Daily Devotionals

Voice of the Lord

Devotional: 23rd of Teves

Let us keep paying attention to one another, in order to spur each other on to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).

One of the most neglected responsibilities among believers today is the responsibility to encourage one another. The author of the Book of Hebrews says, "spur each other on to love and good deeds."All too often, we are sparing with our praise and so fail to spur one another on with the kind of encouragement that others may need to hear from us.

Yeshua was a wonderful model of encouragement for his followers. He considered his disciples his most important responsibility on earth.He said, "I am praying for them.... and in them I have been glorified" (John 17:9-10). Yeshua did not see his greatest work on the earth as raising the dead, turning the water into wine, multiplying the loaves and fishes, or healing the sick. He gloried in his disciples, the same disciples who slept while he prayed. They were, in a sense, his reward.

Often, we admire and heap praise on people who aren't even known to us; for example, media stars or accomplished athletes. Yet we are sparing with praise and encouragement for the ones closest to us, those we love the most. Have you ever noticed that when you're using a sprinkler to water grass, that the grass closest to the sprinkler is sometimes more brown and dried out than the grass further away from the sprinkler? So much energy and drive from the sprinkler goes to reach the farthest parts of the yard, that the grass closest to the source of water is left dry. This is true in our own lives when it comes to encouraging those close to us as well.

Be aware of the sprinkler syndrome! Let's be sure to encourage one another, especially those closest to us, and all the more as we see the day of Messiah's return approaching.

...actively look for ways to encourage others in my life.

DB