• Encourage the underprivileged (Isaiah 1: 17)-Learn to do good.  Seek justice.  Help the oppressed.  Defend the orphan.  Fight for the rights of widows.

• God encourages us (Isaiah 40: 31)-But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength.  They will fly high on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint.

• The Holy Spirit encourages us (Acts 9: 31)-The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it grew in strength and numbers.  The believers were walking in the fear of the LORD and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

• Encourage your neighbor (Romans 15: 2)-We should please others.  If we do what helps them, we will build them up in the LORD.

• The Bible encourages us (Romans 15: 4)-Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us.  They give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises.

• Our position in Christ encourages us (Philippians 2: 1)-Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ?  Any comfort from his love?  Any fellowship together in the Spirit?  Are your hearts tender and sympathetic?

• We should encourage each other (1 Thessalonians 4: 18)-So comfort and encourage each other with these words.

• Encourage those who are weak and afraid (1 Thessalonians 5: 14)-Brothers and Sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy.  Encourage those who are timid.  Take tender care of those who are weak.  Be patient with everyone.
  

• Encourage elderly people (1 Timothy 5: 1-4)-Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as though he were your own father.  Talk to the younger men as you would to your own brothers.  Treat the older women as you would your mother, and treat the younger women with all purity as your own sisters.  The church should care for any widow who has no one else to care for her.  But if she has children or grandchildren, their first responsibility is to show godliness at home and repay their parents by taking care of them.  This is something that pleases God very much.

• Encourage others not to sin (Hebrews 3: 13)-You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called "today",  so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.  

• Encourage others to love (Hebrews 10: 24)-Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.

• God's people should be good workers(Genesis 31: 42)-In fact, except for the grace of God-the God of my grandfather Abraham, the awe-inspiring God of my father Isaac-you would have sent me off without a penny to my name.  But God has seen your cruelty and my hard work.  That is why he appeared to you last night and vindicated me.

In this passage, we see that God's people should be good workers in all their dedication, duty fulfillment, attitude, and eager to complete required tasks.  They should stand out in their place of employment, and the grace of God should be evident in all that they do.  They should also be rewarded, or paid accordingly. God will vindicate those who are not properly rewarded. What this means is that God will find a way for the employer to justly reward his or her workers. He will reveal to the employers by means of visions, dreams, recommendations, or another means. Justice will be served for God's children.

• Work should not overrun your time with God (Exodus 16: 23)-He replied, "The LORD has appointed tomorrow as a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD.  On this day we will rest from our normal daily tasks.  So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow."

Here we see that God has specifically commanded His people to have order even in their weekly routines, or lives.  He had appointed the seventh day of the week a day of rest.  No work would be done.  On the sixth day, He wants us to prepare the seventh day's meals, so that His servants would dedicate that day to Him as a day of rest.  He is showing His people to manage their days accordingly so that one thing does not run into the other, thus robbing them of their peace of mind, and resulting in their inability to dedicate time to worship Him, or follow His instruction.  Their lives would be blessed if they follow  in that way.  Everything would fall into place.

• God gives you the ability to work (Exodus 35: 30-31)-And Moses told them, "The LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.  The LORD has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him  great wisdom, intelligence, and skill in all kinds of crafts.  

This verse is proof that God gives the ability to work to those that He specifically chooses to fill certain positions.  He enables them, by filling him with His Spirit, granting them wisdom, intelligence, skills, and craftiness to fulfill their jobs accordingly.  It is God who chooses the people He wants to work in the setting that He wants them to work in, and provides them with what they need to get it done.  We know that God still works that way today, and that is why we are in the positions that we are in; we know that He has chosen us to do this work.

• Workers should be trustworthy (Proverbs 25: 13)-Faithful messengers are as refreshing as snow in the heat of summer.  They revive the  spirit of their employer.

