1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11
9-11 God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.
I think the news has been pretty forthcoming that the world is becoming a more dangerous place basically, by the hour. I had recently discussed with some friends that I didn't even want to go to the bigger cities right now because I think you could very easily be a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I spent most of week before last in Springfield. On Thursday morning, Kathy, my traveling companion to Springfield many times, and I were hearing how a woman was attacked in a park in Springfield the night before while playing Pokémon Go. I had made the statement that I wouldn't tell my mom about this, because she had been leery of me even going to Springfield. Little did I know at the time that while the woman was being attacked in Springfield, a fatal shooting was taking place in my work town of Greenup, population, 1700.
As Christians, we have been told that things will constantly get worse until Christ comes back to get us and the tribulations starts. At the same time, as Christians, we should try our best every day to make it better. It would be so easy just to sit back and say, " We knew this was going to happen, so we'll just wait until Christ comes".
Paul tells us we are supposed to work for the Lord until the bitter end though.
Philippians 2:14-16 says Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing.
5 1-3 I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody’s walking around complacently, congratulating each other—“We’ve sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!”—suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.
4-8 But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.9-11 God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.
I think the news has been pretty forthcoming that the world is becoming a more dangerous place basically, by the hour. I had recently discussed with some friends that I didn't even want to go to the bigger cities right now because I think you could very easily be a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I spent most of week before last in Springfield. On Thursday morning, Kathy, my traveling companion to Springfield many times, and I were hearing how a woman was attacked in a park in Springfield the night before while playing Pokémon Go. I had made the statement that I wouldn't tell my mom about this, because she had been leery of me even going to Springfield. Little did I know at the time that while the woman was being attacked in Springfield, a fatal shooting was taking place in my work town of Greenup, population, 1700.
As Christians, we have been told that things will constantly get worse until Christ comes back to get us and the tribulations starts. At the same time, as Christians, we should try our best every day to make it better. It would be so easy just to sit back and say, " We knew this was going to happen, so we'll just wait until Christ comes".
Paul tells us we are supposed to work for the Lord until the bitter end though.
Philippians 2:14-16 says Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing.
I know several people this week that were going on vacation, they were going to the beach and couldn't wait to get their toes in the sand. I jokingly said, I think I would just as leave put my head in the sand. We can't do that though, to separate ourselves from what is going on in the world, or to hide our minds from it is not doing what we are supposed to do.
Salvation is a free gift from God, Christ paid the debt for our sin, so it wasn't free, but it is free to us. As Christians though, we are to tell the message about Christ. So many people are out there looking for happiness, when what they really need to be happy is the peace found in Jesus.
This goes all the way back to Love Thy Neighbor. I saw an interesting blurb this week that said Jesus' commands to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and to Love Thy Neighbor cancelled out the 10 commandments. It didn't people, it solidified them. If you truly love God and all the other people in the world that HE MADE (which is ALL of them), then all the 10 commandments would be obeyed. You wouldn't be jealous, and decide to steal, lie or cheat to get what your neighbor has. You wouldn't put material things on pedestals ahead of God, which means your heart would be right.
I'm leaving you with Billy Gilman's One Voice. I have a special attachment to this song as Robert used to sing it, in fact he sang it at a talent contest a few years ago. It doesn't mean that God only heard one voice out of all, we know He hears every prayer, it means that He needed that voice to ask and He needed His people to want this peace on earth. I believe it also means we need to be HIS voice to those who don't believe yet.
(All Scripture was taken from The Message version this week, I believe it made it very clear)
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