"See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today', so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:12-13)
The writer of Hebrews is talking about part of what living in real community with one another looks like. We should be continually encouraging one another.
These words also talk about what the encouragement should look like. Yes, it is the positive, uplifting words we think of when we hear the word encouragement. We need that to keep going.
But, it also goes beyond that. The last of these verses talk about the idea of encouraging one another to deal with sin in our lives. This is encouragement to keep our hearts soft toward God.
I think this is the encouragement that's often missing in our lives. We need people who will encourage us to deal with what needs to be dealt with in our lives.
This kind of encouragement is often missing from our lives because it's more difficult to give and to receive. It has to come out of a relationship that has been built over time. And it needs to be carefully given. But, it's very necessary in our lives.
Who are you encouragers?
Do they have the ability to encourage you to deal with what needs to be dealt with in your life? Or, are they only allowed to say the positive, uplifting things?
Who are you an encourager for?
Do they allow you to encourage them to deal with what needs to be dealt with in their lives? Or, are you only allowed to say the positive, uplifting things?
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