Encouragement for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek
21 November 2025
Reading From James 3
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.”
—James 3:1-2
Those who are called as minister as apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers are held to a higher standard by the Lord. These are not gifts that should be functioned in flippantly, but rather approached with humility, reverence and grace. We need to encourage and support one another in the gifts and callings that the Spirit flows through us with.
If the Apostle James, the brother of our Lord Jesus, can admit that “we all stumble in many ways,” and include himself with all of us, then there is hope for even the least among us! None of us are perfect except Jesus. The Bible says, “there is no one righteous, not even one.”[1] Perfection is both a process and a goal as we follow the Lord.
Total perfection cannot be a reality for us on this side of Glory, for as long as we live in the corrupted tent of the body, we will struggle with imperfections and shortcomings. That is why we need the grace and mercy of the Lord in our lives and we need to humbly share that grace and mercy with one another. As we grow together, we become more like Jesus and the culmination of that process of perfection, the journey of sanctification and spiritual growth, is our reunion in Heaven where we will all finally be like Him.
“Lord God, fill Your children with Your love. I pray that each of us would have the humility enough to realize that we struggle in many ways and therefore we need to be more compassionate and forgiving of our brothers and sisters. Help us to build each other up in the faith and encourage one another to keep moving forward toward the goal. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray these things. Amen.”
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
—Hebrews 10:23-25
[1] Romans 3:10, Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-3
Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God 
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