Thursday, February 27, 2020

Thankful for the Brave enCOURAGErs...


We all love that verse in the Bible about encouraging one another don't we? You know the one I'm talking about right? It's this one...



Awesome verse right? I do love this verse and I love to encourage people. Even as a child I was often recognized for being an encourager. I love to see people be encouraged in life and in their relationship with God. This has probably always been the best part of leadership and being in ministry for me... encouraging others to dig deep with God and watching the transformation come in their lives. Beautiful stuff!

Maybe because I'm an encourager, I might notice this more but... I've really witnessed a major … I think the word "problem" would describe it truthfully, amongst Believers everywhere. My focus at the moment is on social media because well... that's what I've been looking at lately but... as I began to really dig into this verse (and many others like it) and reflect and seek out God's heart on encouraging one another and what that really means, I've found some ways for myself to become better at being an encourager! So here's what I've found:

    God knows how hard this life is and He understands how easy it is for us to want to give up. He knows how far from Him this world is and that's why He tells us how important it is that we encourage and "build each other up". I think that a lot of times we read this verse and we don't fully see the bigger picture of what God is actually saying to us. Look at what Hebrews 3:13 says to us:


   Encouraging one another and building each other up in the little and big things in life is good BUT God cares even more that we build each other up and encourage each other in HIM and in RIGHTEOUSNESS! How well are we doing that with one another lately? I know that this part is so easy for us to overlook sometimes because maybe those things aren't as visible as just normal "life stuff" but how important are these things in the life of the Believer? We live during a time where we are told as Christians that we need to mind our own business and not judge our brothers and sisters in Christ (am I right?) BUT...this can't get any further away from who we are as the Body of Christ! We are meant to be involved in each others lives, not stay away and watch from the sidelines. This has become a disastrous belief within the Christian community.
   Not only do we need to participate more in the lives of our brothers and sisters when they are stumbling and struggling in their relationship with Jesus but also..and equally important... we need to encourage each other in Truth! When our fellow brothers and sisters are walking, living, and speaking Truth, we need to be there to encourage them and build them up in that also.

   You know what I've been noticing lately? Facebook lol... now there's a lot to notice about Facebook but there's a trend among my own friends and newsfeed that I've become aware of which has prompted this post. I'm bold, this is nothing new to most folks that know me, and I'm so thankful that I have gotten to the point in my life where I am not afraid to speak what I KNOW is Truth. What I do find a little disturbing and a whole lot sad is when I post a cute picture of one of my furbabies or a picture of a pool floatie and a few short words about summer... I get TONS of likes and loves right away. Cool. But when I post a Truth about God, nothing I've made up in my own head but a Truth out of God's Word, might be a hard Truth but a Truth just the same... a few, and I mean a very few likes. WHY IS THAT? To encourage me with my pool floatie or puppy picture is more important than encouraging me in the Truth of God's Word???  Look, I am secure in who I am in Christ and I am not crushed by the lack of likes on a Truth post. I do however, have a concern that we are not taking God's call to encourage one another and build each other up... in Him, to heart as much as we should as fellow Believers.
    God's Truth will never be the popular opinion of those who... hate Him. BUT it should be the most popular opinion of those who love Him... right?

    As I write this post, it's not to bash anyone... but it's to encourage us to be BOLD in encouraging one another. The Truth is... it does take COURAGE to stand on Truth these days. It really shouldn't honestly.. we as Followers of Jesus, as the Children of God... should we really be afraid to speak His Truth? I believe the Enemy has really done a work in using fear to silence God's Children. Fear of offense, Fear of rejection, Fear of confrontation, Fear of being "labeled" judgemental (whether you speak out of love or not), Fear of frankly just being uncomfortable …. the bottom line is... Fear can stop us from being exactly who God has called us to be to one another. Fear can stop us from encouraging one another and building each other up. What a scary thought... allowing the fear from the enemy to become stronger than the fear of NOT encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ to BE what He calls them to be. I feel incredibly humbled by this thought. I do not want to sit by the sidelines and quietly "hope" that my brothers and sisters in Christ... "make it". I want to BOLDLY cheer you all on in your walk with Christ. To BOLDLY encourage you to fight the good fight! To cross the finish line with flying colors! To not give in to temptation and sin. I want to encourage you to LIVE for Jesus Boldly. And how can I do that unless I am not afraid to Boldly encourage you along the way!

     So, let's all do a much better job at encouraging and building each other up in Truth, and even standing with each other in the hard Truths... as the Body of Christ. I know that for these very few but faithful brothers and sisters in Christ that aren't afraid to "like" my Jesus posts... I Cherish you and I thank you for encouraging me and building me up! I will do my best to encourage you as well! much love sweet friends - darby

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