Our Daily Dose Multi-Vitamin

A - Abide In Christ

The word abide means to remain in place, to continue in existence; endure, dwell or reside.
Our relationship with Jesus must be steadfast, and unwavering not shaken or shaped by our fears, desires, or worldly struggles, we are to place complete trust in him, he is the author of our salvation. The Bible says there is no other name by which you can be saved (Acts 4:10-12), he is the true vine we are the branches. A branch cannot bear fruit without the life-giving power of the vine it withers and dries to be gathered and thrown into the fire and burned (John 15:4-6). If we are to have a fruitful spirit-filled life our power must come from the one who gives life. Jesus says " I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father unless by me (John 14:6)" To have the personal relationship Jesus wants and deserves in our lives we must completely surrender to him and his authority.

B - Believe Through Faith

Popular thought among many is belief and faith have the same meaning, while belief is in the existence of a person, place, or thing, faith takes on the added ideas of trust and commitment. If we believe Jesus lived and was crucified on a cross, buried and resurrected on the third day we must also trust in him faithfully for all our needs including salvation. "Jesus says that if we have the faith like a grain of mustard seed we can say to the mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, nothing is impossible for you." (Matt 17:20) How do we build this type of faith? The Bible says that faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of God (Romans 10:17). We cannot earn it by keeping the law (Galatians 2:16 3:2, 3:5). We must examine and test ourselves making sure that we remain in the faith of Jesus Christ and his will for us (2 Corinthians 13:5). James says that we should count it all joy when we fall into trials of various kinds, the testing of our faith produces steadfastness and when steadfastness has its full effect we are made perfect and complete lacking nothing (James 1:2-4). If we are to have a perfect faith we must remain committed, sacrifice ourselves daily, and live for Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith.

C - Commitment To God

Our greatest commitment should be to God. Jesus says that you should love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30). If we are to love God with our entire being we must make him our first love. Though we may know God must be our first love. How do we make that a reality? Sometimes loving, trusting, and believing in an invisible God is much harder than loving a spouse. Praying to God is more difficult than reaching out to a friend for advice.

If we are to make God our first love, then he deserves the better part of our time, effort, and energy. Those we love are our priority and where we invest most of our time. When we put God first, we choose to commit that time, energy, and effort to him.
"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act' (Psalm 37:5)

Pray without ceasing

"Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God's will for you in Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Study the Bible

"I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11)

Be in Community

"Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another" (Psalm 27:17)

D - Discipling Others

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). Brothers and sisters, we must also be that light to the world, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14). Jesus says we are to go out into the world and spread the Gospel by preaching and teaching others (Matthew 28:19-20).

We are not all called to be world missionaries, but we are called to be missionaries to our neighbors and in our communities. We must live lives that reflect the righteousness of Jesus and his values, but how? Paul instructs Timothy to be a good soldier for Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:1-13), a good soldier follows the command of his officers and does only what he is ordered. He doesn't involve himself in the affairs of the world around him. He is to share in the sufferings of his fellow soldiers and aim to please the one who enlisted him.

We are to be a witness to the lost and the broken to remind one another of Jesus' Love and his sacrifice on the cross, his resurrection from the grave, and his ascension to the Father so they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:8-13). Preach the word, be ready always to reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. We are to be sober-minded, endure suffering, and do the work of an evangelist (2 Tim 4:1-5).

E - Encourage one another

The Bible warns us that the devil is like a roaring lion prowling around seeking someone to devour(1 Peter 5:8). The lion is a stealthy and calculated creature that lay in wait patiently before pouncing on its prey. Once the lions attack they prefer to go after the weaker, older less agile of the herd for better success.

Dear reader, we are the weaker less agile of the herd when we choose to live lives of isolation separating ourselves from other Christians believing we are strong enough to stand without the encouragement of our friends and family to strengthen us. We need one another if we are to remain strong in the faith. The world today is filled with sin, hate, and destruction, we become discouraged and filled with doubt and fear, and we begin to question everything we believe, everything we know.

What is truth?
Why does God allow evil in the world?
Is the World doomed?

Discouragement thrives because of sin and separation from the Father and His will. Sin is evil, it's deceiving, it's discouraging. We become discouraged by what we see, what we hear, and the world around us. but when we speak words of encouragement to one another we begin to live life the way God intended. When we read the Bible we are reminded of Jesus' love for us, how he laid down his life so that we may have eternal life with our Father in heaven, we are encouraged with words of life and hope, and our faith is made stronger.

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." (Ephesians 4:29)

We should never forget what Jesus has done for us, we should continually remind one another over and over again of His love and grace, once we remember the perfect life he lived and his willingness to be sacrificed on a cross for us even while we were sinners it starts to change our perspective and realigns our thoughts with His.

"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25)

The Holy Spirit gives us words of encouragement but many of us are afraid to share them due to our fears and embarrassment, so we keep them inside, but we should challenge ourselves to overcome those fears. Please send that text, make that call, shout it out. Don't allow your worries or self-doubt to keep His words of encouragement from being a blessing to others in need.