“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.” (Romans 1:8-12 NASB1995)
I am very thankful to God for my fellow Christians who are
following the Lord Jesus with their lives. I am encouraged by their walks of
faith and by their testimonies for the Lord Jesus. We mutually encourage one
another in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord, and we help strengthen
one another in our walks of faith in the Lord. True biblical Christian
fellowship is beautiful! And it helps us so much to remain faithful in service
to our Lord, in sharing the truth of the gospel, and in living holy lives,
pleasing to God.
For the Christian faith and practice is not an easy road to
follow. And Jesus never promised us that it would be easy. He said it would be
hard, and that we would be hated and persecuted for our faith and for our
testimonies and for our walks of obedience to Christ as our only Lord. And that
is the absolute truth! For if our lives are committed to Christ, to doing his
will and purpose for our lives, not everyone is going to like us, and many may
turn against us, even many who profess faith in Jesus Christ, too.
For not all who say, “Lord, Lord,” are truly of genuine
biblical faith, walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. Many give
lip service only to Jesus, but their hearts are far from him. For he is not
truly Lord (Owner-Master) of their lives, for they are still masters over their
own lives, choosing their own life course, living however they want to live
without regard for what God wants for their lives. There really is not much
difference between how they live and how those who do not believe in Jesus live
their lives.
And it appears that they are largely in the majority, and it
is the minority of those professing faith in Jesus Christ who are actually
living for the Lord Jesus, doing his will, obeying his commands, in practice, and
who are encouraging one another to walk holy, to live for Jesus, and to obey
his commands. And this is not saying that there are some of us who have reached
absolute perfection. We are still clay in the hands of the Potter being molded
into the image of Christ, being perfected in him, by Christ our Lord.
But being in fellowship with other Christians who are truly
following the Lord in obedience, in practice, who are living for the Lord, to
do his will, and who are spreading the truth of the gospel of our salvation to
the people of the world, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, helps to
encourage us to do the same, and it lifts our spirits. Having like-minded
followers of Christ in our lives, where we can mutually encourage one another,
is such a blessing! And this fellowship can be long-distance, too, and not
always face to face.
So, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, living to please
the Lord, be encouraged! Know that you are not alone, even if sometimes you
might feel like you are all alone. There are others of us out in the world who
love Jesus Christ and who are following him with our lives, some of whom are
being persecuted for our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord. Many of us
are going through trials and tribulations and we need encouragement, too. So
just hang in there, keep pressing forward, and never give up hope!
[Matt 5:13-16; Matt
28:18-20; Lu 6:27-28; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Ac 1:8; Ac 2:14-18; Ac
26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Gal 6:1;
Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16;
Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; Jas 5:19-20; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6; Jude
1:22-23]
In Harmony
Based off Romans 12:9-21; 1 Peter
3:8-17
An Original Work / September 2, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Love each other
truly.
Cling to what is
good.
Hate all that is
evil.
Never lack in zeal.
Serve the Lord with
fervor.
Joyful in hope be;
Patient in
affliction;
Praying faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
Share with all God’s
people
Who are found in
need.
Do not be conceited.
Sympathetic be.
Love, and show
compassion
In humility.
Keep your tongue
from evil.
Peaceful you must
be.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
God sees who are
righteous;
Listens to their
prayers.
But He’s against
evil –
Is His to avenge.
Do not fear what
they fear.
Suffer patiently.
In your hearts, make
Christ Lord.
Serve Him
faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
Mutual Spiritual Encouragement
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