1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

I found these words encouraging and I hope you do as well today:

1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

Final Instructions

Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.  Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.  Live in peace with each other.  And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.  Test everything.  Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.  May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

Lord, thank you for your Word.  Thank you for all you have done and continue to do in our lives.  Amen.

Opposed

My wife and I had a really lovely time yesterday afternoon.  The sun was out, the kids were off doing things teenagers do at the mall, so we decided to head down and find a bench by the river and just enjoy the spring weather.  We had talked about doing a 40 days of prayer as a couple and as we sat on the bench we made a list of people and circumstances that we wanted to pray for in the next 40 days.  It was really a great time.

Just a short couple hours later as we were planning on doing something as a family, one little thing, some miss-communication and our daughter, my wife and I are all mad and upset with each other.  

As I look back on it this morning, I see it for what it was.  I'm pretty sure that our enemy doesn't want my wife and I to be of one mind, focused in prayer on the same people and circumstances for 40 days.  The fruit that could come from that prayer in the form of God working in our lives and in those we are praying for...is not something our enemy wants to happen.  So we are opposed.

Satan doesn't like it when we make progress in our walk with Jesus.  When you feel like your making headway spiritually, it always feels like another part of your life is falling apart.

John 16:33 - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world."

Psalm 31:24 - Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

When you feel opposed, take heart and place your hope securely in the Lord.  He is with you and just as He has pursued you...pursue Him, seek Him...and He will strengthen you.

Would you consider doing 40 days of prayer with your spouse?  If not, why?

Lord, today I pray for the marriages represented by those reading this.  I pray that you would bring peace to each of them, I pray you would strengthen each of them in your Word and in prayer.  Help us to grow closer together as we grow closer to You, together.  In Jesus's Name, Amen!

Grace

One of the things that we talk about often is 'grace'.  Grace is very important to us because of the grace that our God has given us, and the grace we are called to give to each other.  I read a blog yesterday around the idea of giving grace to employees and fellow workers in the workplace and it got me wondering about what grace really is, and how that blog would translate to gospel community.  So I looked it up and found several different definitions.  For my purposes I picked these three:

• generosity of spirit: a capacity to tolerate, accommodate, or forgive people
• gift of God to humankind: in Christianity, the infinite love, mercy, favor, and goodwill shown to humankind by God
• freedom from sin: in Christianity, the condition of being free of sin, e.g. through repentance to God

As I quickly found out the word 'grace' has many different meanings and uses.  I also realized that I don't have the capacity to properly define it, articulate it, or provide a proper example of it.  It just feels so beyond what my mind can grasp.

Here are a couple statements from that blog that caught my eye, slightly modified:

"Grace. It seems we’ve taken the marrow out of the word. We’ve Americanized it to mean that we can do anything we darn well please, invoke the grace card, and smile our way through our transgressions.

Why is it that we applaud Jesus offering grace to folks, but we miss how He threw a holy-hissy-fit in the temple, turning over tables? That’s not gracious—certainly not conciliatory. What kind of tyrannical boss would do that?But what if grace is invoked to such an extent that innocents are harmed? What if we extend so much grace to others that they’re enabled to keep offending? Is that grace?"

I don't know that I would have used the same words as the author of this blog, but I think the author made a great point.  At what point does grace (a capacity to tolerate, accommodate) become problematic?  At what point does this grace start to enable people to remain in the sin that they are most definitely called away from?  A couple verses to consider today:

Romans 6:1-2 - What shall we say, then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means!  We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

Jude 1:4 - ...They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord"

Lord, I pray that You would help us to fully understand the grace You have offered and to accept it fully. I pray that You will lead us and show us how to always properly apply grace to ourselves and others. I also pray that You would reveal to us, areas where we have allowed grace to become a license to continue our sinful behavior or as an excuse to not challenge or call others out of theirs.  Be with us to day, guide and direct us as You see fit.  In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Like clay in the hand of the potter...

Romans 5:1-5 - Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace which we now stand.  And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

James 1:2-4 - Consider it put joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

This week we (as a ministry) have seen suffering and trials of many kinds.  We have seen the glory of God through the suffering and God glorified by those suffering.

But through it all one thing has been constant and unchanging...God's love.

And in His love, He uses the sufferings and trials to mold us and transform us.  Through the sufferings and trials He is producing perseverance, building character, increasing our hope and faith.  As He transforms us we become more and more mature and complete.

Jeremiah 18:6 - He said "Can I not do with you Israel, as this potter does?" declares the Lord.  "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel"

Lord, it's been amazing to see how You are working in the men and families of Warrior at Heart Ministry this week.  The overwhelming love and support of brothers as they face some of the most difficult times in their lives.  It's during these times that we see just how much You have changed and transformed hearts.  Thank you Lord for leading us, guiding us and most of all...for loving us, for transforming us.  In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen!