Day 321, or November the 17th. Endure and encourage
each other. Our thoughts today come from Romans
chapter 15, verse 5. May the God who gives endurance
and encouragement give you the same attitude
of mind towards each other that Christ Jesus
had. And now the big picture surrounding this
verse. After Paul has given some sound teaching
on how we should live in society as believers
he slips in an intriguing comment that he hopes
to see the believers at Rome when he is travelling
to Spain some time in the future. Scholars have
debated at length, but there is no reliable record
that he ever made such a journey, but there are
traditions in Spain that he did actually visit.
It seems Paul was moving ever further west. First
he visited Turkey, then Greece, then Italy, then
maybe Spain and Portugal. Where else next? Possibly
France, and then across the Channel to the UK?
Or am I dreaming? Probably. Even though Paul
has not previously visited the church in Rome,
he has obviously done his homework. The last
chapter is made up of personal greetings to many
individuals in Rome, some of whom Paul could
have met on previous visits elsewhere. And now
today's action step. As soon as the Bible urges
us to be like Christ, as Paul does in our verse
today, then it's just another way of saying be
sure that you rely on the Holy Spirit today.
Don't be surprised if you fail when you go it
alone. Sometimes we go into the world like a
footballer wearing his slippers and wondering
why the game isn't going well. We need to be
prepared for each day and constantly ask the
Holy Spirit for his help and guidance. May we
keep our eyes open today for those situations
where we need endurance not to slip back into
our old grumpy ways but enough of me at the same
time we are to be aware of those who need a word
of encouragement actually you will find that
that's almost everyone so if in doubt just encourage
all you meet and you won't go far wrong today
and i guarantee you will be encouraged too.