Bear With One Another. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2, NIV). Bear With: to put up with; to make allowances for; to willingly endure; forbearance; to tolerate; to have patience with; to accept despite weaknesses in another. a. If there’s one thing we know about each …
Honor One Another. “Take delight in honoring each other.” (Romans 12:10, NLT). Honor: show deference to; to prefer over one’s self; to highly esteem; to greatly respect; to revere; to focus on the importance of another. a. Honoring someone goes beyond mere respect. To honor another person is to revere that person because that person …
Restore One Another. “If someone in the fellowship is overtaken by some sin or mistake, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.” (Galatians 6:1). Restore: to set right; to repair; to refit; to mend; to rejoin; to bring back to original state; to heal. a. God is in the …
Encourage One Another. “Let us encourage one another.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Paraclete: Called to come alongside someone in need, in order to help and bear burdens by Pointing to God, Advising, Reminding, Advocating for, Comforting, Listening, Exhorting, Teaching and Encouraging. a. Some translations have “comfort” instead of “encourage” in this verse, and there is a …
Warn One Another. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.” (Colossians 3:16). Admonish: to warn; to caution; to place into someone’s awareness; to reprove gently; to call attention to; to alert another person’s thinking; to offer sound advice and guidance. a. Sooner or …
Build Up One Another. “Edify one another, just as you have already been doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Edify: to build up a person or a community; to strengthen; to empower; to affirm certain qualities; to help someone or a group to grow, to reach maturity; to construct a building, an edifice, of faith and character …
Bear One Another’s Burdens. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens… Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ.” (Ps. 68:19; Galatians 6:2). Bearing Burdens: to lift up and carry; to take up and walk with; to intercede for someone else, whether through prayer or caregiving, whether tangible …
Garments of Splendor. “Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.” (Romans 13:14, NLT)). a. Two Coats (a traditional song, performed by Patty Loveless, from her bluegrass album Mountain Soul): “Two coats were before me, an old and a new; I …
Digesting the Word – On Scripture as Food “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” (St. Jerome). “Nobody’s fault but mine, nobody’s fault but mine. When I die and my soul be lost, ain’t nobody’s fault but mine. I got a Bible in my home, I got a Bible in my home. If I don’t …
I AM at the Table with Judas. “I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’ I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that …
I AM on the Water. “Jesus called out to them, ‘Don’t be afraid! The I AM is here!’” (John 6:20). CONTEXT a. Jesus and His disciples had just crossed the Sea of Galilee, or the Lake, and found themselves on a hill where they could sit down and relax. A huge throng of people was …