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Transcript

How Should Christians Live Now? · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Happy Saturday y'all, welcome back to the podcast.
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  This is friendly. I hope that everyone headed into
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  the weekend yesterday feeling refreshed, or at least you are
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  getting some time to slow down and reset.
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  But today we are going to be continuing in First
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  Thessalonians. We're actually finishing out the
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  last chapter, but I am going to break it up into two different
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  episodes because we actually get a pretty long list of really
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  practical instructions for how believers should live.
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  But I really don't want us to fly through it and miss how
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  helpful it can actually be. The big theme behind all these
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  instructions that Paul gives us is this question, how do we live
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  as we inch closer to Jesus's return?
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  Paul just finished in the passage above talking about the
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  day of the Lord and staying spiritually awake and alert.
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  So naturally that next question becomes, OK, So what does this
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  actually look like in daily life?
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  True application. So let me go ahead and read.
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  We're going to be in chapter 5, verses 12 through 15 today.
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  Dear brothers and sisters, make sure that you show your deep
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  appreciation for those who cherish you and diligently work
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  as ministers among you, for they are your leaders who care for
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  you, teach you, and stand before the Lord on your behalf.
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  They value you with great love because of their service to you.
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  Let peace reign among yourselves.
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  We appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, to instruct those
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  who are not in their place of battle.
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  Be skilled at gently encouraging those who feel themselves
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  inadequate. Be faithful to stand your
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  ground, help the weak to stand again.
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  Be quick to demonstrate patience with everyone, resist revenge
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  and make sure that no one pays back evil and place of evil.
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  But always pursue doing what is beautiful to one another and to
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  all the unbelievers. OK, so there's several
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  instructions packed in here, but today I want to focus on two big
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  themes that Paul highlights. First of all, Paul begins by
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  encouraging believers to acknowledge and to appreciate
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  those who labor among them spiritually.
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  And yes, that absolutely includes pastors, elders, church
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  leaders. I think that that is primarily
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  what Paul is referencing. But I do want to consider it's
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  not limited to them. I want us to think about the
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  people that God has placed in our lives who have helped shape
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  our faith. If you're a believer, maybe it
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  is a Bible study leader. It could be a mentor or a parent
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  who raised you in the faith. It could even be a friend who
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  prays with you or a sibling who encourages you in your walk with
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  Jesus. Because under the new covenant,
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  believers are actually called a royal priesthood.
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  We see this in first Peter 29 that says we are a chosen
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  people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
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  So God uses ordinary believers to minister to one another all
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  the time. And Paul reminds us to not
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  overlook that because it can be easy to walk into church,
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  consume a good message, leave, and repeat the same thing the
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  next week. I believe that Paul is really
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  underlining, don't forget the people who are pouring into you
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  spiritually because encouragement is so powerful.
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  Proverbs 1821 says death and life are in the power of the
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  tongue. And I think that First
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  Thessalonians, that is the biggest theme throughout the
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  entire letter that Paul writes, how important encouragement is
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  because our words literally have the ability to build people up
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  or to tear them down. And for people who are
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  dedicating time, energy, and sometimes a lot of unseen
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  sacrifice to serve the church, encouragement matters more than
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  we probably realize. Sometimes the most meaningful
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  thing you could do is simply tell someone, Hey, God really
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  used what you spoke to. Minister to my heart or thank
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  you for pouring into me. Here's what the Lord has been
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  teaching me lately. It doesn't have to be some long
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  essay or written out speech, but when you do that, you're
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  actually showing them the fruit of their labor.
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  And Paul also connects this with living and peaceful harmony with
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  one another because when the body of Christ is united in love
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  and respect for each other, it is such a powerful testimony.
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  The truth is many of us probably would not be where we are today
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  spiritually without the faithfulness of those people who
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  invested their time and energy again and again.
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  So one reflection question could be, who are the people that have
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  helped shape my faith and how can I encourage them today or
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  this week? Now Paul shifts to another
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  responsibility that believers have.
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  He says to warn those who are idle, to encourage the
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  discouraged, help the weak and be patient with everyone.
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  That's the NIV translation. And the picture here is also
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  powerful. Paul is basically describing
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  people who are spiritually vulnerable, some people who are
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  not walking with the Lord, people who are discouraged or
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  weak. And whether they realize it or
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  not, they're not standing in their place of battle
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  spiritually, meaning that they're vulnerable.
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  And that's where believers have to step in.
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  But in order to help others, we have to stay rooted ourselves.
