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I think we can all use a cheerleader! The Bible tells us to encouraging one another daily in Hebrews 3:13. Cheerleaders have a way of encouraging you to go for it. Make another touchdown, shoot another 3 pointer, kill that volleyball. They get the crowd on your side, and keep the momentum going your way. We should be each other’s cheerleader. When we know someone is facing a battle, we should be the one who is giving them a call and telling them, that we are on their side, that they can make it, and all things are possible with God. Spiritually, we encourage others by saying and doing things that make God more visible to them. Encouragement shouldn’t be a luxury, it really is a necessity. As parents, each day we can encourage our children. They don’t need to hear it only when they have done something exceptional, they should hear it regularly. What are some of the things people around you have said to encourage you? Do you remember your parents encouraging you? Do you remember a teacher or a fellow student who helped you grow and do and be a better person? They were like a cheerleader in your life. They probably couldn’t do the splits, but they were patting you on the back, and encouraging you with words that made a difference. They kept it real for you, why not become a cheerleader for someone else. We can encourage one another.

I Thes 5:11 tells us to build each other up. Another word for build up is to edify. Edify also means encourage. We live in a world where it is easy to tear things down. We look for flaws, and words are spoken in homes everyday that tear people and relationships down. What a wonderful world we would live in if we would all be builders and daily build one another up. What if no negative words were spoken, and no one ever had to ask forgiveness what they said, but didn’t mean, in your home? We can live on a much higher plane. We can nourish each other in the life of God. What we do is out of the overflow of our life, we give a little away. You’re not getting the leftovers, you are getting the cream off the top, and it is very delicious. Bible study is one of the best ways to be in a building environment. You are learning the Word, and like iron sharpening iron, we are smoothing off rough edges, and getting sharper all at the same time, and learning to apply the Word on a daily basis. In a Bible Study setting, what we are learning, others can benefit from. Once we make it our own, we can talk about how it is working in our lives, or at our house, or at our job. So be a builder. Have a good foundation and start building level upon level on your spiritual house. As we keep it real, we can go higher, and encourage others to go higher with us.

How often are you surprised to hear that a friend or acquaintance has walked through a very hard time, and you were totally unaware of it? It happens all the time. People think that you don’t have time to be concerned about them, or they think you wouldn’t understand, or they just feel they should be able to make it on their own. The Bible tells us to carry each other’s burdens in Gal 6:2. Very often, the person going through the difficult time just could benefit from someone being there with them. We don’t have to have an answer, or try to fix their problems for them, often if we just walk with them through it, they will make it to the other side. One thing to remember is that everyone is facing some kind of battle. You may not know that your good friend is suffering because her mom has just been diagnosed with altzeimers, or that someone has lost a elderly parent, or a family lost their father who was a policeman in a gang shoot out. The world goes on for the rest of us, but that day, could be the worst day of their life. Be sensitive to what others are going through. Learn to think no only about yourself, but the many others around you who might have had a bad day, or a bad week, or even a bad year. You can help them, by standing with them, and carrying some of their load. It usually isn’t even that hard. Bring them a meal, take care of their kids, send some flowers, sit with them and most definitely pray for them. Thank God for the ones who have done that for you, and pass on the blessing! Keep it real!

Intro: Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. This week we are talking about helping to lighten each others load, and becoming a cheerleader for our friends and loved ones. Gal 6:2 tells us to carry each other’s burdens, and Hebrews 3:13 tells us to encourage one another daily. Here are some encouraging words about enriching our relationships by cheering for each other, and helping carry each other’s burdens. Let’s keep it real in our relationships!

Serve one another with a heart of love, it says in Gal 5:13. We have an awesome team of people who cook meals for people who are sick, or new moms who have just had a baby, for anyone who is home bound for any reason. What is amazing is most of the time, they might be familiar with the person they are cooking for, but not always. They have a heart to serve out of need. What often happens at our church is when a new mom has her darling, precious baby, her Bible Study group will call our Hospitality Meal Coordinator and say, we’ve got this new mom covered. They have relationship with her, and they are more than willing to bring her meals, for as long as she needs them. They are not serving just out of need, they are serving out of love. Can you find some way to serve someone today? It is always good to find a need and fill it, but how about just doing something out of love. Your neighbors might enjoy a plate of cookies. Your husband might enjoy a backrub. The widow next door might have fallen leaves everywhere. Why not make the cookies, rub his back, and rake her leaves! Love speaks loudly through action. You can serve one another out of a heart of love. That is imitating Jesus, and keeping it real! It is a great way to live!

Don’t you hate to see someone going through a painful situation? If you are like me, I am a fixer. I want to try to help them through it, give them solutions to their issue, and help. Someone said this that 90% of love is just being there. Just “be” a comforting presence. I’ve noticed that especially in the time of loss of a loved one, words don’t feel like they touch the heart of the matter, but being there is just what is needed. That is bearing one another’s burdens. Eph 4:1,2 tells us to walk worthy of our calling. With lowliness, gentleness with long suffering, bearing with one another in love. That is what God does for us, and that is what we can do for others. I encourage you to keep your eyes open to those who are hurting. They are everywhere. Ask God to lead you to someone who is hurting this week. Look for ways to express that you care. Learn to be there, even in silence. Help someone else by bearing with one another in love.

