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People of Encouragement

By |2024-12-02T01:33:20-05:00December 2nd, 2024|

“Sheer encouragement.” That was the phrase J.R.R. Tolkien used to describe the personal support his friend and colleague C.S. Lewis gave him as he wrote the epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tolkien’s work on the series had been painstaking and exacting, and he’d personally typed out the lengthy manuscripts more than twice. When he sent them to Lewis, Lewis responded, “All the long years you have spent on it are justified.” Lewis and Tolkien didn’t always agree on literary matters, but their shared faith and mutual intellectual interests served as catalysts for great creative accomplishments in both their lives.  

Perhaps Scripture’s best-known encourager was Joseph from Cyprus, better known as Barnabas (meaning “son of encouragement”), the name the apostles gave him (Acts 4:36). It was Barnabas who advocated for Paul to the apostles (9:27). Later, when non-Jewish believers began to place their faith in Jesus, Luke tells us Barnabas “was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” Luke describes him as “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith,” adding that because of him, “a great number of people were brought to the Lord” (11:23–24).

The worth of encouraging words cannot be measured. As we offer words of faith and love to others, God—who gives “eternal encouragement” (2 Thessalonians 2:16)—may move through what we share to transform someone’s life forever. May He help us to offer “sheer encouragement” to someone today!

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Running for Jesus

By |2024-10-08T02:33:26-04:00October 8th, 2024|

When people think about the 100-meter dash, current world-record holder Usain Bolt might come to mind. But we can’t forget about Julia “Hurricane” Hawkins. In 2021, Julia crossed the finish line before all other runners to win the 100-meter dash in the Louisiana Senior Games. Her time was a bit slower than Bolt’s 9.58 seconds—just over sixty seconds. But she was also 105 years old!

There’s a lot to like about a woman who’s still running sprints at her age. And there’s a lot to like about believers in Jesus who never stop running the race with Him as their goal (Hebrews 12:1-2). The psalmist says this about the faithful in the later stages of life: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, . . . they will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green” (92:12–14).

Older believers who follow this kind of standard can find further instruction in Titus. Seasoned men are to be “sound in faith, in love and in endurance” (2:2), and senior women are “to teach what is good” (v. 3).

There’s no call for older believers to stop running the race. Maybe not the way Julia does on the track, but in ways that honor God as He provides the strength they need. Let’s all run the race to serve Him and others well.

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Help Each Other

By |2024-08-17T02:33:21-04:00August 17th, 2024|

When the basketball team from Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) took to the floor for the college basketball tournament, the fans in the stands cheered for the underdog squad. The team hadn’t been expected to make it past the first round, but they did. And now they heard their fight song blaring from the stands though they didn’t have a band with them. The University of Dayton band had learned FDU’s song minutes before the game. The band could have simply played songs they knew, but they chose to learn the song to help another school and another team.

This band’s actions can be seen to symbolize the unity described in Philippians. Paul told the early church at Philippi—and us today—to live in unity, or of “one-mind” (Philippians 2:2) particularly because they were united in Christ. To do this, Paul encouraged them to give up selfish ambition and consider the interests of others before their own.

Valuing others above ourselves may not come naturally, but it’s how we can emulate Christ. Paul wrote, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (v. 3). Instead of focusing only on ourselves, it’s better to humbly look “to the interests of . . . others” (v. 4).

How can we support others? By carefully considering their interests; learning their fight songs or whatever they might need.

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Taking Responsibility for Words

By |2024-07-20T02:33:17-04:00July 20th, 2024|

It’s almost unheard of for institutions to admit guilt after a tragedy. But one year after a seventeen-year-old student’s death by suicide, a prestigious school admitted it “fell tragically short” in protecting him. The student had been relentlessly bullied, and school leaders, despite knowing about the mistreatment, did little to protect him. The school has now committed to taking significant steps to combat bullying and better care for students’ mental health.

The devastation caused by bullying is a stark example of the power of words. In the book of Proverbs, we’re taught to never take the impact of words lightly, for “the tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21). What we say can either lift up or crush another. At its worst, cruel words can be a factor contributing to literal death.  

How do we bring life with what we say? Scripture teaches that our words flow from either wisdom or foolishness (15:2). We find wisdom by drawing close to God, the source of wisdom’s life-giving power (3:13, 17-19).  

We all have a responsibility—in words and actions—to take seriously the impact of words, and to care for and protect those wounded by what others have said. Words can kill, but compassionate words can also heal, becoming a “tree of life” (15:4) to those around us.

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Courage in Christ

By |2024-03-12T02:33:27-04:00March 12th, 2024|

Near the dawn of the nineteenth century, Mary McDowell lived worlds apart from the brutal stockyards of Chicago. Although her home was just twenty miles away, she knew little about the horrific labor conditions that prompted workers in the stockyards to strike. Once she learned of the difficulties faced by them and their families, McDowell moved in and lived amid them—advocating for better conditions. She ministered to their needs, including teaching children at a school in the back of a small shop.

Standing up for better conditions for others—even when not directly impacted—is something Esther did as well. She was the queen of Persia (Esther 2:17) and had a different set of privileges than her Israelite people who’d been dispersed throughout Persia as exiles. Yet Esther took up the cause of the Israelites in Persia and risked her life for them, saying, “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish” (4:16). She could have remained silent, for her husband, the king, didn’t know she was Jewish (2:10).  But, choosing not to ignore her relatives’ pleas for help, she worked wisely and courageously to reveal an evil plot to destroy the Jews.

We may not be able to take on massive causes like Mary McDowell and Queen Esther, but may we choose to see the needs of others around us and use what God has provided to help them.

