Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16
"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007
 

GIVING OXYGEN

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This entry was posted on 08-28-2009 and is filed under RESPONSIBILITY.

It is easier to tear something down than to build something up - especially when it comes to people. I have a responsibility to build people up, not tear them down. All of us do. The Bible says, "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification" (Rom. 14:19 NIV). To "edify" is to build up (we get "edifice" from this root word.) I once worked two weeks for a farmer tearing down an old farmhouse. It probably took much longer than that for the carpenters to construct it years ago. "Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up" (Rom. 15:2 NIV).

Our speech can build others up or tear them down. And so we are admonished: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Eph. 4:29 NIV). I believe this applies to those of us who teach and preach the Word as well as anyone else - perhaps even more so. Ever leave church feeling you have been "beat up" rather than "built up"?

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" (1 Thess. 5:11  NIV). This is so important. Someone has said, "More people fail for lack of encouragement than for any other reason." I believe that is true. Don't let the day pass without encouraging and building someone up. It can be as simple as a smile, a pat on the back, a word of encouragement, a phone call, a card, a letter, a random act of kindness. George Adams said, "Encouragement is oxygen to the soul." Without  encouragement some people may give up and spiritually die. Be an oxygen giver!

Hymn: "Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave! Some poor fainting, struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save" (Philip P. Bliss)
 

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    • 08-28-2009 Dan Johnson wrote:
      Wrecking Crew

      I watched them tear a building down,
      A gang of men in Sydney Town.
      With a push and a shove,
      And a mighty yell!
      They swung a beam
      And the side wall fell.

      I asked the Boss if his men were skilled?
      Were they men to hire, if he had to build?
      He gave a smile, said "No indeed!"
      Just casual Labourers are all I need!"

      "They can easily wreck in a day or two,
      What Builders would take a year to do!"

      And I thought to myself as I walked away,
      That's not the role I like to play,
      I'm glad I'm a tradesman who works with care,
      Measuring Life with a ruler and square,
      I shape my deeds to a well made plan,
      And patiently do the best that I can.


      ~ Tony Illingworth ~
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