Spur One Another On

Hebrews 10:23-25

New International Version (NIV)

23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

"SPUR ONE ANOTHER ON" 

This subject has been on my heart for awhile...and as usual...God teaches me through my own experiences

 AKA

 failures, most of the time. 

 He puts something on my heart....usually something that frustrates me to no end, and then I personally experience it, and I get a new understanding. 

 With the new understanding, often comes me, wanting to shrink back and just disappear. 

  It makes me feel like an insecure failure,

which is a really nice way of saying, 

PRIDE sneaks in. 

 PRIDE,

 in the form of insecurity wants to make me sit and shut it because I realize I have so much to learn and I'm a work in progress, which can feel like SLOW progress.

  But, then the LORD calls me out to "share" my heart and experiences. 

Transparency and humility seem to take care of any pride issue.  

 He teaches me this stuff, so I can use it and so I can speak some truth from my experiences and let

 Him use me.

This is my prayer,

 "Lord use me",

 and I envision Him using me to do something 

beautiful and glorious and organized.

But this is the reality of how it typically works;

He uses me to show how HE can make something beautiful out of ashes, and mess and chaos! 

 I tend to forget it is all about

 HIS GLORY

 NOT MINE! 

 But, He is faithful and never forgets! ha

Many of the things that the Lord has placed on my heart to DO in my quiet moments alone with HIM, are often the exact things that are met with criticism or QUESTIONING from my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Not the kind of questioning that spurs me on to

 DO THE THING.

More like negative QUESTIONING:

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? WHY YOU?  WHY NOW? HOW IS THAT  EVER GOING TO WORK?

Silence can be a pretty loud statement as well.

  We  have all been taught, 

"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all",

 and that is true, except in the social crazed world we live in, silence can be pretty loud and noticed at times. 

Questions and silence may all come from a place of "concern", but I have to remember that God is so big and so good and the best thing we can do for a sister we are "concerned" about is 

PRAY!!

 He can line out the  best and the worst of us!

 Even though I've been on the side of the 

criticized,

I've also been the critical one.

 I  have repented of this and I'm sure I will have to again and again, but for now, I'm going to praise Him for loving me enough to teach me and forgive me!

I'm praying for this new approach:

When I see someone doing something that seems impossible or a bit radical, 

PRAY

 for them. 

 Pray for them to have 

COURAGE TO DO

 whatever He is calling them to do, and PRAY that I can support them, since I have an

"eye"  or an "opinion"

on the situation.  

 I pray for the words and the heart to match up with the

 "Word of God and the heart of God".

I pray that  I may be an encouragement to the work He is doing in and through others.

Just for fun:

I wonder if the disciples were sitting in the boat as Peter stepped out of the boat to walk on water with Jesus and they expressed concern for him and gave him;

 the weather report,

a reminder that he did not have on a life vest,

told him he couldn't afford to get out of the boat,

 reminded him that he hadn't been equipped or trained for this activity,

reminded him that he was created to be a fisherman, not to walk on water,

I wonder if they told him his best chance of making it out of this storm alive was to stay in the boat with the rest of them.

If this was the conversation, I'm sure that's how they  would have thought they were 

supporting and loving

 him.

They should have been pushing him out of boat and cheering wildly and then jumping in

 HEART FIRST

 with him! 

 That's how I think we can 

"spur one another on"!

Let us jump in heart first and dance and cheer wildly for our brothers and sisters in Christ and be amazed at 

what and who 

He can use to bring 

GLORY TO HIS NAME!

Hebrews 10:23-25

The Message (MSG)

22-25 So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.