Good morning, all!
Father, we look to You only to show us how to live this life, how to walk it out to give You glory. We pray Lord, You give us the strength and the wisdom to win each and every day, to bring honor to Your kingdom and let Your light shine among the world we live in, Amen.
1 Thessalonians 5
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
No matter what you face in this life remember who’s WILL is more important (divine purpose for your life) that you become more like Christ so Give THANKS for the good and bad you face.
19 Quench not the Spirit.
And when you face life’s challenges DON’T put out the FIRE… (passionate heart to serve God) …with thoughts of indifference.
20 Despise not prophesyings.
Don’t ignore God’s word as though it’s just another poetic book that just sounds nice and has NO effect on who we are and how to live our life.
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Examine your heart in ALL that you do and HOLD onto the right choice so it will produce GOOD for the kingdom of God…peace and joy.
22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
And if a choice even looks like it might HURT God’s kingdom or one of His children…tap the brakes and do NOT even entertain that thought.
Bottom line
Paul wrote two letters and visited Thessalonica multiple times, why? They were stubborn, they believed some of the message applied to them and some of it didn’t…sounds like most of the world to me. You know what Thessalonica means in Greek? FALSE victory, they thought they were winning in life but NOT so, at least according to God…if He still matters? What was the false victory? They believed they were superior…also called self-righteous…and they believed you do whatever you have to get the victory…get your way…win at all cost. Paul addresses the issue in the previous chapter pretty clearly.
[1Th 4:6 NIV] And that in this matter no one should hurt or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. If the only way you win or get your way is to hurt others or take advantage of them that is a FALSE victory. Most of the world will step on one another to get their way or get ahead, how else do you win? Guess it all depends on what you call winning? How does our CREATOR define it?
[Phl 3:8 NLT] Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could win Christ. If our victory did NOT bring us closer to Jesus Christ, then we LOST, or should I say we are LOST! We’re just wandering in the wilderness looking for our next win and all the while we’re getting further and further from the love of Christ. How we win…LIVE…matters to God. God says in EVERYTHING give thanks; everything is everything. It doesn’t mean if you don’t like your current situation you get to do whatever you want to put a win on the board. He tells us right after that NOT to quench the SPIRIT not the flesh, what does the spirit of God say regarding your current landscape? When Paul tells us to PROVE all things it’s NOT things, he’s telling us to prove who we truly are. We do this by abstaining from the appearance of evil, meaning it will NOT appear in us. Ephesians tells us how to get rid of all the evil in our life.
[Eph 4:32 NLT] Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. INSTEAD means winning God’s way, did you notice that little phrase after He told us to be kind? “JUST AS GOD” …remember the old Gator-Ade commercial with Michael Jordan “be like Mike” well, Be like God, how? Win with Kindness! To win the RIGHT way starts with KINDNESS which requires a TENDER heart one that’s on fire for God and NOT winning at all cost. If we can’t win by being KIND to one another, news flash…YOU didn’t win anything expect for more GARBAGE, it’s ALL garbage if we don’t win Christ in this life. Is there anything that can quench your spirit?
[Sng 8:7 NLT] Many floods cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it. If a man tried to buy love with all his wealth, his offer would be utterly worthless. Nothing can drown our love, and the world doesn’t have enough money to buy it, it is the greatest gift given to us by God and it’s the only way you can WIN…listen to your Coach, He’s called your next play…Love like Christ!
Point to Ponder
Didn’t Jesus tell us to love our neighbor? [Rom 13:10 AMP] Love does no wrong to a neighbor [it never hurts anyone]. Therefore, [unselfish] love is the fulfillment of the Law. Never means never…love like Christ NOT the world.
Let’s all win with love, In Him Phil
Faith – Family – Friends