Scripture of the Week
1 Peter 1:3-5 ~~ “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Something to Smile About
Terri asked her Sunday school class to draw pictures of their favorite Bible stories. She was puzzled by Kyle’s picture, which showed four people on an airplane, so she asked him which story it was meant to represent.
“The flight to Egypt,” was his reply. Pointing at each figure, teacher Terri said, “That must be Mary, this one Joseph, and that one is baby Jesus. But who is the fourth person?”
“Oh, “Kyle replied, “That is Pontius, the pilot!”
Think About It
Encourage One Another
Encouragement is a vital part of success in our lives. Without it we may attain a few things. But with it we can achieve far greater things.
One of the wonderful aspects of encouragement is that it is, or should be, in plentiful supply all of the time. After all, it doesn’t cost anything to encourage someone. And following the Golden Rule, we should all see the value of encouraging others as we would like for others to encourage us.
The writer of Hebrews in 10:24-25 left us with 4 primary actions to follow. Most remember the negative “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves”. But the other three are equally in force and quite positive in nature.
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works….exhorting one another.”
The word used there for exhorting is the same word rendered “encourage” in 1 Thessalonians 3:2 where Paul sent Timothy to “establish you and encourage you concerning the faith.” Parakaleo means basically to give consolation, encouragement or comfort.
Parents are great sources of encouragement as they open their children’s eyes to the possibilities of what they might achieve in life. Likewise, we should be great encouragers of one another, showing what great things can be accomplished in the faith with the talents and resources we have.
William Arthur Ward said, “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.”
Many successful people can look back on key individuals and know that their specific encouragement helped them to have the courage and determination to work hard, desire improvement and, by applying themselves, reached their goals or just simply improved performance.
We are striving to be a loving, spiritual family that has joined hands in the service of God seeking daily to grow into the image of His son, Jesus.