Romans 15:7 says to receive one another as Christ received us to the glory of God. We are admonished in this scripture to accept one another. Christ accepts us, we should accept others. Case closed! We love like Jesus does. He loves us flaws and all, we love others flaws and all! When we accept people as they are, we can trust God to work in your life. When we accept them, we don’t condone their behavior or their beliefs. We accept them, because we want to be like Jesus. You have probably noticed this in your relationships, that if you are trying to change a person, you will meet resistance. I noticed that too! Lesson learned! When we accept and receive people as they are, we not only obey the Word, we sow seed that can be reaped in our own life. We are grateful for the people in our own life who overlook our short comings and love us anyway So if we want our story to be to God’s glory, we can love, forgive and accept one another. Just as this verse in Romans 15:7 says, when we receive others it brings God glory! You can put this verse into operation in your life today!

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, forgiving one another even as God in Christ has forgiven you. If we want to have healthy relationships, we need to swim in the river of forgiveness frequently. We give ourselves lots of grace, let’s do that with others too. The better we know one another, the more we potentially have to over look in each other. That’s where kindness comes in. We can choose kindness, just like we choose forgiveness. The rewards are great when we live this way. Have as much grace for others as we have for ourselves! Forgiveness can seem like a huge mountain to climb, but what I have discovered is that if the mountain is enormous, stone by stone, each shovelful of the mountain that gets removed brings more and more freedom. Before we know it the thing that seemed unovercomeable is overcome! So whether you are the one forgiving, or the one asking for forgiveness, lets do both graciously. Day by day, hour by hour, as we choose forgiveness, even moment by moment, we can improve our relationships, and improve our life. So, everyday, in every way, be kinder than necessary.

How soft is too soft? When it comes to blankets and pillows, softer is always better! When we are talking about grace, can you have too much? Our church is named Amazing Grace Fellowship, and you could imagine that as pastors, we want to be known for an abundance of grace. It is because of the grace of God that we are saved. It is by grace that we are loved and accepted into the family of God. The grace of God truly is amazing. We should be grace full, grace filled people. But as gracious believers, we do not become a doormat for everyone who wants to walk over us, not do we ignore people’s actions. Abuse, neglect, or other evil deeds do not get brushed under the rug. As gracious as God is, sin has its own retribution. And sin is not tolerated in the presence of God. So we can be like Jesus. He hates sin, but loves people. He is a soft place to fall as He loves people through their failures and pain. We can do the same. Psalms 9:9,10 in the Message Bible says this: God’s a safe house for the battered, and a sanctuary in bad times. The moment you arrive, you relax, and you are never sorry you knocked. We can be a safe haven to people in our life, by being forgiving, accepting, and walking with them on their journey.

Our family is very competitive. We all like to win, and be better than someone else in the family. Because of that, everything is a competition. From board games, to who can clean their room the fastest, to who is the best wake or snow boarder, even to musical ability. It can be fun and healthy, but it can be a relationship killer. If everything is always a competition, we can thwart what God wants to be a blessing in our lives. We have to look at our relationships as if we were on a team. Each team mate cheers for the others. We want each to do well, but we do best when we work together. As Christians, we are on a team. We should be cheering for our team mates who are doing a work for God in their vineyard. We aren’t in competition, we are here to complete a task that God put us on the earth for. Relationships work the same way. Let’s be fellow travelers. Let our competition be against ourselves. Can we do better? Can we love more? Can we make a difference? Can our lives count for the cause of Christ. When we do that individually, collectively as the body of Christ, we will accomplish more! And in the midst of enlarging the kingdom of God, we will build healthy, thriving relationships.

You have probably noticed that relationships can be messy. They can bring tremendous joy, and tremendous pain. All of us have experienced a messy relationship of some kind. Perhaps it started in grade school, being bullied. Or maybe you were made fun of for some physical trait, or speech disorder, or disability. Perhaps you were betrayed by a friend, or had a messy breakup or divorce. The list of relationship messes can go on and on. Relationships can be hard. Being hurt can make us build walls. The messes leave us with baggage that will affect future relationships. If we want them to be better in the future, we have to deal with the past. If we keep carrying it around with us, our future relationships will suffer. So what do we do with the past? We can learn from it, and then leave it there. Start with a clean slate. Just like each new year in a classroom, you get a fresh start. Make good choices, keep your heart full of love, and offer acceptance and love to those around you. Our ability and choice to forgive others, directly affects our relationship with God. He forgave, so we do the same. If we don’t forgive, as it says in Mark 11, God wont forgive us. Sounds like we know what to do. Be a forgiver!
Forgiveness and acceptance are like soap for the soul, they help us wash out the past, and live clean in the future.