Theme of the Week: Encouragement Changes Lives
Bible Verse: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians 2:3-4
Scripture Reading: Acts 18:1-4; 18-28
Priscilla and Aquila were a couple who revealed the power and majesty of God in their lives. They were transformed by the Spirit of God and were motivated by His love to intentionally encourage others. They had a marriage of deep commitment and mutual respect. They were a husband and wife team dedicated to honoring God and equipping others to serve Him.
Apollos was one person whom they encouraged in living to his maximum God-given potential. Desiring to help him become more effective in his teaching, “they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26). The lives of Priscilla and Aquila revealed the majesty of God in motion.
Majesty is usually associated with kings, queens, and leaders who make great efforts to display their power and glory. However, their power is acquired, temporary, and external. It is a superficial display that quickly disappears with changing circumstances, death, and the passing of time. Real majesty, on the other hand, is connected with God. In contrast with human majesty, it is innate, lasting, eternal, and internal.
The majesty of God is fully revealed in and through Jesus, who is Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). The awesome greatness of God is never static, but always dynamic in nature. This greatness is expressed by the life of Jesus who is God the Son.
Real, authentic encouragement – the attitude and heart that reflects the greatness of God through the warm, caring filter of God’s grace – is meant to be constantly active in the lives of every follower of Jesus. As God the Father sent Jesus on a life mission, so Jesus sends us to make passionate disciples whose personal lives display God’s majesty in motion! Majesty speaks of the awe-inspiring grandeur of God. Encouragement is crucial because it empowers us to act and allow God to display His greatness and tell His redemptive story through each of our unique personalities, which are designed for that purpose! Let God’s grace or generosity flow through you (1 Peter 4:10).
It is an incredible thing that God has invited us to reveal His majesty to the world by living a life of intentional encouragement. It means choosing to allow Jesus to live His divine life through you. It is deciding to live in community by imitating Jesus in thought, word, and action (Philippians 2:1-11). This way of living is called holiness.
Taken from Majesty in Motion: Creating an Encouragement Culture in All Your Relationships Stewart Brown, © 2009. Used by permission of Word Alive Press. All rights reserved.
As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commission from qualifying purchases on Amazon.ca. Learn more.
Copyright © 2022 Impactus | Promise Keepers Canada. All rights reserved.
