Thoughts on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Rejoice always, praying without ceasing, in everything gives thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." ~      1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Wow. Those are some challenging commands to follow.  Does it really mean to rejoice always? To pray without ceasing? To give thanks in everything?  These were (and still are) some of my initial thoughts about this passage in 1 Thessalonians 5.  I mean, how can I truly apply this to my life? It it even possible? 

No. It is not possible. I cannot rejoice always, praying without cease, and give thanks in everything without Jesus Christ.  Humanly, it is not possible.  But with God all things are possible.  

Sure, it's easy to thank God when things are going my way, when life is good.  But what about when things are not good from my limited view point? When things don't do my way? Do I still believe that God has planned it for good? That everything is a gift from Him?  So many times I let my circumstances control my attitude instead of letting Jesus Christ rule over all.  

In order to be thankful at all times I must realize that God works all things out for good.  I must look for the good in the "bad".  Until I realize that all is a gift from God, I will complain when life doesn't go my way.  All I have is a gift from Him and without His grace I will fail to see these gifts.  That's why I must pray without ceasing.  I must live in constant dependance on Him because if I'm not dependent on Him, I will be dependent on my flesh.   And my flesh doesn't want to thank anyone for anything because it depends on itself.   Without Jesus Christ's grace, I won't even want to look for the good.

So I must die to my flesh and purpose to look for the gifts of God in each and every moment of life.   

This is hard.  It doesn't come naturally. But with God all things are possible.  I won't be perfect.  But I must continue, by God's grace, to create the habit of looking for God's gifts.  To practice, practice, practice.  To ask God to open my eyes that I may see His wonderful works.  

This is where the joy comes in.  The Bible says, "In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16:11b)  Joy is found in God.  And God is evident everywhere - if I'm looking for Him.   I must choose to acknowledge His presence and His working in every detail of every part of my life.  It's when I thank God for His gifts that I can live in His presence.  "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him and bless His name." (Psalm 100:4)  Joy only comes with thanksgiving.  I cannot rejoice always unless I am thankful, unless I am continually looking for the gifts God bestows on me.  

So, "rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks." Creating these habits will allow me to live life to its fullest -  "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  There's no better place to be than in His will.  

May God give me grace to live these verses out in my life!

We've been hearing the Word a lot recently...

For all of you participating in the National Bible Bee this year, I'm sure that you agree that you've been hearing the Word a lot.  We've all been studying it for hours on end.  We've been memorizing it and getting into our minds constantly.  What a great opportunity this has been! To think that we are able spend hours at a time just absorbing the very Word of God.

So yes, we've all been hearing the Word a lot recently.  But we can't just be hearers of the Word - We have to be doing it.  We have to be applying it to our every day lives.

This can sometimes be a struggle for me.  I can sit down and study the Word - Recite verses and investigate passages for hours on end.   But once I've checked it off my list, I've been living my life how I want to live it.   I've been convicted of separating the Word from my daily life.  Of course, I agree with the Word and its main principles.  But I am truly applying it to my life?  Am I letting it change my heart - not just my mind.   When my mom asks me to help her with my siblings, do I truly do it with thanksgiving, rejoicing that I can serve?  Or do I do it half-heartly with complaining because I'm not able to get my studying done.   I can get so caught up in studying to get things checked off my list that I forget the ultimate purpose for studying in the first place.  My ultimate goal should be to glorify and exalt the name of Christ, not to get my verses perfect or to know every greek word possible.   My main goal should be to learn more about my great God and what He would want me to do, not to try to live up to men's expectations of me.  My main goal should not be to know the Word in my mind, but to truly hide it in my heart that I might not sin against God.  I need to be a doer of the Word not just a hearer.  I cannot become complacent with just studying the Word and patting myself on the back for being in the Word.  It means nothing unless I let it transform my life.

So the next time your mom asks you to help her and you still have two hours worth of Bible Bee study to complete, don't sigh and help only half heartedly. "And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men" (NKJV) We've all memorized it - but have we truly hidden it in our hearts? Or have we simply reviewed it enough to make sure that it's word perfect? 

We must remember that doing the Word is just as important (if not more important) as studying it.  All our studies will be useless if we don't let them impact our daily life.   Let's be doers of the Word, not just hearers, that others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.  Let's do it all for the praise and honor of our Lord Jesus Christ!

A Work In Progress

Philippians 1:6: “being confident in this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”

           

            “Come quickly and look at what I found!”

            I rushed over from across the field to see what Amy had found.  I was at a diamond park with my friend Amy.  She was an expert diamond hunter and I was tagging along with her for the day while she hunted.  We spent hours searching and I was tempted to just give up and go home, but Amy kept on looking patiently. 

            Now, as I rushed across the field, Amy was holding up a huge black object.  When I reached her, she excitedly exclaimed, “Look at this diamond I found!”

            I studied the ugly object in her hands.  A diamond? Could that ugly thing of dirt be a diamond?  

            Amy noticed my puzzled look and explained,  “Of course, it doesn’t look like a diamond now.  It looks like a big old stone.  But, you watch; with lots of washing, chiseling, and shinning, this rock will be a beauty unlike anything you’ve ever seen.   You just wait and see.” 

            I wasn’t completely convinced.  I mean, the rock Amy held looked hopeless; it was caked with dirt and awfully out of shape.  It seemed beyond repair.  I shrugged my shoulders, “Whatever. I mean if you want to try and make something of that thing, go ahead.  I sure wouldn’t want to waste my time on it, though.” 

            Amy just smiled. “Let’s get going,” she said, “I want to start working on this right away.” 

            For the next few weeks, Amy was obsessed with that rock.  Every moment she could be found working patiently on her “prize” as she would affectionately call it.  She labored endlessly.  At times, it seemed that she was making no progress; the rock still looked ugly and dirty.   I tried to tell her to just give up, that it just wasn’t worth all that work. 

            But Amy would just say, “I still working on it.  It will perfect yet.” 

            And no mattered how stubborn the rock would be, Amy never gave up.  She still loved that little rock as if it were her own child. 

            One day, after weeks and weeks of ceaseless work, Amy called me into her work room and showed me a sparkling, purely white, absolutely exquisite diamond.

            I gasped, “Where did you ever get this?”

            “This,” she said, “is the ugly, hopeless rock that I found in that field with you all those weeks ago.”

            I stood there, gaping, “How in the world.....?”

            “Oh, believe me,” Amy said, “This took a lot of work and much patience, but don’t you think it was worth it?” 

           

              Do you ever feel discouraged about your own sinfulness? In many ways, we are like that diamond.  God found us hopelessly lost in sin, buried in the ugly dirt of our own flesh.  He rescued us from our despairing state.  He adopted us into His family.  But we didn't become automatically perfect.  We still are not perfect.  We still have many faults and impurities.  And many times we get discouraged about all our disobedience.  We think, “Can we ever get anything right?”  We must remember that God is still working on us.  He is still patiently molding, shaping, and cleaning us of our sin.  His purpose for everything in our lives is to conform us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29).   We need to let Him work and not try to be good on our own.  We must remember that apart from Christ we are nothing.  He is our righteousness. 

            So, the next time you are discouraged about your sin, take a deep breath and surrender yourself to the mighty hand of God.  Don’t fight His hand as He molds you - even though His proddings may hurt.  Remember that He has promised to complete the good work which He has started in you.  One day, you will be sinless before His throne.   Praise the Lord!