*RESTORATION TODAY*
*FRIDAY 21ST JULY 2017*
*BY PASTOR DR. G.O. OLUTOLA JP.*
*THEME: SUPPORT THE WEAK*

_"Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. I Thessalonian 5: 14 *_

How does the world see weak people? Not favourably, usually. But the Church sees the weak as dignified human beings in the image of God. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul tells all believers to comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient to everyone in the Church. That means that the old ways of survival of the fittest don't work in the Church.

What we're to do is hold each other up. But the weak we're to help and listen to might not look like a homeless person begging for alms. The weak might look like someone fed up with the Church and going through a time of bitterness. When those around us are weak and look close to giving up, we don't criticize them for losing faith. No, we draw even closer to emphathise and listen. The weak might be a single parent who's doubting again. Or even we ourselves, on a day when we find ourselves caught off guard and going through a dark night of the soul.

It won?t always be easy to support the weak. But the reason we're to hold each other up is that we're all one boy. Just like your brain would care if your foot started hanging off by a thread, Jesus cares if one part of His body starts to fail. So when we're living in His Spirit - we will care, too.

*ACTION POINTS:*
Next time you go to Church, look for someone you can support, and spend some time talking with them after the service.

*SCRIPTURES:*
Isaiah 35: 4
Romans 14: 1; 15: 1
I Thessalonians 2: 11

*PRAYER POINTS:*
1. Father, give me the grace to identify people that needs support in the name of Jesus.

2. Lord, make my life an encouragement for the weak in the name of Jesus

3. Father, strengthen everyone that is weak in my local assembly in the name of Jesus

*DAILY BIBLE READING:*
Judges 16
Isaiah 37: 8 - 38
I Corinthians 13.