April 3 - Every Good Purpose

Today's Reading:
2 Chronicles 33:14-34:33
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
Psalm 119:25-32 
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Focus Verses:
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Insight:
Paul was confident that God would one day act in justice and put the world to rights. He was sure that destruction would come upon all who rebelled against God, rejected the gospel of Christ, and persecuted the church. He was just as convinced that blessing would be poured out upon all who had put their faith in Christ and followed him through thick and thin.

With that in mind, Paul prayed for his Christian friends in Thessalonica. He prayed that God would fulfill every good intention and every righteous act prompted by their faith. He wanted Jesus to be lifted up and glorified in their lives.

Response and Action:
My faith should help me persevere in times of trial. It should move me toward good purposes and spur me on toward good deeds. God's grace and power help me to become the person he has in mind for me to be, and to accomplish the good work he has in mind for me to do.

Help me, O Lord, transform my life, shape my desires, and prompt me toward the righteous acts you have prepared for me to do. I am your workmanship. May my faith in Jesus prompt me to delight in your will, to want what you want, and to walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Resources:
The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives
by Dallas Willard