When our employers know that they can trust their staff to fulfill their duties and responsibilities, it gives them peace of mind.  It allows them to relax, and concentrate their energies on other matters, focusing on the things that are crucial to the success of their lives, their organizations, and the lives of their staff.  The same applies to the Pastoral staff, Servants, Missionaries, and Evangelists. The word of God refreshes our souls. It is very refreshing to know that your staff is trustworthy to live by the truth. To speak the truth. To teach the truth. It is a win-win situation for both the employee and the employer.  Trust is an extremely invaluable virtue in the workplace.

• Do the best job you can (Ecclesiastes 9: 10)-Whatever you do, do well.  For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

This verse shows us to do the best job we can regardless of our surroundings while we have the chance, and are alive.  We should be dedicated to God in that we have faith in pleasing Him; that He sees our hearts, and knows the thoughts of our minds.  In verse 11 it goes on to say that: the fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle.  What this means is that there are injustices in this world, just as Jesus knew the injustices when He was crucified for speaking the truth about who He was and where His Kingdom was.  The loss on earth  is only temporary.  That is why it is important for us believers to know where our souls will go at the time of death or when Jesus returns the second time for His Church.  This is our true reward in life.  As long as we have Jesus and we are saved, we know we truly did win.  We know that while we are alive we find peace in our hearts knowing we did the best we could, no matter what situation we are in, whether we are rewarded or not, whether we are acknowledged, or appreciated by the people or not.  God will acknowledge us in the end (even though He deserves all the credit).  We should always do the right thing, because it's the right thing to do.  We can't let the world change us into who the world is: If they choose to live unjustly, let them live that way, we should press on and continue to live the best way we can.

• Work as though Jesus were your boss (Ephesians 6: 6-7)-Work hard, but not just to please your masters when they are watching.  As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart.  Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the LORD rather than people.  

We see that we should reverence our employers as though they were the LORD Himself.  We should work with all our hearts.  We should be enthusiastic doing it, not thinking that we are just working for people.  Because it is God who has placed them in a position of authority over you.  

• Christians should do their best at their job (Titus 2: 9-10)-Slaves must obey their masters and do their best to please them.  They must not talk back or steal, but they must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good.  Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.  

When we are able to display a humble, obedient, pleasant attitude, not only are we able to please our employers, we are displaying good character, and trustworthiness.  We will be able to lead by example to those who do not know God yet, and it will attract them to His way instead of the way of the world.  

I hope that this study is as useful to the readers as it has been to my life, and hope it serves as a guide to you believers across the world.  May the LORD continue to bless you and protect you wherever you may go may his grace shine upon your face and favor follow you in whatever you do..  Amen!

• Emotions can lead us to sin (Genesis 4: 2-6)
• Emotions can lead to foolish promises (Judges 11: 29-40)
• Emotions are a part of worship (Ezra 3: 1-3)
• God heals those with broken hearts (Psalm 34: 18)
• Carefully guard your emotions (Proverbs 4: 23)
• Emotions can crush us (Proverbs 15: 13)
• Do not be led by emotions (Proverbs 19: 2)
• Jesus experienced emotions (John 11: 35)
• Emotions are not  reliable guides (Galatians 5: 1-17)
• Some emotions can be sinful (Ephesians 4: 31)
  
  

