“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.”
Hebrews 3:13
As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to encourage one another daily. That is the focus of a new program we are starting within our group.
Starting Tuesday October 23, we will have a place set up at the church building for you to write encouragement notes to one another. Please take part in this, you don’t have to write a long letter, just a quick note letting that person know that you are thinking of them.
We are also going to start a program called “Today is My Day.” We will have four encouragement teams. Each team will have different people to encourage each day of the month. They can do this by calling the person or sending a text message or writing them a short note. You can even call and say “I love you” in under two seconds so that you won’t be charged. If you would like to be part of an encouragement team, please let Kelli know by Tuesday the 23rd.
You do not have to be in one of these groups to encourage people. Please look around you and see who isn’t here. Who have you not seen in a while? Give them a call. Let them know that they are loved and that you miss them.
GOODNESS
Before you read this grab your Bible and read Psalm 23
Goodness is an uprightness of soul that abhors evil, it also refers to a clean-cut honesty of motive and conduct. It takes total commitment to God and His word for a Christian to dedicated his/her life to goodness. With the help of the Holy Spirit, this fruit of the spirit will enable us to first recognize the works of the flesh, wherein we walk in the past and empower us to resist the devil (Psalm 1:1-3). Let us watch out for the companies we keep today.
All our transactions must be in honesty and good mind. The Bible says that we should do honest business.
Also, we should let our yes be yes, and no be no, anything short of this is deceit (James 4:17). We must do good always, otherwise it is sinful. All we have to do today, is to practice what we have studied, read, and heard.
Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. …James Vaughan
Prayer for Understanding
Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring the moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love. Matt 5:44
A Rainy Afternoon
One rainy afternoon I was driving along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick.Suddenly my daughter, Aspen, spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. "Dad, I'm thinking of something."This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some fact for a while, and was now ready to expound all that her six-year-old mind had discovered. I was eager to hear."What are you thinking?" I asked."The rain!" she began, "is like sin, and the windshield wipers are like God wiping our sins away."After the chill bumps raced up my arms I was able to respond. "That's really good, Aspen."Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little girl take this revelation? So I asked..."Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What does that tell you?"Aspen didn't hesitate one moment with her answer: "We keep on sinning, and God just keeps on forgiving us."I will always remember this whenever I turn my wipers on.
An Eternal Question for 2 reasons:
1. To check your faith and relationship with God.
2. To ask your friends to make them think about eternity.
If you died today, would you go to Heaven?
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