to encourage this generation?
Please pause the music in the blue box to the right side before playing the video.
"Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statues." Psalm 119:11-12
Psalm 119. For those who attended our Christmas Celebration, have you begun to read this wonderful portion of the Bible? Have you begun to see just why David was a man after God's own heart? Have you started asking God to make YOU a woman after His own heart?
What can we do to encourage this generation? Well, like Pastor Tipton preached this Sunday, we can begin by telling. We can encourage through our story of faith! No matter how imperfect you may feel your story is - God has promised to use it for His glory!
I had a video moments this week, much like the one Pastor T shared this Sunday. Terry Bach (our church webmaster) stopped by to pick up something. While he was here, my neighbor stopped by. I introduced them. I didn't introduce Terry as my friend from church. I introduced him as a friend who stopped by to take care of some things. How easy would it have been for me to say, "Hey, ______ this is Terry my friend from church and Terry this is _______, my neighbor." Pretty easy, in fact, dumbfoundly easy. I just didn't think of it!
We have to become intentional in our seed spreading. When we go out to seed our grass. We know exactly where the bald spots are, where the grass is just a little too thin. We even take the time to read the instructions to make sure, one that we have the right type of seed (shade or sun) and two, that we know the proper amount for proper growth. Once those seeds are planted, we check on every day, waiting for the first sign of green. We water it and fertilize it. Heaven forbid our grass not grow after we planted it.
Why aren't we doing this with the seeds that God gives us to plant? Why aren't we just as concerned with those spiritual seeds, as we are with the seeds in our front lawns or in our gardens?
Another example, at my gym, the manager had asked me how I knew certain people that were also members. I could have said "oh they're my friends." But I didn't, I said, "They're my friends from church." Those two extra little words sparked an hour long conversation about my faith, her faith, issues she's been dealing with. And it gave me an opportunity to encourage her to come to church and trust in God.
Ladies, I'll say it again, we have to be intentional in our seed spreading. We have to read the instructions (the Bible). If we are in the Word, we will for sure have the right type of seed to plant and with the Holy Spirit's help, we'll know just how much to plant and when. But remember, like our lawns, we have to check back on it. We have to continue to nurture those little seeds so that they have the chance to become flowers.