• Be careful not to embarrass others (Ruth 2: 15)-When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, "Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her".  The reason Boaz was so gracious about allowing Ruth to work among them is because he was of the Christian faith. He also was a good Administrator.  He exercised care for his fields, and showed hospitality.  A person of good character.  And he knew that they had come from another land.  They were not locals from Bethlehem.  He was conscious and considerate of their need.  The body of Christ should also be careful not to embarrass others just because they are not from where we are from, or strangers to our Church, or land.
• Embarrassment can lead to rash actions (Matthew 14: 1-12)-When Herod Antipas heard about Jesus, he said to his advisers, "This must be John the Baptist come back to life again!  That is why he can do such miracles."  For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod's brother Philip).  John kept telling Herod, "It is illegal for you to marry her."  Herod would have executed John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet.  But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias' daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him, so he promised with an oath to give her anything she wanted.  At her mother's urging, the girl asked, "I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!"  The king was sorry, but because of his oath and because he didn't want to back down in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.  So John was beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.  John's disciples came for his body and buried it.  Then they told Jesus what had happened.  In these verses, we see that correction can lead to embarrassment.  People often do not react in a positive or appropriate way to the correction of the Holy Spirit when they are non-Christian or non-believers.  These people were adulterous.  A great injustice had been committed.  Not only had king Herod had his brother killed in battle to keep his wife, he carried out a demonic order to have John the Baptist (a prophet) beheaded for speaking the truth.  These hateful people would obviously stop at nothing to get what they selfishly wanted.  We see that they expressed no remorse for their sin, or for their actions.  And word from God Almighty obviously would not stop them.  So they had him killed, and the King, though he really did not want to carry this disgusting order out, was a man of his word, and carried out an injustice of such great magnitude; to kill the cousin of Jesus-John the Baptist-a prophet.  Someone who was chosen by God to shed light in a dark cold hateful and sinful world.  Someone who was there for such a great cause and purpose.  Someone who had so much love for them that he put his life on the line to speak what the Holy Spirit had instructed him to say.  This is one of the greatest tragedies in all of history.  One of the greatest injustices. 
• We should not be embarrassed about the gospel (Romans 1: 16)-For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ.  It is the power of God at work saving everyone who believes-Jews first and also Gentiles.  The gospel is not something we should be ashamed of.  It is the good news of salvation for all who believe and have faith in Him, and who accept Him as their LORD and Savior.  It is the difference between living in darkness, and living in the light.  Jesus is the light of the world.  He shed His light in this world, and chose those to continue to shed that light today.  Today we are the chosen ones He is using to shed this light and truth to those who need it!  There still are many souls out there who need to hear this AWESOME TRUTH!  That Jesus is LORD and Savior, and that all who believe and accept Him will have eternal life in Him and with Him!  And they need not be concerned about living in darkness, or spending eternity in hell.  Although some would say this sounds crazy, and that Christians are crazy or fanatics, we should not be embarrassed!  We should be very proud that God has chosen us to be with Him!  That is the ultimate dream, goal, and treasure!  It is the ultimate gift!  The gift of eternal life with Him in heaven!  In peace!  In light!  In holiness!  To God be the glory forever!  Amen! 
• We should not be embarrassed by Jesus (Galatians 1: 10)-Obviously, I'm not trying to be a people pleaser!  No, I am trying to please God.  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ's servant.  This verse is clearly saying that we know who we are trying to impress in life.  It is not the people of the world.  It is about impressing our magnificent God!  It is about living in a way that makes Him proud, not living a life that makes people happy.  If we are Christ's servants, or His ambassadors, we know that we live to please Him.  So, it does not matter what others think of us, or how we live, or what we do with our bodies, money, talents, or time.  This is all dedicated to our God.  Our God comes before even our own desires.  Our allegiance is to Him!  Not people.  People cannot save our souls from the fiery pits of hell.  God can!  That's who we aim to please!  So many people fall in error concerning this; they worry about what people will think of them, if they think they're crazy for serving the LORD, for dedicating their bodies as His temple; as a living sacrifice.  They feel ashamed and conform to the ways of the world, and many times fall into all kinds of sin, drunkeness, and other shameful deeds.  They worry that they won't be accepted by the people.  But it is God who will be ashamed of them on judgement day.  The LORD will be ashamed of their shame.  Their shame to please Him.

I hope this study helps you to understand embarrassment among the Church and the many forms it can occur.  We should continue to be careful with this, and be mindful of our fellow Christian brothers and sisters, whether foreign, or local.  We should be more concerned with pleasing our God, and not feel ashamed doing it.  The rewards far outweigh any earthly pleasures or temporary joys.  Until the next study, be proud of who you are, be blessed, and be a blessing to others!  Let us bow our heads in prayer, and ask the LORD to help us to be graceful, mindful and considerate of others, and to be able to please our God without fear or shame before men!  And the people of the LORD say, Amen!!