Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

A regular theme in my life recently has been how we interact as Christians. How we talk to one another, act together, act around non Christians. Are we in the world or of the world? Is the truth we read and speak visible in our day to day lives? Does God’s word permeate our hearts or is it simple head knowledge? If our hearts are not changing, if we are not being renewed, we are not growing and we are not serving others or ourselves well. I have opportunities every day to choose; am I serving God or am I serving myself? I serve God when I speak words that build others up, when I avoid entanglement with words or conversations that demean and destroy or cause strife and division, when I speak up for what is right and gently remind others to do the same. We face temptation everyday to choose what the flesh wants. We die to ourselves when we choose what is better, when we choose to practice what we preach, when we make it a point to build others up through words of encouragement, and show that we are merely in the world to shine a light into the darkness.