Someone With Skin On

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." — 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Who encouraged you when you needed it most?

I am here today because God brought many people into my life to encourage me. I attended a church while I was in college. I filled out a card with my name and address. A deacon came from that church in Houston, Texas. On a Saturday morning, he knocked on the door and said, "I saw that you came to our church last week, and I just wanted to come by and invite you to come back. We would love to have you here."

Because I was a college student, I didn't have anything to give. Apparently, that was not one of the requirements for him to encourage me.

I remember his face. I never will forget him because he gave words of encouragement to me when I needed someone with skin on to encourage me.

Someone with skin on.

That phrase matters. We need more than theology in our heads. We need more than verses on a page. We need flesh-and-blood people who show up, knock on our door, look us in the eye, and say, "I see you. You matter. Come back."

That deacon didn't know what would happen in my life. He didn't know I would become a pastor. He just saw a college student who visited his church and decided to follow up.

That simple act of encouragement changed the trajectory of my life.

God wants to use you the same way. He wants to use you today. Let Him use you.

Before this day is over, or maybe before you leave church today in the hall, God will bring someone across your path. Jump in. Maybe that need is just to pray for them. Maybe it is to do something practical.

Go for it! Let God use you. Be someone with skin on for somebody who desperately needs encouragement.

You might never know the impact you have. But God does. And so will they.