Encourage Others Today

     I heard a joke that I could relate to, "Women aren't supposed to make coffee. The Bible says, 'He brews.'" I am a fan of coffee and even have coffee decor all over my kitchen. My husband, in fact, brews the coffee in our house, so that saying is appropriate in our household. I don't ask him to, he just does it because he likes to do nice things for me. I am blessed!

    As a wife, I too try to encourage and support my husband, especially now as he is struggling again with serious pain. Hebrews 3:13-14 reminds Christians when the best time is to encourage one another, "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end." 

    We are to encourage each other "daily, as long as it is called 'Today.'" Why? Because otherwise we "may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." I can see that with all that is going on concerning COVID, rioting, and negative behaviors and activities being shown on the news and social media that even Christians could become discouraged. 

    Hebrews 3:14 reminds us of when we first came to choose Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, "our original conviction," and tells us to "hold...firmly to [it]." I remember when I was first saved, I was "on fire for the Lord." I went to every church service and prayer meeting that was held each week. Not long after my conversion, a woman whom I had just briefly met, asked a friend of mine, (who told me about it later), "She has a light in her eyes. Is she a Christian?" I believe that is the conviction of which the author of Hebrews is speaking. 

    We can be lights to the world, if we don't let the world blow out our "original conviction" to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and daily prayer that refuel our fire. We can't brew a fragrant, rich cup of coffee without hot water, if it's cold or even lukewarm, the flavor will not be there. If we are cold or lukewarm in our walk with God, He tells us, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth" (Revelations 3:15-16). Don't be spit out by God, heat up and encourage other believers to do the same, and then we'll all be His "cup of tea"!