God is so good! The Bible, God's word, is a manual of how to live our lives pleasing to Him. The Lord led me to 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12, I didn't realize how much guidance a 5 chapter book could provide. Living to Please God. The first verse of chapter four says, "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." For me this verse is saying, "Yeah you've got the concept, now work harder to live in a way that pleases your Father."
This urge to please God brings me to Galatians 1:10 "Am I trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." As Christians we should be living to serve Christ, if we desire to be servants of Christ we cannot try to please men but must be trying to please God. Similar to my post about the 21 Day "Read Your Bible" Challenge, I can always find some sort of excuse to do something other than spend time with God. There are so many things that I can fill my time with that are not pleasing to God. Ignoring the fact that my Daddy wants to spend time with me creates a space that allows Satan to come between us. When I'm not spending quiet time with God each day, Satan finds ways to sneak in and warp my thoughts or even my heart. As I desire to spend eternity with my Father in Heaven, I will work to live in a way that pleases God.
Getting back to 1 Thessalonians, Verses 3-5 focus entirely on sexual immorality. Living in a society where sex is used to sell everything, even diapers, sexual pressures from the media and our peers is hard to ignore. But if we want to please God we must lead pure lives. Verses 7-8 say, "For 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." If we are not living a pure life, we are rejecting God. And our Father in Heaven punishes us just as our earthly fathers punish us. To avoid punishment, most likely from both fathers, like a pure life, spend time to learn from Jesus' example.
Verses 9-10 mention how we have been taught by God to love each other which led me to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." What an awesome gift God has given us by loving us! "Love never fails," and since God is love, He will never fail! God is wanting us to love on others in the same way He loves on us.
Verses 11-12 are to the point in saying we should lead a quiet life and to mind our own business. In doing so we will gain the respect of others and will not be dependent on anybody. So let us live our lives dependent on God alone, working to please Him alone. Trusting in Him that he will provide for us, no matter what.
God Bless!
~Paige
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