Intentional Encouragement

     As I was speaking about controlling the tongue (from James 3) recently, I reminded people of the incredible power of the tongue to cause great damage.      My closing challenge was to apply Colossians 4:6 this week, so I'll offer it to you too.  "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."      As you head into a new week, plan to keep the thought of "gracious and nicely seasoned" in your mind as you speak.  You will be challenged as you head off to work.  People will annoy you.  Circumstances will be frustrating.  You will have plenty of reasons to be upset.  But take on the challenge to have ALL of your speech this week be gracious and seasoned with salt.      Some people are on a salt-free diet.  It adversely affects their blood pressure, or some other aspect of their health, so they have mini...

     I was reading from 2 Kings 4 the other day in my devotions and was reminded about an important principle.  It's not "how much" I have to offer to the Lord that is important.  It's how much of what I have, that I'm willing to use for His glory.      The first 7 verses of the chapter I mentioned talk about a woman whose husband died.  He left her with 2 children and a great deal of debt.  She ran out of any substance she had to pay the creditors and finally was in danger of losing her children to slavery to satisfy the debt.      When she cried to Elisha, he asked her what resources she had.  She responded by saying that all she had left was a jar with some oil in it.  Oil was a precious commodity, since it was used in so much cooking and also for its healing properties.  She had just a little bit in a jar.  It wasn't enough to do much of anything.      Elisha's...