EXPAND TO READ: 1 THESSALONIANS 1 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 8): What Paul says about the Thessalonians in these first few words of this verse is definitely convicting to me. He says, “for the Lord’s message rang out from you.” Then he continues on to say, “in every place that Your faith in God has gone out.” I have definitely struggled with evangelizing like this in my spiritual journey. I have struggled with my knowledge, wisdom, and interpretation of Your truth and Your word to the point that I do not often share what I have learned and felt from You with others. Please forgive me for my selfishness and lack of confidence, Father. Forgive me for being selfish with what You have done for me in my life, but also with not being confident enough in public to speak about such things. Help me to be better and do better in my spiritual journey, Father, so that I may be more confident in sharing what You want me to share.
PROMISE (verse 10b): I do understand that there’s a Spiritual war going on all the time, but I also understand that there will be a great battle and cleansing upon Jesus’ return. This is why this promise is so great to me. You promise us that Jesus will rescue us from the coming wrath. When the time comes, Jesus is our hope, our savior, and our salvation as You have promised us. Through Him we have safety, security, and protection from the wrath that has yet to come to this world. Thank You so much for Your perfect Son, Jesus, for without Him I would definitely be a victim of Your wrath in time.
ATTITUDE (verse 3): Two key points from this verse really stick out to me. Paul talks about the Thessalonians’ “labor of love” and “endurance of hope” all in our Lord Jesus Christ. Oftentimes I have walked in an attitude of labor in vain instead of in love. Oftentimes my endurance has not been strong due to my lack of hope in the moment. Help me to be better at walking in these attitudes in the way that You want me to, Father. Help me to truly embrace and understand what it means to live this life in the attitudes of laboring out of love and enduring the hope I have in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Guide me and lead me in Your ways, Father, so that I may be a better example of Your righteousness to those around me.
COMMAND (verse 6b): I have lived in a rebellious life for a long time, even since coming to faith. This goes against what You’ve commanded of me, however, and I am sorry for that. You command us to welcome Your message with joy from the Holy Spirit. Your command is to show You, Your truth, Your message, and Your counsel our love by embracing the welcoming and joy-filled Spirit You have blessed us with in this life. I have and am struggling with this for sure. I am getting better, but I do still struggle at times. I know this is Your command for me and I am trying to maintain a welcoming and joyful spirit in my heart, but there is just so much pain and hurt from my past that I find difficult to release and let go of. Continue Your works in me, Father, so that I may be healed of all of this pain from my past.
EXAMPLE (verses 5-7): The Thessalonians were not full of Apostles and righteous men who were directly birthed and made righteous by You. They learned through Your followers about You and how to do Your works. Paul writes that they became imitators of him and his men in their own lives. As a result of their imitations of Paul and his men, the Thessalonians eventually became an example of Your amazingness to several other towns around them. This is all because they imitated the few in order to ensure Your increase. I have several Godly men in my life now that I should be imitating at least a little bit. I definitely feel like I am on the right path of spiritual imitation, but I want to make sure that I do not overstep in a way that I become someone who You do not want me to become. You made me a certain way for a reason. Although I may have a very rebellious nature to me, which has caused many issues and slowdowns in my faith, it does not mean that I should be a replica or duplicate of the Godly men that I’ve surrounded myself with. I can use them as examples for some corrections I need to make in my life for sure, but I still need to build on my relationship with You to ensure I am growing in my spiritual journey the way You want me to.
*DAILY NOTE: I felt the urge to just keep moving forward in the New Testament in the books I have yet to do quiet times on and I’m so glad I did.When I first looked at 1 Thessalonians 1, I was thinking I would definitely need to read 1 and 2 because 1 is rather short.You had different plans for me today.The first chapter, in only 10 verses, is amazingly powerful and You revealed so much to me today in this next book of conversations with You.Thank You for speaking to me, Father, and for always knowing when I am ready for that next conversation.Thank You for moving in my heart to keep pressing forward and to not back down.Continue Your works in me to soften my heart and fix my old, broken ways.I am looking forward to what else the books of Thessalonians has in store for me over the next several quiet times.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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