Today’s Theme: Living Unselfishly

Today’s Dare: Dare to Seek Another’s Best

“Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 3:13

Day 28 and the dare is winding down. I have to admit, though it might sound funny coming from the author, but I am going to start it again Aug. 1st. There are basics that I need to keep sitting in over and over again. The past 28 days have got me focused upward, no matter how crazy things have been.

Today’s dare is important because we live in a society that is so self-focused that people  do not often compliment or encourage other people. In fact, we can be so self-focused that we don’t even notice when they do something good or right. And, as Christians it seems we don’t want to puff someone up with pride, so we live in a non-encouraging deflating mode.

Pride is not our issue to worry about it someone’s life. If there is a pride issue that is between them and God. What is between us and God is how we treat others and IF we are lining up to Scripture in that regard ourselves.

Seriously….can’t get much clearer….encourage one another DAILY. And, to think that when we don’t we become hardened!

I never set out to become a Christian author. To be honest, it is something that I literally fell into, by first writing some curriculum for my church…that got published, and is still in print 10 years later! But, it seems that the more doors God opens up for me, the less encouragement I get from people. In fact the road can get pretty lonely. I get it….people don’t want to flatter or over encourage, because they don’t want to contribute to pride in a person’s life…but Hello People! It is not our job to try to micro manage how someone else handles life and compliments! And, it’s not our place to determine who has bad motives or wrong attitudes. That is God’s business.  But it is our job to encourage other people. Just know this, that some people can use a word of encouragement, and you might be God’s tool speaking that type of love to them…

Did you know that encourage means…to give courage to ?

All people need courage to carry out what God has called them to do. Pastors, authors, public figures, are not exempt from needing courage. Perhaps they need it more, because what they are called to is so hard by the nature of it being public.

Maybe that will help you….when you encourage, you are giving someone else courage to go one, to do what God has asked them to do, to be the best them in Christ they can be, to serve, love, and bear fruit.

We all get discouraged and need to be handed courage. Jesus uses us, as his hands and feet, and uses us to lift others up….unless we are too prideful and hard to cooperate with him.

There are some serious questions to ask ourselves today….

• Do you encourage others?
• Do you only encourage others who like you?
• Do you look for good and speak up about it, even when there is nothing in it for you?

The scripture and dare speak for itself. Let God speak to you today about your encouragement meter…and may HE, by the power of His Spirit, humble us all to the point of being able to give courage to others consistently.

Today…who can you give courage to? The clerk at the store, the nurse at the Dr.s office, the rushed mom on your street, the lonely neighbor…..is it time to send your pastor a card? Do the thing that scripture tells us to do..ENCOURAGE…give courage.

Living up!

Debbie