https://www.odb.org/2024/12/02/people-of-encouragement
In the bible, the most well-known of believers who encouraged is Barnabas. You can read about him in Acts 4, and in Acts 9, you will see that it was Barnabas who brought Paul to see the Apostles and advocated Paul to them. The rest is history as the church was greatly impacted with Paul among its midst even though he had earlier persecuted the followers of the Way. While the believers and Apostles were afraid of Paul, Barnabas saw his true potential. In Acts 11, Luke described Barnabas “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith,” adding that because of him, “a great number of people were brought to the Lord” (v. 24). Paul started his ministry in Antioch, and it was in Antioch that the believers of the Way started calling themselves Christians (from the Greek word, Christanos, meaning followers od Christ.)
It is always better to be an encourager than a destroyer of faith, albeit for the latter unintentionally. Maybe our demeanour is strong and our words sharp. Or perhaps we like to sting rather than heal! Always for the good, but the encouraging approach is always better, especially with the current crop of millennials/Gen Y and Gen Z. At the workplace, people will say that the current batch of young people is quite different from our time. It’s the age of AI, smartphones, and Chat-GPT. For some, even Insta is passe. If you are still on Facebook, you are confirmed old!
No matter where we are in Christ, there are bound to be many who are younger in faith than us. If not now, if you are a new believer, the time will come. It is thus good to encourage than to tear down. Watch our words as we grow in maturity in God and develop our character in Christ. Leaders and pastors also need encouragement as much as they are the Barnabites of this world! A nice word, a pat on the shoulder, a word of appreciation – goes a long way as they are always serving and doing their best for God.
As we embark on a new week today and the last month of the year in December 2024, let’s become that encourager to all who are around us! Amen!
Ronnie's Thoughts 