Even though Paul was addressing this letter to the Church in Thessalonica…he probably could be speaking directly to any modern-day Church you know. Certain members of the Thessalonian Church, in anticipation of Christ’s return, had become careless and neglectful of their responsibility to work and support themselves. In other words…they were sitting around, waiting for the Rapture! Now, we may not see that degree of slothfulness in Church today…but what you can see is the attitude that “It’s me and Thee, God, and I’m not worrying about anybody else.” Paul warned that laziness and apathy would contribute to the downfall of any Church. Secondly, as the Church Body, we are to be Spiritual Cheerleaders for the fainthearted…the worry-warts…and those who can only see the cup half empty. We are to be encouragers of each other. Finally, as the Church, we are all to be ready with a helping hand for those who are weak spiritually, for when they grow, the Church grows.
Tag: daily encouraging devotional
Isaiah 1:11 ” The multitude of your sacrifices – what are they to Me? Says the Lord. I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.”
God looks carefully at what we offer Him. But He looks even more closely at what we don’t offer Him. Are you withholding some area of your life for fear He’ll tell you to stop it? Are you denying Him a corner of your world because you enjoy it way too much? What we offer up to the Lord is much more important to us than to Him…for what He’s looking for is a total surrender…a relinquishing of ourselves…and a giving up of control. As I Samuel 15:22 states, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” God’s looking for our obedience not some ritual.
Ephesians 1:18 ” I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.”
For many of us, we are riding on the shoulders of those who have come before us. Maybe it was a Grandmother, Great Aunt, or Great Uncle that were so influential in your early years. This someone, whose strong Christian walk stirred your own soul and formed early on your ideas of just who God was, became a shining example of His light and truth to you. And as they walked the walk and talked the talk…that assurance of who God was and His matchless power and authority became more real every day.
Ephesians 1:17 ” I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.”
What’s motivating your thoughts and actions today? Is it the Lord or something else? Is the driving force behind what you think and do Godly or worldly? When we are motivated by the desire to know God better, each day is a new discovery of divine knowledge…not just shown to us, but clarified and witnessed by the Holy Spirit within. And with that daily recognition of the truth, our motivation shifts from selfish to selfless.
Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”
You have found favor in the eyes of God. He will be your everlasting light, (Isaiah 60:19) and your shield, your very great reward. (Genesis 15:1) Walk before Him with all integrity, sincerity, and honesty and He will not hold back any good gift from you.
Colossians 1:9 ” For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His Will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
This would be my prayer for you today also. That the Lord would accomplish in your life His plan and purpose… and you would be able to grasp the concept and see the relationship between knowing God and living for Him. You know God to live…in other words, you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ which leads to eternal life. But then, you live to know God…that is, you continue to faithfully walk with God, which develops this close, intimate relationship that only grows deeper every day. I pray that you would know God to live, and live to know God. Amen.
II Corinthians 10:5 ” We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
When we’re going through a time of spiritual confusion…there are only two ways we can go. We can argue or chose to obey. We can spend our time trying to reason and debate our way out of the disconcertment in our life…or we can yield and submit ourselves to the authority and supremacy of God. You can’t think your way out of spiritual confusion…the only thing you can do is to obey what God places in front of you…step by step, day by day. For Christ demands unquestioning obedience from us, even when the way is shadowed.
Luke 11:5-8 ” Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ “
A man goes to his friend’s house at midnight looking for bread…but is told to “Go away!” In this story, his friend appears not to care about the man’s dilemma. Likewise for us, there are times when it appears to be a shrouding of God’s friendship for us…or at least times when we go through seasons of spiritual confusion. The Lord will seem like a distant, unkind and uncaring friend that won’t answer our calls. It’s during those times of spiritual confusion that we need to hold steadfast to what we already know…that God is faithful, trustworthy, and true. And we need to keep doing the right things…reading our Bible, praying, and maintaining our walk…all with tenacity. For later on in the story, because of the man’s stubborn persistence…his friend did get up and give him bread.
Matthew 13:58 ” And He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”
Imagine being in the crowd around Jesus and seeing people being healed and set free…but yet refusing to acknowledge His divinity, showing no confidence in His power, and doubting the promise of eternal life. No wonder Jesus placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief. Unbelief blinds our minds and causes our heart to become calloused. This lack of faith can hinder even the most righteous Believer at times…but just like the sick child’s father in Mark 9:24, we too can ask Jesus to,” Help me overcome my unbelief.”
Matthew 7: 13-14 ” Enter by the narrow gate…Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life…”
Living for Christ is hard…there’s no way around it. The moment you say “Yes” to Jesus, the world labels you as “One of those crazy religious people”. But it’s by those troubles we encounter that we learn perseverance and are forged into a willing vessel for God . And with each difficulty, we go from wounded to winner. As Oswald Chambers once said, “Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His Highest – our best for His glory?” Yes, the way is narrow and filled with difficulties, but just look where it leads.
Safetypinlove 