our neighbor must always come first.

God and others first.  Because of these commandments, whenever we make a decision, we need to ask ourselves how would Jesus handle this situation appealing to the old adage WWJD? (What Would Jesus Do?) and second, we also need to ask how is this going to impact others?

God and others first.  So when we look at the Ten Commandments, it's not any coincidence that they are in the order that they are.  God and our neighbors ALWAYS come first.  

God and others first.  So finally, my encouragement to you is this, whenever you are faced with a decision, ask yourself the two simple questions I gave above.  And remember to ALWAYS put God and others first.  

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!

Obedience through suffering...

"Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which he suffered."--Hebrews 7:8.  The Hebrew writer giving us the second of what I consider to be the three most notable characteristics of Christ that made Him our perfect high priest.  Christ is our perfect high priest because He learned obedience through suffering.

Obedience through suffering.  Obedience through suffering should be a familiar concept to nearly all of us.  If you  are a parent, maybe you had to spank your children causing them to suffer for a little while so that they will learn to be obedient to your will.

Obedience through suffering.  This passage in Hebrews tells us that Christ learned obedience to His Father through suffering.  Of course it wasn't something like a spanking but rather it was suffering on the cross so God could save you and me from our sins.

Obedience through suffering.  Obedience through suffering of course is not isolated to the disciplinary measures every good parent exercises with their children.  But obedience is also learned through other forms of suffering.

Obedience through suffering.  Suffering may come in the form of many struggles that are becoming more and more common in today's world.  What we must learn to do is to practice obedience to God's will in the face of suffering.

Obedience through suffering.  Is there anything you are suffering with right now? Obey God.

Obedience through suffering.  Are you suffering financially as a result of these hard economic times? Obey God's will and figure out how to a better steward of God's money.  That's right, our money is God's and He expects us to be wise with it.  A lesson I am still learning. It is because of some of my own financial suffering that I am learning to obey God.

Obedience through suffering.  Are you suffering as a result of the loss of a loved one? Obey God and look to your brethren in Christ for comfort and lean on Him for comfort as we know from 2 Corinthians 7:3-7 that God is a God of comfort.

Obedience through suffering.  Are you suffering because you have had a disagreement with a spouse/boy/girlfriend or loved one? Obey God and go to him or her and resolve the problem as instructed in Matthew 18:15-18.  Quite personally, I believe this is an area where many of us that are Christians fail.  We have a problem with someone and rather than resolve it, we do things like quit talking to each other and let the  suffering be worse than it needs to be.

Obedience through suffering.  So in addition to the above, my encouragement to you is this.  Don't let suffering become an excuse to neglect God or assembling with the saints as instructed in Hebrews 10:25.  As long as we are in this world, we are going to suffer in some form or fashion but take encouragement in the fact that NOTHING, I MEAN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS! This according to Romans 8:38-39.  Also consider Job who lost it all but never disobeyed God.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!

The Ten Commandments: Coveting...

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."--Exodus 20:17.  The tenth and final commandment from God.  The tenth commandment deals with coveting.

Coveting.  The word covet deals with wanting or seriously craving something.

Coveting.  Notice the commandment deals with specifically with what we should not be coveting.

Coveting.  What we need to understand is that wanting or coveting something in itself is not necessarily sinful or wrong but it depends on what it is we are coveting.

Coveting.  Last night in our young adult study here at Norco we talked about jealousy and envy and how those two attitudes can be a product of misplaced desire or coveting.

Coveting.  Most times when we get jealous or envious it is because we desire what someone else has and that sometimes can lead to sinful actions.

Coveting.  Again, there are things we should and should not covet.  For example, we should covet godliness but as this commandment tells us we should not covet or desire that which does not belong to us.

Coveting.  So in application, something I encourage you to do, if someone gets something that maybe you think should have gone to you, rather than develop an envious and jealous attitude, be happy for that person and do not covet that which for whatever reason does not now belong to you.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!  

Crying and tears...

"In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the one able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety."--Hebrews 5:7.  In Hebrews 5, the Hebrew writer begins describing why Jesus was and is the perfect High Priest.  The entire description encompasses Hebrews 5:1-14 but 3 of the most notable characteristics of Christ as our perfect High Priest are found in Hebrews 5:7-9.  We will look at these characteristics one by one over the next three nights.  But today we learn that Jesus is the perfect High Priest because of His piety and His piety was noted through His crying and tears. 

