Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. 1 Thessalonians 3:7-10

Encouraging one another, I do believe that is something that God has placed us on this earth to do. You never know when the situation may occur. Maybe you’ll receive a phone call from a friend reaching out for help, maybe someone posts something on Facebook that causes you to comment and lift them up, or maybe someone drops in out of the blue and lays their burdens before you. Life happens and as God’s chosen people, we are called to lift up one another. That’s one of the wonderful things about being part of a church family; we have each other to lean on during the difficult times and sharing our joys as well.

As Christians, we must stand firm in our faith, showing other believers as well as non-believers examples of living as Christians. Are we going to fall short? Sure, we are all human, but every day we can get back up and try even harder at becoming more like our Lord.

Another great program we have at First Presbyterian Church is our Stephen Ministry program, which allows other church members who have been through a vast amount of training to reach out and lift up other members who are going through difficult times, be it a death of a loved one, divorce, sickness, or just in need of a friend. Our Stephen Ministers are there to care and to encourage other members in prayer and support.

I love that we can support each other and lift one another up, no matter what we are going through. That’s the body of Christ in action and that is definitely the First Presbyterian Church family!

Prayer

Gracious Lord, oh how You love us and thank You for giving us opportunities to share Your love with others. Help us to spread Your love everywhere we go.  We love You Lord and we thank You! Amen.