Moments With God

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 gives us a beautiful summary of a life lived for the Lord. This passage gives us the secret to joy and peace. I Thessalonians 5:16 tells us, "Be joyful always." It is easy to be happy when things are going smoothly in our lives, but the kind of joy talked about in this passage is not dependent on circumstances. This joy develops from our personal relationship with the Lord. This joy is in our hearts, because the Lord has forgiven our sins through His blood and because we know we belong the Lord for time and eternity. This joy is present in our lives, because we know the Lord will always be protecting us in His constant and enduring love. Even difficult circumstances can not destroy this joy. When we are tempted to lose our joy in the midst of life's daily problems we must remember that we are commanded, "Be joyful always."

I Thessalonians 5:17 goes on to tell us that we need to "pray continually." As one reads these words one might be tempted to say, "I can't always be praying. I have to work and tend to my many responsibilities and daily activities." It is true that we can't always be down on our knees in prayer or have our hands folded in prayer. We can and must, however, always be in an attitude or spirit of prayer; as we go about our daily activities. We must have a constant awareness of the Lord's presence beside, before, and behind us. There must be constant awareness that the Lord is only a prayer away from us. Our lives must be in constant touch with the Lord. An attitude or spirit of prayer should be a constant underlying power influencing our thoughts, actions, and attitudes. We also need to take time each day for prayer and Bible reading away from our daily activities. This is absolutely necessary for our spiritual well-being and for a healthy love relationship with the Lord. It is also necessary for preserving our joy and peace in the Lord.

Finally, in order to live a life pleasing to the Lord we must "give thanks in all circumstances." (I Thessalonians 5:18a) We must thank the Lord even in difficult or less than ideal circumstances, "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:20) Paul said in Philippians 4:11b-13, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." God wants us to be content and thankful in all our circumstances. The Lord wants us to trust Him to work all things out for our good and for His glory. Being joyful and thankful in all circumstances and being constantly in an attitude of prayer "is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (I Thessalonians 5:18b) This is the secret to a joyful life and a righteous relationship with the Lord Jesus!

I Thessalonians 5:1-11

History is the working out of the plan of God. All history is working towards the glorious day when Jesus Christ will return on the clouds of glory! This glorious day will be the culmination of history. We do not know when that glorious day of Christ's second coming will occur. The apostle Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 5:1-2, "Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." Christ's second coming will come suddenly, and it will come when we least expect it. Christ's second coming will come on the exact day God has determined for this event to happen. God has planned Christ's second coming from eternity, and Christ's second coming is prophesied numerous times in both the Old and New Testaments.

Those people who have rejected the Lord and are wrapped up in the things of the world will find Christ's second coming a sudden and unexpected day of destruction, and "they will not escape" the judgment of God. (I Thessalonians 5:3b) For the child of God, however, it will be a wonderful and glorious day! All God's children will be "caught up together" with those who love the Lord "in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." (I Thessalonians 4:17b)

Although God's children do not know the exact date of Christ's second coming they should always be prepared, and they should not be surprised when Christ's second coming occurs. I Thessalonians 5:4-5 says, "But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness." God's children need to walk as children of the light in preparation for Christ's second coming. They must walk in the light of the Lord's Holy Word and in the light of the Holy Spirit within them. They must not walk in the dark ways of Satan and the world.

God's children in preparation for Christ's second coming must also be spiritually alive and excited about living for the Lord. I Thessalonians 5:6 reminds us, "So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled." God's children must not become apathetic, indifferent, and spiritually asleep in their walk with the Lord. They must not be asleep to spiritual truths and realities. They must be very alert to the devil's ploys to draw them away from a vital and personal love relationship with their Lord. Instead God's children must be putting on Christ's spiritual armor. God's children must be daily "putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." (I Thessalonians 5:8b)

God's children must show that they are excited about Christ's second coming by living their lives in a way that is pleasing and honoring to the Lord. They must be passionately seeking to bring honor and glory to their Lord by their lives on this earth, and they should encourage their fellow believers to do the same. This life on earth is so fleeting. Chasing after the things of this world is meaningless and counts for nothing in eternity. Jesus Christ and a relationship with Him is all that matters for time and for eternity!

I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Revelation 7:9-17

What a wonderful day it will be for the child of God when the Lord Jesus Christ returns! I Thessalonians 4:16-17 tells us about that awesome day, "For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." What an exciting and awesome promise! We will be with the Lord forever! The promise of an eternity with the Lord is what gives our lives meaning, purpose, joy, and hope!

We do not know exactly what heaven will be like, but the book of Revelation gives us some clues. Revelation 7 tells us that there will be believers from every nationality and race with us in heaven. We will together be standing before the throne of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. We will be clothed in the Lord's righteousness. We already have been saved from the penalty or punishment of our sins by Christ's sacrifice on the cross. In Christ's atoning blood we already have the power to say no to Satan and sin. Because of our still remaining sinful natures we do not always choose God's way, but we do have the power of Christ at our disposable to choose God's will. We are not yet, however, free from the presence of sin in our lives. When Christ returns and we are with the Lord for eternity we will even be free from the presence of sin in our lives! When we go to be with the Lord we will no longer commit any sins! What a blessed thought!

When we are with the Lord forever in eternity we will joyfully and eternally be praising the Lord for our salvation. We will be worshipping the Lord saying, "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" (Revelation 7:12) We will also continually be serving the Lord with joy, "and He who sits on the throne will spread His tent" of eternal protection and love over us! (Revelation 7:15b)

When we are with the Lord forever in eternity never again will we hunger or thirst. Never again will we suffer physical or emotional pain of any kind. Revelation 7:17b says, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." The Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, will be our eternal shepherd and will lead us to "springs of living water" and to inexpressible joys!

