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How To Stay Encouraged: Get Into God’s Word

One of the biggest needs we face in our contemporary society is the need to be encouraged. Especially during the Christmas season, it seems as if discouragement is rampant, and finding ways to stay encouraged is difficult.

How To Stay Encouraged: Get Into God's Word

One of the simplest things you can do is develop a consistent habit of spending time in God’s Word.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 states:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Can you imagine anything more encouraging than God himself taking the time to comfort you? That’s exactly what this passage says. God himself encourages us. Why? So that we can pass on that encouragement to others. And we draw that comfort and encouragement from his direct communication with us, the Bible.

There are several reasons for this. God’s Word brings us life (Matthew 4:4). God’s Word brings us understanding (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Psalm 119:18). God’s Word brings us salvation (1 Peter 2:2, Romans 10:13). God’s Word brings us delight (Psalm 1:2), and strength (Isaiah 40:31). And much more.

But God’s Word also brings us encouragement.

Look at what Romans 15:4 has to tell us:

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

I think that God’s Word encourages us in at least five ways.

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One Word 2013 In Review

For the past few years, I’ve selected a single word to live by throughout the year. This is a word that defines my life for the year, and helps undergird everything I do for the next twelve months.

One Word 365

The new year is quickly approaching, and a new word is on the horizon. I’m not going to reveal it now; that post will come closer to the end of the year.

I choose to identify and implement a word every year as a part of my life plan. I add this word to the beginning of my plan, and try to use it as a piece of the foundation for every portion of my plan. Some areas are more successful than others.

Right now, I’m examining the past year to see how I lived according to the word that I chose.

For 2013, I chose the word intentional.

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How To Stay Encouraged

So far, I’m about six months into my new role as a lead minister. After spending more than two decades in youth ministry, I sensed that God was leading in a different direction and stepped out of what I knew and into the unknown.

And it has been a crazy ride so far! The church where I serve is a great place to be, and the leadership is very strong. I’m thankful that they decided to take a chance on an untried newbie. Granted, I had several years of ministry experience, but not in this role.

How To Stay Encouraged

Since I’m so new, I’m learning the ropes as I go along. Much of what I do, I watched several other men perform well in the churches where I served as a youth minister. But actually doing it… That’s kind of a different story. And there are times where the stress, from the responsibility, the learning curve, the leadership skills needed, and more, all pile up and get you down.

At times like that, what you need is a little encouragement.

A few months ago, several men from our church traveled to a neighboring town for a leadership training day. One of the sessions was about staying encouraged. This isn’t something that I really thought I needed at the time, but over the last few months, I’ve found myself going back over my notes, reviewing and processing these thoughts often.

Since I find these ideas so helpful, I thought I’d share them with you. Hopefully, you can gain as much from these thoughts as I have.

So, over the course of the next few days, I want to share with you four key principles to staying encouraged. Here they are briefly:

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Coffee Break – 12.09.2013

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The Beauty Of Kenya From Verve Coffee Roasters – Kenya produces some of the world’s most flavorful coffee. Verve Coffee Roasters have produces a short video displaying the coffee industry from this nation. Very well done.

The Art Of Sculpted Bananas – Who knew that this was an art? Is it even really an art? So, a few bananas, a lot of creativity and a box of pins and you can create one of these for yourself. I wonder how long ti will last before going bad…?

The Russia Left Behind – Once one of the world’s super powers, Russia, part of the former Soviet Union, has been slowly decaying. As you leave the larger cities for the country, you see significant problems and issues that are best described in other centuries. This photo essay takes a deep look at life in the parts of Russia most of us never see, from St. Petersburg to Moscow.

Why I Am A Six Day Creationist – While I don’t always agree with everything I read on this site, I found this to be concise, yet covering the simple basics of why Young Earth Creation makes the most sense of both biblical and scientific data.

