***MINI CHALLENGE*** of the week

This week, we have been pondering some of the ideas brought out by Elijah Hall in his message "Am I my brother's keeper?" I know that in my own life, I never want to neglect how God has spoken through His Word to us via gifted teachers and preachers. I know sometimes in my own life, I find that I have forgotten what was said be Wednesday. We strive to continue to talk about Sunday sermons, and incorporate the lessons into our daily lives. This challenge is the direct result of one of those times of musing.

Sara and I have listened to the message 2 times, plus I have listened and taken notes, clips, etc 2 more times. We listen as we ride from place to place, and rather than watch TV, we listen to audio lessons, sermons, conferences, etc. We have found this time to be very profitable for our family and would encourage others to seriously consider this point: Teachers take many hours in prayer and pouring over God's Word and then speak for the purpose of edifying the body of Christ through preaching. I think we should do more than just listen on Sunday morning, and then forget what was said.

On with the challenge. One of the points in the message was that we should not be jealous of our brothers and sisters in the Lord, but rather to find Godly characteristics in their lives and see how we can learn from them. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Too often, we would rather pity our fellow believers for how they don't measure up to our standards, but we should instead look for the good things and try to learn from them as we follow the Lord together. If we all did this honestly, those areas that others have problems with would look to good examples and assess where they need to grow.

I know I would much more often look back and see someone else's faults rather than seriously consider my own life to see what must be changed. We need role models for Godly living, and can look to the Bible and Jesus specifically. Yet, it is sometimes easier to see Christlike examples lived out before our eyes. Some of us are visual learners and need to experience something firsthand to put it into practice. It is with all this in mind that we wanted to challenge you all. Sara had a wonderful idea and we have started, but it will take some time, dedication, and a true desire to see God's people through the filter of "what can I learn from them?"

Rather than issue demands, I will tell you what we did, and would welcome a better way. Implement this one your own way and see how God leads.

We made a list of some folks we know(this list will be LONG by the time we are done) and gave each person a page in a notebook. We started with a few we will see before we leave Maine. We wrote down (only) spiritual characteristics that we see lived out in their lives. We then agreed that we would pray for a person, and write them an encouraging note to let them know that we see God at work in their lives, and how specifically that inspires us to follow the Lord more closely. This keeps the positive in focus and helps us to appreciate our brothers and sisters. It also reminds us to pray for them, and will encourage them when they receive a note from someone who loves them and wants to edify them.

We will pick a few families a week, maybe one per day to pray for, consider, and write to. I also considered that this type of thing could become a way of life, to consider others higher than ourselves and stop looking for ways to fix people and be critical, but instead to try to live a Godly example and lift up our Lord while also seeking to learn from them.

One minor flaw in our system has been noticed. It isn't a flaw in the system, but rather in our lives in general. You can not write spiritual encouragement or learn from people you don't really know. We have to be proactive in learning more about those we are in fellowship with. So, we must continue to get to know one another, to see one another for the purpose of encouragement, to learn from each other, and to build up the body of Christ by working together with the other members of His body to adequately fulfill our jobs in His body, the church, that marvelous collective of all sinners saved by His grace and being ever conformed more into the image of Jesus Christ.

Please let me know if you have improvements, variations, or have put this into practice in your lives. I understand writing cards or letters may not work for everyone, but I would encourage you to try it. Seeing other believers as someone to learn from and be encouraged by is much better than the trap I have sometimes fallen into of tearing one another down to try to get myself higher. Listen to the message by Elijah , he says it better than me.