When was the last time you encouraged a friend?

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

I believe that if my title was, "When was the last time you made fun of a friend", many of us would be able to actually say, " Hey yesterday I .... ". Words are a very powerful tool. Whatever we say can actually make a difference in people's life both positively and negatively. The bible tells us to encourage one another. What's the meaning of encourage?

To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten.
To give support to; foster.
To stimulate; spur.

I believe that in our christian lives, the fact that we live in a sinful world like ours, we constantly need each other's encouragement and edification. We dont need to see our friends fall into a pit or make a mistake before we encourage them. Sometimes, perhaps if we encourage them enough, we can actually prevent them from falling into that pit or making that mistake...so the next time you see a fellow brother/sister in Christ.... give them a smile and encourge them along their daily walk with God. We'll never know what impact we have on their lives!