Acts 11:23
When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.


Barnabas was an encourager, but he encouraged people when he found out they were following the Lord Jesus. He did not encourage people for just any reason. I think we lose sight of that fact today. We are always so willing to either completely condemn someone's actions or on the other hand, completely accept someone's actions. From my point of view, we need to encourage those behaviors which we agree with and try to discourage those behaviors which are self-destructive, selfish or just plain wrong.

Barnabas was not afraid to confront those things which he deemed wrong or incorrect, but he was also very liberal with praise. In doing that, people knew exactly where he stood and what he stood for.

How about us? Do people know what we stand for; what or whom we support? Or do we give so many mixed messages that people are confused? We need to decide what we believe it and what we support. As the scripture say, we should not be blown around by every wind of doctrine...and we know there are many, many doctrines out there today to be blown around by.

Take a stand. Encourage that which you know to be right and true and good. Discourage those behaviors you know to be wrong, selfish or wrongly motivated. Keep the faith...keep up the good fight.

Blessings All!

--El