Today 7-10-2024

1 Thessalonians 4:18 ESV  "Therefore encourage one another with these words."What to say?! Today's verse says to encourage one another with these words - guess we will have to go back to His Word and find out what exactly that means! As he came into my office, I could tell he needed some encouragement. His head was down, his walk was slow and his overall composure looked broken. The first part of any encouragement is to listen. Listen to what they are saying - sure we can just list a bunch of words of encouragement but it may not be what they need to hear. We've all heard that God has given us two ears and one mouth so we should hear twice as much as we speak. So, when we want to encourage someone, let's listen first, then speak. Some times, they don't even need us to say anything but just to listen, to sit with them and put an arm around a shoulder. And remember the most important thing about encouragement is that it's not about us but them - let's listen well today! The Holy Spirit will give us the words to say, if we need to say anything at all! peace, tom