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Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. --1 Thessalonians 5:11 Can you imagine what our lives would be like if each of us worked fully to the glory of God? Imagine what the church would be like if we witnessed, prayed for people, gave of ourselves, and didn’t care who got the credit—as long as God received all the glory! Wow, what a thought! It’s a good goal, isn’t it? All glory should go to God, but let me remind you of something. As we give all the glory to God, we are allowed to encourage one another. In fact, the Scripture tells us to do just that. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, to “encourage one another and build one another up.” And Romans 13:7 admonishes us to give “honor to whom honor is owed.” You see, you and I are to spur one another along to do good works. We all need a good pat on the back at times. We need encouragement and we need to encourage others. So let’s make sure that our motive is God’s glory—not personal victories, not personal accolades, not the applause of men, but the glory of God. Spend time before God asking him to keep your heart and motives pure.   WE NEED ENCOURAGEMENT AND WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS.

The Priority of Pleasing God

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. As he spake these words, many believed on him.”
John 8:28–30

Back in the late 1800s, rail travel revolutionized the way people moved across vast distances of the country, and also how they traveled to work. I read about a new ticket collector who had been hired for work at a commuter station near New York City. His predecessor in the job had known many of the regular customers, and had gotten in the habit of allowing them to board without showing their tickets. The new agent insisted on seeing every ticket, and this irritated several passengers. After a few days one of them said to him, “You’re not at all popular with the traveling public.” He responded by pointing toward the station master’s office. “I don’t mind that,” he said. “It’s the man in there with whom I want to be popular.”
There are many times when we allow the concerns and opinions of others to become more important to us than what God thinks. While we should not be rude or careless regarding what others think or feel, ultimately the only judgment of our lives that really matters is the one that He will render. We must remember that we are not going to answer to God for others, but for our own actions, thoughts, and motives. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). Even if no one else is doing what is right, we can still follow God’s path if we care about His opinion most.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

If our primary purpose is pleasing God, we will not be deterred by criticism or disapproval from others.