30 Days of Encouragement {Day 16}: You Know More Than You Think

To learn what this series is all about, start here.

Hurray!  It's time to get into the "how" of encouraging one another!  Over the next three days I will present to you a framework for becoming an encourager.  For today, however, I'd like you to consider how much you already know about encouraging others.  Stop for a moment and think about or write down what encourages you.

I mean it, take a moment to pause and think about that.  Could be people's presence, words, advice, prayers, etc.  What really encourages you and gives you the push you need to be brave and keep going?

Alright, now I have a challenge question for you:

Are you making an effort to (at least)

encourage others the way YOU feel encouraged?

Hm.

Sometimes we get lost in our own navel gazing.  We feel desperate for someone to come alongside us and lift us up, so we start to wallow.  In the midst of our self-pity party, we miss the call to draw near to God and consider others.  We miss out on letting the Lord lift us up, and we neglect our responsibility to encourage one another.  I know; I've been there, too.

When we moved to our town a little over two years ago, I did not have many friends.  We had a great church to attend, but I was getting into one of those "no body cares about us or wants to know us" slumps.  My husband was very busy with his new job, and while I have testimony of how incredibly God sustained us through that first semester, I still got lonely sometimes.  I desperately wanted people to invite us over for lunch or dinner or something, but that was not happening.  Then I was reminded of something Sally Clarkson often has said: Everywhere they moved, she always had to start something to create the fellowship she longed for.  She almost always had to make the first move to build relationships. 

Sunday mornings seemed like such a terrible time to try to get to know people.  So I spoke with a friend at church who had consistently taken very good care of us, and she helped me plan a Women's Tea at our house.  I asked the church secretary to put a note in the bulletin.  I stood up during announcements in the service and said, "Hey, I'm a stranger to most of you, but I need some friends.  Please come over so we can get to know each other."

Forty women came that Saturday!!  We'll be having our third annual women's tea in a couple of weeks.

Wallowing feels good for a time.  I love to be a martyr, friends.  Not proud of that, but it's true.  Choosing God's way, however, sets us free!  As a bonus, often He uses our taking the time to encourage another to encourage us, too.  I have the testimony of forty women coming to that first tea to prove it.

No matter your situation, and perhaps especially considering your situation right now, think back to that first question about what really encourages you.  That list shows how much you already know about encouragement!  Would you be brave today and make a point to do one of those encouraging things for someone else?  Let God use you, where you are right now, to encourage another in his/her walk with the Lord.  I look forward to hearing about it sometime!

30 Days of Encouragement {Day 14}: Let's Review!

Check out what the series is all about here.

Tomorrow puts us half way through the month, so let's use today for a review of what has been going on in this Encouragement series.  The focus text of the series is Hebrews 10:19-25.

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

So far, this is what we have covered:

• What is encouragement?  I defined it as the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope that is grounded in Christ and points them to Him
• All can encourage  No matter who you are or what your situation, as a believer you are called to encourage others
• What if I need encouragement?  Even as we commit to encourage others, we will experience times when we need to be encouraged.  In these lonely times we move from simply knowing about God to meeting Him and having our needs met in Him.  He loves each one of us.
• Discouraging circumstances This post provided some ideas for times that others particularly need encouragement, to get you on the look out for encouragement opportunities.
• Why encourage?  We encourage one another because of what Christ has done for us as our Savior and High Priest.  We are free to consider others!
• More reason to encourage  Another reason to encourage is Jesus' second coming and the increase of trials that will come; we need encouragement to keep the faith in this harsh world.
• Encouragement Fuel  Knowing the Word is a great way to be prepared to encourage at any time; Love God Greatly is a wonderful resource to learn Bible Study.
• Encouragement requirements  In order to encourage one another we need to be meeting together and intentional in our interactions with one another.
• Who shall we encourage  As believers we should always be ready to encourage others, but especially those within the body of believers.
• When and where to encourage  Whenever and wherever we are we should encourage others, i.e. we need to develop and encouragement habit.  The Father and the Spirit are our companions in the ministry.

That is where we have been!  On Monday we will begin talking about HOW: how do we develop and encouragement mindset; how do we set up our lives to have space to encourage; how, practically, do we encourage in the day-to-day.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and we'll move on next week!

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30 Days of Encouragement {Day 13}: When and Where?

Check out what this series is all about here.

