Some Assembly Required
I receive an email devotional from Rusty Howser. Rusty pastors a church in Vidalia, Georgia, where they grow those deliciously sweet Vidalia onions.
But, I digress.
Rusty always has an encouraging word to share, but, his thought for today is especially timely, as many believers have decided that they can pretty much "go it alone," when it comes to living the Christian life. I encourage you to take a moment and think on these things. The fact is, we need one another to fulfill our purpose and destiny as God's people. There are many more things that I could say about this, but, for now, I'll just let Rusty take it from here...
"We need people around us that are going to encourage and lift us up all the time. We need to have people that we encourage and lift up. It's a body that's stimulating each other to do the best it can so that the whole body works efficiently. That's what it's all about. Ezekiel called it, 'an exceedingly great army!'
"Some people sit home and are members of the bless me club. You know, 'I want to receive a blessing,' but you're not worried about anyone else. You turn on your favorite TV Evangelist and you get your socks blessed off. That's wonderful! But if the foot is blessed but the big toe is broke, the foot's function is going to be limited. It won't function properly.
"So, assembling together is not about us, it's about family. God needs a strong healthy family more then ever, so what are you waiting for? Getup off your posterior and go find a bunch of believers that you fit into and become the vital part that you were called to be! You'll be blessed, but, better yet, others will be blessed because of you!" —Rusty Howser
UPDATE: Here are some thoughts inspired by Rusty's post that I shared at The Sanctuary of Dublin, Sunday, November 21, 2010.
But, I digress.
Rusty always has an encouraging word to share, but, his thought for today is especially timely, as many believers have decided that they can pretty much "go it alone," when it comes to living the Christian life. I encourage you to take a moment and think on these things. The fact is, we need one another to fulfill our purpose and destiny as God's people. There are many more things that I could say about this, but, for now, I'll just let Rusty take it from here...
"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching" —Hebrews 10:24,25
"A lot of people are in the habit today of not meeting with other Christians. What a mistake this is! Some say, 'I don't have to go to church to be saved,'and they're absolutely correct. But that's not the point of gathering together. We gather together to encourage one another for starters. If you were to read the two preceding verses you would find out that it's to encourage one another,' to hold fast to our confession of hope,' and, 'to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.' Wow! Those things are vitally important to our growth as Christians."We need people around us that are going to encourage and lift us up all the time. We need to have people that we encourage and lift up. It's a body that's stimulating each other to do the best it can so that the whole body works efficiently. That's what it's all about. Ezekiel called it, 'an exceedingly great army!'
"Some people sit home and are members of the bless me club. You know, 'I want to receive a blessing,' but you're not worried about anyone else. You turn on your favorite TV Evangelist and you get your socks blessed off. That's wonderful! But if the foot is blessed but the big toe is broke, the foot's function is going to be limited. It won't function properly.
"So, assembling together is not about us, it's about family. God needs a strong healthy family more then ever, so what are you waiting for? Getup off your posterior and go find a bunch of believers that you fit into and become the vital part that you were called to be! You'll be blessed, but, better yet, others will be blessed because of you!" —Rusty Howser
UPDATE: Here are some thoughts inspired by Rusty's post that I shared at The Sanctuary of Dublin, Sunday, November 21, 2010.
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Absolutely a precious and timely word.
I think you are right on target here. Having just went through this myself, We need one another, Christian to Christian, family to family,brother to brother,sister to sister! Encouragement is just that. Encourage Ment, breaks down to En Courage Ment
First Definition of EN: en- 1 (also em-)
prefix
1 forming verbs (added to nouns) expressing entry into the specified state or location : engulf | embed.
2 forming verbs (added to nouns and adjectives) expressing conversion into the specified state (as in encrust, ennoble). Then Courage: cour·age
[kur-ij, kuhr-] Show IPA
–noun
1.
the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.
2.
Obsolete . the heart as the source of emotion.
—Idiom
3.
have the courage of one's convictions, to act in accordance with one's beliefs, esp. in spite of criticism. and now: Ment: The word "ment" is a suffix used in the English language. It is used in the formation of nouns from verbs. The resultant noun gets the sense of being the result or action of what the verb was denoting in the first place.
So by each of us encouraging one another Spirit to spirit we are putting Courage of our Belief system into action!
At least thats how I see it...:-)
Great word!
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