The Thursday Update

DECEMBER 14, 2023

LAKESHORE FRIENDS—

Encouragement.  It’s the action of giving someone support, confidence, and hope. 

We all need it, yet most people struggle to find it.  I think that the number one reason why people are discouraged is because they look for encouragement in all the wrong places, from the wrong people, and for the wrong purposes.  So where do we find encouragement?  Here are two of the best places to find it reliably.

First and foremost, we find it from God Himself.  God is a God of encouragement.  He offers all who trust Him eternal encouragement (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).  How could we ever find that from anyone or anything else?  Second, we find it from others who are walking in the same direction as we are.  It’s why 1 Thessalonians 4:18 says we should encourage each other with the words of God, and 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says the people of God who come together should encourage each other and build each other up.  See also Hebrews 10:22-25.

So if you need encouragement, you’ll find it from God’s Word and God’s people.  I think that’s why He created the church.  We’ll look at the subject of encouragement as we continue looking at the events surrounding the birth of Jesus in Luke 1.  All the more reason to be at church.

Warmly,
Vince