I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
Encouragement that Builds
Have you ever regretted not saying something to someone? Maybe they were going through a hard time and you didn’t know what to say, but you felt like you could have said something.
When Paul, the author of 1 Thessalonians, is writing to the church in Thessalonika, he gives them some practical advice.
Paul tells the church to continue to encourage one another. This was something they were already doing, but Paul felt it necessary to remind them to keep doing this.
Encouragement can change someone’s attitude. It can lift someone out of a dark place. Encouraging someone can give them the hope and determination to push through a hard season.
Maybe you can remember a time when someone encouraged you when you were going through a hard time, and the difference it made in your own life. Paul is encouraging us to do that for others.
The Church is meant to be a place of encouragement. We should never leave any encouragement unspoken, but we should generously uplift one another.
Spend some time today thinking about someone in your life who you can encourage. It might be someone who is going through a hard time, or it might be someone who needs to be reminded that others care about them. Never let encouragement go unspoken, as it is one of the ways we can build each other up.
Undeserved Mercies
When someone hurts you or, worse, hurts somebody that you love, revenge can seem appealing. After all…
They were mean.
They were selfish.
They talked behind your back.
They broke a vital promise.
They lied about you.
They criticized you.
They ignored you.
They did the unthinkable.
They walked away.
They deserve to be punished, right? To feel some of that same pain? They deserve a consequence that will not only help them learn, but will be just as severe as the inflicted wounds.
And yet—because God sees things differently, both His standards and tactics can be surprising. And that’s why the apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Thessaloniki, said:
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”
1 Thessalonians 5:15 NLT
Paul’s words sound a lot like Jesus’ words—to love your neighbor as yourself; to do to others what you’d like them to do to you. (See: Matthew 22:38-40)
God’s ways ...
