Surviving and Thriving

Welcome to today's encouragement from the Our Daily Bread devotional. Our reading titled, Surviving and Thriving, was written by Ann Cetus. The Crudes, an animated caveman family, believe that the only way to survive is if the pack, their small family, stays together. They're afraid of the world and others, so when looking for a safe place to live, they're filled with fear after discovering a strange family already in the area they've chosen. But they soon learn to embrace the differences of their new neighbors, draw strength from them, and survive together. They find that they actually enjoy them and that they do need others to live life fully. It can be risky to be in relationship.

People can and do hurt us. Yet it's for good reason God put His people together in a body, the Church. In fellowship with others, we grow to maturity. We learn to depend on Him to help us be humble and gentle and patient.

We help each other by building each other up in love. When we gather together, we use our gifts and learn from others who use theirs, which in turn equips us in our walk with God and service for Him. As He leads you, look for your place among God's people if you haven't found it yet.

You'll do more than survive. In shared love, you'll bring honor to God and grow to be more like Jesus. And may we all depend on Him as we walk through a growing relationship with Jesus and others.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ephesians chapter 4 verses 4 through 16. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says, when He ascended on high, He took many captives and gave gifts to His people. What does He ascended mean except that He also descended to the lower earthly regions?

He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens in order to fill the whole universe. So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers to equip His people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ.

From Him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. Let's pray. Lord, we thank You for putting us together in Your family. Help us fill our place well so that we might grow and help others to know You better. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening today. My name is Rachelle Traub and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.