Daily Devotion - Monday - February 22

It's been a rough 11 months or so and I have no intention of rehashing why.  Let's just say there's a number 19 involved and leave it at that!  Anyway, one of the things we have discussed in the various small groups I'm a part of, that is when we were able to be together, is the amount of extra down time, or free time we have been afforded over the past year.  So many of us have said we'd pray more, or be in God's word more, or serve more, if we just had the time.  Well guess what, we've had it.  So I ask, how have you spent that extra time?  Typically, this is where you would get some words on self-improvement, spending your time wisely and just making yourself a better person doing all the things you said you'd do when you had more time.  Well I'm not going to do that.  Though I hope we'll all pray more, read more, serve more and just work on our relationship with Jesus more, I'm going to give you one and only one suggestion.  Use your time to encourage others.  That's it!!
 
When you see someone going above and beyond, let them know.  Maybe right at the moment, maybe with a card, or email, or text or phone call.  Even a few brief kind words can go a very long way.  I believe one of the best and fastest ways we can make the world around us a better place is by just encouraging others.  Think about the good deeds you see over the course of a week, big and small.  Some may be at work, or at home, or maybe you've seen some on local or national news, in the newspaper or on line.  How many times do we stop and pass a word of encouragement on to that person, whether we know them or not?  Can you imagine if for one week, just one week, we built up all those around us doing God's work with a word of encouragement?  And what if it started to become a habit, something we became intentional about every day.  That would completely turn our world upside down.  So I'm challenging us all to focus on encouragement for one week.  And maybe one week will lead to two and before you know it, encouragement may just be a part of our everyday lives.  Give it a shot.  It can't hurt and I know it most definitely will help in many ways, seen and unseen. 
 
And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds.  Hebrews 10:24.
 
Dave DiBernardi