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Those of you who are on Facebook have probably played or heard of Words with Friends. It’s a game where you have a set of letters, make the best word you can on the board, and then send it to your friend. Then the friend makes a word and sends it back to you and so forth. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, Words with Friends is basically virtual Scrabble. As in either game you get seven letters to work with on the board. Sometimes you have some pretty good letters where you could make so many great words. But most often it seems we get frustrated because we draw all consonants or all vowels, it’s annoying, I know.

Considering all this, plug the game Words with Friends or Scrabble into real life. Just as if you have seven “good” letters, sometimes you have everything going for you, and things seem to fit right into place. You’ve got a new job that is paying you the right money and has the right benefits. You just paid your car off. You got accepted to that dream college you want to attend. Your family and friends love you and they support you in all that you do. The house is clean. Nothing has been broken or needs fixed lately. The kids are doing great in school. Everything in life is really working out and you’re as happy as a wormless apple being made into a pie by a pastry chef.

Other times you don’t know what to do with your life, you are stressed, there’s too much going on, and you have a “j, x, z, v, k, b, and q” to work with. The dishwasher broke and is leaking all over the kitchen. You have no idea how you’re going to pay your next electric bill or house payment. Something needs fixed on the car… again. You’ve been laid off and can’t find work. You stepped in dog poop in the yard… the worst part is… you don’t have a dog. Everyone seems to be putting you down. No one cares. And every time you think you’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, you draw a blank and you’ve got some hard choices to make.

Most of the time, whether it’s in a word game or real life, we think we have all the “q’s.” You’ve no idea where to put them unless there’s just the right letters to go with it. The good news is, there’s always more letters to draw until the game is over.

So if there’s always more letters to draw, and eventually it all ends anyways… there’s not much to deal with right? No, we still have the most important part of the game to consider: the other players.

Everything in Words with Friends or Scrabble depends on what the other players make. You don’t just have your letters you have the other ones on the board to work with too. Without another player’s words to work off of you can’t take your turn.

So who are these other players in our lives? Christians: our brothers and sisters in Christ who are all working towards the same goal as we are, to finish the game.

So this “game” isn’t Words with Friends anymore, we’re going to call it “Word’s with Christians.”

We need to work with and encourage our fellow Christians in our lives to help us achieve our goal.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 – English Standard Version (ESV) -

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

When another brother or sister in Christ has a “q” in their life, you may have a “u” to help their letter out. We “build one another up” (v.11).

We can accomplish this building each other up with “seven letters” on our boards. Actually with seven words that God tells us to use in Colossians.

Colossians 3:12-17 -English Standard Version (ESV)

“12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 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. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

There are seven words written to us in this passage that tells us how to “play our letters” together.

1. Compassion – We need to have “compassionate hearts” (v.12) towards one another. Not just pretending to want to be helpful to each other, but in our hearts, have compassion to work with each other. This isn’t the same thing as love. Love is a feeling of commitment to someone. Compassion is the urge of acting upon that commitment. Be genuinely compassionate with one another.

2. Kindness – We need to be kind to one another. This is the action of compassion. When there’s an opportunity to help, then do it. Show others that you’re here to build them up. Actually interact and work with others, don’t just be a “nice person”.

3. Humility – We need to have humility. Don’t feel great about how good you are about serving others. Help encourage others without feeling that you’ve earned something. By building someone else up you’re passing on strength to them, don’t take their confidence away by thinking it’s all because of what you did.

4. Meekness – We need to have meekness. Meekness is a combination of humility and patience, it means “gentle” or “passive.” This means we need to have a controlled way of doing things. When you’re encouraging someone else, plan what you’re doing. Have a purpose for your actions. Control what you want to accomplish with gentleness.

5. Patience – We need to have patience with one another. Don’t get upset or frustrated with one of your fellow Christians. When there’s someone who needs support, don’t rush them. Build someone at their pace, everyone is different. Everyone works in different ways and has different needs. Give the same amount of attention and help to every Christian. “Bearing with one another”(v.13) is how we have patience.

6. Forgiveness – We need to forgive one another. When someone hasn’t helped you in the right way or someone has offended you… Forgive. When someone else isn’t “playing their words” right… forgive. “if one has a complaint against another” (v.13) Forgive.

7. Love- We need to do all of this with love. If you’re going to build someone else up, you have to love doing it. Love is what “binds everything together in perfect harmony” (v.14).

These “Words with Christians” we need to use should become a natural and regular part of our walk with Christ. Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love should be on our “playing board” if we’re going to work towards our goal together.

You may draw different letters than you want, and it may be difficult at times, but working together we can make the words we need to finish the game.

- Rodney

“Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” – Hebrews 12:1

Referring to a sporting event of his day, the apostle Paul tells of a runner, who is encouraged by onlookers to win the race. Their support is a primary and contributing factor in victory.

Hometown fans do make a big difference. Sociologists Barry Schwartz and Stephen Barsky examined wins and losses in athletic events. To no one’s surprise, they learned that teams win more games at home than they do “away games”—not because of the familiarity of the home field or court, or not having “traveling fatigue”, but because of the psychological support of the hometown boosters. Loud cheers and applause for good plays serve as reinforcement for the home town team, who are motivated to try harder for another home run or another touch down or a 3-pointer. It indeed would be a boring game to just sit here quietly on the side-line if no one said a word.

I think this might be applied to the church, also. I don’t mean that we should get radical and jump the pews or climb the walls or swing from the rafters. But a nod of the head, or an “amen” or a friendly handshake, a pat on the back, or word of encouragement will go a long way toward “winning the game”; and it really “gets good” when someone makes a decision for Christ!

We, who are still living, are still “in the race”, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Let us hear the cheers and the words of encouragement, even the silent nods of the heads from those who surround us from “the bleachers and sidelines”—those who have already run the race and have finished the course.

Let’s hear it for the BIG TEAM: “Go Mighty Church! Go, fight, win! You can do it! There is victory in Jesus!” The angelic “cheerleaders” from the clouds said that He’d be back.

Wait ‘til next time!

- Dale

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh aboutseeking whom he may devour; whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictionsare accomplished in your brethren that are in the world” (I Peter 5:8-9).

In these uncertain and troublesome times, we hear more and more often the words “HighAlert”. World-wide conditions caused by the enemies, often put our military and other informedpersonnel on the alert, not knowing when or where the terrorists will strike or attack. High alertmeans the conditions are favorable or the enemy has warned of his attack plans. We are fortunateto have guards in positions of security: the CIA, Secret Service, etc. But so often the adversary out-smarts us and makes his devastating attacks.The Christian has been put on “High Alert” from two directions. Number One is the devil—that sly, crafty deceiver, called Satan. Sometimes he figures out his way of attack and comes infrom “the back door”, or maybe from the front door that we leave open!He attacked the apostle Peter and gave him a “knock-down” blow, from which he recovered.He gave Judas a “knock-out” blow, from which he did not recover. Satan even attacked the Lord,but Jesus used the Word-power and put him to flight.While Satan is the “roaring lion” type of enemy, he can make his entrance silently. Toovercome him, two things are needful: we must be alert and we must resist him. It is always a goodfeeling when we see his “tail lights”.The other “High Alert” status is the sudden appearance of our Lord from heaven. He gave usthis warning, nearly two thousand years ago, and now two thousand years later, surely we shouldraise the “High Alert” level!

In that warning, He said, “Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house

cometh, at evening, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly

He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say to all, Watch!” (Mark 13:35-37)

There’s a great day coming, a great day coming, there’s a great day coming by and by; when the saints and the sinners shall be parted right and left. Are you ready for that day to come?”

-Dale