Today's Reading:O.T. - 2 Kings 18 - 19
N.T. - 1 Thessalonians 1
Focus Verses: 1 Thes. 1:4-7
4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
Insight:
The Thessalonian Christian's faith in Christ and commitment to him was very plain to see. Their faith was more than words; their lives were changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. They lived with deep conviction and followed the pattern for life the Apostle Paul had given to them. They were not deterred from following Jesus, even if it resulted in suffering. Their work produced by faith, their labor prompted by love, and their endurance inspired by hope in Christ (1:3), was a wonderful model for all Christians to follow.
Response and Action:
My faith in Christ must be more than words. Real faith in Christ results in my life being changed. I want to experience the power and grace of the Holy Spirit at work in my life. My convictions must be deep, and must be lived out. I must have a devotion to Christ that endures hardship and suffering. I want to follow the example of Christian leaders who model true faith as they are shaped and transformed by the Spirit, and as they are faithful to Christ through thick and thin.
Lord God, let my faith be more than words. Grant me a deep conviction to following Christ and transform me by the power of your Holy Spirit. Thank you for those Christian men and women who are good examples for me to follow. Help me, by faith, to do good works; give me endurance inspired by my hope in Jesus; and may my love for Christ prompt me to be his faithful servant. Amen.
Proverbs: 31:30
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."
Resources:
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
by Eugene H. Peterson
