Be an encourager!

 

Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”  Kindness is one of the fruits of the Spirit and we are commanded to pursue kindness with all diligence. F5

 Everyone is either primarily an encourager or discourager in their attitude and actions.

Let the love of Jesus flow through you to love God and others. Be filled by the Spirit daily and then let the fruit of the Spirit flow out of your life–love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. F1    Remember to keep a kind expression on your face.

May we comfort each other; ” 3 Blessed be the God…of all comfort,  4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” F2

And help each other; “35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;…40 Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” F3

Listen to others.  Many people just need someone to listen to them.

Paul Tripp said: “Real change does not take place until it is visible in our lives and our relationships. The Bible uses the word “heart” to describe who we are at our core. The Bible describes the Christian life in terms of a new relationship with God that brims with hope and flows from the core of our being into our daily lives. Jesus said that all true obedience grows out of a transformed heart.” F6

Check the assumptions that guide your life. F7  I will end with David’s Psalm of self-examination: “ 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.” F8          

Be an encourager and a person who reveals the glory of God to others!

Notes: F1- Ephesians 5:18b, Galatians 5:22-23b; F2- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4; F3- Galatians 6:2, Hebrews 13:16, Romans 15:1, Matthew 25:35-40; F4- Ephesians 4:32;  F5- Galatians 5:22-23a, 2 Peter 1:5-7; F6-  “How People Change” by Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp, Pages 171-176, to order click here; F7- For some possible assumptions  click here. F8-  Psalms 139:23-24 ; For “Am I a Discourager?” click here

 

Henry Luke 10/13/2017, last revised 6/28/2018