Crying and tears.  Consider the image above, a soldier crying. I can't say what he is crying over but my guess would be the loss of one of his fellow soldiers.  Whatever is going on in his mind, it is being expressed through crying and tears. 

Crying and tears.  I used to think the only recorded instance of Jesus crying was in the gospel of John where a verse containing only two words is found yet it is packed with so much power, John 11:35 "Jesus wept." But then I came across this passage in Hebrews 5:7. We see evidence that Jesus prayed through crying and tears combined with piety or the fear of God. 

Crying and tears.  Ever prayed this way before? Has your heart just been so riddled with emotion that when you go to God in prayer, that you just breakdown and cry? 

Crying and tears.  I must admit the times I have had this experience in prayer, I can only count on one hand but those very few times have been some of my most intimate moments with the Lord. 

Crying and tears.  I don't know about you but quite honestly I am one that tends to put up emotional walls with people.  Only a small handful of people have ever seen me cry. But God, He has seen every tear I have ever shed and it's then that I think of passages like this and it makes me realize how much Christ loves all of us, that He cried for us.

Crying and tears.  I don't know what's going on in your life and believe me I understand if you can't let your guard down enough to cry over whatever issue it might be in front of another person.  But something I strongly encourage you to do is if there is something weighing heavy on your heart, do not be afraid to cry in front of our Lord Jesus. 

Crying and tears. We can look to Christ for the strength we need because He is stronger than ANYTHING we will ever encounter. But honestly, it's when I see Christ in His moments of weakness in the Scriptures such as in John 11:35 that make me realize Christ really does know what you and I go through when we are hurting.  Christ had the fear of God as well and He knew God and God alone was the only one that could pull Him through the pain and agony of the cross.  And it was done through crying and tears. 

Crying and tears.  So my encouragement to you is this, if there is something weighing heavy on your heart tonight, go somewhere where you can be by yourself and pour your heart out to the Lord and do not be afraid to cry in front of Him at the throne of grace and if you need to, seek out someone you can trust and let them help you carry your burden.  On the flipside, if you know someone is hurting, help them carry their burden, if necessary do so through crying and tears.  Finally, realize Christ knows your pains and your hurts and never forget John 11:35, "Jesus wept."  Will we have such piety as did Christ? 

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! 

The Ten Commandments: Lying...

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."--Exodus 20:16.  The ninth commandment as given by God through Moses.  The issue involved in this commandment is being honest.  The issue involved here is telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  If this was not an issue, God would not have to give this command.  The ninth commandment deals with the issue of lying. 

Lying.  The image above is probably a familiar one.  Someone taking an oath to tell the truth in a court of law while placing their hand on the Bible.  

Lying.  Lying has been an issue since the garden.  The first recorded lie is found in Genesis 3 where the serpent tells Eve that what God said in regards to eating of the fruit was not true causing Eve to be deceived and to sin against God.  Furthermore, Cain, after killing Abel, claimed to not know where Abel was when asked by God.  And finally in Genesis 37, Joseph's brothers lie about what had happened to Joseph causing Jacob to mourn for many days (Genesis 37:34).  

Lying so in the above 3 examples, we find three reasons for lying.  

Lying.  First, people lie in order to entice someone else into doing something that is wrong or as in the garden, blatantly sinful.

Lying.  Second, people lie to cover up something they have done and/or to protect themselves.

Lying.  Thirdly, with Joseph's brothers we see that lying can hurt others.  

Lying.  Lying of course is a broad concept and many times even we as individuals find justification to tell a lie. 

Lying.  Have you ever told a lie? If so, what was your reason?

Lying.  That being said, the question I want to leave you with is there ever justification for telling a lie?  Food for thought. 

FEEL FREE TO COMMENT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! 

Come closer...

"Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."--Hebrews 4:16.  The Hebrew writer saying that because Christ was tempted in all things yet was without sin, we can be confident that He can help us in time of weakness.  Because Christ has been tempted in all things but is still without sin, we are invited to come closer to the throne of God.

Come closer.  There is something to be said about the connection we have with someone when they have gone through the same difficulty we have.  By the same token, maybe some of you have seen someone go through a difficulty and you felt that connection because you went through it before.  Either way, this connection gives a person confidence to come closer and talk to you a little more openly about the situation and together you can figure out how to overcome the difficulty.

Come closer.  Have you ever been tempted? If you are thinking about saying no right now, you would be lying because you ARE being tempted to not tell the truth. :-).

