Hebrews 3:12-13 – See to it, brothers (and sisters), that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

In our home, one sure sign of spring is the beginning of Little League. Sometimes I think we live on the field, between scheduled practices and games for two sons on different teams. As a non-ball playing parent, I have been struck with the team aspect of playing ball. Oh, I know that can vary depending on the coach, but what I have seen as I sit in the bleachers cheering on all the boys is the sense of encouragement among the players. To hear those familiar words among the team players, "It's OK, Daniel, you can do it…"; "Great catch; Sarah"; "Good play, Fred"; "That's OK, you'll get it next time Sandy". As I sit and witness this sense of encouragement, I can't help but think that this is what we need more of in our churches. When is the last time we have gone out of our way to tell the people in our own church family that what they are doing is important? When was the last time you encouraged the people in the kitchen, or those looking after the children in the nursery or a Sunday School teacher or the people who come early to hand you your bulletin and give you a smile, the choir leader or even the choir members who are there each week providing us with wonderful music so we can worship God and sing to His glory? The list of people in our church family who need to be encouraged is endless. Why not follow the example of our Little League boys and girls today and begin to be a team player — encourage someone today!

Prayer: Loving God, we thank you that you have called us to be a part of your family and as part of your family, we are part of a team. Help us to be a good player and help us to encourage the other members on our team. Amen.

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About the author:

Ruth McCowan <rbmccowan@shaw.ca>
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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