7/1/22

Tyler, a wretch ransomed by divine mercy, an adopted child of God, sibling of Christ, member of Christ’s body, and pastor of ECPC by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

To ECPC, my beloved church family:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

A short time ago someone gave me a dose of Hebrews 3. A little over ½ way through the chapter it says, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

This line, “Exhort one another every day,” caught my attention. And in connection with the command to, ‘exhort one another every day’ there’s a reference to, ‘Not hardening your heart when you hear the voice of God.’ So apparently there’s a link between us exhorting each other every day, and hearing the voice of God! Moreover, there is talk of ‘holding fast our confidence, boasting, and hope in belonging to the household of Jesus.’

So all of this has me thinking, ‘What, specifically & practically, can we be confidently exhorting one another daily to do?’ In other words, what exhortations would I boldly & joyfully put on my TOP 10 list of exhortations?

  1. I boldly & joyfully exhort captious people to agree in the Lord (Philippians 4:2).
  2. I boldly & joyfully exhort all of you to clothe yourselves with humility toward one another (1 Peter 5:5).
  3. I boldly & joyfully exhort all of you not to be quarrelsome, but be kind to everyone, patiently enduring evil, correcting your opponents with gentleness (2 Timothy 2:24-25).
  4. I boldly & joyfully exhort all of you to keep away from any brother walking in idleness, and if anyone is not willing to work, let them not eat and let them be ashamed (2 Thessalonians 3:6,10,14).
  5. I boldly & joyfully exhort all of you to work quietly and earn your own living (1 Thessalonians 4:11 & 2 Thessalonians 3:12)
  6. I boldly & joyfully exhort married couples to hold fast to each other, and irrevocably believe that two have become one flesh, and be assured that they are no longer two but one flesh; and what therefore God has joined together, let not man separate (Mark 10:7-8).
  7. I boldly & joyfully exhort children to obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord (Colossians 3:20).
  8. I boldly & joyfully exhort all of you to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded us (Matthew 28:19-20).
  9. I boldly & joyfully exhort all of you – when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God (Leviticus 19:9-10).
  10. I boldly & joyfully exhort all of you to be devoted to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers; and all who believe ought to be together and have all things in common; day by day attending temple together and breaking bread in their homes, receiving their food with glad and generous hearts (Acts 2:42,44,46).  

O ECPC, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.

Grace be with you.