Refreshment (Tom Rutter)

By
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
These words from St Paul were written after he had been flogged, thrown into prison in Macedonia and forced out of Thessalonica. At a time when Paul could have been discouraged by persecution and nursing his emotional and physical wounds, he was instead concerned for the Thessalonians! He modelled the personal and heartfelt encouragement he wanted them to offer others.
This is the principle also found in Proverbs 11:25: “…whoever refreshes others will be refreshed”.
Prayer – Dear God, please help us today to offer heartfelt encouragement to others no matter what we may be facing. Help us to trust that as we refresh others, so we will be refreshed. Amen.
Tom Rutter

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Be Alert (Liz Morris)

By
Image
" And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Ephesians 6:18 I love the inference that to pray is to be alert. As Paul draws to the end of his letter to the Ephesians, he reminds them of the importance to keep on praying at all times, in many different ways in the Spirit. Prayer is such an integral part of growing in our faith and seeing His kingdom come in our lives, our community and our world. It helps our earthly minds come to know our Heavenly Father and see His plans and purposes unfold. I love the fact that Paul goes on to put in a personal prayer request in the next verse and I am sure that the church in Ephesus often prayed for him along with many of the Christians from the other churches. I am sure too, that the alertness of all the early Christians to pray was essential in the success of the ministry of all the Apostles and the advancement of the g
Read more

Jesus and the strong man (Nico Marais)

By
Image
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis[a] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. Mark 5:18-20 What precedes today’s passage is the well-known story of Jesus sending the demons from this man into a herd (or litter, depending on who you ask) of pigs that ultimately drown themselves.  The Bible says this man was so strong that chains could not hold him.  When he is set free from his demonic bondage he begs Jesus to come with Him.  Jesus says no and sends him back to his family, friends and his own people to share what Jesus has done for him. This is exactly what Jesus asks each of us to do as well.  We can’t really share Christ’s peace, mercy, hope, power and love via proxy.  We have to encounter it for oursel
Read more

Do not be afraid: God’s purposes (Keith Nurse)

By
Image
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) All of us have had so many of our plans turned upside down in recent weeks. Things that we were anticipating eagerly - holidays, outings, celebrations - have had to be cancelled. Work schedules, the school year and the church calendar have all had to change. And we try to imagine what life will be like in the months ahead - when will life return to normal, and what will ‘normal’ look like anyhow? The prophet Jeremiah wrote today’s verse to a people in exile, but he also told them that it would be seventy years before the exile would end, beyond the lifetime of most of those who heard his words. God doesn’t always take our sufferings away, but gives us hope in them, continuing to shape and enrich us, and to use us for good in the lives of others, even when times are tough. Each of us is a special, a unique part of God’s cr
Read more