Occasionally when I travel I see someone wearing a t-shirt with a message about Jesus. While not my style, I stop and tell that person their shirt encourages me. This believer chose that particular shirt to reveal to fellow travelers their faith in Jesus. So the least I can do is encourage them in their wardrobe choice.

We can all use a little encouragement, but it can be hard to find. Which is one reason the writer of Hebrews pushed encouragement on the church in Rome:

See to it, brothers and and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Our natural inclination is to drift away from the Lord. Most everyone who goes off on their own gets weird. We need the encouragement of our fellow followers of Jesus.

Encourage others toward the Lord. Encourage toward belief, toward faith, toward truth. Encourage daily, because each one of us needs encouragement every day. We read the Bible for inspiration and motivation, but hearing a word from a friend in the faith adds a layer to our soul.

Say a kind word, support someone in distress, or encourage for no reason at all. I need it and you need it. By doing so we keep the faith, and help others do so as well.

Hebrews 3 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Savannah W.