Encouraging Words

Paul is given credit for writing many of the letters in the New Testament.  Most are written to churches, First and Second Timothy are personal letters written to Timothy whom Paul is a mentor and a friend.  Near the end of First Timothy, Paul gives to Timothy some encouraging words for his life.  As Timothy grows in his faith and ministry, Paul reminds him of what he needs to be doing by the following words.

But you, man of God, must flee from all these things. Instead, you must pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness.  Fight the good fight for the faith. Keep your hold on eternal life, to which you were called and about which you gave a good testimony in front of many witnesses.  In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and in the sight of Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, I solemnly charge you to keep this command stainless and blameless until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ.  At the right time God will make him known. He is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords.  He alone has endless life and lives in inaccessible light. No one has ever seen him, nor can anyone see him. Honor and eternal power belong to him!   Amen.  1 Timothy 6:11-16

These words  to Timothy (and to us as well) remind us of the importance of having someone in our lives to encourage us and move us forward, but also to live  out  our faith each day.  These encouragements help us in times of hurt and hardship and struggle.  We know we are not alone, we know that we have support and people cheering for us each day.

There is a song called “The Words I Would Say” by the Sidewalk Prophets that has the chorus:

Be strong in the Lord; And never give up hope; You’re gonna do great things; I already know God’s got His hand on You; So don’t live life in fear; Forgive and forget; But don’t forget why you’re here; Take your time and pray; These are the words I would say

What are the word you would say to someone to encourage them?  Yes those words will be person specific, but even words that are given to one, can be for others too.  I look forward to hearing your responses.

Darren

PS – This is the text for Sunday morning at Hampton Christian and I’ll have the text for the RENEW Service up by tomorrow morning.