Rest in the Lord

 Rest in the Lord

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

 

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5

In gratitude, respond to the Lord. Say praise; no to prayerlessness. As always rely on the Spirit and seek to honour the Father.

see you next week 

Only through the Spirit

 

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honour, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

1 Thessalonians 4

This book we have been journeying through 1Thessalonians was written to young believers to help them cope with the challenges of their time. This is a challenge for all Christ followers no matter the age they are living in. Society, tradition, and modern culture will always honour and revere the very opposite of what our Lord says. BUT we have the Spirit of the living God and we can dare rise above and live to honour our Father in all. Trust His Spirit for no matter what He will give you strength and direct you to your Father.

Walk in encouragement and alert

 

Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's co-worker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labour would be in vain.

But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly

 

 Spiritual alertness and encouragement are part of our journey as Christ-followers.

Even though we are surrendered to the Lord, we walk aware that we could stumble and fall. Fellow believers in Christ are used by  our Father to encourage us but also  to warn us lest we fall. Be open to teaching and guidance we are not able to discern our own blind-spots, test all you hear though and rely on the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord is above all

 

For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea.

1 Thessalonians 2

Our Lord is above all. He is above all kings and all rulers. He is above whatever modern culture, or us, have decided to honour more than  Him.

One of the ways we show that our Lord is above all is by choosing to live in honour of Him. We honour Him by imitating in our speech, and in our conduct to other believers and the nonbelievers. Imitating our Lord not only honours Him but draws others to the hope that we believe.  Being different and Christlike may be be ridiculed but it also is a great conversation starter and as gospel-carriers gives us an opportunity to share the gospel.

Our Living Hope

 

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and

how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

 1 Thessalonians 1

 

Our true hope as followers of Christ, His gospel-carriers, is the hope of His second coming. No matter the affliction or challenge our Father has provided us with His Spirit that enables us to live in our hope joyfully. He enables us to live lives pleasing to the Father and of great testimony to those around us.