Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Confidence”
Our Bible verse for today: “… and they sent out Barnabas to travel as far as Antioch … for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” Acts 11:22; 24 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “It takes a healthy sense of self-confidence to stay focused on blessing others.”
Barnabas is one of my favorite people in the New Testament. “Barnabas” was not his given name. His real name was Joseph but we learn in Acts 4:36 that once they got to know him the Apostles nicknamed him “Barnabas”, which means “Son of Encouragement”.
The Bible doesn’t tell us a lot about Barnabas but what we do know is that he was a generous man who shared his resources joyfully with his church family (Acts 4:36); he was not afraid to befriend outcasts such as the new convert Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:27); he was a dependable man who could be trusted with important ministry tasks (Acts 11:22); he endured hardship and danger for the cause of Christ (Acts 13:3); he was willing to serve as a mentor to younger Christians such as his nephew John Mark (Acts 15:39); and of course, he was a great encourager of people (Acts 4:36).
I believe it requires a great deal of self-confidence and spiritual maturity to continually focus your time and attention on being a blessing to others. The natural human tendency is to be self-centered – to worry about our own wants, needs, and desires. It takes a contented and confident person, one who fully trusts in the Lord’s provision and protection for his own life, to continually focus on blessing and encouraging others. Barnabas was that man. In his example we see the words of Jesus come alive, “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.” (Matthew 20:26)
I want to encourage all of us today to be intentional about blessing and encouraging others. Trust the Lord to take care of you and your needs, while you bless others in His Name. Wouldn’t this world be a better place if all of us were striving to be “Sons and Daughters of Encouragement”?
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 