Tag Archives: encourage

April 27, 2018 · 5:51 AM

Be An Encourager

Several years ago, my sister in law ran a half marathon. I drove her to the race well before it began. When we got there, I told her, “You got this!” Then, when the race started there were lots of cheers as the runners left. My wife and i drove to a place down the path where we could cheer her on as she went by in the middle of her race. All along the route, people had signs and words of encouragement for all the runners. Then, at the finish line, we cheered as loud as we could for that final push as she completed her race.

So many times we say, “Life isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.” It’s a long journey with ups and downs, and there’s times where we feel like quitting. We all need people in our life to cheer us on and to encourage us to keep going. The same is true of our walk with God. Today, look for someone whom you can encourage, even if you need encouragement too. Cheer them on in their race. Express confidence in them, and you’ll be encouraged too. It gives us strength when we help others on their journey.

Here are some Bible verses on encouraging others.

1. Give strength to hands that are tired and to knees that tremble with weakness. Tell everyone who is discouraged, “Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue, coming to punish your enemies.”

Isaiah 35:3-4 GNT

2. Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 AMPC

3. The words of the godly encourage many, but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.

Proverbs 10:21 NLT

4. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Romans 12:8 NLT

5. Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word]; and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching.

HEBREWS 10:23-25 AMP

Photo by Mārtiņš Zemlickis on Unsplash

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April 20, 2017 · 5:30 AM

Planting Life


I was recently training a sales psychology class, and I got to the point where I revealed to the class their individual psychological reluctances. I explained that some were gained through heredity, some medically, and others through watching others. I challenged them to go back to the root of the issue in order to deal with it. One person immediately said, “I know were this one came from! I can pinpoint the moment.”

He told me he had Role Rejection, which is the struggle to admit to others you work in sales. He said, “Several years ago, my mom said, “When are you going to get a real job? You have a degree. Go use it.” Those words cut straight to his core and he buried them there. Even if he made close to $100,000 a year and his degree would earn about half that, he would feel inferior because of what his mom told him.

I said to him, “Isn’t it incredible how powerful words are? One sentence your mom said years ago has affected how your career and how you see yourself. We have to be careful when choosing our words. We never know which ones will stick in someone’s life and hold them back.” We have to learn to use our words to encourage and build others up. Proverbs 15:4 says, “A soothing tongue [speaking words that build up and encourage] is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue [speaking words that overwhelm and depress] crushes the spirit” (AMP).

We all need to add in a filter into our brain that asks, “Will these words become a tree of life in them or will they crush their spirit?” When talking to our children, spouse, family or friends, we need to make sure we are planting life. There’s enough words out there spoken to them each day that can crush their spirit. Let’s be purposeful and make it a habit to have a soothing tongue that speaks life. 

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December 2, 2016 · 5:00 AM

Encouraging Words 


If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s that we all need some encouragement in one way or another. Some of us need encouragement to get up and face the day. Others need encouragement to try one more time. Some receive love through words of encouragement. I also think we all need our faith encouraged at times because we all face difficult times that challenge what we believe. The great news is that all of us are capable of encouraging someone else.

Each of us can send a text, a meme, make a phone call, or talk to someone today to encourage them. It can be as simple as, “I’m praying for you.” It could be, “Smile. God loves you.” It doesn’t have to be complicated. There are a lot of people who struggle this time of year and they need your words of encouragement. Today, ask God to put people in your path and on your heart who needs words of encouragement, then speak to them what He puts on your heart. B an encourager today even if you need encouragement yourself. You’ll be surprised how it encourages you too. 

Here are some Bible verses on encouragement. 

