Quote from Forum Archives on August 4, 2000, 1:21 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Here is a message of encouragement from Thursday's Daily devotion at
PCCWeb Daily. I hope it encourages you, as we enter into the weekend!

Brother Brian

--- PCCWeb Daily Devotional <daily@presbycan.ca> wrote:
> Date: 3 Aug 2000 08:54:19 -0000
> Reply-to: Chad Janey <cjaney@teamt.com>, <daily@presbycan.ca>
> From: PCCWeb Daily Devotional <daily@presbycan.ca>
> To: masinick@yahoo.com
> Subject: Daily Devotional for Thursday, August 3, 2000
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> SHARPEN OR DULL? YOU MAKE THE CALL!
>
> Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the
> countenance of his friend. (NKJV)
>
> Some time ago, I led my Sunday School class in a study on spiritual
> gifts. It was just as much of a learning experience for me as it was for
> my class. There were spiritual gifts we discussed that I would never
> have realized were considered spiritual gifts had we not done this
> study. One of these was the gift of encouragement.
>
> I will be the first to admit that this is not one of my spiritual gifts.
> Not only is it not one of my spiritual gifts, but it is an area which I
> really struggle with in my life. For some reason I just have a really
> hard time being the encourager to others that I should be. It is a whole
> lot easier for me to encourage a total stranger or a "passing"
> acquaintance than it is for me to offer encouraging words to my close
> friends and family. I think it is partly because of my competitive
> nature. Perhaps sometimes I feel that by encouraging someone else, I am
> giving them an advantage, or even admitting they are "better" than me.
>
> I suppose this is why today's verse spoke to me so strongly and
> immediately when it was shared in a recent Bible study group. Upon
> hearing the verse, I took out a pen and wrote the scripture reference
> down on my hand (as I had no paper).
>
> I think this is a problem area for Christians, and human beings in
> general. We live in a world that is so obsessed with "Me, Me, Me". We
> are taught in school and business to seek to better ourselves, to
> succeed at all costs. Because of this "Me Generation" in which we live,
> encouraging one another has become a lost art. But I think it is an art
> and a gift that we need to genuinely seek to restore to our lives.
>
> All of us know how good it makes us feel when we do receive an
> encouraging word from someone else -- whether it be a simple "Good job!"
> or a "You can do it!" Encouragement in our lives can make the daily
> tasks we face so much easier to handle and overcome.
>
> We can offer encouragement in so many ways, many as easy as offering a
> smile to someone. And yet that simple smile of few words can "sharpen
> the countenance" of our friends. Many have heard the expression that
> smiling is contagious, and it is true. A smile offered to a friend will
> turn into a smile offered by that friend to another friend. Before one
> knows it, everyone around is smiling.
>
> So as we go out today, let's look for an opportunity to encourage a
> friend or relative. Let us lift up their spirits, and we will find that
> our spirits will be lifted up as well.
>
> Prayer: Our heavenly Father, we ask that you give each of us a desire
> and a heart for encouraging those around us, that we might spread and
> reflect your love to those around us. Amen.
>
> Chad Janey <cjaney@teamt.com>
> Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
>
> TODAY'S CANADIAN BIBLE SOCIETY SCRIPTURE READING:
> 2 Samuel 13:1-22 <bible.gospelcom.net/bible?2+Samuel+13:1-22>
>
> SUGGESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS PAGE? Send them to the PCCWeb *Daily*
> Editor, Robin Ross <rross@rapidnet.net>.
>
> PCCWEB DAILY DEVOTIONAL on the Internet <www.presbycan.ca/daily>
> Includes a searchable archive of over 1400 past devotionals.
> ========================================================================

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=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/
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