Ed’s face lit up as I commended
him. He soaked up my affirmation like dry ground taking in the rain. Despite
our 45 year difference in age, I know how he feels. Who doesn’t like being appreciated, having their efforts noted?
A conversation that lasted perhaps 20 minutes,
one early November morning 25 years ago, stands as a pivotal moment in my life.
Many thing had gone wrong, my best intentions had been terribly misunderstood,
and many were telling me, by words and actions, that I was finished as a minister
of the Gospel. A an older Pastor, a respected leader, sat down with me in the
lobby of a conference center. “I believe
in you,” he said. He offered insights from his years of experience, reminded me
that time would provide a whole new perspective, that I was not defined by the
opinions others had of me, and that God was not through with me. He did not
gloss over the mistakes and sins of my life, but he pointed me towards the
future. His words were a lifeline that I held onto for the next two years and
he was right!
The Word says, “Encourage.”
"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart
that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long
as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s
deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end
the confidence we had at first." (Hebrews 3:12-14, NIV) Encouragement is
found in both commendation and correction, in warning and affirming. The word translated
‘encourage’ is, in the original Greek text of the New Testament, “parakaleo,” which means to “stand alongside of another.” One of the
titles of the Holy Spirit is “Parakletos”
– a variant of that same word. God, the Holy Spirit, comes to stand alongside
of us, to give us encouragement. And, we are to do the same for others.
My prayer is that I will consistently
be a life-giving man, a person who sees the possibilities in others. I will not
become the captive of politically correct speech, of a false ideal of ‘nice,’
that is incapable of challenging failure and sin, yet I want to be, as the
Bible teaches, a man who infuses people with hope.
Here’s a word from the Word. My
prayer is that it is a word of true encouragement for you today.
"God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for
salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ.
He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him!
So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it." (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, The Message)
He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him!
So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it." (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, The Message)
__________________
Sing them over again to me,
Wonderful words of life.
Let me more of their beauty see,
Wonderful words of life.
Words of life and beauty,
Teach me faith and duty;
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of Life!
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of Life!
Wonderful Words Of Life
Philip Paul Bliss
© Public Domain
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