Hello and welcome to the blog today! I prayed for you today. God loves you so much and He cares about you. He cares about every detail of your life and desires to be in a relationship with you.
I have recently been learning more about Barnabas (now that's a name!) His name means Son of Encouragement. And he allowed God to fulfill the meaning of his name. He traveled with Paul and encouraged people. He was drawn to people he could encourage. As he was encouraging people, more would come to be encouraged! It was Barnabas who God sent to bring encouragement to Paul at the time of his conversion. Wow...can you just imagine what life would have been like if Paul didn't have Barnabas?
The world is filled with people who need encouraged. Your city, your place of work, your neighborhood, your church, and your home is filled with people who need encouraged. One of the most effective ways we can help is to
Encourage
When he arrived and saw what grace (favor) God was bestowing upon them, he was full of joy; and he continuously exhorted (warned, urged, and encouraged) them all to cleave unto and remain faithful to and devoted to the Lord with [resolute and steady] purpose of heart.
For he was a good man [good in himself and also at once for the good and the advantage of other people], full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit and full of faith (of his belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through Whom we obtain eternal salvation). And a large company was added to the Lord. Acts 11:23-24 (Amplified Bible)
May we allow Him to lead us to people who need encouraged. Be ready, encouraging someone could take us out of our comfort zones! When we are called to be like Jesus sometimes life will be uncomfortable and inconvenient, as I imagine the cross to have been!
May we be submitted to Him so He can love and encourage through us.
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Wise Men Still Seek Him
23 hours ago
13 comments:
Thanks for encouraging us to be encouragers! :)
I love your Friday Challenges! I need to be challenged!
Blessings, friend! Thank you for being a source of encouragement in my life! Have a great weekend!
K :)
Amen!
Thanks for the reminder Nichole!
May the Lord Bless You, this day!
Much Love,
I accept the challenge! Even just a warm smile can be encouraging. I try to remind myself to let my face love others! (Especially my family... it seems easier to scowl sometimes, but smiles are so encouraging!)
Thank you for reminding us to be encouragers!
Heather
OK...were you in our Bible study this morning? Maybe you were hanging out in the kitchen and we didn't see you?....
We totally talked about Barnabas today and why the Jerusalem Church would send him out to Antioch to talk to Greeks (of all people!). But, the non-Jewish followers of Christ (first to be called Christians) would continue to believe and bring others to know Christ with Barnabas' encouragement and, soon afterward, Paul's.
Encouragement can begin with a small step like "Hello" or even a smile. I have discovered that when I don't push my own response to a situation that the Spirit will lead in the form of encouragement most appropriate for the time. And we DO thrive on encouragement from others--it's Christ in our midst!
That is so true. Sometime we forget how much weight those little words or actions can carry.
Thanks for the reminder!
Hope you guys have a great weekend!
I've never been a very good encourager. Not that I don't try, I'm just not very good at it. One of my SS teachers definetely has the gift of encouragement and I love watching her with others. Maybe I'll learn something.
This is a great lesson. Thanks Nichole! Blessings Friend!
You are an encouragement to me... I accept the Friday challenge!
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11
This was awesome! I didnt' know that about Barnabas! Thank you, sweet friend! I'll read those scriptures when things calm down a bit!!
I love to encourage others! I love to see what God wants them to do as they step out in faith! You, darling girlfriend, are an encourager yourself!! Many blessings!!
Love ya,
Susan
This is awesome Nichole. I love to encourage people. I've been told by several that I'm an encourager. It does the heart good!
Praise God!
And thank you for your encouragement.
Today's encouragement is what I need to do, today I will not be brought down but lifted up with God to speak love and hope into a hurting world...Love You Nin...
Nichole, thanks for asking me how Tuesday went - how kind! It went amazingly well. God certainly answered prayer. After I spoke I had a line up of ladies waiting to talk to me - that's never happened before. Not only that, but because this was a community event, there were ladies there from several different churches. Three different ladies approached me about speaking at their churches in the future. God is good!
When I was taking night school courses at Bible college, my sister and I would take up 25-50 surprise treats each week, and leave them in random student mailboxes, signed "The Barnabas Committee". Each treat - food, bookmark etc...would be attached to a scripture promise. No-one ever discovered who we were, yet the impact of our little gifts of encouragement became a weekly surprise and blessing for the students. We prayed each week that the Lord would direct us to the 50 students who needed a lift.
Continuing to encourage,
Joy
Encouragement tends to be one of my spiritual gifts. Although I also have teh ability to hurt peoples feelings without trying - so there you go! I am a multi-tasker. *sigh*
Glad your son liked Pablo! My daughter loved Backyardigans and would tell people her name was Pablo when she was 3. She also referred to me as Tyrone.
May we continue to encourage others to rely on the Lord! Thanks for this wonderful message!
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