Day 11: Things to Live By

photo by Simon Maage

Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

“Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Don’t stifle the Spirit. Don’t despise prophecies, but test all things. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every form of evil.”

Understand:

  1. Scripture gives us seven things, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, that we are to do. List them briefly.

Listen:

I love this verse. Although it isn’t always easy to follow these seven mandates, I believe these brief directions were meant for us to have because they are succinct and to the point.

  1. “Rejoice.” We are not only to rejoice, but we are supposed to do it always. When life seems like it is imploding around us or we are just weary, we are to rejoice. Not always easy to do but when you turn your thoughts to rejoicing and praising God, it puts you in a better place to handle things.
  2. “Pray.” Again, we aren’t just to pray, we are to pray constantly. This doesn’t mean do nothing else but stay in prayer every day, all day. It means that Christ should be in your thoughts and on your mind in all situations. When you can focus on Christ, things will be easier to deal with and get through. You have hope!
  3. “Give thanks.” Being thankful has been tied to all kinds of psychological health. When we allow our minds to focus on things that we are truly thankful for, it puts us in a different mindset. It allows us to grow because we aren’t being weighed down constantly by negativity. This little piece of advice is a workout for you spiritually but also has emotional, mental, and physical health benefits.
  4.  “Don’t stifle the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit was given to us so God can pour His love into us (Romans 5:5); so we can experience righteousness, peace, and joy (Romans 14:17); so that we can have hope (Romans 15: 13); so we can claim Jesus as our Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3); so we can be sealed in our salvation because of Christ (Ephesians 1:13-14). 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us that our bodies serve as the sanctuary for the Holy Spirit and we should use ourselves to glorify God. When you forget your emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health, are you glorifying God in the sanctuary He has given you?
  5. “Don’t despise prophecies but test all things.” 1 Corinthians 14:22 tells us that prophecies were given to believers, not unbelievers but it also tells us to test all things so we won’t be led astray. Always check scripture to see if it is Truth.
  6. “Hold on to what is good.” Romans 12:9 reiterates the importance of seeking good. It states, “Detest evil; cling to what is good.” Then again in verse 21 of the same chapter it states, “Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” There is power that is associated with good and our focus should be on pursuing that which is good.
  7. “Stay away from evil.” This might seem so obvious because evil is bad. But, look at these verses in James 1:13-15: “No one undergoing a trial should say, ‘I am being tempted by God.’ For God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.” We might see something as being small and not so bad but once we allow ourselves to step into the path of evil, it comes right in but it doesn’t stop there. The evil entices initially then becomes sin and grows. Eventually it leads to death. There isn’t stopping it once we let it get out of control. God makes it easy. He tells us to stay away from it! He tells us to pursue good and cling to good so we won’t walk the path of destruction.

Some of us just need a short, simple list that gives us direction. I believe God gave us these verses for this reason. Scripture is so important to read and set in our minds and hearts; but, I know it’s hard to know every verse in the Bible. For daily living, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, can be life changing. Look again at the words in bold from #1 thru #7. See if you can set those to memory.

Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for Your word and for giving us directions we need to help us navigate our life while we are on the earth. Help us remember them and use them so we not only can draw closer to You in how we live but so we can be successful in life. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.