Encourage one another daily

Each day we are to encourage one another.
It's easy to forget.
I even know of people who think encouraging others is unnecessary, frivolous, superficial.

I grew up with very little encouragement.
Later my mother told me she thought that encouragement would give me a "big head". I wonder if any one of that era ever worried about giving their kids a shrunken skull!

Because I wasn't encouraged it was easy to doubt everything I did and it was easy later to doubt God's love for me. After all, I was frequently told the negative but rarely told the positive.
Sometimes we treat others this way. We take for granted when they do something good or positive and remind them when they are blowing it.
What about catching them in good and telling them about that?
According to scripture encouraging others is to be part of our daily walk.

Check it out...
Hebrews 3: 12-14
"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage on another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first."

1 Thessalonians 4:18
"Therefore encourage each other with these words."

What words? When there is a THEREFORE we need to look back a few verses and see what it is there for....In this case the verses preceding this are all about the coming of the Lord. So we see here that we are to encourage each other about the Lord's coming, and to encourage each other about the things written in scripture.

The difference between superficial encouragement and biblical encouragement is this:
Superficial encouragement is just flattery that moves us to focus more on self.
Biblical encouragement imparts courage to walk the walk and continue in the faith.

Example:
Superficial might look like: " Shelly you always look so pretty"

Courageous might look like:" Shelly you are always so kind and have just the right thing to say"

Are we never to compliment? Of course not. If your friend looks great in red, tell her. But don't flatter her and then forget to really encourage her later.
We are to pay attention to encouragement and intentionally noticing the things that someone is doing in the spirit that makes a difference...from the smallest kindness to the larger big step for God....from their small step of obedience in the right direction, to a larger victory over sin. Encouraging each other over these things goes much further than the pretty red sweater!

Remember: God wants to use us as his instruments daily. One way that can be accomplished is through encouraging one another. Catch them in something good and tell them. Show appreciation. Smile...that is an encouragement. Say "hello" that is an encouragement.

In this world we live in all of us need to be encouraged daily.

Now, go out and live God's truth today!

Today's Prayer
Father, help me to quit thinking of myself long enough to notice someone else. Remind me to smile at strangers, talk to co-workers, and be pleasant in my environment. Help me to notice when someone does something that I should mention. And, may my mentioning be done in a fashion that encourages their heart and propels them to more good works in Christ.