For those who might have missed the announcement the other day… I’m hosting a 21-day marriage challenge from February 14th to March 6th in correspondence to my new book, “The Ultimate Marriage Vow.”
Today’s Devotional – The Opportunity to Help Others Grow
My sister’s and I have this thing. We count our steps, and every day we share our progress as we encourage each other to keep walking. Over the years we’ve considered various ways to challenge our little group. One year we set a goal of 10 thousand steps each day. Some days we did 10 thousand and other days we did 20. One month we took on a stair-climbing challenge, which by the way I’ll never say yes to again. (wink)
There’s something about this accountability that encourages me. It keeps me mindful, and just as iron sharpens iron, their words challenge me to press on.
Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” In other words, we have an opportunity to help others grow.
Hebrews 10:25 tells us, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
Notice how that verse encourages us to do a little soul searching. To put our thinking caps on when it comes to spurring on the people around us. It’s not a call to sit back and relax, but rather a call to live beyond ourselves by uplifting and sharpening others.
In Acts chapter 4, the Bible introduces us to a faithful man named Barnabas. Although his real name was Joseph, the disciples called him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.” As you read the book of Acts, you soon discover why. Barnabas was an instrumental part of the early church, and because of his encouragement many came to the Lord. In fact, he was the one who encouraged the disciples to trust and accept Paul into their ministry.
“When he arrived [at Antioch] and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” (Acts 11:23-24, NIV)
In the same way, we have an opportunity to strengthen those around us. How? By doing a little soul searching. By looking for ways to reach out and bless others. By allowing God to use us in unexpected ways.
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Tilling the Soil
Read about Barnabas in Acts 4:32-36 and Acts 11:19-30.
Planting Hope
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:25)
Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.
She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.
It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.
Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.
Connect with Darlene:
Facebook: @timewarpwife
Instagram: @timewarpwife
Pinterest: @timewarpwife
Twitter: @timewarpwife
You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife