These are more than kind words or polite gestures. They are spiritual lifelines. When we choose to stand beside one another in love, we become the body of Christ in action.

Encouragement can be as simple as a text, a note, or a quiet moment of empathy. Support might look like a meal, a ride, or simply showing up to lend a hand. These acts can take the shape of prayer, listening ears, helping hands, and hopeful words. No matter how small these may seem, they can breathe hope into a weary soul.

As followers of Jesus, we are not meant to go it alone. God designed us for community so that we can lift, strengthen, and carry one another through whatever comes.

Today marks the birthday of the person who has been my greatest champion and most faithful encourager. My gratitude runs deep for their presence in my life, particularly for the countless ways they have helped shoulder my burdens throughout the years.

I hope you are blessed with such a person in your life. Even more, I hope you embody this kind of love for someone else.

Let’s be people of support. Let’s be people of encouragement. Let’s be the Church.

Home Depot’s motto from 2003 to 2009 was simple but powerful: “You can do it, we can help.”

That phrase has always struck me as ideally suited for the church as well.

The Christian life isn’t something you have to navigate alone. Through Christ’s work and the power of the Holy Spirit, you have the ability to live faithfully and purposefully.

And the church? We’re fellow travelers ready to walk alongside you, offering encouragement, support, and community for the journey ahead.

Sometimes, the best expressions of faith come from the most unexpected places.

Lately, I have been reading through the book of Proverbs as part of my Bible reading plan. There are many powerful statements, but here are a few that are worth pondering, which may not be familiar to you.

Proverbs 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Proverbs 9:8-9 Do not rebuke mockers, or they will hate you; rebuke the wise, and they will love you. (9) Instruct the wise, and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous, and they will add to their learning.

Proverbs 11:4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

Proverbs 13:3 Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.

Proverbs 13:20 Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 16:9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

Proverbs 17:28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.

Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

Proverbs 24:16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

I’ve spent my life among followers of Jesus. And here’s what I’ve seen: they struggle. They lie. They battle temptation. They wrestle with anger, pride, anxiety, and judgment. At times, they can be unkind and unloving. It’s all true.

But that’s precisely why they follow Jesus, not because they are perfect, but because they know they are not. They are people who know they need grace, forgiveness, and transformation.

If someone were truly “good” on their own, they wouldn’t need a Savior.

But broken people? We need everything Jesus offers.

How has our faith in Jesus truly changed the way we live?

What have we willingly given up for the sake of God’s Kingdom? Our Sunday mornings? Our time? Our Finances? Our possessions? Our energy?

If our lives mirror those who don’t know Christ, perhaps it’s time to ask if we’re truly walking as closely with Jesus as He desires.

Television and movies shaped my expectations of life. I learned to crave conflicts wrapped up in thirty minutes or two hours, complete with clear obstacles, satisfying victories, and tidy moral lessons. Entertainment taught me that every story should have a beginning, middle, and definitive end.

Real-life refuses to follow this script. Most of our stories remain unfinished, their pages still being written with divine guidance. We stumble through seasons of learning and transformation, wrestling with change, pursuing growth, but without the luxury of rolling credits when we’ve learned our lesson. Some struggles persist for years while we resist God’s direction, postpone difficult decisions, and cling stubbornly to familiar patterns.

I recognize this truth in my own unfinished narrative. When I meet someone new, I try to remember that their story, like mine, is incomplete and lacks a final chapter. They won’t often experience instant breakthroughs or sudden enlightenment during their spiritual journey. Their character development happens gradually, imperfectly, and authentically.

Perhaps the most meaningful gift we can offer each other is patience. To give the grace to let people continue writing their stories without our commentary or critique interrupting their process.

One tension in the Church community is how to treat the new people that attend.

Should we almost force them to give us their information so that we can send them nice messages with information about the Church? That way, we can invite them to events and ensure they feel welcome.

The problem is that most people are not coerced into faith and quit if they feel pressured.

