Everbody Needs Encouragement

Everyone needs encouragement from time to time...and for most folks anytime is a great time. A found a little story somewhere that conveys that thought. It's about a man who joined a monastery. He wanted to become a monk...but he had to submit to the discipline. The young man was allowed to enter the monastery, but the code was silence. At the end of one year, he would be allowed to speak only two words. After the first year, he said: "Food...cold."
Off to another year of silence. After the second year: "Bed...hard." After the third year of silence he couldn't stand it any longer. His two words were "I...quit!"
His superior responded: "I'm not surprised -- all you've done since you've been here is complain."
My guess is that a little encouragement along the way may have made the difference. "Lord, help me to be an encourager today!"

God's Pardon

I preached about "pardon" yesterday. What an amazing gift that God is so willing to give! Isaiah 55 says that God will "freely pardon." I get the sense of abundance and eagerness. I never tire of thinking about and preaching about the love, mercy, gracious, compassionate God who pardons us and sets us free.