1. But those who proclaim God’s message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort.
1 Corinthians 14:3 GNT

2. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Ephesians 4:29 NLT

3. Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 AMPC

4. The words of the godly encourage many, but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.
Proverbs 10:21 NLT

5. Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scriptures give us.
Romans 15:4 GNT

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November 9, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Encourage And Build

  

If your spirit has ever been broken, you know how hard it is to get through the day. It’s hard to even wake up, let alone face people. Worry consumes your mind. You question everyone’s intentions, and your energy gets depleted. It’s tough to be stuck in that phase. If you’ve ever been through it, then you can empathize with others who are going through it. They need your support and encouragement more than your advice in those times.

Proverbs 15:13 says, “A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day” (MSG). When you see someone whose spirit has been crushed and they’re struggling to make it through the day, offer words that will encourage them to continue going. Chances are that it was words that put them in that state and its our words that can bring them out of it. If only we had the courage to speak them.

If you’ve ever watched an action movie, chances are that there is a scene where one person is hanging off a cliff or the side of a building and another person grabs them with one arm. They then use all their strength to pull that person back to safety. That’s what our words have the power to do. They can pull back someone who has been pushed over the edge and is barely hanging on. We have the power and strength to save someone’s life simply by encouraging them.

I Thessalonians 5:11 says, “So encourage each other and build each other up” (NLT). Paul’s words are a reminder to us as Christians that we are to constantly be encouraging, strengthening, edifying, and building each other up. We are to find a way to a cheerful heart. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing” (AMP). You can help heal someone’s brokenness today if only you will open your mouth to offer encouragement instead of correction or direction. You have the power, use it.

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September 17, 2015 · 5:48 AM

Being An Uplifter

In my job, I work with both management and their employees. Something I see more and more often is employees who take very little responsibility in situations and shift the blame to leadership. If something goes wrong, it’s management’s fault. They don’t take the initiative to repair the situation themselves. They offer malicious obedience so that when they fail, they have a scapegoat. Maybe you’ve seen this too. The is a problem in our churches too and, all of us are guilty of doing it. When things aren’t being done the way we think they should be done, we blame the pastor or leadership instead of doing things ourselves.

One of the most memorable stories in the Bible that captures this attitude comes from Exodus 17. The children of Israel had left Egypt and were wandering in the desert. They were hot and thirsty. Instead of looking to resolve the problem, they complained and blamed Moses. They said, “Why did YOU bring us out of Egypt? To kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (GNB) They took no responsibility themselves. Ultimately, God spoke to Moses to travel to strike a rock with his staff, and water would come out of it. God did it as a favor to Moses rather than as a reward to the people.

In the following verses of that chapter, we see the characteristics we should display instead. While there in the desert, they were attacked by the Amalekites. Moses commanded Joshua to get some men and to go fight. He then went with Aaron and Hur to the top of a hill to watch the battle while holding his staff in the air. While his arms were up, the Israelites prevailed; when his arms were down, they began to lose. The problem was that holding up the staff for a long period became tiring and soon he could no longer hold up his arms.

Instead of complaining about leadership’s responsibility in the battle, Aaron and Hur found a rock for Moses to sit on. They then held his arms up for him as long as was needed until the Israelites had won. They recognized it wasn’t Moses’ job alone to lead the battle. They saw what needed to be done, without being asked, and they did it for their nation. In doing so, they provide for us a great example of how our lives should be. We can choose to be complainers, or we can choose to be uplifters. We can either blame, or we can be the solution. It’s up to each one of us to do our part in the church so that the body as a whole is successful. Will you be a complainer or will you be an uplifter?

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April 22, 2013 · 7:13 AM

Stories of Healing

I’m going to brag on God today. A couple of weeks ago my sister in law was experiencing problems. The doctors looked and didn’t like what they saw. They did a biopsy and it came back positive. The doctors said there was a 95% chance it was cancer and immediate surgery would be needed to remove it. When they told us about the situation, I made the comment, “They just gave God 5%. I’ve seen Him do a lot more with a lot less.” After surgery, they sent off another biopsy. When it came back, the doctors said they were confused. There was no cancer.

