Encouragement

By Donna Winchell

One could label 2020 as the “Year of Discouragement” with Covid 19 shutting down our lives and isolating us from our friends, the hatred and unrest revolving around politics, these things and much more have definitely taken a toll on our body, minds and spirits. During normal times, we all tend to get distressed occasionally and need encouragement, but it is especially true right now. A kindly word of encouragement can help others realize that they're not alone. Moreover, encouragement is a way of recognizing the good others do and seeking more of it.

Hebrews 10:24-25 declares, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Encouragement is wearing God’s love on our sleeve. It is making someone else happy which just magnifies our own happiness. To encourage someone is to see, by God's help, each person as a wonderful project of a good God; and through encouragement, you and I get to be a part of God building them up into His image! By encouraging and helping others, we personally can unlock the door to feeling more fulfilled, less frustrated and happier.

The Thessalonian Christians faced struggles and an uncertain future. Paul wrote to encourage them, reminding them of their faith and love and hope in Christ. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

Ask yourself, “When was the last time I encouraged someone?” Be like Paul, express your love and encouragement to your friends and family. Tell them what you admire and appreciate about them—they want to hear it. In fact, many of the individuals you know may be under terrible pressure and in need of encouragement. Remind them of God’s love and provision and convey to them your own concern for their well-being.

Let us ask God to help us show someone today how much we value them and who they are. It will make a world of difference towards their attitude and yours. “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.” Romans 15:5.

Take a few minutes to watch this video – then Encourage One Another!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nD9BObswU0 

Going Deeper

By Pat Russell

Considering the sermon by Rev. Bill Sanders (Ret.) on October 25, 2020

Matthew 22 ³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵ and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment.  ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Deuteronomy 34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, ² all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, ³ the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. ⁴ The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” ⁵ Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. ⁶ He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. ⁷ Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. ⁸ The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.

You could not have listened to Bill Sanders yesterday without hearing his reminder to us all to be in prayer in these days of transition of our church.  As the newly re-formed community of the Israelites said farewell to Moses who led them from Egypt to the Promised land, we say goodbye to Bruce.  Of course, we are sad, just as the Israelites were sad… 

 …but we must move on into the “land” God has promised us as a church community.  We have work to do!  Work that is both inward and outward as we PRAY, have PATIENCE, DISCERN, and TRUST.  Perhaps the baseline is regular and heartfelt prayer. 

I offer you some ways that you might pray in the days ahead. Pray for:

·         the Elders of the church by name, for their wisdom and discernment in these days.

·         the Deacons as they care for our people during these days.

·         our upcoming “in-house” and “live-stream” services.

·         how to move our church into the future during the corona virus.

·         for our patience and trust to grow during these days.

·         for God to lead us to our interim pastor.

·         for the preparation of our new senior pastor wherever and whoever she/he may be.

Consider fasting regularly so that when you feel those hunger pains, you will be reminded to pray.

When you meet with someone else from the church, take a moment to pray together or call someone with whom you could pray.

Be still and allow God to bring to your mind for what or whom you to pray.

Put a “sticker” in an obvious place, like your car dashboard, or your mirror that reminds you to pray for our church.

Heavenly Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.  We want to be your people in the midst of this transitional season in our church.  We are grateful that You have been so very faithful to us in the past.  You have led us through challenging times and peaceful times in these past 11 years with Bruce as our pastor.  You have continually led us more deeply into Christlikeness.  Now we are going into a new season and we need your continuing guidance, strength, and discernment as we prepare for what lies ahead.  We know that this time in our church life is not in any way wasted or meaningless.  It is Your time to work in us new ways of loving both You and each other.  We trust in Your steadfast, loving kindness that is given to all generations – this generation.  In Your name, Jesus, Amen.

Paths of Righteousness

By Phil Wood

The LORD is my Shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in paths of righteousness

For His name's sake.

 

Yea, though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For you are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

 

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD

Forever.

                        Psalm 23 (NKJV)

 

I wonder if you were required, as I was, to memorize the 23rd Psalm when you were a child. I chose the New King James Version for today because that's the version I memorized way back then. If you're older than me, maybe you memorized it with "maketh" and "leadeth" and "restoreth." (You have to be careful with that version during these days of COVID-19. There would be a lot of droplets flying around if you read it that way out loud!)

 Anyway, the 23rd Psalm has been with me for a long time. I have turned to it many times in my life, not in the Bible but in my mind. It's stuck there, and I don't have to flip through pages to find it. I even wrote another devotional about it way back on April 18, 2012. If you're curious, you can read it at this link.

https://epcdevotionals.blogspot.com/2012/04/who-are-my-enemies.html

So the 23rd Psalm is very familiar to me. Sometimes, when I become over-familiar with a passage of Scripture, I can tune out. I recite it by rote, without dwelling on the real meaning behind the words. But this has never been the case with the 23rd Psalm.

Usually, I can count on it to bring me a deep sense of peace when I am desperately in need of it. I grew up around lakes, and just the words "still waters" or "quiet waters" speak to my soul. By the time I get to the part about my soul being restored, I need go no further, I am at rest.