Yesterday, while discussing the "who" of encouragement, I asked this convicting question:

How often do you head into Sunday morning worship or Sunday school or  Bible study or small group thinking about how you can encourage other believers gathering there?

The question convicts because we're not always thinking about ministering, are we?  With all of the demands and burdens of life, most of the time we're hoping, consciously or not, that someone will notice and care for us.  Which leads well into the "when and where" of encouragement.  When and where should we be encouraging others?

The short answer: whenever and wherever you meet together!

Whenever and wherever we meet, especially with fellow believers, we can seize the opportunity to encourage one another.  Whether we find ourselves in a large group or are hanging out with one friend over coffee, we need to develop an encouragement habit - that would be having an attitude of ministry, all the time.  Does that remind you of anyone you know?  Sunday School answer time, right here.  Yep.  Jesus!

He said to his disciples, recorded in Matthew 20:26-28,

"Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

And Paul says about Him in Philippians 2:5-8, inviting us to copy Him,

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Our Lord lived the ministry of encouragement and showed us the way.  He relied on the Holy Spirit to fill Him up and He spoke regularly with the Father.  As a result, He considered others all the time.  When we died on the cross, He gave us always-access to the Father through faith, and when we ascended, He sent the Holy Spirit to fill us.  We can rely on the Spirit and we can speak regularly with the Father, becoming people who look like Christ in the world: considering others and encouraging one another - whenever and wherever opportunity arises.

We're well on our way to the "hows" of doing this, so stick around for more!

I am so thankful you spend time here with me.

30 Days of Encouragement {Day 12}: Who Shall We Encourage?

For the series starter, click here.

Moving right along in our conversation about encouraging one another, we come to the question of who, or is it whom?  I dunno, but hope you understand me!  Here we are: To whom shall we give encouragement?  Our Hebrews passage speaks directly to believers and is telling them to encourage one another, especially in the body of believers.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Yet how little we see this.  Or to bring it home: How little we practice it ourselves!  Here's a challenge question to ask yourself:  How often do you head into Sunday morning worship or Sunday school or  Bible study or small group thinking about how you can encourage other believers gathering there?

Ouch.  Right?

But there in Hebrews 10 it says we should be encouraging one another when we're meeting together, trying to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  So when it comes to the question of who/whom, the Bible is talking about fellow believers.  And really, if we cannot encourage one another within the fold, when we have Christ in common already, we can be sure it will be very challenging to encourage those outside the Body

Which brings me to this point: we are to encourage those outside the body of believers, too.  The lips of the believer should always be ready to speak words of life.  We can, even in conversations with those who are not Christians, help people along to know Him or at least think about He might factor into their life.  Remember how we defined encouragement?

encrouragement: the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope that is grounded in Christ and points them to Him

Can you see how critical it is, then, to be doing this with fellow believers.  We don't need to be shy about it.  Christ is our Lord and He's coming again!  Christ is our Savior and fear no longer needs to dominate in our relationships.  We've been set free to be real and offer real encouragement.

Who shall we encourage?

Everyone, but especially fellow brothers and sisters in Christ!

30 Days of Encouragement {Day 11}: Encouragement Requirements

Let's hone in, today, on the verses from Hebrews 10 that include the phrase "encouraging one another."

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another -- and all the more as you see the day approaching.  Hebrews 10:24-25

This week we'll do a quick run through the what, who, where, and when of encouraging one another.  Then spend the rest of the series on the how-tos of encouragement.  I'm so thrilled to share with you from the talk I gave on Saturday!  I learned so much through the preparation process and love dragging you blog readers into it.

You will notice in the verses above that there is a thread connecting spurring one another on in love and good deeds, meeting together, and encouraging one another.  Thus, I conclude that being an encouragement requires two things: engaging with people  and intentionality.

Hermits are not known for their ability to encourage others, right?  To encourage one another we have to be with one another!  Not all the time, of course, but regularly enough to know what is going on in each others' lives and have time to talk.  To encourage one another, we must meet together.

Further, to spur one another on toward love and good deeds requires that we are intentional when we meet together.  In their book, Drs. Crabb and Allender say, The final goal of encouragement is to move people along in their walk with Christ.  Interacting in this way goes beyond the normal surface-level conversations we have, inviting us to go deeper and, lovingly, push one another along in the faith. Love and good deeds find their origin in ever-growing relationship with Jesus. To encourage one another, we must be intentional in our interactions.

