That\u2019s me. I come from a family of huggers. These arms were meant to reach out and hug. So, throw me into a world of social distancing, and I\u2019m very uncomfortable. I was amused when someone reacted to my \u201cAre You Vaccinated?\u201d blog with these words: \u201cJesus would be first in line to get the vaccine with a mask on and help everyone else make sure their mask was on properly.\u201d And, my reply was: \u201cI can\u2019t say that I would agree with you about Jesus having a mask on. After all He touched the lepers \u2014 the untouchable \u2014 and anyone who had illnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My heart aches for our world that needs a good dose of love, compassion, understanding and HUGS. Let\u2019s get the truth out there. God, the greatest of all lovers everywhere, didn\u2019t cause this pandemic or any pandemic that preceded this one. Not our God Who \u201creached out and touched\u201d the untouchable and loved the unlovable. It was our Lord\u2019s mode of operation that He modeled for us at the feet of His disciples as He washed them as the greatest Servant of all. Our Lord was the One Who crowds thronged around Him. He was the One Who called the little children to Him. He was the One who fed the thousands in a crowded situation. So, who is responsible?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the enemy of our souls, the greatest hater of all, the one who wants to \u201cdistance\u201d us from each other and would rather kill, steal, and destroy our peace, our joy, our hope, and our love. He is the one who tried to take our Lord out, once and for all, by crucifying him. He failed. It is he who doesn’t want us to be lovers and encouragers. But he will not win. He is a loser in every way because we have read the end of the Book, the Bible, AND we win!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A friend posted this: \u201cI hate Facebook\u201d and I commented: \u201cOh please don\u2019t hate it. It\u2019s my mission field. We must let our little lights shine brighter so the darkness gets lit up with God\u2019s love. I\u2019ve learned to avoid the negative in every way. You have too many blessings to not share them.\u201d Maybe we aren\u2019t free to hug everyone these days, but if we\u2019re not the light and the encouragers, who will be? We can still encourage through social media, email, a text message, a smile, and a kind word wherever we are. Encouragers! Let\u2019s unite to encourager!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Encouragement is something we all need to keep us motivated, loved, and feeling confident in ourselves and what we do. It\u2019s something that is important for our mental and overall health, and it truly can give us just the same amount of joy to give to others as it is to receive it. Where I live, we have a community FB group page and I get inspired with those who pop in with a positive word of encouragement. Imagine how your community could change for the better with a little more encouragement between neighbors instead of community message boards filled with complaints. Or how strong your team at work could become if someone took the lead in encouragement?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re going to make it through these times and the more we stay in strong faith and determination, the more we\u2019ll be encouraged and want to encourage others. Don\u2019t be surprised if God taps you on your shoulder to be His representative on this earth as an encourager!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
** Hebrews 10:24-25 — “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.\u201d ** Romans 15:2 — “Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.”**
1 Thessalonians 5:11 — “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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