Come closer.  Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Christ can sympathize with us because He has been tempted in all things but because He is without sin, He is the source of strength to lean on when we are tempted because He has conquered temptation in every way.  All we have to do is come closer.

Come closer.  Because Christ has conquered temptation and thereby conquered sin in every way, we can be confident that He can deliver us from temptation if we will just come closer.

Come closer.  So what is your temptation?

Is it lust? Come closer.

Is it pride? Come closer.

Is it dishonesty? Come closer.

Is it the love of money? Come closer.

Is it alcohol? Come closer.

Come closer.  I could go down the list of what people are tempted by.  The above are just a handful of examples.

Come closer.  So in closing, something I would encourage you to do in response to your temptation is to pray what is known as the Lord's prayer but better named as the Disciple's prayer as found in Matthew 6:9-13 but rather than the generic "do not lead us into temptation" pray about the specific temptation or temptations you battle yourself.

If you want to overcome temptation in your time of weakness, don't only come to the throne of grace but with confidence, COME CLOSER!

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!

The Ten Commandments: Theft

"You shall not steal"--Exodus 20:15.  The eighth commandment as given by Moses. The eighth commandment is pretty straightforward.  The eighth commandment is dealing with theft.

Theft.  The image above is one of an individual stealing a car.  Of course theft is not isolated to this as all the time we hear of everything from money to items from any sort of store being stolen.  

Theft.  The Hebrew word for steal used here involves taking something secretly or by force. 

Theft.  So the question today is have you ever stolen anything? Hopefully the answer is no.

Theft.  But I want to dig a little deeper than simply taking some material object that is not rightfully yours.

Theft.  Or what about this one? Maybe copying or "burning" a CD or DVD. Many Christians will try to justify this by using the legal loopholes that we are not selling said product for profit therefore it is legal. This is simply an example as it does happen in our brotherhood, making copies of something that is not rightfully ours to make copies of.

Theft.  No practical application here except to think about some of these things and study a little deeper on the subject of stealing.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!     

The Ten Commandments: Adultery

"You shall not commit adultery."--Exodus 20:14.  The seventh of the ten commandments, to not commit adultery.  This commandment is also one of the more well known ones in the world today, whether people are Christians or not.  Adultery seems to be the reason many marriages fall apart.  Many times adultery seems to be the reason people's relationship with God falls apart.  And most unfortunately, adultery seems to be the reason many churches fall apart.  And these are three areas of adultery we will explore in today's blog.

Adultery.  First and foremost, when we hear this word we most often associate it with someone who has sexual relations with someone other than their spouse.  This is true and again this is the reason many marriages fall apart and end in divorce.

Adultery.  Secondly, the Bible also paints adultery as a person's unfaithfulness to God.  When a person steps outside the boundaries God has laid, he or she has committed adultery and is therefore guilty of breaking the seventh commandment.

Adultery. Thirdly, when a church deviates from God's direction as given in Scripture, it is also guilty of breaking the seventh commandment.

Adultery.  So how does this all apply to us? With these three definitions we can see that the seventh commandment is probably the one that is broken most frequently.

Adultery.  Ephesians 5:22-33 compares the church's relationship with Christ to that of a husband and wife. Christ of course being the groom and the church His bride.  When a person is baptized into Christ, he or she is added to the Lord's church and is therefore "married" to Christ and for us to step out of that "marriage" relationship by going back to our old ways is to be guilty of adultery and breaking the seventh commandment.

Adultery.  As most of us, if not all of us know, a successful marriage takes work and the same is true of our marriage to Christ, we must be diligent to follow Him and remain faithful to Him in all we do on a daily basis. We cannot allow our daily battle with temptation to cause us to commit adultery and be guilty of breaking the seventh commandment. "You shall not commit adultery."--Exodus 20:14

Tempted...

"For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin."--Hebrews 4:15.  The Hebrew writer describing that our high priest, Jesus, is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because He was tempted in the same way we are but without sin.  Like us, Jesus was tempted.

Tempted.  The image above will usually trigger a recollection of Genesis 3 when man fell to temptation.  Of course, the text tells us it was a fruit so we don't know for sure if it was an apple.  But the bottom line is that whatever, the fruit Adam and Eve were tempted.

Tempted.  This word sympathize found in Hebrews 4:15 can also mean to suffer with.  It's an interesting thought to know that Christ knows what we are going through when we are tempted by sin.

