Devotion on Encouragement written by Feliza Cabrera

It's what we all love to receive but seldom get. On occasion there are a few who receive it frequently and others not so much. We can go for long periods of time, at times, with very little of it. . . and we get along, we survive, we manage. When it is paired with another thing it's even better. What is it? It's called encouragement and paired with love it can go far in making a difference in someone's life.

Just as Paul admonishes through God's Word, I too admonish you through this devotion. Let yourself be defined by Christ. Colossians chapter 3 says "Dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all purpose garment. Never be without it." (The Message).

Ecclesiastes 4:9 says "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: if one falls down, his friend can help him up." (From The Message)

Let's give room to each other for growth. Let us encourage one another by sharing our lives with one another. Many of you may do this already. . . it's good to hear about our struggles, our blessings and our aspirations. It can become too easy to stay in a protected shell, especially if you are a part of a transient community. However, I want to encourage you to expand your sight in this area.

Hebrews 3:13 says, "... encourage one another daily, daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Chapter 10:25 says "Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (The Message)

Give yourself permission to be a blessing without borders to someone else. As we share personal struggles it can show someone else that they are not alone and that you are not perfect or are a robotic Christian. Many times we see Christians in high places of leadership such as Pastors, Teachers, Elders, Deacons and as Men's and Women's Ministry Directors...if this is you, don't think for one minute that you can't reveal the real you!

Learn to be transparent before the people that God has entrusted in your care. At the same time be responsible for your words and actions as you lead, but lead by example. People need to see that you are an average "Joe" and have the same struggles as they do. Don't be a "militant Christian". What an opportunity you have to share how "I deal with this but God helps me get through it!"

As we share personal blessings, the things we have learned, received and have been able to do, it provides another testament of God's love and desire to bless His children through your testimony. And as we share our aspirations and ideas, we can inspire and motivate others and in turn receive encouragement from others to continue the race that God has set before us.

The "How To" guide on supporting your missionaries...written by Feliza Cabrera

Disclaimer:  The following post is not intended to make anyone who reads this feel "guilty" but only to serve as a guide and reminder that many missionaries disappear from a case of being "out of sight - out of mind". This post is to also serve as a "little flag" to wave out there and hopefully bring awareness to the needs of missionaries.  We welcome your comments and thoughts on how your church supports missionaries (no spam), we'd love to hear from you. I will also include links to the resources I found that you may or may not know about that will help you as you support or consider supporting missionaries around the world.

Most Christian churches across America and many around the world have a MST (missionary support team). They also have "Mission Sundays" and share ways that you can be a blessing to the home church missionaries or missionaries in general. I have always admired those churches who have taken the time and a small space, whether it be a designated prayer bulletin board for their missionaries or a glass display case. As I was doing my own research on raising support, I came across different Christian church and Christian denomination websites that had their own links with suggestions and ideas of how they have supported their own members as they serve out in the field as a missionary. What a blessing it is for a missionary to receive messages of encouragement through mail, e-mail or other types of social media from the body of Christ.

What kind of support does a missionary need these days? Here are 4-

• Spiritual Support - prayer is so very needed. Prayer is like grains of sand that fills in the gaps of a stone pathway to help make it straight and even.
• Emotional Support- encouragement is needed just as much as prayer! Group cards, e-mails, letters, packages...all tell that special missionary not to give up or be discouraged and remind them of their calling and how their sacrifices mean so much.(*See extra note).
• Financial Support- This goes without saying yet there are many missionaries that do not receive regular monthly support but small chunks here or there and very spaced apart. A missionary and overseas ministry must have a budget to be able to operate effectively if at all.
• Physical Support- sometimes more laborers are needed by way of missions teams and volunteers to stand alongside the missionaries and help through construction projects, teaching and reaching for Christ.

*In regards to emotional support...I realized tonight how much we in the U.S.A. value, respect, and love our military and those soldiers who make a sacrifice, by choice, to serve and protect our country! In my own family their are many veterans and we honor them whole heatedly. Sending cards and special packages to active duty soldiers in the past 5-10 years has been a blessing for me and my kids as we knew that those packages would be opened with much excitement from an emotionally and spiritually thirsty soldier. We never knew some of the soldiers directly or which ones actually received our boxes but we did know we were making a difference, one soldier at a time. And yet, there are countless missionaries who make sacrifices as Soldiers of the Light to serve in the Lord's Army, reaching out in the dark, many putting themselves at risk for the Gospel. Some live in remote, rural areas, others in busy cities, but all leaving their comforts of home; families and friends for the sake of the lost in a unique setting. These Soldiers of the Light are not honored on Fox News or CNN, for many, there is no town parade to receive them home, no welcome home banquets and no fanfare. I do applaud those Christian denominations and churches big and small who take time to support their missionaries throughout the year who are serving Christ in this capacity. But I hope to bring awareness to many other churches out there and small churches who do support different missions whether those missions were birthed from your church body or not those missions and missionaries all serve the same God. If your church does not have a MST of some kind then I encourage you to start one, speak to your pastor and church leaders and support your missions. They...we, can't do it alone. (Links are listed on bottom of this Blog's Home Page as Links & Resources.)