The Building One Another Podcast

There is a time to let your life and your deeds be the way you bear witness go God's love. There is also a time to use words. People like to quote Francis of Assisi as saying, "Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words." as a way of lifting up good deeds and minimizing speech. Except Assisi didn't say that! Perhaps your life has such a vitality that people are drawn to wonder why....

The Lord who loves us sends us to show up! When through our "people eyes," the eyes of Jesus for people, we become aware of the need within some human situation, that very awareness is a sending – sent to show up! Show up to do what? Perhaps just be there – the ministry of presence – perhaps to speak a word, pray a prayer or do some heavy lifting in support of the person or people. " David saw tha...

What will your focus be during this season of Lent? Lent is the season of the church year that begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter Sunday. Typically, our focus during Lent is downward, inward as we review our lives, confess our sin and walk with Jesus during his final somber days in Jerusalem. However, remember Hebrews report that Jesus, for the joy set before him, enduring the cross. J...

In a very moving moment during the funeral of Tyre Nichols, his mother, RowVaughn Wells said she truly believed her son was sent on an assignment from God.   Indeed, all of have been "sent" to accomplish various tasks in life – some rather generic – encouraging the people God sends us – and some specific to our individual gifts and callings. The Gospel of John wonderfully explains how Jesus was "s...

This year, as always, with the Building One Another podcast, Lee Zehmer and I encourage you to take the theme of these podcasts to heart. Choose to be a building one another person - a person for whom the road of life is the road of encouragement. The people our Lord brings to you are on their own challenging roads. You may know for certain that your words and deeds of encouragement can make all t...

‍ Joy snacks are those moments in daily life that inspire you to become aware of the presence and reality of the Lord who loves you. Such "snacks" help us begin to see the embedded joy in the smallest of details. Christmas is so much more than a joy snack. Christmas is a joy feast, a joy festival! Jesus, who was a babe in a manger, is a babe no longer, but is our very present, living and loving Lo...

A wish is something you want to happen, but you have no reason to believe it will happen. A hope is based on something – a reason for your hope to happen. If you say, "I hope we have an early Spring." "I hope the fish will bite," but what you really mean is that you wish for those things because you have no basis to expect them. Here is a marvelous thought: A promise turns a wish into a hope ! If...

Richard Sima writes of snacking on joy and taking joy in the small moments of life Such "joy snacks" may range from lunch with a neighbor, petting the cat, watching a show, calling a friend. Simple things. Wonderful moments! This Thanksgiving dinner, or during any meal at any time, take time to reflect on your moments of joy during the past year or perhaps just the last week  – little moments that...

A journey partner is someone who walks with you as a friend through the ups and downs of life.  We find countless illustrations of journey partners throughout the record of the Bible: Moses, Miriam and Aaron             David and Jonathan Ruth and Naomi                             Elijah and Elisha Jesus, Peter, James and John     Jesus, Mary, Joanna and Suzanna The Christian faith is certainly pe...

In Matt Redman's song, "You'll Never Let Go," he sings to the Lord, "You never let go – Lord, You never let go of me."   There are countless reasons all of can know we deserve being let go. Yet, the God who loves us never, ever lets us go. The Hebrew word hesed , sometimes expressed as kindness, mercy, steadfast love, has the sense of, "I will never remove my love from you."  God NEVER lets us go!...

Dear Friend, In the 1977 Disney movie, "Pete's Dragon," the leading lady, Nora (Helen Reddy), stands on the top level of a lighthouse. With the bright light shining behind her as a "candle on the water," she sings the song of hope, "Candle on the Water" to her fiancé who is lost at sea. You may listen to it on Youtube. "I'll be your candle on the water, this flame inside of me will grow. Keep hold...

Consider the times Jesus turned his attention to someone who interrupted what he was doing. Such as when the woman came to the well where Jesus was sitting. Or when Nicodemus came to him one evening. Or when he paused to speak to Zacchaeus who was sitting in a tree. I will never forget the life-changing perspective I received upon hearing Chuck Miller, a mentor in my life, say, "People are more im...

