Evident Peace,
Truth & Trust
The faith of the Thessalonians was
apparently so impressive that it became known far and wide. It was known to the extent that words were
not needed to explain and describe it.
The faith revealed itself. What
we do with the gospel is what we do with God.
Our faith, whether it be in the grace of Jesus, the power of money, the
signs of the stars, or the pleasure of the moment, will be revealed by where we
invest our time, energy and money. Our
faith will be revealed also by how we conduct our relationships with other
people.
How does your faith reveal
itself?
________________________________________________________________________
Most
of us don’t think of ourselves as serving idols. Yet, anything that is given greater
importance than our relationship with God is an idol.
How can we know when something has
become an idol in our life? Here are
some indicators:
- You seek to justify it, or the actions
surrounding it, and you get defensive when others question your activity
or pursuit of it
- It consumes so much of your thought that you
have a hard time not thinking about it.
- You can’t easily stop doing, or pursuing it,
and the thought of giving it up is disturbing to you.
- Other things drop in priority and importance,
because you just can’t get enough of it.
The
Thessalonians had turned from idols to serve the living God. They recognized they could not do both. They transferred their energies and
affections from lesser things to the greatest One. That transformation was itself a testimony to
the goodness and truth of God. Receiving—really
receiving—the Truth, will change a person.
It will render three things in particular and it will set in motion
continual growth in these three areas.
- Our past:
receiving forgiveness and coming to peace
- Our present:
receiving the Word for daily living facilitating new priorities
corresponding to the truth.
- Our future:
receiving a new focus and aim which leads us toward God, and
strengthens our trust in Him.
Observers
declared that when the Thessalonians received the gospel, they turned from
their idols to serve the living and true God.
Their heart change was evident.
What will be the conclusion of t hose who observe you and me?
It is
my hope that they will see growth in peace, truth, and trust in God.
Read and Pray: Revelation
1:8, Romans 1:8, 1 John 1:5-7
No comments:
Post a Comment