1 Thessalonians 5:1-28
👉 Because the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, believers:
- do not live in darkness
- are children of the light / day
- should not sleep
- should stay awake / sober
- wear the breastplate of faith and love
- wear the helmet of hope
- are not destined for wrath
- will live with him forever
👉 Paul’s Final Instructions
- respect those who labor among you and those over you / esteem them very highly in love
- be at peace among yourselves (with fellow believers)
- admonish the idle
- encourage the faint hearted
- help the weak
- be patient with all
- do not repay evil for evil
- always seek to do good to one another (in the church) and everyone (outside of the church)
- rejoice always
- pray without ceasing
- give thanks in all circumstances
- do not quench the spirit
- do not despise prophesies
- test everything
- hold fast what is good
- abstain from every evil
👉 And God:
- sanctifies
- keeps us blameless
- is faithful
I love Paul and I love his heart. His final words read like a mom dropping her child off at college for the first time.
Don’t forget this…
Oh, and do this…
And stay away from this…
And one more thing…
And one more thing…
I love that his instructions involve how to live among those inside and outside the church. I love how there is no room for gray areas.
Be patient with EVERYONE.
ALWAYS seek to do good.
Rejoice ALWAYS.
Pray WITHOUT CEASING.
Give thanks in ALL circumstances.
Test EVERYTHING.
Abstain from EVERY evil.
We like grey areas. We like wiggle room. We like loop holes. And Paul is having none of it.
And I like that.
Happy Sunday, friends.
👉 Who is ready for 2 Thessalonians? 😃