Our lives on this earth are transitory and very brief compared to an eternity with the Lord. We must hang very loosely to the things of this world. This world is only a preparation for the glories of heaven. Our eternal home is our real home. Our homes on this earth are merely temporal. Let us live our lives on earth in the light and promise of an eternity with the Lord!

I Thessalonians 4:1-12

As children of God we need to stand firm in our faith. We also need to walk in faith. We must live our lives in a manner that is pleasing and honoring to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our relationship with Jesus Christ and our love for Him must be most important in our lives. Hence, we must seek to please and glorify the Lord in all things. We must desire to be obedient to our Lord's every wish. Our motives, attitudes, and actions need to demonstrate the presence of the Lord in our lives.

We need to walk in holiness in our lives of faith. We must not be in control of our own lives. God must be in control of our lives. Our whole purpose for being on this earth is to please God and to bring glory and honor to His name. Our passion must be to increasingly grow in our desire to please the Lord. I Thessalonians 4:1 tells us, "Finally, brothers, 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." God wants us to become increasingly sanctified or set apart for the Lord. He says to us, "You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (I Corinthians 6:19b-20) We must excel in holiness and passionately desire the Lord's presence in our lives. We need to desire the Lord more and more and desire the world less and less. We need to be striving for holiness in our lives because of our love for the Lord and because of our passionate desire to serve Him in all things.

Immorality was rampant in the Roman empire at the time the letter of I Thessalonians was written. The Apostle Paul was very concerned that the Thessalonian church would remain faithful and holy in this kind of environment. We also live in a very immoral society and world today. We need to be outraged by the temptations and lack of morality all around us. We must be very careful that we are not carried along by the immorality and philosophies of the world around us. Our lives as children of the Lord must be different than the lives of the worldly people around us. We must be carried along by the Lord and His wisdom and standards as revealed to us in His Holy Word. If we do not walk in the Lord's ways, there are always adverse consequences. Walking in the Lord's ways, however, always brings blessings. Paul said in I Thessalonians 4:6b-7, "The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." The Lord calls His children to holiness. We are being disobedient to His will, if we are not striving to increasingly live in holiness.

In our walk of faith we must walk in holiness. We must also walk in harmony with our fellow believers. We must love our fellow believers in Christ, because we "have been taught by God to love each other." (I Thessalonians 4:9b) God instructs us to love our fellow believers and to live in harmony with them, and the Lord instructs us "to do so more and more." (I Thessalonians 4:10b) We must not let petty arguments or selfish motives interfere with our love for our fellow believers in Christ.

Finally, in our walk of faith we must also walk in honesty. "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." (I Thessalonians 4:11-12) We must be minding our own business and not deliberately stirring up trouble. We must be busy in the things of the Lord. The Lord will return someday. We want to be found busy in the things of the Lord and striving to live holy lives for Him.

I Thessalonians 3

"For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord." I Thessalonians 3:8

Many times there are people in our lives who are very special and dear to us, but they live far away from us. Sometimes this causes a longing in our hearts to see them. Often we have a deep concern for their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being; but we feel limited in what we can do to better interact with them.

Paul had a great love and concern for the Thessalonian church. Paul was longing to see if they still were standing firm in their faith. Paul was hindered from going to them, however, by distance and circumstances. Finally, Paul could stand it no longer; and he sent Timothy to check on the believers in the Thessalonian church. Paul was concerned that the persecution and trials they were suffering would make them discouraged and give up on their faith. Paul was concerned that they would be lured away by the devil, because they were going through these difficult times in their lives. Timothy came back with a good report about the Thessalonian church, however. Timothy reported to Paul about this church's "faith and love." (I Thessalonians 3:6) Timothy also told Paul that this church was "standing firm in the Lord." (I Thessalonians 3:8b)

We too must find ourselves "standing firm in the Lord" even in times of great difficulty. Trials and tests are not accidents. Rather they are divine appointments given to us from the Lord. Often trials and tests in our lives help us to grow spiritually, and they help us to become more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Trials and tests help us to depend on the Lord instead of ourselves and other people. If we stand firm in our faith in the midst of trials and tests, our lives will be wonderful testimonies of God's grace to others. To be able to stand firm in our faith we need to be deeply immersed in God's Word and prayer, and we need to grow and develop in our love relationship with our Lord.

We also need to be concerned about our fellow believer's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Paul was unable to come to his fellow believers in the Thessalonian church, so he sent Timothy to them. Then he sent the letter of I Thessalonians to them. We must demonstrate this same kind of love to others, as Paul demonstrated to the Thessalonian church. We can even show this same kind of love to those who are living far away from us by sending letters, e-mails, and cards and by visiting them when we can. When Paul heard that the Thessalonian church was persevering in their faith he said, "For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord." (I Thessalonians 3:8) We need to have that same kind of concern for the spiritual welfare of others.

Finally, Paul prayed for the Thessalonian church. Paul's prayer for the Thessalonian church is found in I Thessalonians 3:12-13. Paul prayed, "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones." We also must pray for others even those who live great distances away from us. Our prayer for ourselves and others should be that our love for each other will increase and be overflowing. We also need to pray that we will grow in holiness, and that our heartfelt passion will be to serve and love the Lord. Our prayer for ourselves and others must be that we will always be found, "standing firm in the Lord," (I Thessalonians 3:8b) and that Jesus Christ will remain our only hope and purpose for time and eternity.