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Better Together

By |2024-02-24T01:33:06-05:00February 24th, 2024|

After another health setback, I feared the unknown and uncontrollable. One day, while reading a Forbes magazine article, I learned that scientists studied the rising of the “Earth’s rotation velocity” and declared that the Earth “wobbled” and is “spinning faster.” They said we “could require the first-ever ‘drop second’—the official removal of a second from global time.” Though a second doesn’t seem like much of a loss, knowing that the earth’s rotation could change seemed like a big deal to me. Even slight instability can make my faith feel wobbly. However, knowing God helps me trust that He’s in control no matter how scary our unknowns or how shaky our circumstances may seem.

In Psalm 90, Moses said, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (vv. 1–2). Acknowledging God’s unlimited power, control, and authority over all creation, Moses declared that time cannot constrain God (vv. 3–6).

As we seek to know more about God and the wonderful world He made, we’ll discover how He continues perfectly managing time and all He created. God can be trusted with every unknown and newly discovered thing in our lives too. All creation remains secure in God’s loving hands.

How does knowing God is in control of time and all creation help you trust Him when facing the unknown? How can you honor God with the time He’s entrusted to you today?

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Gathering Strength in God

By |2023-11-19T01:33:27-05:00November 19th, 2023|

Grainger McKoy is an artist who studies and sculpts birds, capturing their grace, vulnerability, and power. One of the pieces is titled Recovery. It shows the single right wing of a pintail duck, stretched high in a vertical position. Below, a plaque describes the bird’s recovery stroke as “the moment of the bird’s greatest weakness in flight, yet also the moment when it gathers strength for the journey ahead.” Grainger includes this verse: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The apostle Paul wrote these words to the church at Corinth. Enduring a season when he was overwhelmed with personal struggle, Paul begged God to remove what he described as a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). His affliction might have been a physical ailment or spiritual opposition. Like Jesus in the Garden the night before His crucifixion (Luke 22:39–44), Paul repeatedly asked God to remove his suffering. The Holy Spirit responded by assuring Paul that He would provide the strength needed. Paul learned, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Oh, the thorns we experience in this life! Like a bird gathering its strength for the journey ahead, we can gather up God’s strength for what we are facing. In His strength, we find our own.

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Open the Eyes of My Heart

By |2023-10-11T02:33:33-04:00October 11th, 2023|

In 2001, a premature baby named Christopher Duffley surprised doctors by surviving. At five months old, he entered the foster care system until his aunt’s family adopted him. A teacher realized four-year-old Christopher, though blind and diagnosed with autism, had perfect pitch. Six years later at church, Christopher stood onstage and sang, “Open the Eyes of My Heart.” The video reached millions online. In 2020, Christopher shared his goals of serving as a disability advocate. He continues to prove that possibilities are limitless with the eyes of his heart open to God’s plan.

The apostle Paul commended the church in Ephesus for their bold faith (1:15–16). He asked God to give them “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” so they would “know him better” (v. 17). He prayed that their eyes would be “enlightened,” or opened, so they would understand the hope and inheritance God promised His people (v. 18).

As we ask God to reveal Himself to us, we can know Him more and can declare His name, power, and authority with confidence (vv. 19–23). With faith in Jesus and love for all God’s people, we can live in ways that prove His limitless possibilities while asking Him to keep opening the eyes of our hearts.

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Castaway Faith

By |2023-07-26T02:33:24-04:00July 26th, 2023|

In June 1965, six Tongan teenagers sailed from their island home in search of adventure. But when a storm broke their mast and rudder the first night, they drifted for days without food or water before reaching the uninhabited island of ‘Ata. It would be fifteen months before they were found.

The boys worked together on ‘Ata to survive, setting up a small food garden, hollowing out tree trunks to store rainwater, even building a makeshift gym. When one boy broke his leg from a cliff fall, the others set it using sticks and leaves. Arguments were managed with mandatory reconciliation, and each day began and ended with singing and prayer. When the boys emerged from their ordeal healthy, their families were amazed—their funerals had already been held.

Being a believer in Jesus in the first century could be an isolating experience. Persecuted for your faith and often stranded from family, one could feel adrift. The apostle Peter’s encouragement to such castaways was to stay disciplined and prayerful (1 Peter 4:7), to look after each other (v. 8), to manage arguments (v. 9), and use whatever abilities one has to get the work done (vv. 10–11). In time, God would bring them through their ordeal strong and steadfast (5:10).

In times of trial, “castaway faith” is needed. Those Tongan teens showed us the way. We pray and work in solidarity, and God brings us through.

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Bending Low

By |2022-12-22T01:33:03-05:00December 22nd, 2022|

A young mom followed behind her daughter, who pedaled her tiny bike as fast as her little legs could go. But picking up more speed than she wanted, the little girl suddenly rolled off the bike and cried that her ankle hurt. Her mom quietly got down on her knees, bent down low, and kissed it to “make the pain go away.” And it worked! The little girl jumped up, climbed back on her bike, and pedaled on. Don’t you wish all our pains could go away that easily!

The apostle Paul experienced the comfort of God in his continual struggles yet kept going. He listed some of those trials in 2 Corinthians 11:23–29: floggings, beatings, stonings, sleep deprivation, hunger, care for all the churches. He learned intimately that God is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,” as he first declared in chapter one, verse three. Another version translates those verses this way: “He is the Father who gives tender love” (nirv). Much like a mom comforting her child, God bends down low to tenderly care for us in our pain.

God’s loving ways of comforting us are many and varied. He may give us a Scripture verse that encourages us to continue on or a special note or phone call from a friend that touches our spirit. While the struggle may not go away, because God bends down low to help us, we can get up and pedal on.

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