Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 341

December 7;      I Thessalonians 5:14;       186/260(III);       ‘Help Each Other’

1 Thessalonians 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.

2 Corinthians 5 teaches that we are all ministers of reconciliation.  Because we are, we have the responsibility and privilege to help other Christians.  Paul, in this verse is encouraging the congregation to get involved in the lives of other members of the church.  Proverbs has much to say about correction.  It is often not easy to confront others and many times the person confronted will not be happy.  But the Bibles says that wise people are correctable.  We are not perfect and it is a blessing, not an insult to be corrected.  The correction should always be done kindly and in love.  Often times, especially with new Christians, they are still fainthearted.  They will mature and get stronger spiritually, but until they do, we have the responsibility to comfort and help them get past anything that may be troubling them.  The Bible teaches us that our faith grows as we spend quality time in the Word.  Many Christians do not read the Bible or read it very little.  They are weak spiritually.  If they are new Christians, your faith can carry them for awhile.  As you uphold them by your faith, encourage them to be diligent to read the Word daily.  Their faith will grow and they will not remain weak spiritually. The Lord has put longsuffering (patience) in us.  It is one of the fruit of the Spirit.  None of us are perfect.  We have been given the ability to be patient with everyone, even if they exasperate us.  Our patience is really love.  Get involved with others. They need us.