Key Bible Verse: God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So … if your gift is to encourage others, do it! (Romans 12:6, 8). Bonus Reading: Acts 14:21-23

Jesse Owens should have aced the long jump at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin. The record he'd set the year before, 26' 8 1/4", would stand for 25 years. But the Nazis were out to prove "Aryan superiority."

As the black sharecropper's son walked to the pit, he saw a tall, blond German taking practice jumps in the 26-foot range, and grew nervous.

On his first jump he leaped from inches beyond the takeoff board. Rattled, he fouled on his second attempt, too.

Then the tall German approached Owens and introduced himself as Luz Long. Long suggested that since the qualifying distance was only 23' 5 1/2", he play it safe on his last try by making a mark several inches before the takeoff board and jumping from there.

Owens qualified easily, set an Olympic record, and earned the second of four gold medals. The first to congratulate Owens was Long—in full view of Hitler.

Owens wrote, "You could melt down all the medals and cups I have, and they wouldn't be plating on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Luz Long."

—Ken Sutterfield in The Power of an Encouraging Word

My Response: A time when I got a boost from an encouraging word was …

Adapted from The Power of an Encouraging Word (New Leaf, 1997) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, help me to be a true encourager to someone around me who needs a lift.

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