BONUS: Grace Like Jesus!
Grace like Jesus. When love is a verb, it transforms lives. This episode isn't just a conversation—it's a call to action, urging us to step beyond words and into the lives of our fellow believers with the kind of love that Jesus exemplified. We're not just talking about the love you proclaim; we're focusing on the love that shows up, rolls up its sleeves, and gets involved. If you've ever questioned how to genuinely embody Christ in your everyday interactions, consider this your roadmap.
Our journey together takes us alongside the Apostle Paul and his heart for the Galatians, revealing the depth of spiritual kinship and accountability that fuels Christian community. This isn't about surface-level friendships; it's about having that person in your life who dares to ask the hard questions, who cares enough to challenge and support you in your pursuit of holiness. Tune in for an honest exploration of what it means to be a beacon of Christ's love and a participant in the race towards a life that truly honors Him.
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Thank You. I Love You!
SEE YA!
Rick
Be An Encourager...Not A Discourager!
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I know some of y'all can't wait a week to hear from me, so I'm going to start preparing some little short things to just throw out during the week, just to give you something else to listen to, something else to contemplate, something else to study.
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Nothing big, nothing deep Should be fairly short.
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I hope you enjoy it.
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If you do, let me know Rick at RenewedMindsetscom or the contact page at RenewedMindsetscom slash contact.
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Either way, I'd love to hear from you.
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Enjoy, see.
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Ya, we need to be Jesus to other people.
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First and foremost.
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We need to love others unconditionally.
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This means showing acts of love without expecting anything in return or seeking thanks.
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We need to embody Christ in our actions with others, and this goes way beyond just words in our relationships with fellow believers.
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Love requires action, love requires effort, love requires investment in others.
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It's not enough to just say I love you and then be disconnected from their lives.
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Declaring love without practicing love is shallow and it's hypocritical.
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The danger of living this way is that we can easily ignore the Lord's command to become wrapped up in our own little words, neglecting acts of love towards our brothers and sisters in the faith.
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There's no excuse for that.
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The second way we can relate to other believers is by following the example of Paul with the Galatians.
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He invested in their spiritual well-being and showed a concern for their spiritual condition.
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This is a true act of love.
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Caring for each other's spiritual well-being in the body of Christ is important and it's necessary and it shows deep affection.
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It lays the groundwork for building biblically grounded relationships with each other.
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And as we consider Paul's statement in the scriptures from Paul's letter to the Galatians, two things are evident.
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First, there's affirmation you were running well.
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Paul didn't miss an opportunity to encourage his believers.
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He acknowledged the direction on their faith journey.
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He acknowledged the direction on their faith journey and one of the most significant ministries that we can engage in with each other is mutual encouragement.
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The Christian life is challenging, it's exhausting and there's a lot of discouragement in it.
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So where do we turn to to find peace, to find solace?
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We turn to the Lord, and how often does he lift the dark clouds that loom over our heads?
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Through his word spoken through his people, many Christians have been uplifted from the depth of despair and discouragement by other believers who set aside their own concerns and extended words of encouragement.
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I know that this is true because I've personally experienced it from other people, and I'm certain you have too.
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The question is are we the ones providing encouragement or are we just receiving it?
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Because this is a service that all of us are capable of, and it's one that we are all called to do and it's needed so badly.
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And Paul does something else.
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He poses a soul-searching question that holds believers accountable.
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He says who hindered you from obeying the truth?
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Sensitive Christians who might be struggling or drifting into a backsliding place in life?
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Well, this question cuts deep and wide and the impact of it lies in the answer.
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Nobody hinders our relationship with the Lord, except us.
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It's not our spouse, it's not friends, it's not other people in the church, it's not circumstances or surroundings.
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It's our own responsibility.
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We determine the quality of our relationship with our Lord Jesus, and as individuals we hold that power.
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What Paul is talking about here is one of the highest forms of Christian love investing in other believers by exercising spiritual accountability.
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Do you have somebody like this in your life?
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Do you have a brother or a sister in Christ who asks you the tough question about your walk with the Lord?
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Can you name that person right now?
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Can you name the person that you've allowed to have a role in your spiritual life that holds you accountable in your journey?
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Can you you should be able to or do you just keep your relationship with other Christians at a safe distance?
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I hope that each of us has people or a person that we can speak to and have speak into our lives, somebody that will ask challenging questions regarding our prayer life and our devotion to the word, our commitment to the church, our pursuit of holiness.
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Because that's what we're doing, we are racing and running towards holiness.
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Because that's what we're doing, we are racing and running towards holiness.
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I hope that we're actively building relationships with fellow Christians that allow us to be like Paul by providing spiritual accountability.
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That is the definition of biblical fellowship.
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Christ called us to be a community, a body that's privileged and responsible for one another, and we need to strive to emulate him.
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We need to be Jesus in our interactions with other Christians.
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We need to affirm each other, we need to do it in love and we need to commit ourselves to asking the hard questions out of love.
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Father, god, forgive me when I try to shift the blame to others and circumstances when I fail to follow you.
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It's so important People.
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It's so important People.
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The person who holds complete responsibility for our walk with the Lord is the one that we see reflected in the mirror.
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Join me each week at renewedmindsetscom or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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I'm Rick.
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I love you, see ya.
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