Scripture tells us that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. What He’s done in the past, we can expect Him to do today. Jesus went around healing people in towns and villages. He healed those who had faith that He had the power to do it. He still has not changed and has the ability to heal us. I don’t know why everyone who has faith isn’t healed, but I do know that it takes faith to be healed.

I believe that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God as Romans 10:17 says. I believe it also comes when we hear stories of other people who have been healed. There is something about hearing someone else’ verifiable healing that causes our faith to rise. When our faith rises, anything is possible. Jesus Himself said, “Anything is possible if a person believes,” in Mark 9:23.

When all hope is lost and when it doesn’t look like there is a way, that’s when God loves to move. Isaiah 35:5-6 says, “And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.” God can make a way where there is no way. He can make streams in the desert and He can heal the deaf, the blind and those who are lame.

If we go back to the scripture in Mark that we read earlier where Jesus said that anything was possible, it was Jesus’ response to a man who brought his son to be healed. When Jesus asked him if he believed, he replied, “Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief.” That’s what a lot of us need to pray when our faith is waning due to circumstances. God can help our unbelief and grow our faith. We just need to ask. If you need healing today, I encourage you to continue to believe for your healing. God is still working. He’s still in the healing business.

If you’ve been healed, please let me and others know by commenting below. Your testimony will help build the faith in others. If you’re believing for healing, I want to hear from you too. That way, we can all join together and bind our faith to believe with you for your healing.

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February 11, 2013 · 10:05 AM

The Domino Effect

Ten years ago today a friend and employee of mine died in a car crash. The crash killed her husband and daughter as well. Her two year old son survived, but was handicapped by the wreck and was in the hospital for a long time. Their deaths would be the first domino that would fall in my life and set off a chain reaction that wouldn’t stop until October of that same year.

While I would spend my spare time visiting their son in the ICU in downtown Houston, my wife would use her newly found free time to indulge deeper into a relationship she had started at work. I would then be brought into a custody battle for the son of my deceased friend and have to testify about people I had known for years. It was uncomfortable and not what I wanted. Not long after the custody battle I discovered my wife’s affair. That sent me deeper in depression.

One domino after another seemed to fall. While dealing with that, the landlord where I had my business decided not to renew my lease. The places where I kept trying to sign leases kept falling through. I finally found a place, but it would take a while to renovate. When I was almost done, the city inspector came in and made me tear it all down and start over. More money was lost. Time and energy that I didn’t have were being drained.

I had to take on a partner to help get the job done. While we were redoing everything, the IRS came and wanted back taxes I couldn’t pay. They threatened to take everything. The partner took over the business, but not my debts. The creditors called, knocked and harassed like they do. I ended up filing bankruptcy and losing everything. I started making half what I was and couldn’t afford my house or car. In October, my divorce was finalized and the last domino had fallen. I was tired, depressed and hopeless.

It took me a while before I started picking up the pieces of my life and began to put it back together. There aren’t many people actively involved in my life now who were there then. Everything in my life was turned over including friends. My life is not perfect, but I can tell you I’m a long way from where I was ten years ago. God has done some amazing things in my life and has restored to me more than what I lost. Enough had happened to me that I could have spent the rest of my life bitter, angry and depressed. I had every right to.

That’s not how God wants us to respond to adversity though. Those times in our lives build endurance. They build character. They leave scars and deep wounds too. I’m ten years out and I still break down when I think about the pain I suffered. It’s still real. I also am humbled when I look back and see that God never left me during that time. Even though I couldn’t see Him or feel Him then, I see now that He was working everything out for my good.

You may be going through a lot worse today. I don’t know. What I do know is that God has not left you nor has He forsaken you. Don’t believe the lies that He left you alone to struggle as the dominos in your life fall. He is creating something beautiful in your life and is preparing you for what’s ahead. Don’t give up or quit because you think there is no end to the falling dominos. They will stop at some point and you’ll find God at the end where He is waiting to build again.

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