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  So that means continually pursuing Jesus by staying
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  grounded in God's Word through prayer, both personal prayer and
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  group prayer, and accountability through Christian community.
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  Because when we're spiritually grounded, we're able to notice
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  the needs all around us. Paul gives us some examples.
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  If someone is living in continuous sin, Scripture says
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  that we lovingly call them back to truth.
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  Galatians 61 tells us that those who live by the Spirit should
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  restore people gently. Proverbs 27 five says better is
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  an open rebuke than hidden love. Truth spoken with grace actually
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  brings freedom. And if someone is discouraged or
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  faint hearted, we build them up. We uplift them.
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  Sometimes people just need someone to remind them of what
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  their strengths are, their true calling, and who God says they
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  are in His word. If someone is weak, we get to
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  help them. Paul talks about this idea of
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  sharing burdens. Galatians 62 carry each other's
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  burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
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  Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is just pray for
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  them and over them, interceding for someone standing in the gap
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  for them, just as Jesus does for us as our high priest.
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  One of my favorite things that some of my friends and I do is
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  we will check in and send each other prayer requests, literally
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  just texting, and we will send each other a voice memo, praying
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  over each other over that specific request.
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  There is so much significance in that and with technology these
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  days, we have such easy access to doing that immediately.
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  We don't have to be with them in the physical realm.
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  We can literally be with them in spirit and speak into them
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  through a voice memo or through a phone call.
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  And then Paul ends with something that might be the
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  hardest instruction of them all. Be patient with everyone.
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  Patience is one of those traits that makes us look the most like
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  Jesus, I believe, because it is so contrary to our natural flesh
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  and our tendencies. But when people see patience,
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  when they see our compassion and our forgiveness in action, they
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  see something different. They see something that points
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  beyond us, beyond our human capabilities.
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  It points to Jesus. Jesus taught in his ministry to
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  turn the other cheek, to love your enemies, to pray for those
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  who persecute you, as seen in Matthew 5.
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  And Paul also reminds believers to look to the interests of
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  others in Philippians 2, four. Now, all of this can sound hard,
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  and honestly it is. But it's not meant to be easy.
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  Because when believers live in a way that's radically different
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  from the world, people start noticing.
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  And that difference, that factor, it points them to God.
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  I actually had a conversation with someone recently who said
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  the biggest reason that she did not want to be a Christian was
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  because of her experiences and encounters with people who claim
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  to be Christ followers. She said some of the most
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  self-centered and rude people that she had met were ones that
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  said they were Christians. And that really hurt me, that
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  conversation. It stuck with me because
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  although we cannot control how everyone acts or who they claim
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  to follow and what they believe, Scripture does say that a tree
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  is known by its fruit in Matthew 7.
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  So I just want to say if we are truly anchored in Jesus, if
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  we're connected to him as the vine like he talks about in John
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  15, then his life should produce good fruit in US.
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  Fruit of Lovejoy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
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  faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
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  No, it's not going to look perfect, but these should always
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  be increasing as we follow Him every day.
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  So a final reflection question for us today could be, does the
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  way I live draw people toward Jesus or does it push them away
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  from Him? My challenge for all of us is
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  let's be people whose lives make others curious about the
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  goodness of God as seen in our lives.
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  As we are transformed daily and daily sanctified to become more
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  like Jesus, let it be transparent that there is
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  something different about us and about our hearts that can only
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  be found in him. So let's go ahead and close in
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  prayer. Lord, thank you for the
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  knowledge and wisdom in your word.
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  Thank you for the people that you have blessed us with in our
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  lives, who have helped guide us in our faith.
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  I pray that you would help us to be more intentional about
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  encouraging them, showing gratitude for the ways that they
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  have poured into us. God, would you give us
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  sensitivity to the needs of people around us more and more?
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  May we recognize when someone is struggling, when someone is
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  discouraged or weak, and would you give us the courage and
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  compassion to respond to them in love?
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  May we speak truth with grace. Help us to carry one another's
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  burdens, to truly be patient with everyone even when it is so
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  hard. And most of all, would you help
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  our lives reflect the fruit of your Spirit so that others see
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  something different in US that truly points them to you?
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  We pray this in your name, Jesus.
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  Amen. OK y'all.
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  Well, that is what I have today. I'm praying that the Lord speaks
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  to your heart and that He would give you just tangible
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  opportunities this weekend, today to encourage someone and
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  show them the love of Christ. Have a great rest of your
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  Saturday and I'll see y'all in the next episode.