This year is almost coming to an end and I believe
it’s time for us to take the time to slow down a bit and meditate in how many
ways we’ve been blessed by our Heavenly Father throughout this ending year.
So many people become so busy thinking about the celebration
of the holyday season: the food, the gifts and decorations. The commercial
advertisements are continually trying to convince us we need to buy more to
make this season special. So many people live these days in busyness and
anxiety. Trying to be “Merry” according to family or cultural traditions, but we
could easily fall in the trap and forget the “reason for the season”! Paul encourages us (the Church) to focus on
what truly glorifies the Lord:
“Finally, believers, we
ask and admonish you in the Lord Jesus, that you follow the instruction that
you received from us about how you ought to walk and please God (just
as you are actually doing) and that you excel even more and more [pursuing a life of purpose and living in a
way that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation]” (4:1) (Emphasis
mine)
“9 Now concerning brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write you, for you have been [personally] taught by
God to love one another [that is, to have an unselfish concern for others and
to do things for their benefit]….
But we urge you, brothers and sisters, that you
excel [in this matter] more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to live
quietly and peacefully,”
(4:9, 11a)
-To excel more
and more: this means that Christian maturity is never finished
on this side of eternity. No matter how far a Christian has come in love and
holiness, they can still abound more and more.
-We need to live a quiet and peaceful life so
that we can really take the time and give the attention to listen to God and
get to know Him better. We need to live not only for our time in this world,
but prepared for eternity (4:13-18).
Paul is calling us to be awake, sober, and watchful: “So then
let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does],
but let us keep wide awake [alert and cautious] and let us be sober
[self-controlled, calm, and wise]. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and
those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we [believers] belong to the
day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a
helmet, the hope and confident
assurance of salvation. (5: 6-8 AMP)
Paul used in this verse the image of a soldier's armor
to illustrate the idea of watchfulness. A soldier is a good example of
someone who must watch and be sober, and he is equipped to do
that with his armor. Isn’t that awesome?
-Putting on the breastplate (to protect our heart) of
faith and love, and as a helmet (to protect our mind) the hope of salvation. “We
need the spiritual armour, or the three Christian graces, faith, love, and
hope. Faith; if we believe that the eye of God is always upon us, that there is
another world to prepare for, we shall see reason to watch and be sober.”
M.Henry
By taking Paul’s following instructions we will be not
only sober and alert, but live with joy:
“Rejoice always and delight in your faith; 17 be
unceasing and persistent in
prayer; 18 in every situation [no matter what the
circumstances] be thankful and continually
give thanks to God; for this is the
will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (5:16-18)
Not only rejoicing in happy situations, but in sorrows
also. Paul reminds us to rejoice always because our joy isn't based in our
circumstances, but in God. Circumstances change, but our God doesn't! “Laying
our concerns at our Lord’s feet with thanksgiving, reminds us that someone
greater than us is concerned about what we are going through.” (iWorship Bible)
I encourage you to continue these final weeks of 2018
putting on “your armor” and with an attitude of thanksgiving. Here are some
quotes on gratitude:
"When
joy and prayer are married their first born child is gratitude." (Spurgeon)
"It is
not joy that makes us grateful, it is gratitude that makes us joyful." *
"Small
seeds of gratitude will provide a harvest of hope." *
"Gratitude
is the best attitude." *
"Gratitude
can transform common days into thanksgivings. Turn routine jobs into joy. And
change ordinary opportunities into blessings." — William
Arthur Ward
"Today
be thankful and think how rich you are. Your family is priceless, your time is
gold and your health is wealth." *
"For
each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of night, for health and
food, for love and friends, for everything thy goodness sends." — Ralph
Waldo Emmerson
"Let our
hearts be full of both thanks and giving." *
"Gratitude
turns what we have into enough." *
"I'm
thankful for so many things, but mostly, God. Without him I'd have nothing else
to be thankful for." — Unknown *
"If the
only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice." — Meister
Eckhart
