Here is some good news for you today which we need, don’t we?

II Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

YOU ARE A NEW CREATION! This is good news!!!!   Since you are a new creation, ‘Let your love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

The verb ‘outdo’ in the Greek means taking the lead or being out in front.  The word honor is defined as regarding or treating someone with admiration, respect, appreciation, and esteem.  So, if you put the two together as they are in Romans 12:10, it reads “take the lead in showing admiration, respect, appreciation, and esteem.”

Here are a few examples from scripture:

I Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Take the lead in encouraging and building one another up! If you have a thought cross your mind that is encouraging toward a brother or sister in Christ, either say it or send it in a letter.  I think the place where this is best done is in marriage and parenting.  Somehow it’s easy to encourage a friend and difficult to encourage a spouse or children.

Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Take the lead in stirring one another up to love and good works!  There are many ways to do this. Be creative!

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Take the lead in not letting corrupt talk come out of your mouth! Remember the old has gone and the new has come.  It takes nothing to be critical.  It’s easy.  What is hard, but worth it, is being encouraging.  Again, marriage is where this is needed most, I think.

I Peter 4:8-10 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

Take the lead in loving earnestly, showing hospitality, and not grumbling!  Grumbling is so easy to do just like being critical.  Resist the temptation to grumble and fuss.  Love earnestly, serve your family, and have people over.  Do all it without throwing a fuss.

Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Take the lead in bearing each other’s burdens! After my mother died, many sent letters right away and this helped so much, but there were a few that remembered a year later and years later which helped even more.  Be creative here.  Ask the Lord how He wants you to lead out in bearing another’s burden.  He will show you.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Take the lead in lifting up a friend in Christ! Again, I think this is best played out in marriage.  We ought to be a safe place for our spouses and lead out in this.  We should not wait for the other to do such and such, we should, by God’s grace, just do it.  

Proverbs 12:25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

Take the lead in saying a good word!  If you see that your husband, children, or friends are discouraged, then give them a word of encouragement. My mother used to say, “A word of encouragement doth wonders.”

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Take the lead in knowing God’s word!  Take the lead in teaching and admonishing!  Take the lead in singing all kinds of songs.  Take the lead in being thankful!  Wow, there is so much there.  Don’t wait for others to do these things, you do it, lead out trusting that those in your midst will follow.

Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Take the lead in counting others more significant than yourself!  Again, this is best played out in marriage.  Easier said than done, but worth it!

II Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Take the lead and comfort those going through difficulty!  The Lord comforts us and so we, in Him, can do the same.  Be creative!

Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Take the lead and be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving! Again, marriage…..pursue this in your marriages.  Pursue this in your parenting.  Pursue this in your friendships.

In closing, as you do these things, remember who you are doing them for. Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Take Christ’s lead who does all these things perfectly.  He is the One we are to follow in the command to ‘outdo one another in showing honor.’ Lead out remembering who He is and who you are in Him showing others admiration, respect, appreciation, and esteem.  Be a doer of the Word because you, in Christ, are a new creation.

Blessings to you,

Heather

When You Pray…Pray for:

1. Yourself.  Pray that you would ‘outdo one another in showing in honor’ in your marriages, parenting, and friendships.
2. Your spouse.  Pray for same for them.
3. Your children. Pray that your children and/or grandchildren would grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)
4. It’s Thursday, so pray for your spouse’s extended family…grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins.  If their family is big, then split them up over all the Thursdays of the month.

I have posted this song before but here it is again…Do Everything by Steven Curtis Chapman https://youtu.be/FEqdDdvFXZ0