Tempted.  We should all find encouragement in the fact that Christ was tempted.  Christ was 100% God but He was also 100% man.  Christ felt the pain we feel in EVERY way, even the pain of the battle that comes when we are tempted.  

Tempted.  Was Christ not tempted to call down ten thousand angels to destroy those who were crucifying Him? Instead, he said "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

Tempted.  Was Christ not tempted to try to find a way around the pain of the crucifixion? Instead, He said "Father...not my will but Yours be done." (Luke 22:42)

Tempted.  Was Christ not tempted to turn the stones to bread being starved from hunger after 40 days without food? Instead he says "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4).

Tempted.  Christ has suffered in every way.  Just in case you didn't get it the first time, Christ has suffered in EVERY way.  Yet He was without sin.

Tempted.  So my encouragement to you is this.  We all have our weaknesses and temptations when it comes to sin and altogether ignoring the will of God.

Tempted.  Next time you are tempted to ignore God's will in any given situation, take some time to remember that Christ dealt with that temptation as well and repeat to yourself His statement from the Garden of Gethsemane, not My will but Yours be done.  If it is a desire of the flesh, remember Jesus' statement, "Man shall not live on bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  Or if it is something of the lust of the eyes such as dishonest gain, remember Jesus' statement in Matthew 4:10, "You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only."  Christ is right there with you, take His hand and He will lead you out of temptation.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!

The Ten Commandments: Murder

"You shall not murder."--Exodus 20:13.  The sixth commandment.  Pretty self explanatory and yet this commandment has also been the source of controversy not just among Christians but among all peoples around the world.  Questions like when is it okay to kill? Or is it okay to kill?  The key issue here is the fact that there is a difference between killing and murder.

Murder.  According to the New American Commentary, The Hebrew word used for murder is defined as putting to death improperly or killing for selfish reasons (462)

Murder.  With that definition stated, killing in battle such as in the wars of the Old Testament and arguably the wars that are being fought today would not be classified as murder.

Murder.  Another issue that surrounds this discussion is the issue of self-defense.  In other words, someone dies as a result of one defending against an assault of some sort.

Murder.  But the Bible also speaks of another sort of murder and this is where you and I come into the equation because chances are if you are reading this, you probably have never murdered anyone. Or have you?

Murder.  In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus describes that being angry with our brother is equivalent to murder.

Murder.  So this is where Exodus 20:13 comes into play for us today.  If we have some unresolved issue with a brother or sister in Christ, it is to our benefit to resolve that issue sooner rather than later as we too will be guilty of breaking the sixth commandment if we don't.

Murder.  The tragedy is there has been a lot of blood shed in the the Lord's church today.  Not because of people physically murdering their brethren, although there have been some cases unfortunately.  But more so there have been countless murders in the church because of people's unwillingness to resolve their disagreements with each other and that anger just consumes this person from the inside out.

Murder.  So my encouragement to you is this, if for some reason you are angry with your or brother or sister, go to him or her and get the issue resolved as quickly as possible.  God hates murder.  Let's make it a point to not be guilty of murdering our brethren through anger.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!

Rest...

"Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it."--Hebrews 4:1.  The Hebrew writer now begins his point that we have a rest that his promised if only we will be obedient and hold to what has been taught about Christ.  He will go on to say in Hebrews 4:11 that we need to be diligent to enter that rest.  Diligence requires work.  Work always comes before rest.  

Rest.  The image above should be a familiar one to all of us.  A sign pointing to a highway rest area.  I am one that tends to avoid these rest areas simply because I am determined to get to where I am going as soon as possible.  But the point of these rest areas is just that, rest.   Rest areas provide rest from the road trip. 

Rest.  Christianity is also compared to a road or a way in Matthew 7:13-14.  Christianity as you may already know is the narrow way and it too has a rest area.  But as the Hebrew writer says, we must be diligent or work to enter that rest.  

Rest.  Hebrews 4:6 will tell us that many fail to enter that rest because of disobedience. Furthermore, this promise is of no profit if it is not united with faith as stated in Hebrews 4:3.  

Rest.  I don't know what your attitude toward highway rest areas is but if your like me and determined to get where you are going without stopping except for fuel and food, take that same attitude and carry it over into your Christianity and your walk with  God.  Stop to fuel up and eat up by attending church services with the Lord's people and staying involved in the life of the church. 