Biblical Personal Finance – Since I joined the ranks of senior ministers a few months ago, one of the biggest needs I’ve seen in our community, and talked with others about from all over the country, is helping others with financial needs. Many times, those needing help are in genuine need. But frequently, better management of their money would solve most of their problems. Here are four simple principles of biblical personal finance.

Keep. On. Praying – Often, when we don’t get the answer to our prayers immediately, or we get a different answer than the one we want to receive, we give up. This brief post encourages us to keep on praying.

5 Tips To Be A Better Dad This Week – I’m always striving to be the best dad that I can be. Here are fives ways to do that this week. And every week. As Ron states, the key is to be intentional as a dad. Or as a mom. And this is a great week to start.

Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in thee. – St. Augustine of Hippo

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:11-12

Paul moves from his discussion of the false teachers to how Timothy should live in response. Paul calls Timothy a “Man of God,” which is a sharp contrast to the sick greed and false doctrine of the false teachers just discussed.

This week’s passage is found in 1 Timothy 6:11-12:

1 Timothy 6:11-12

The first thing that Paul tells Timothy is to flee “all of this.” What is Timothy to flee from? The greed just discussed in verses 6-10, but Paul also includes the false teachings and different doctrines from verse three and earlier in the letter.

Paul refers to Timothy as a “man of God.” This is in compete contrast to the false teaching of the men infiltrating the Ephesian church, and indicates that Timothy’s doctrine comes from God himself, while that of the false teachers does not. The background for this phrase, which isn’t common usage for Paul, is based in the Old Testament. Each time it is used in the Old Testament it refers to one of God’s servants, such as Moses (Deuteronomy 33:1), David (Nehemiah 12:24), or one of the prophets.

Since Timothy is a man of God, he is to pursue something different than the false teachers. His behavior is to stand in stark contrast to theirs. Among others, Paul lists a few qualities that Timothy is to continue to develop in his life and ministry:

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Top Posts For November 2013

It is incredible that the year is nearing the end. 2013 has simply flown by for the Randleman family. The month of November seemed especially quick. With two birthdays, Thanksgiving, and my grandparents’ 70th anniversary, we had a lot to celebrate.

November 2013 Word Picture from Wordle.net

November saw some significant events in our lives. But more important than the events is how we react and respond to them. The month also brought a few challenges as well. Again, the challenge wasn’t as critical as how we responded. And even though the month was full, I feel like my family grew together as well as individually.

Here on JeffRandleman.com, there were some significant decisions and events as well. I’m looking at the possibility of some pretty cool changes in the coming months. The things I see on the horizon have me pretty excited.

My writing schedule will have to slow down a bit though, because I’ve enrolled in a Masters degree program that will start this winter and consume a good portion of my time for a while.

In case you missed them, here are my top seven posts for the month of November:

  1. The Difference Between Purpose, Vision, and Mission
  2. Our Tradition: Christmas Eve Candle Light Service
  3. 6 Characteristics Of A Good Communicator
  4. Why You Need To Develop A Philosophy Of Ministry
  5. 7 Steps To Defining A Purpose And Vision For Youth Ministry
  6. Trying A New Bible Reading System
  7. My Current Philosophy Of Ministry

Once again, several posts from the Foundations of Youth Ministry series made this list. Also, with the end of the year, the holidays, and a new year approaching, one of these posts is from our Christmas family traditions series. That’s pretty typical for this time of year.

Also, several have commented, either personally or through a comment, and even a couple have contacted me via email to say that they love the Coffee Break posts each week. These are simply a brief list of things I find valuable or interesting from around the web, posted each Monday. It has quickly become a favorite part of my week as well.

My favorite post from November was a two part series on Developing A Plan For Personal Growth and Succeeding In Your Plan For Personal Growth. These were inspired from some notes I took through a leadership course several years ago. I pull out those notes frequently and review them in order to continually grow from that course.

With the holidays just around the corner, I’m sure that the next few weeks will fly by. Enjoy the season!

If you are a blogger, leave a comment with your top post for the month. If you don’t blog, leave a comment with a favorite post or blog that you read this month.