{"id":713,"date":"2011-06-05T05:01:32","date_gmt":"2011-06-05T09:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=713"},"modified":"2011-06-04T11:39:51","modified_gmt":"2011-06-04T15:39:51","slug":"changing-history-with-a-few-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/06\/changing-history-with-a-few-words.html","title":{"rendered":"Changing history with a few words"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There is something that will change people\u2019s lives which every person can do.\u00a0 It is very simple.\u00a0 It won\u2019t cost you a penny.\u00a0 It will make you feel better.\u00a0 It will change your life as well as others.<\/p>\n

The Bible tells us in Judges 3, New Century Version:<\/p>\n

Deborah said to Barak, “TheLord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go and gather ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them to Mount Tabor.7<\/sup> I will make Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, and his chariots, and his army meet you at the Kishon River. I will hand Sisera over to you.’ ”<\/p>\n

8<\/sup> Then Barak said to Deborah, “I will go if you will go with me, but if you won’t go with me, I won’t go.”<\/p>\n

9<\/sup> “Of course I will go with you,” Deborah answered, “but you will not get credit for the victory. The\u00a0Lord\u00a0will let a woman defeat Sisera.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Deborah encouraged Barak to do the right thing. \u00a0Because she was willing to encourage and go with Barak,\u00a0\u00a0God\u2019s people were saved from an evil king. \u00a0History was changed.<\/p>\n

Encouragement changes people and maybe even a life story of a person or a nation. \u00a0To whom should I give encouragement?\u00a0 Everyone. \u00a0Our friends and family. \u00a0Our enemy and people who do bad things to you.<\/p>\n

How should I give encouagement?\u00a0 It\u2019s easy and simple. \u00a0\u00a0Say to your friend, \u201cYou look nice today,\u201d and mean it. \u00a0Say to your cashier who is fumbling to make change, \u201cYou are doing a good job,\u201d and mean it. \u00a0Say, “God bless you. \u00a0I appreciate what you have done for me,” to everyone who does even the smallest task for you.<\/p>\n

Of course, we must always be sincere in our compliments. \u00a0If someone is performing badly and has a rotten attitude, ask if they are having a bad day and tell them that you will pray for them during the day–and do it. \u00a0I’ve done this many times and people almost always tear up and tell me their story. \u00a0They appreciate my prayer.<\/p>\n

Additionally, \u00a0give out encouragement \u00a0liberally. \u00a0As the bumper sticker says, learn to practice random acts of kindness and love. \u00a0Tell people you don\u2018t know that they are doing a good job.\u00a0 Cashiers at Wal-Mart or the person who helps you at a fast-food restaurant. When someone does a great job for you, get the person’s name, ask to see the manager and tell the manager what was done for you. \u00a0 Again and again,\u00a0\u00a0let people know that you appreciate their work.<\/p>\n

Blessings are free and they can change you as well as the person you are encouraging. \u00a0When you encourage others, you become part of God\u2018s plan for that person because God wants blessing and goodness to fall to all the people he created.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is something that will change people\u2019s lives which every person can do.\u00a0 It is very simple.\u00a0 It won\u2019t cost you a penny.\u00a0 It will make you feel better.\u00a0 It will change your life as well as others. The Bible tells us in Judges 3, New Century Version: Deborah said to Barak, “TheLord, the God…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,10,16,11,8,85,12],"tags":[690,21,688,696,7,135,699,701,691,13,689,57,692,700],"class_list":["post-713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-inspirational","category-intellectual-disability","category-intellectually-disabled","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-prayer-2","category-religion","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-encouragement","tag-faith","tag-inspiration","tag-inspirational","tag-intellectual-disabilities","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-prayer","tag-religion","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nChanging history with a few words - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/06\/changing-history-with-a-few-words.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Changing history with a few words - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is something that will change people\u2019s lives which every person can do.\u00a0 It is very simple.\u00a0 It won\u2019t cost you a penny.\u00a0 It will make you feel better.\u00a0 It will change your life as well as others. 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