At Doubting Believer, 2021 is all about encouraging others. In our online class You Got This: How to be an Intentional Encourager, one of the things people have struggled with is being accused of nagging when they're trying to be encouraging. Here's the thing: nagging and encouragement are not at all the same. Encouragement should always be about that person you are encouraging--lifting up his/her/their strengths and gifts. Here ...
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In these days of emails, emojis and texts, a handwritten note is a rare commodity. An old-fashioned message that requires a stamp for delivery is really something special in the 21stcentury. A handwritten letter communicates to the recipient that you were willing to actually pause your life long enough to write down your thoughts, place them in an envelope, search out an actual address, purchase a stamp and get the letter to ...
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William Barclay, one of the world’s most prolific Christian commentators, said, “One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement…It is easy to laugh at [people’s] ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks ...
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This is the final installment of the Lift up for Lent series on encouragement. Today we begin the journey of Holy Week, from the joyous shouts of Hosannas to the breaking of the bread at the Last Supper to the cries of "Crucify Him!" to the tragedy of the cross and on to the victory of Easter. It is quite a roller coaster of a ride. This is perhaps the best ...
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This is one of my favorite scriptures of encouragement--especially in times when grief or pain or disappointment is so great that I can't imagine ever soaring or running or even walking without feeling weary. I think it's the use of the future tense in this passage that makes it so powerful. It doesn't tell me that those who trust in the Lord find new strength right now or that those who ...
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