Daily Devotional for November 14, 2016

Romans 1:8-12
First, I thank God in the name of Jesus Christ for all of you. I do this because people everywhere in the world are talking about your faith. God has seen how I never stop praying for you, while I serve him with all my heart and tell the good news about his Son.

In all my prayers, I ask God to make it possible for me to visit you. I want to see you and share with you the same blessings that God’s Spirit has given me. Then you will grow stronger in your faith. What I am saying is that we can encourage each other by the faith that is ours.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

In the last 24 hours, I have referenced faith THREE TIMES in correspondence with friends who are concerned about the future.  I’ve prayed for loved ones and acquaintances that are in some difficult situations…and I’ve asked God to work as only He can.

The Apostle Paul speaks in this passage of wishing he could meet some of his loved ones and friends in person, so that they could encourage one another in the LORD face to face.  I know that when I am encouraging Timothy, Zola and Nathan, they sometimes need a hug and a smile to go with my words of hope.  And we adults are no different!

But let’s be real…we can’t be everywhere at once.  So we have the next best thing…correspondence!  We have letters, cards, e-mail messages, texts, FaceTime, Skype…and the telephone!  And we ALWAYS have prayer.  We really have no excuse for failing to encourage one another and sharing our faith in God to see us through every situation and circumstance.  If the Apostle Paul could do this so effectively from his jail cell…surely WE can do this from the comfort of our own home/school/workplace - or wherever we happen to find ourselves!

So here’s my message to you today…keep the faith!  We say we believe in God and trust Him to do all things…now is the time to demonstrate this!  Encourage your friends and neighbors.  If you are with them in person, smile and offer them a hug when they need it.  If you are using modern technology to correspond, include a hopeful emoji where appropriate.  Write a note…send a card…pick up the phone…PRAY!

Fill your heart and mind with the hope and faith that God is still in control – of EVERYTHING – and let others truly see this at work in you.  And let’s all get started today!


©2016 Debbie Robus

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