The term "second glance" is often to describe how we react to someone's appearance or apparent worth to us. She didn't give him a second glance. He didn't give the cashier a second glance. The lack of a second glance suggests the person is ordinary, of no particular value to us - not worth our eyes lingering for a second glance. Jesus gives people- you and me - the second glance! Perhaps more accu...

Bernard Harnick, a marriage and family counselor in Zurich, enjoyed teaching that, "Love is a willingness to be frustrated!" Do you wonder what he is talking about since frustration may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about love? He was referring to Ephesians 5:21, "Out of reverence for Christ, yield to one another." He explained that in a relationship, the other person may...

Consider the meaning of churn, a vivid word that speaks of agitation and swirling confusion. Our lives constantly feel the churn, churn, churn of life's demands. When we feel the churn, what do we do? We turn! We turn and re-center ourselves on the Lord who loves us and on the loving people God gives us! When Jesus says things like, "Let not your heart be troubled" or "In this world, you will have...

The term "cocooning" came into vogue a few years ago as a way to describe staying inside one's home instead of going out to socialize. Cocooning blossomed during the height of the pandemic and still many people prefer it. A wonderful way to get some exercise and to grow your relationships outside your home is simply to walk and while you are walking – talk! Talk to the Lord who loves you and talk...

While considering words that bless and encourage children (and adults), we keep in mind that such blessing goes beyond words to the actions that enhance their well-being. We see pronouncing blessings modeled by God in words to Isaac, "I will be with you, and will bless you." Isaac in turn passes the blessing to his sons," By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau." Hebrews 11:20 As...

Do you speak words of blessings to the people in your life, telling them eye-to-eye the ways they are a blessing to you and to others? A wonderful way to do this is known as the Blessing Cup.  It's easy to do this with family, with friends and with small groups. The Blessing Cup is a way to celebrate one person or for everyone to share deeply and pray for one another. Pick something to celebrate s...

Two very practical ways to grow friendship are the shared meal and the small group. Shared meals grow new friends of the road and move friends off the road into the heart.   Dick Halverson, former Chaplain of the US Senate, used to say there is something sacramental about the shared meals of Christians since we know Jesus is among us. Ask yourself, "How may I make eating with others part of my wee...

Join us as we revisit a favorite episode from a couple years ago.

Consider two kinds of friends: friends of the road and friends of the heart.   A friend of the road is a friend who walks life's road with you. You are next door neighbors or work in the same office or attend the same school or church. They are true friends, however, when the road ends and one of you leaves the place you shared life, the friendship of the road slowly vanishes.   On the other hand,...

We may think of the ministry of proximity happening in those moments we connect with people. It may be through ministry without moving, as people come to us, or ministry by walking around, as we move among people in our neighborhood, office, church and so on. However, there are many people we may encourage who don't live near us, family, friends and associates who are scattered all over the countr...

Jesus spent much of his time walking from place to place and touching people he met along the way. For example, when he entered Jericho, he encountered Zacchaeus up in a tree, " Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." Luke 19:5 As he left Jericho, Jesus walked near blind Bartimaeus sitting by the road, who called to him, "Have mercy on me," and Jesus said to his disci...

When you have "people eyes," the eyes of Jesus for people, you may experience ministry without moving! Such ministry moments may happen as you simply sit in your home or in a coffee shop or on a front porch or in an office with the door open. When a person walks by or turns toward you, a simple warm word can open the door to anything from simple friendship to deep encouragement. Think of Jesus sit...

The word "cope" is interesting. It means to struggle or to deal with some challenge, often in a calm and deliberate way. She coped with a flat tire. He coped with a stuffy nose. Life presents us with all sorts of coping situations, some are micro-copes and others are macro-copes. Micro-copes deal with those little challenges we all face. With macro-copes, we face harder ones. If we contend with to...