BOA #188 - Hearts and Homes
The BuildingOneAnother Podcast
A great deal has been said about the connections between our hearts and homes. Some of the homes in our lives have been difficult for all sorts of reasons, yet it is what a home may be that gives warmth to the very idea of “home” – places of welcome, warmth, encouragement, of forgiveness, laughter and love. Joseph and Mary left their place in Nazareth for a temporary place in Bethlehem, yet since they were together, they were always home. In a deep and marvelous sense, home is where your heart is. Whenever and wherever we are with the people we love deeply, we are home. Joseph and Mary...
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BOA #187 - The Job 4 Test: Do You Belittle or Build Up?
The BuildingOneAnother Podcast
A friend of Job said something quite remarkable to him, “Your words put people on their feet." Job 4:4 That marvelous word leads us to the Job 4 Test: Do your words knock people off their feet or put people on their feet? Do your words belittle or build up? To belittle, a word coined by Thomas Jefferson, means to “make little” in the eyes of others, to put down, to scorn. To build up is to encourage, impart courage and affirm the dignity of others. We live in a day in which people of good will find themselves drawn onto sides that belittle each other and make no attempt to find common...
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BOA #186 - Use Your Voice!
The BuildingOneAnother Podcast
There is something unique about every voice, your voice and the voices of every single person on planet earth. When someone you know and appreciate speaks to you, just the sound of their voice can encourage your heart! The voice of Jesus speaks to you in countless ways encouraging your heart to sing! So, use your voice to encourage people. We defer so easily to texting, emailing messaging, posting on social media. Yet, God gave you your voice and the sound of your voice encourages the people in your life! Just call the people God has given you.
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BOA #185 - Eyes to See and to Expect to See!
The BuildingOneAnother Podcast
Are you aware of God’s specific works in your own life and in the world around you? Paul and those traveling with him did. "When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. " Acts 15:4* They had eyes to see what God was doing – in great detail – often in the midst of very stressful circumstances; and they had the grace to report what they saw God had done in order to encourage the people of God. The same God is doing remarkable things in your life and all around you, all of the time. ...
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BOA #184 - Catching up and Taking Off
The BuildingOneAnother Podcast
Listen and learn where our hosts have been and what they have been doing for the past couple of months. They are working on a new vehicle for learning and using the transferable concepts that BuildingOneAnother is all about!
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BOA #183 - Reach Out and Touch
The BuildingOneAnother Podcast
What do you think of the phrase, “Out of sight, out of mind?” When you consider your family and friends scattered around the world and the busyness of your own life where you are, how “out of mind” are the out of sight people in your life? Back in 1970, Dianna Ross’s Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand) was a smash hit. Nearly ten years later, AT&T launched a very effective campaign, “Reach Out and Touch Someone.” It encouraged long-distance calls in a day such calls were expensive. Now we live in a day where technology makes calling and texting people very easy...
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BOA #182 - Be a People Eye Player!
The BuildingOneAnother Podcast
Encouraging others often involves just two steps we take in the moment. See a person to encourage through people eyes – the eyes of Jesus – and do it! To have people eyes is to be a player. To “see” a person you may encourage and remain a bystander means you are people blind and didn’t really see! Can you imagine Jesus seeing the woman at the well and ignoring her? Zacchaues up in the tree and Jesus just walking past him? The leper begging help and Jesus ignoring him? Jesus is a player. He see a person and he acts! Ask him to give you his eyes to really...
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BOA #181 - Be a Bethesda!
The BuildingOneAnother Podcast
Jesus heals a man lying by the Pool of Bethesda who turns out to be a whiney, spineless person. Upon receiving an outright miracle, he shows no gratitude. In return for his mercy, Jesus gets nothing but trouble. Why did Jesus heal this one? Bethesda is a beautiful name in the Bible that combines two words, the first being beth meaning house, such as in Beth-lehem – house of bread. The second is hesed, so Bethesda means House of Hesed or house of mercy, Hesed means, “I will never withdraw my love from you. As the Paul was to say, “If we are faithless, he remains is faithful, because he...
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BOA #180 - Be the Arms Underneath!
The BuildingOneAnother Podcast
In the middle of Moses’ final words of blessing to Israel we discover this famous gem: “The eternal God is your dwelling place and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deuteronomy 33:27 Chris Tomlin sings, “How lovely is your dwelling place oh Lord, Almighty.” As wonderful as that describes our forever home, the next phrase describes the reason for our hope! "Underneath are the everlasting arms!" Anthony Showalter, on hearing of two funerals, wrote the refrain to the hymn, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms also known as What a Fellowship. Leaning,...
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BOA #179 - You ARE an Influencer!
The BuildingOneAnother Podcast
Robert H. Schuller made the fascinating observation that anybody can count the number of seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed! In other words, you have no idea how God will use you to influence the lives of others. Yet, you DO know our loving Lord will do far beyond what you ask or think! Who was it that first spoke to Billy Graham about Jesus Christ? Who first connected Martin Luther King, Jr, Mother Theresa, Richard Foster, Pope Francis with Jesus? Those people may be unknown to you, yet they influenced the whole world by influencing one person! When you...
info_outlineThe idea of the empty chair offers a great way to encourages groups to welcome new participants. If the group is open to new people, have an empty chair present every meeting!
The concept of the empty chair extends to our personal lives as well!
Ask yourself, “Am I open to an empty chair in my personal life? Am I open to new acquaintances, new friends while growing more deeply with the friends I have?
Jesus told his disciples, “I have called you friends!” He didn’t call them disciples (although disciples they were) or clients or parishioners. He called them friends, and Jesus had many other friends in addition to the Twelve!
“Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold.” The Girl Scouts got it right!
Always have an open chair – and ask the Lord who loves you to seat someone in it – and then have another open chair!