Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“I am sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are, and to encourage your hearts.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, August 6, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Community is everything. If the past 20 months or so have taught us anything, it’s that we need each other. Being forced to separate from our in-person church communities and other communities of support drove us to find new ways to connect any way we could. Paul wrote letters to his various communities because he couldn’t be there himself, and he sent along apostles like Tychicus and Phoebe to deliver those letters and interpret them for him—for this very purpose,…to encourage their hearts.
Our hearts need encouraging. We can read letters from Paul (in all their human imperfection) and the words of God in scripture any time we want. But it is when these words of encouragement come from another human being that I most take heart. May we soon be back together in the presence of God and of one another, to let everyone know how we are, and to encourage each other’s hearts.
What am I most looking forward to when my communities gather in person again?
![1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24], God’s Care for the Widow](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/bf37035e-33d5-439f-a0d6-a68b02d0f1bc/24-11-03.jpg)
