Be encouraged and to encourage

Hebrews 10:24-25 says “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,as it is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

There is something fascinating about being a Christian. And that is wherever you go the Spirit of God motivates you and puts a desire in your heart to find a Christian church where you can find worship, encouragement and be an encourager to others even though it is your first visit to that church. When my wife and I travel anywhere we always have the inclination to look for a church where we can worship Him together with God’s people. Yesterday 31 March 2019 we went to Christ Church in the Old City of Jerusalem. On the wall by the door there is this verse Psalm 122:6 “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem ; May they prosper who love you”.

This verse reminded me of my days in the Bible College when my prayer partner and I would pray under the tree and we would always pray for the peace of Jerusalem. There is so much evidence in History that those who love Jerusalem and pray for it’s peace, have prospered. And those who have forsaken her, even kingdoms and nations have fallen. It is a great privilege to pray for the peace of Jerusalem at the Western Wall. When we entered the church yesterday, the word of God was read and the preacher preached a very sound message on Luke 15. No doubt the whole congregation was encouraged. Even the Jewish girl who came for the first time was encouraged and moved with emotion. She said to me, “I am Jewish and this is my first time to be here. And I said to her we both believe in the Bible and then she said, “That is our connection”. I hope that the words of encouragement and the word preached are an encouragement in her life.

The songs and hymns that were chosen were beautiful and there was this feeling of awesomeness in our worship. The whole church was full, maybe 200 people or more. A lot of them were people from different nations. My wife felt at home as she could hear her language all around her. People were talking Dutch and she was able to be an encouragement to a widowed lady.

We thank God that wherever we go the desire of our hearts is to glorify Him and be an encouragement to others. Let us continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. The Psalmist said in verses 1&2 of Psalm 122 “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.” This is our 2nd time being here and our hearts never cease to be amazed of the awesomeness of this place. The privilege to be here is all because of God’s grace.