Should we do nothing that even suggests we are forcing them to provide us with information against their will? We don’t want to come off as a pushy marketer of the Church, so we will allow people to remain anonymous.

The problem is that many people end up feeling ignored and quit because no one cares.

How does the Church community find a middle ground in this issue? I lean toward ignoring while really wanting to badger. No method or approach is 100% effective, but the best thing I have found is not a program at all. It is every person being genuinely friendly to every other person who attends every worship program. The bridge between badgering and ignoring is you.

Because of my current sermon series on manhood, I have been reading numerous articles and books on the topic of men’s ministry. Here are some random thoughts I am trying to process.

“Men follow men, and not programs.” – Don Wilson

“Women want a relationship, men want adventure.” – Don Wilson

“My second biggest takeaway for men: Don’t watch pornography.” – Anne Kennedy

“The old advice to men who feel neglected and are dissatisfied is ‘Man Up’… and that is not helpful. We need to show men how to man up.” – Roger Olson

“I would tell men in a membership class: If you join the Church, you will be betrayed. And your betrayer will be a fellow Church member… most will be small, but after each, you will be tempted to quit … remember almost everyone in the Bible was betrayed.” – David Murrow

“As I surveyed the lineage of Godly men, I honestly wondered how many saints of old would feel discomfort with the feminization, not only of our society but also in some of our Churches.
Would we emasculate men of old? Would we chide Abraham for wandering, Jacob for wrestling, Joshua for fighting, Elijah for mocking, Noah for madness, Job for arrogance, David for incivility, Nehemiah for violence, Nathan for high-handedness, John the Baptist for name calling, Paul for divisiveness, and the Son of God for brandishing a whip and a turning over tables at the temple?
Have we chosen the conveniences of niceness over the discomforts of godliness? I fear someday lying comfortably beneath the inscription, ‘Here lies a father, husband, churchgoer – just a really nice guy.’
‘Nice’ says nothing of spine, of edge, of valor, and thus, it can say little of righteousness or purpose. Nice requires no courage, no conviction, and no willingness to make enemies with the wicked. Jesus warns against palatability: Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26)” – Greg Morse

When you attended worship yesterday, what did you think you would encounter?

Did you think it would be boring, outdated, and irrelevant?

Did you expect people to be mean, distant, and judgmental?

Did you expect the songs and sermons to be a blessing to your life?

Did you look forward to seeing people and sharing your life with them?

Here is what I know about people. What you discovered during your time of worship at Church was precisely what you expected you would find.

Things are rarely different than our expectations because we find exactly what we are looking for.

Twelve men go in to explore the Promised Land on behalf of Israel. They were given a specific set of questions to answer and then report back to Moses. They travel in and gather information, but when they return, they do not just report the facts; they provide their interpretation of the situation.

Ten of them say that the people are big and strong and the Israelites will look like bugs in their eyes. They will be seen as tiny intrusions that need to be squished.

Only two men believe that God can handle the armies and give them the land. One is named Joshua, and the other is Caleb. Joshua will lead the people after Moses, and we know a great deal about his life. Caleb, we know much less, but an essential description of him emerges as the story unfolds. “Because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it” (Numbers 14:24). He is described as a man who followed God “wholeheartedly.” He is also described in this manner in Numbers 32:11 and 12, Deuteronomy 1:16, and Joshua 14:14.

One characteristic of a believer that God desires is that they follow him “wholeheartedly.” That means they have a complete and total commitment to him.

The opposite is a divided heart. Psalm 86 has a title over it that says, “A Prayer of David.” In this prayer, he asks God to change his heart. “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” (Psalm 86:11)

Behind these passages is a single idea: We are to give ourselves entirely to the Lord and his will. One goal of a believer is to spend their life removing the distractions that keep them from total devotion to God. Instead of being pulled in multiple directions, every day is given to a singular task: living a life that is pleasing to God.

“Lord, help me to have an undivided heart so that I might follow you wholeheartedly.”