Mutually Encouraged

Have you ever given thought to how much we need our brothers and sisters in Christ for encouragement in our faith? I confess that at times, get spiritually depressed by the state of our country’s lukewarm apathy toward Christianity. I allow myself to believe that no one in America is truly living a pure life before God and seeking him wholeheartedly. When this happens, God always finds a way to show me that I’m wrong. There are several believers who are sold out to him. I don’t know about you, but I need hardcore brothers and sisters like these to help me stay encouraged. Paul shares this sentiment in Romans 1:11-12 which says:

“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong – that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”

Last month, while speaking at a church as an area representative for Voice of the Martyrs, I met three strong women of faith. Their dedication to prayer and their love for all things Jesus really encouraged me. Just like that, my spirit was rejuvenated and my hope that prayer warriors, sold out Christians, and hardcore believers still exist in our country, was kindled once again. So, I encourage you to build relationships with strong believers in your church, neighborhood or even your school so that both your faith and their faith may be mutually encouraging.

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Similar to Proverbs 27:17 which says, “as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another”, Paul reminds us that we should purpose to be around strong believers so that our faith may be mutually encouraged. Living a Christian life on earth can be difficult; especially if you try to do it alone. In truth, no one is really an island unto themselves. But we can choose who we influence and are influence by. Hopefully, when we are around unbelievers, we are influencing them with the love of Christ in an effort to model his character. But we also need to be recharged by other believers. We need to be encouraged and spiritually encouraging to one another.

All In

Several years ago, I listened to a pastor preach on what he felt it meant to be a Christian. He said that if everything in the Bible is true, why aren’t we doing everything we can to live a dedicated life for Christ while also leading others to Jesus? He was basically saying that being a Christian should be an all or nothing thing; that we should be “all in”, or what’s the point? I know that Jesus would agree, and maybe even go one step further, like he does in Matthew 16:25-26 which says: 

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

The stakes are high. The Bible tells us that it is better for us to be hot or cold when it comes to our commitment to the faith. In other words, we should be all in or all out. If we are just lukewarm, or dabbling with lackluster commitment, then what’s the point? What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? We only have about 80 or 90 years on this earth if we’re lucky, but our soul will live on either in heaven or hell. Jesus tells us not to fear man who can only destroy the body, but to fear God who can destroy both body and soul. So, I challenge you to take your faith seriously. In the end, it doesn’t matter what you gain in life; fame, fortune, or all of the fleshly desires anyone can ask for. What matters is your soul, and only God can save that.

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Jesus reminds us that “whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” When choosing to follow Christ, every believer should count the cost, knowing that the decision for Christ may very well cost them everything. Sure, you may obtain many desires of your heart here on earth, but every believer should be ready to let any, or all, of it go for the sake of Christ. There are people literally losing their lives for Christ. Is it asking too much that we dedicate ours to him by taking our faith seriously? I encourage you to evaluate your faith. Are you all in, all out or somewhere in between? And if you’re not all in, then what is the point of following Christ at all? After all, it is your very soul that is at stake.

Plank Eye

As humans, it can be so easy to judge what others are doing wrong, whether it is sinning or just making bad decisions. We can gossip about them all day long and generate scenarios of what they should do in order to correct their mistake, convincing ourselves that we could never end up in their predicament. As we look on from our high perch, we may feel that somehow, we have a better vantage point in how to view their problem than they do. And as a result, we might feel qualified to give advice on how they could correct their issues or avoid their sin. Self-righteousness is a human shortcoming that, at some point, will affect us all. But things get a bit more difficult when we turn the magnifying glass on ourselves and examine our own failings. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7:3-5:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Jesus warns us about judging others, and here, he gives us a lesson in self-righteousness. If you find yourself perched on your high branch, surveying the faults and sins of others, I encourage you to remember this portion of scripture. Jesus doesn’t say that we shouldn’t help remove the speck from our brother’s eye, but far too often, we pretend that there isn’t a plank in our own. And until we remove the plank from our own eye, and get our house in order so to speak, we’re really not in the position to remove the speck from our brother’s eye. So, I encourage you to really examine the words Jesus speaks here, and see if you have, or are currently falling into this trap of hypocrisy.

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It is human nature to have an opinion about how others are running their lives. It is a sinful and fleshly reaction. But even if we internalize our thoughts and feelings, often times we feel that we are somehow entitled to judge others. I challenge you not to fall into this trap. Jesus tells us to consider our own sins, and shortcomings, with honest spiritual eyes before we consider judging someone else. This scripture reminds me of the account of the woman caught in the act of adultery. Jesus tells the villagers that the one who is without sin should cast the first stone. Knowing that we all have sinned, and have the propensity to sin again, we should guard ourselves from being one with a stone in our hand. Because until we are free from our own plank, we aren’t qualified, or as Jesus puts it, we can’t see clearly to remove the speck from our brother’s eye.

Someone Else

One of my favorite biblical role models is Moses. God used him to lead his people out of slavery and into the promised land. Moses was humble; so humble that he was allowed to talk to God face to face. But he did have a bit of a rocky start. He wasn’t always an incredibly obedient man of God. When God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses searched for any excuse he could to get out of it. When no excuse seemed to be good enough he ended his evasiveness with these words in Exodus 4:13:

“But Moses said, ‘O Lord, please send someone else to do it.’”

Ultimately, he obeyed the Lord and, as a result, was so highly regarded by God that in the New Testament, when Jesus was miraculously transfigured on the mount of transfiguration, Jesus was only joined by two people; Elijah and Moses. But his spiritual journey didn’t start out very well. He said to God, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.” Then the Bible tells us that God burned with anger. When God asks you or me to do something, let us be quick to say “yes” and quick to be about it. It is my hope that God never hears those words come from my mouth, and I hope he’ll never hear them come from yours either.

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Obedience to God should be the goal of every believer. When he asks us to do something, we shouldn’t be like Moses and shrink away from our calling. In Moses’ defense, what God was asking seemed incredibly challenging. I’m sure most of us would’ve been afraid too, even if we knew that God would be there with us. And I’m sure it turned out to be just as hard as Moses envisioned, but God doesn’t always call us to do things that are easy, comfortable, or even things that we are gifted at. Sometimes he calls us to do things that are difficult. But one thing we should always remember is that when God calls us to do something, he is always there leading us in the midst of it.

Cry of the Poor

Have you ever heard the saying, “forewarned is forearmed”? The basic principle behind the saying is that if we are warned about something, it is almost as if we are armed to defend ourselves because we will be prepared and not taken by surprise. Proverbs 21:13 sends us a warning that should help us become forearmed. It says:

“If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.”

God cares about the poor. In this verse, we are warned not to shut our ears to them. In another place, the Bible highlights how much God cares about the orphans and widows by calling believers to specifically care for them as well. God doesn’t take on the responsibility of caring for the poor and less fortunate by himself. He leaves much of that to his believers; those of us who call ourselves Christians and bow our knee to our Lord Jesus. It is our job to answer the cries of the poor. If we don’t do it, who will? I believe that God will figure a way to accomplish his goal if we fail, but who of us doesn’t want our cries answered? The scripture clearly says, “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be heard.” Do you want to be heard when you cry out? I know that I do. So, I encourage you to open your ears to the cry of the poor.

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Proverbs warns us that “if a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be heard.” You don’t have to be rich to help those who are poor. Just reach out in some way. Volunteer at an organization that ministers to the less fortunate. Pray for those who are in need. When the opportunity arises, or God lays someone on your heart who is in need, be quick to respond. Make no mistake, when we help the poor, God notices – especially when they are crying out for help. And when we shut our ears to their cry, well, he notices that too.