Appointed for Salvation {1 Thessalonians 5}
12:30 AM
I
like to plan. I like to know who, what,
where, when,
why and how. When there’s
a detour, I can become anxious. But we
don’t know many things. Much of life
catches us off guard. I bet if I asked
you five years ago would there be 3 hurricanes and a massive earthquake all
back to back, you’d say, ‘no way’. Or if
you’ve ever been broken into you’d tell me you never thought that would happen
to you. But that’s how Jesus tells us He
will return (Matthew 24:32-44). Only our
Heavenly Father knows when He will send Jesus to return to earth. And while we are here, there’s work to be
done. We are to keep on doing God’s work
until we die or until we see the unmistakable return of our Savior.
I
don’t know about you, but I haven’t gotten bored with reading my bible. I don’t skim much anymore either. No, I dig deeper because I want to know more. There
are probably very few books I’ve read more than once. That’s what I think Paul is reminding us here
in this final chapter of the book of 1 Thessalonians. We need to encourage others to keep
reading and studying their bibles. We need to encourage them to keep on doing what is God's will. We need to 'live in peace with each other' (v. 13b). We need to thank our teachers
for their hard work. If you say nothing,
then how will they know? They deserve
our love and support for all the work that they do teaching and encouraging us!
Paul reminds us yet again to pray continually. It’s not our natural inclination to be joyful, to pray continually and to give thanks. But we are to obey the Lord in these commands and they should not fluctuate based on our circumstances. When we make a conscious decision to do what God says, we begin to see people in a whole new perspective. And when we do God’s will, we will find it easier to be joyful and thankful.
When
I begin my day by reading scripture, praying, studying and journaling, I find
myself in prayer throughout the day.
Sometimes it’s like an ongoing conversation because someone is in
surgery, or I know one of my kids has to take a difficult test. Other times it’s spontaneous due to a sudden
change in the course of my day. Or
because something wonderful has occurred.
I believe this is having a prayerful attitude all day long.
I
recently decided to spend more time praying about something I used to complain
about. And I’m here to say, I’m much
happier! My perspective looks so much
different. I’ve even suggested to other
people to pray for something they just never considered praying about.
I
think we often forget that we are to thank God IN everything, not FOR
everything. After all, evil does not
come from God, but we can be thankful FOR God’s presence and for the good He
will accomplish through this distress.
Just
as we refer to God as three-in-one, our entire being, body, soul and spirit are
our entire being. Paul was trying to
tell us that God must be involved in every aspect of our life. It’s wrong for us to think that we can
separate the spiritual life from everything else. We can’t just live for God one day a week. Christ is in control all day, every day, not
just the religious day.
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