Stimulate to Love and Good Deeds

[S] Hebrews 10:24-25, 39 --

²⁴and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

²⁵not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

³⁹But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.

[O] Gathering with other people are fun and quite needed to balance the social aspects of our lives. In fact, the social networking such as MySpace and Facebook are quite popular because it provides a medium to socially "gather" with friends you would otherwise have less time gathering or socializing. One of the down sides of these social networking sites is that you end up sinking a lot of time on there -- yes, it's fun and keeps the friendship going by sharing pictures of what's happening in our lives but nevertheless you do have to spend a lot of time there. Likewise, our physical gatherings are also necessary to keep our friendship nurturing but at times we may just be doing out of habit or obligation. Once we lose the purpose of our gatherings then it can easily become the habitual gatherings. Verse 24 say to stimulate each other to love and do good deeds. The word stimulate gives me the picture of everyone actively and intentionally encouraging one another to live out Christ-centered lives. And verse 39 puts the icing on the cake by showing us that in the end, it is about preserving of the soul -- which to me, means leading others to have personal relationship with Jesus and/or proving caring and healing to those around.

[A] Stimulate those around me to love and do good deeds. Be someone who others enjoy having around.

[P] Dear God, You have definitely stimulated me to draw closer to You; and I would like for that to continue on to other people around me. I want to start with my family members and please allow me to be the conduit to carry forward such passion to my co-workers, neighbors, and friends. In Jesus' name. Amen.