READING: Jeremiah 38-40, Hebrews 3
By nature, I’m a loner. I know how to take care of myself (I think), and I have a tendency to do so on my own. That attitude, though, is not only sinfully self-centered, but it’s also spiritually dangerous. That’s because God never created us to live this life alone. He gives us families to raise us in the instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4), and He then gifts us with brothers and sisters who walk beside us as members of His body.
The writer of Hebrews understood this need in our lives. In a time when he felt it necessary to challenge the church to stay faithful—not to drift away into disobedience—he called on them to keep an eye on one another: “Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception” (Heb 3:12-13). The warning was to individuals, but the prescription was for the entire church. No one is to serve God in isolation, and all of us need others who encourage us, warn us, and daily push us toward faithfulness. Indeed, the need is urgent as history points toward the imminent return of Christ.
Today, I’m thanking God for those brothers and sisters in my life whose witness encourages me daily.
PRAYER: “God, I’m grateful for my family and friends who model Christ before me. Help me to do the same for others.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Jeremiah 41-44, Hebrews 4-5