There are at least 30 different scripture passages in the epistles that use the words encourage, encouraged or encouragement. The Bible does not turn a deaf ear to the pressures of life. Our need for encouragement springs from the day to day pressures and the brokenness of the world in which we live.

Listen to these verses:

Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:18 NIV)

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)

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 NIV)

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25 NIV)

If encouraging one another is such a prominent topic in scripture, how can you do a better job?

Here are 5 ways you can encourage brothers and sisters in Christ:

1. Write a note or an email – share something that can be held saved
2. Call on your phone – let them hear your voice
3. Help the hurting – do something to relieve the pressure
4. Practice the power of presence – be there
5. Tell people how they have encouraged you – build people up

It’s time to be a doer of the word. Don’t read this and forget about it. Do something today to encourage someone.

Do you have any other ideas or tips to help us encourage one another? Join the conversation and share them with us.

Grace and Peace,

Terry

Related Posts:

• Encourage Someone Today
• My One Another Community
• When They Didn’t Come
• The Clock Is Ticking

Sandi Leading Orchestra

Our church met at the Dragon Boat, Kite, and Lantern Festival last Sunday. One of our members plays in a string orchestra. The director was in China and she was asked to direct a performance in the opening ceremonies. We decided to go and support her and experience the festival. It was like taking a mission trip to Asia and coming back the same day.

Some helped back stage while others simply watched the performance. Some took pictures and video to share with the director when he returns. We just dispersed in the crowd and mingled with the people attending the festival.

As we walked the festival grounds we would run into other members of the group from time to time and stop to visit. At one point several of us found ourselves sitting in the shade eating lunch from the street vendors.

The church chose to gather – not at some permanent place and at a set time – but at a place where we could do life together. We did this for several reasons:

• to serve a fellow member of our local church
• to serve the members of the orchestra
• to build relationships with the orchestra and their families
• to learn more about a culture that is all around us in which we can live the example of a Christ-like life style
• to make some new friends
• to be incarnational (be the body of Christ in the world)
• to be missional (to be about the mission of Jesus in the world)

Who knows, we might go to October Fest this fall.

What are some ways and where are some places your church or small group can gather?

Grace and Peace,

Terry

Related Posts:

• A Short Video About Missional Communities
• Doing Everyday Stuff Together
• My One Another Community
• 7 Ways Basic Christian Community Multiplies Your Efforts

About a month ago I stopped to eat at a local restaurant I had never been to before. The accent of my server was one that was unfamiliar to me so I simply asked the nation of his origin. He came from a country about which I know very little. In the matter of a minute or two I learned a few things about his situation. We exchanged names and I went on my way.

Yesterday we were able to speak again.

It was about 1:30 p.m. and I had missed lunch. I was driving by the restaurant and heard the Spirit of God prompting me to stop. Once again, he was my server. I ordered something light to eat and looked for opportunities to continue our conversation from a month before. I called him by name and he shared that although he served many people he remembered my previous visit.

One of the great things about this encounter is that the restaurant was almost empty. He was able to linger around my table and talk. I mostly asked questions and kept the focus on his life. In the matter of a few minutes I learned about his journey to this country, his wife, and 6 month old child. As I listened I also discerned that he was a little lonely.

When he went to get my check, I wondered what type of friends he had made.  Is his wife lonely, too? Does he have a relationship with Jesus?

When he returned I asked a final question.

I said, “I don’t know much about your native land. I was wondering if we could have coffee sometime and you could tell me about your culture?” Smiling from ear to ear he replied that he would love to have coffee with me. He even extended an invitation to his home. Before I could ask, he wrote his phone number for me. It’s on my desk in front of me right now.

I look forward to seeing him again and the possibility of forming a new friendship. I also get to learn a little about a place far, far away.

Let me challenge you to be aware of those around you today. Take a little time and listen. Ask a few questions. I have found that most people will engage you in conversation if you ask a few simple questions. You just might make a new friend and get to drink some coffee.

Grace and Peace,

Terry

The word missional is being tossed around a lot right now. I even mentioned living missionally on my “about page”. The video below is Scott McKnight giving a little insight about what it is to be a missional community.

It’s only about 2 minutes long so have your coffee cup full. It won’t take you long to watch this so just look around the blog here while you finish your coffee break.

Any thoughts or comments?

He who receives you receives me [Jesus], and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. – Matthew 10:40 NIV

Grace and Peace,

Terry

In his book Why Christians Sin, J.K. Johnson says “Christ met unbelievers where they were” and gives the following contact count . . .

• 4 stories of Jesus engaging with people in the synagogues
• 6 stories of Jesus encountering people in the temple
• 122 stories of Jesus interacting with people in the everyday activities of life

Any insights?

Grace and Peace,
Terry

It’s Sunday in the final week of Jesus’ life leading to the cross and the resurrection. Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey as the admiring crowd hailed him with shouts of “Hosanna – blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” The story recorded in Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-44 and John 12:12-19 is traditionally called the Triumphal Entry.

Yet when we read the account in Luke we find that we might ask what kind of entry was this, really?

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” Luke 19:41-44 NIV

As Jesus approaches Jerusalem what he sees causes tears to well up inside him and burst forth.  Jesus was sent by the Father to seek and save the lost, to open their eyes to see his grace and love. God, himself, had come to his people. Looking for them. Seeking them. Longing for them to come to him and find his peace. He came to his own but his own did not receive him.

For whom did these tears fall?

I don’t believe that Jesus is crying about himself and the fate that awaits him. He is coming as the Prince of Peace, astride his royal donkey. He is coming to the city called peace – and the people will not receive the peace with God that he offers. Jesus wept because the people refuse to accept him and the result will be devestation.

The question I have been asking myself as I think about this final week is, “What do these passages reveal to me about the mission of the Father and how are we to participate in that mission?”

Let me ask three questions about this mission:

1. Are we coming near as Jesus did?

Are we coming near the city, town, community where God has placed us or are we keeping away from the people who inhabit that place. Are we getting closer to the people who need God’s peace or are we living peacefully behind the walls of our houses (or church buildings)?

Jesus was able to ride into town on a donkey becasue of the incarnation – God taking on human flesh. He was there to interact with sinful humanity and show them the way to God. Are we incarnating the place where we live?

2. Do we see the city like Jesus did?

As Jesus came near Jerusalem – he saw it. He did more than stop for a panoramic view. He studied it and what he saw broke his heart. Are our eyes open? Do we see the hurt, the pain, the loneliness around us? Do we see where God is needed? Are we looking to see where he is working so we can join him?

3. Are our eyes wet with tears like the eyes of Jesus?

Jesus cared and desired that the people come to God. Do we? Are we weeping over the city or are we ignoring the inhabitants?

Let’s spend some time this Easter season drawing near those who need God and really look for where his love and grace are needed. It just might bring a few tears to our eyes.

Grace and Peace,
Terry

Join the Conversation: What keeps us from coming near and seeing the need?

Related Posts from 7 Days Leading Up To Easter

1. Sunday – What Kind Of Entry Was It?
2. Monday – 12 Things Children Can Teach Us This Easter
3. Tuesday – Seeing The Unnoticed
4. Wednesday – The Calm Before The Storm
5. Thursday – How Washing The Disciple’s Feet Pictures The Incarnation
6. Friday – It’s Friday But . . .
7. Saturday – Between The Cross And The Empty Tomb