In order to encourage one another we need to be in the habit of getting together and, during those times, intentional about spurring one another on toward love and good deeds.  I am confident that as you develop these habits, they will become second nature.  The Lord has His way of transforming our character as we strive to be obedient to His Word!  At the beginning, we will have to remind ourselves to consider others when going into gatherings with fellow believers, no matter how desperately we need to be ministered to ourselves.  With time, however, we will grow to be natural encouragers who put others first because God has been faithful to change us through our practice.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised if faithful.

Hebrews 10:23

30 Days of Encouragement {Day 10}: Encouragement Fuel

I was going to get into more exposition of the Hebrews passage today, but I feel prompted by the Spirit to share something different.  At the beginning of the series we defined encouragement as the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope that is grounded in Christ and points them to Him.  For such encouragement to take place, the encourager needs to have a store to draw from.  That fuel will come primarily from God's Word.

We will only have words to share to encourage one another to the extent that we are fueling up on the Scriptures!  As we acquaint ourselves with the God of the Bible and His message, His love, His concerns, His guidance, and His abundance, we will have more and more to pour out into the lives of others.

To that end, I want to share a website with you Love God Greatly.  They lead regular, year round, six week Bible studies on books of the Bible or topics, providing free Bible study materials, a few blog posts a week, encouraging video clips to go along with them, and weekly challenges.  I participated in a couple last year and they were great!  You will learn how to study Scripture as well as the Scriptures themselves.  My friend, Pam, gave testimony at the conference this past weekend to how effective and live-changing this method of study has been in her life, and she's been a Christian for a good long time!  Cool, huh?

I believe the Lord wants me to share this with you today because a new series started yesterday and it is on The Names of God.  THIS IS A PERFECT WAY TO FUEL UP TO BE READY TO ENCOURAGE.  We cannot understand what everyone is gong through, but we can come along side and lead them to the Lord and let Him care for their deepest needs.  Knowing God's many names, and studying His ways, equips us to minister to others - and our lives will be transformed along the way, too.  I have a hunch!

If you click on the word BLOG at the top of the Love God Greatly website you can get to a page with all the recent blog posts.  Or if you want a quick link, the Introduction Post is here.  The first post, from yesterday, is here, which includes all the Bible study materials at the bottom.  Also, there are many translations of the studies you can find here; perhaps you can think of a friend to invite.

I was not planning on doing it, but now that I'm typing this, I might jump on board, too.  Let me know if you decide to! 

30 Days of Encouragement {Day 9}: More Reason to Encourage

Get the low-down on this series click here.

Our primary reason to encourage one another is Christ and all He has done for us, as the author of Hebrews lays out not only in the first eighteen verses of chapter ten, but also throughout most of the book.  Christ is our High Priest and the Sacrificial Lamb.  By faith in Him, we are cleansed of guilt, made pure, and can draw near to God in full assurance of faith.  That is incredible!  Our changed lives motivate us to encourage others.  We have received so much, we can consider others.

That's reason enough to encourage one another, but Hebrews 10:19-25 offers an additional motivation:

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Christ is coming again.  "The Day" is approaching.  God has fulfilled all of the promises he made in the Old Testament in Christ.  Christ promised He will come again, not as the Lamb but as Judge, and that as that time draws near, difficulty and persecution will increase for His people.  We must encourage one another.  I would also add that we need encouragement because - no matter how near or far "the Day" is - life is inherently difficult.  Life is tough.  We all need encouragement.

In the hustle and bustle of life we easily forget that the Day is approaching and we forget to consider others.  When life is marching along comfortably we forget the Day is approaching and we forget to consider others.  As trials and tribulations press in on us we forget the Day is approaching and we forget to consider others.  I think you're starting to get the picture I'm trying to paint here: We have great reasons to encourage one another, but so many things can distract us.

Hopefully this series will challenge us to move beyond ourselves because the Lord went far beyond Himself to reach us and give us life.  Moving forward we will be considering who, when, and where we can encourage.  Then we will get into how, and get some ideas of how to become Christians who encourage one another.

Peace be with you as you ponder these reasons we have to consider other and encourage them: Christ's love and work for us, the Day approaching, and the fact that life is hard and encouragement is so desperately needed.

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