Getting Applause from God Alone How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God? John 5:44

In daily life, I don’t think most of ever stop to realize how much we do to please other people. If we take into account the pressure we feel around family members, co-workers, professional peers, neighbors, in-laws, or parishioners, and then add up the hours we spend working and worrying to gain their approval, it is a staggering percentage of our time. Added to that the time we spend pleasing ourselves, trying to get our own minds right, and get what we want, and it only adds to the mountain-sized garbage heap we build our lives around.

Jesus, asks a simple question. In regards to our true belief, why don’t we at least work that hard to gain praise from God? You might say, “Well, we don’t need to gain his approval, we already are approved through Christ.” Yes, we are accepted fully through Christ as we are. But this scripture is about living in such a way that we get God to wink at us, to smile over us, or to get a thumbs up, as it will. God doesn’t just see an ocean of souls he has accepted. He sees you and me all by ourselves and we can live in such a way that He knows that all we care about is pleasing Him.

Today, how can Jesus get the first appointment with you? What can you say “no” to on his account? What can you now say “Yes” to because you’ve made him first?