Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from Glen Campbell singing his hit song … Try A Little Kindness … poignantly singing of what should be the life of all Christians, born-again by Christ’s blood into a family of encouragement.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Hebrews 10:24 [NKJV] … 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, …
… God brings us together in the family of God to consider others and lift each other up with good works of encouragement …
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Highlight Passage [context]: Hebrews 10:19-25 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… As part of the family of God, we are to become a community of encouragement, lifting each other up whenever we can by our words and acts of goodness.
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Reference Passage : … Galatians 6:9-10 [NKJV] … 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
… Paul exhorts fellow Christs to keep on, keeping on by reaching out to others, especially fellow Christians, with acts of goodness/kindness.
Reference Passage : … Philippians 2:3-4 [NKJV] … 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
… God, thru Paul, exhorts us, as disciples of Christ, to rise above petty selfishness and look out for the interests of others.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Kirsten Holmberg, used an athletic word picture to illustrate how Christians are bound together in Christ and become a community of encouragement, … or at least should be. The ODB author writes … The Steven Thompson Memorial Centipede is a cross-country meet unlike any other. Each seven-member team runs as a unit, holding a rope for the first two miles of a three-mile course [see photo]. At the two-mile mark, the team drops the rope and finishes the race individually. Each person’s time is, therefore, a combination of the pace the team kept and his or her own speed.
This year, my daughter’s team opted for a strategy I had not previously seen: They put the fastest runner at the front and the slowest right behind her. She explained that their goal was for the strongest runner to be near enough to speak words of encouragement to the slowest runner.
When we’re born again into the family of God, our Lord desires that we become a community of encouragement; and as in the centipede race picture, we are to do all we can to help others who’re perhaps needing assistance to run the race of life.
And so, as in the highlight and reference passages directs us, our Lord, thru Scripture authors like Paul, exhorts us to come together as God’s team to lift up others with words or acts of kindness just as Glen Campbell sung in his 1970s hit song (linked above).
So, how about it [?], fellow member of God’s family; … let’s all pray that God gives us opportunities today to encourage someone who needs our help and strength. And if we’re the one needing that lift from fellow Christians, let’s not let pride get in the way of asking for the help we need from the family of God.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for bringing me into Your family of encouragement.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that You gives me (us) opportunities to help others by encouraging them and being an agent of Your enabling grace. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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