Rest.  Realize that work comes before rest. Again, I don't know what your attitude is toward highway rest areas but my prayer is that we all are determined to get to heaven and the only stops we will make on the way there is for edification but also to try to bring others with us by carrying out the Great Commission as given in Matthew 28:19-20.  

Finally, a Christian's rest area is ahead and it may be closer than we think, if you have not obeyed the gospel, now is the time to do so.  Don't wait or you just might miss that rest area that's at the end of this highway we call life.  Which road are you on? The broad way with no rest area or the narrow way with a rest area at the end of it?

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! 

The Ten Commandments: Honoring mom and dad.

"Honor your father and mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you."--Exodus 20:12.  The fifth commandment.  The fifth commandment as stated here comes with a promise. To honor our parents so that our days would be prolonged.  The fifth commandment transitions us into the practical commandments.  The fifth commandment speaks of honoring mom and dad. 

Honoring mom and dad.  When you honor someone, this means that you hold that person in the highest regard. 

Honoring mom and dad.  Honoring someone involves doing all you can for that person.  In this case, mom and dad. 

Honoring mom and dad.  According to my friend and brother in Christ, Andrew Lemus it can also mean to esteem.  

Honoring mom and dad.  According to another commentary, the most important way he honor our parents is to take care of them in their old age.   

Honoring mom and dad.  So how are you honoring your parents?  If you are not living under their roof anymore, when is the last time you picked up the phone and called them? Or better yet, when is the last time you went over and visited them and offered to help them in some way?

Honoring mom and dad.  On the other hand if you are reading this and you do still live with your parents, I encourage you to honor them by offering to help them around the house or if you can afford to do so, take them out for lunch or dinner.  

Honoring mom and dad.  Finally, if your like me and have lost one of or maybe even both your parents, you too can still honor them by putting into practice the lessons you learned from them. 

Honor your father and mother so that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!  

Daily encouragement...

"But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."--Hebrews 3:13.  The Hebrew writer encouraging these Christians to encourage each other in what has been taught about Christ.  To deviate from it would be sin.  To not believe what has been taught about Christ would be sin.  To return to the old law as they were contemplating doing would also be sin.  This is all why they are instructed to engage in daily encouragement.

Daily encouragement.  We all have a routine.  There are some things that must be done on a daily basis.  Some basic examples would be bathing, brushing our teeth, getting dressed with clean clothes, etc. etc.  In the same way we all have our own daily routines depending on what our schedule looks like from day to day.  The point is there are some things we do on a daily basis without fail.

Daily encouragement.  We sometimes wonder why many people are "spiritually starved" by the time they get to services on Sunday morning and leave with a "spiritual high."  But it's not long before they quickly begin a downward spiral and by the time the next Sunday rolls around, they have forgotten what was preached the last Sunday.  My question is why?

Daily encouragement.  Many people, sometimes myself included blame it on the individual.  We say things like the person did not study enough on their own time or they got too caught up in other things.  While this might be true, I am here today to offer a different argument.

Daily encouragement.  What if the reason these people go downhill spiritually between Sundays is because WE do not take the time to encourage them in their walk with God during the week.  This is among the reasons fellowship outside of the assembly is crucial so that we can encourage each other in what has been taught about and furthermore so that, as the passage in Hebrews 3:13 says, so that we are not hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Daily encouragement.  Much of the reason I post these devotional thoughts is to encourage the brethren during the week between Sundays and to carry out what we are commanded to do in Hebrews 3:13.  I pray if you have been reading these that you too have found them encouraging. Or even if this is the first one you have read, I pray you have found it encouraging.

Daily encouragement.  So how does this all connect back to our routine that I mentioned above? Well, this passage tells us to engage in DAILY encouragement.  There are several other things other than the ones I mentioned above that you and me might do on a daily basis.  There is no reason not to incorporate encouraging the brethren into our DAILY routine.

Daily encouragement.  I know for a fact that there a lot of our own brethren struggling with various issues in their lives outside of the assembly.  In some cases it's sin but it's also the dirty hand life can deal us. What I would like to encourage you to do is this.  Over the next seven days take some time out of your "routine" and encourage a brother or sister in Christ DAILY.  Do this by maybe making a phone call or going to visit those people or helping a brother or sister in Christ in some way like with yard work or something around the house and especially when you do so, encourage them in some way in their walk with Christ.

Daily encouragement.  I know by experience that encouragement goes a long way.  The ultimate reason we need to encourage each other daily in our walk with Christ is "so that we will not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" which so easily entangles.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!