The other day, though, I got a little further before the Lord stopped me and let me know this is the sentence I need to hear today: "He leads me in paths of righteousness, for his name's sake." I had to admit, I've always just sort of blown right by that sentence. Upon reflection, I began to wonder how often have I failed to notice that path and taken the road more traveled. How many times have I chosen another path and wandered off on my own? How many times has my shepherd had to come and rescue me from some precipice?

And isn't following that path the most important thing I can be doing right now when things seem to be so not right with the world, when I'm being pulled away in so many different directions?

Perhaps it hit me this way because I've been so focused on the Kingdom of God in my recent writings. Perhaps it's because the main point I've been driving at over the past many weeks is the importance of leading a life that points to Christ, so that others may see the Kingdom of God at work in the world.

Or maybe – and God does this when you're reading his word – maybe God just put it on my heart that I need to start paying more attention to that line in Psalm 23 that I have skipped over for so long. It could just be the key to the kingdom.

Lord Jesus, teach my heart. Teach me to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness. Guide me along that path and keep me from going astray. For your name's sake, amen.

 

 

Discipleship, Part 1

By Cathy Ramsey

A disciple is a dedicated follower of Jesus. In the ancient world, becoming a disciple was a deliberate apprenticeship which made a fully formed disciple a living copy of the master. While most of us will not make it a deliberate apprenticeship, wouldn’t it be wonderful to deliberately strive to become more Jesus-like with study, prayer, worship, and changes in behavior? While discipleship is multi-faceted and a basic part of spiritual growth, I am focusing on the following scripture for this devotional.

Jesus says in John 13:34-35, “I give you a new commandment that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (NRSV) Wouldn’t the world be a much better place if we all loved each other like Jesus loves us? Jesus loved us so much that he gave his life for our salvation. His words in John 13:34-35 were said just hours before he died for our sins; to save us given his perfect love for us.

If we loved the way Jesus loves, we would not be judgmental, critical, or unkind to each other. We would not get defensive or argumentative or become angry when things don’t go the way we think they should. We would not shake our heads and roll our eyes when someone says something we do not agree with. We would not tailgate or cut people off in traffic. We would love those we might consider our enemies (or at least not our friends). But Jesus makes it very clear that loving one another unconditionally is critical in our efforts to become disciples (followers of Jesus). Wow, this shouldn’t be so hard to do, but it is.

What about loving those with whom we disagree? In “The Good and Beautiful Community”, James Bryan Smith writes that we can love fellow Christians with whom we disagree by the following means: 1) Treat them as companions. 2) Do not think or speak evil of them. 3) Pray for them. 4) Encourage them to do good. 5) Collaborate with them in ministry.

In the “Believe” study we studied at EPC a few years ago, Randy Frazee says, “ Instead of us trying hard to love God and love others, we receive Christ’s love for us and then pass it on to others. This is what Jesus did as our example. He received the love of the Father and passed it on to us. It is God’s love in us that gives us the capacity to love others.” Further, he says, “Living a life of love requires the presence of God’s love and power within us. When we yield to this presence in our lives, it produces within us love for others… Our capacity to love begins with receiving God’s love for us. From this reservoir we pour out love toward one another. The presence of God’s Spirit in us, working through us to overcome our passion for self in favor of loving others, is confirmation that we are, in fact, children of God… Love is the ultimate expression of becoming like Jesus. God the Father desires for us to unconditionally and sacrificially love others… With God’s love and presence in us, we can become more and more like Jesus.”

I read this in a commentary on John 13: 34-35: “As Christ has loved his people freely, notwithstanding all their unworthiness and ungratefulness, so should they love one another, though there may be many things in them observable, which are disagreeable; as Christ loves all his children without any distinction, so should they love one another, whether poor or rich, weaker or stronger, lesser or greater believers; and as Christ loves them not in word only, but in deed and in truth, so should they love one another with a pure heart fervently, and by love serve one another.”

We have sung this in our EPC choir. It was written in 1966 by a Catholic priest, Father Peter Scholtes for the youth choir in his church in Chicago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1f53jun15A

Prayer For Brotherly Love Towards Others

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your deep love towards me and thank You for sending Your only begotten Son, my Saviour Jesus Christ to suffer on the cross for my sake, so that my sins could be forgiven and that I may live with You forever in heaven. Lord, I know that I do not warrant Your love and yet You have showered unconditional love and grace towards me through Christ, for which I praise and thank You.

But Lord, You desire all Your children to love others as Christ loved us, but my love is poor and weak and is far removed for all that You desire of me. Fill me I pray, with the love of Christ that I may love others in the same way that Christ loved me, so that as Your love pours into my soul, I may be used as a conduit for Christ’s love to stream out to others with whom I come into contact.

Help me to demonstrate Your love, not only to those that are lovable, but also to those who lash out at me through pain or anger, disappointment or loss. May the love of Jesus be manifested in me, and may the love of Jesus be distributed, by grace through faith, to all with whom I come in contact. In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen.

(Source: https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/Prayers-for-Love#1157)