Fellowship

Read this great story of a gentleman's visit to a church in Saudi Arabia - http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/standing-strong-through-the-storm/standing-strong-through-the-storm-april-22.html

The reason for believers taking this risk is wrapped up in the significant word - encouragement. 

Some try to use the word - serving - as a contemporary synonym for this because it is about generously responding to other people's needs - thus encouraging them.  However, encouragement has a subtle nuance that goes beyond the concept and motivation of serving others.

Encouragement, as fellowship, requires time spent together.  It's the act of inspiring others with renewed courage, spirit or hope.  In humility, each of us must come to the point where we acknowledge we need massive doses of it regularly.

“One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement…It is easy to laugh
at men’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full  of discouragers.

We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many times a word of praise
or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the
man who speaks such a word.”
–The Letter to the Hebrews, William Barclay

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Spiritual Strength

“We have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before sunset in which to win them." Robert Moffat

 "Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil." - Ephesians 6:11

 All forms of prayer, to be effective. Must be Spirit-led, Spirit-directed. We must first pray for discernment from the Holy Spirit as to what to pray, who to pray for, what the points of prayer and ministry are, for the person or thing being prayed for, and how to pray it We must then "pray through", that is, pray with consistency, and as often as necessary, as led by the Holy Spirit, until we perceive that we have a release from the Holy Spirit not to pray it out anymore. This is the usual sip that the prayer of intercession or supplication has been answered in the Spirit-realm. It will only be a matter of time before the result manifests in the natural realm. Pray spontaneously from the heart, yielded to the Holy Spirit. Pray, asking, binding, loosing, and decreeing or agreeing, in Jesus’ Name. Include faith confessions in this type of prayer when led to do so by the Holy Spirit.

It is God’s will that Christians remain as emotionally and spiritually and physically bruised-free and victorious as possible through every attack the devil launches against them. Nevertheless, many spiritual battles have inflicted needless pain on born again believers, or will inflict needless pain, simply because Christian believers aren't aware that the devil is the one they primarily need to be waging spiritual war against during their time of struggle. Satan will do everything he can to try to get us to believe that he is not the instigator or originator of our pain. He wants us believing it is people period ... not people being influenced by the devil that is causing our pain. Or more deceptive still, he wants us believing God is the one behind it all.

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Enjoying the Trip

"Joy, which is the small publicity of the pagan," said Chesterton, "is the gigantic secret of the Christian."

"I want to bring this to a point. Remember, dear friend, what we need is to come to decision and
action. There are in Scripture two very different sorts of Christians. The Bible speaks in Romans,
Corinthians and Galatians about yielding to the flesh; and that is the life of tens of thousands of
believers. All their lack of joy in the Holy Ghost, and their lack of the liberty He gives, is just
owing to the flesh. The Spirit is within them, but the flesh rules the life. To be led by the Spirit of
God is what they need. Would God that I could make every child of His realize what it means
that the everlasting God has given His dear Son, Christ Jesus, to watch over you every day, and
that what you have to do is to trust; and that the work of the Holy Spirit is to enable you. every
moment to remember Jesus, and to trust Him! The Spirit has come to keep the link with Him
unbroken every moment. Praise God for the Holy Ghost! We are so accustomed to think of the
Holy Spirit as a luxury, for special times, or for special ministers and men. But the Holy Spirit is
necessary for every believer, every moment of the day. Praise God you have Him, and that He
gives you the full experience of the deliverance in Christ, as He makes you free from the power
of sin."

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