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Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. — 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Thoughts on Today's Verse... While Paul's exhortation here is excellent, it is the style of the exhortation we should especially notice. We live in an age where we are constantly pressured to emphasize the novel, new, or improved versions of things. But in our lives as Christians, our knowledge always exceeds our obedience - we very seldom live up to the truth we know, even though it is old truth and established truth. So, more often than we like to think, we need to remind each other of what we are doing that is right, good, obedient, and holy. Our words of affirmation and encouragement don't need to be elaborate or profound or novel or new. We can say, "Hey, you're doing well; just keep doing what you're doing! I know your Father in heaven is pleased with you!" Let's encourage each other and build each other up, as in fact some of us are already doing...

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. — 1 Chronicles 29:11 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Praise is the direct address of God that lets him know we recognize him for who he is, what he has done, and what he is doing. But more than informing God of his greatness, praise is rejoicing before him in his greatness, while recognizing that not only is his grace without comparison, his majesty and might and holiness and faithfulness and righteousness and mercy and love and forgiveness and justice... are all without comparison. The LORD God is God. My praise is my thankful celebration and recognition of him as God, my God, the one and only true God, and let's him know I rejoice in him! My Prayer... Great and gracious God, the Holy One who is without anyone to compare. You and you alone are truly worthy of my best words, deepe...

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. — Proverbs 15:1 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Why is it so hard to endure unjust and unfair criticism? Why do we feel that we have to defend ourselves regardless of how ridiculous or unfair the accusations against us are? Why do we have to have the last word in any argument, or look to get even if we don't? Often, the problems we have with others in an argument escalate because we do not choose "a gentle answer." So, why do we not choose "a gentle answer" ? These are the excuses I hear from others, and sometimes I make them myself: "I don't want to appear to be weak!" "I don't like to lose at anything!" "I don't want that person to have the last word!" "I resent the unfair things, the demeaning things, that person called me!" When I look at these excuses - some of them are my excuses - the same pronoun appears again and again: the pronoun, ...

Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. — Hebrews 9:28 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Can you think of anything more exciting than waiting for Jesus to come take us home to share with him in his glory?! Ours isn't a passive wait. Jesus gave us a commission to take his story to the whole world and invite others to prepare and join with us in awaiting his glorious return. We worship and praise our great God as we anticipate this great day - as we eagerly await him. We joyfully anticipate our salvation, trusting that it is nearer now than when we first believed ( Romans 13:11 ). We stand on spiritual tiptoe, eagerly awaiting our Savior, the LORD Jesus Christ ( Philippians 3:20 ). We not only believe, we anticipate his return to bring the full experience of salvation promised to "those who are waiting for him." But until then, we work on miss...

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. — Revelation 21:2-4 Thoughts on Today's Verse... I don't know about you, but I'm kind of ready for that old order stuff to go away. The end of tears, death, mourning, crying, violence, abuse, suffering, war, divisive politics, and pain sounds pretty good to me! No wonder the early Christians would say, "Marantha. Come, O LORD" ( 1 Corinthians 16:22 ). They couldn't wait. How about us? How about you? What is keeping you from saying, "LORD Jesus, please come, and come soon? I urge you to pu...

The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. — 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 Thoughts on Today's Verse... What do you have that is forever? Most of what we have in this world falls apart, breaks, or wears out quickly. But we have three things that last forever: God (Father, Son, Spirit), our Christian friends, and our praise of God. These are eternal. The glorious truth is that Jesus is going to return, the dead who died in him will be raised to receive their eternal bodies, and those living at his return will have their bodies changed into their immortal bodies. The best part of all of this is we will be reunited with all the faithful of all the centuries, and we all will be with the Lord foreve...