1 Thessalonians 4:1-11
"God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit."
(1 THESSALONIANS 4:7-8)
Holy living for us is not automatic, as we are painfully aware. Though we share God's nature (2 Peter 1:4), we still need at least two other things: knowledge and power. Paul mentions both in today's Scripture verses: knowledge comes through instruction from God's Word, and power comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The primary way God speaks to and instructs us is through the Bible. Prayer and Bible reading are like the two sides of a personal conversation. We speak to God in prayer; He speaks to us in His Word.
Most of us know more of God's Word than we are obeying. What we need is Someone to give us the desire and ability to obey it. The Lord meets us here in the Person of His Holy Spirit. "It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose" (Philippians 2:13). All that we need for holy living has been given us, so we ought to be without excuse. Yet we still fail day after day. That is why He gave us Jesus, the provision of perfect holiness when our efforts fall short.
INSIGHT
"LORD, HELP ME LIVE TODAY IN OBEDIENCE TO YOUR WORD AND DEPENDENCE ON YOUR HOLY SPIRIT."
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
2 Kings 18-19
Proverbs 20
1 John 5
1 Thessalonians 4:1-11
New International Version (NIV)
Living to Please God
4 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you,
Footnotes:a.1 Thessalonians 4:4 Or learn to live with your own wife; or learn to acquire a wife
b.1 Thessalonians 4:6 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family.
ALL OTHER GROUND [PART 2]
Quick fixes don't usually work and the easy way out is rarely the best way. This is true in matters of personal finance and in your walk with God. Jesus had something to say about both.
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