"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." - Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT

Thoughts for Today

We can show love for the family of believers by thinking of ways to motivate one another to reach out with acts of love and good works.

Notice this scripture doesn't call us just to motivate one another. It says to think of ways to motivate one another. We aren't supposed to motivate others just when the opportunity presents itself (although we should do that). We are supposed to think of ways to motivate one another. To pray for ways to encourage one another. God wants us to be proactive in motivating others to do good. .

Consider this …

Today's scripture tells us that meeting together is an important ingredient to motivating and encouraging one another. We can't motivate people if we don't see them! Meeting together to encourage one another strengthens us as the body of Christ.

Today's world brings great challenges. Financial challenges. Family challenges. Ministry challenges. The battle between sin and righteousness grows sharper. We need to be courageous to reach out to lost and hurting people. We need to motivate one another to acts of love and good works to win those people to Jesus. This is not a time for isolation or withdrawal. This is a time for us to seek God together as never before and to continually motivate one another to do what God is calling us to do.

Prayer

Father, open my eyes to the needs of my brothers and sisters. Show me how to encourage them and motive them to acts of love and good works. In Jesus' name . . .

 These thoughts were drawn from …Insight Group: Discover the Path to Christian Character by Jimmy Ray Lee, D.Min. With its emphasis on developing Christian character it is a powerful group for those who want to be sure to prevent life-controlling problems from developing in their lives, as well as for those who need to overcome a current problem.

• It enhances people's understanding of themselves and others.
• It helps people bond together in meaningful relationships.
• It helps prepare people for more meaningful relationships in subsequent small groups like home groups and Sunday school classes.
• It surfaces people for help who may otherwise never seek help.
• It helps break down the segregation of people in churches, turning "those people" and "our kind of people" into just "us."
• It helps prepare people to minister to others.
• It serves as a powerful evangelistic tool by ministering to people's felt needs and then pointing them to Christ.

Note: This curriculum was written especially for small groups, and we encourage people to use it that way. However, it can also be used effectively as a personal study for individuals or couples.