Encouraging Words

Acts 11: 22-24

News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Has there ever been somebody in your life that has encouraged you over the years? Somebody who has been someone you can turn to when times get tough? I’m sure from time to time we all get a little disappointed. Maybe it’s your job or a friend that has hurt you. Whatever it is, we all need encouragers in our lives.

In this passage, we continue to see the growth of the church throughout the known world at the time. We continue to see even with some like Stephen and others that were persecuted and killed that the church continued to move forward and not backward. It would seem that with every persecution and every murder of Christians, the church would be even more bold and courageous than ever before.

We need to remember that spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ is an encouraging thing. Sharing the love of Jesus to people that might not ever have heard of the gospel is an incredible task and should be taken with devout faith and commitment. We should always be an encouragement to others by sharing God’s Word and loving one another. Even though the church might be persecuted and look down upon by society, we should always lend a helping hand and encourage others to do the same.

Dear Jesus, help me to be more encouraging today wherever I go. Help me to encourage my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to carry out the gospel message to people that need to hear it. Give me the boldness and the courage to be a light in this world. In Jesus name, Amen!