1 Thessalonians 2
Rebecca Lightfoot
When we ask Jesus to be our Savior AND Lord, He places His Spirit into our heart/life,as The Lord promises in Ezekiel36:24-27,”....I will sprinkle clean water on you,and you will be clean;I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.And I will put MY Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to follow my laws.”As HIS Spirit “moves” us to seek and follow HIS Ways,we will have a growing hunger for HIS Word.In 1Thesallonians2:13 Paul talks about how GOD,through HIS Spirit indwelling in our lives,we will be changed from the inside out to be more like Christ...and GROW an intimate relationship with Our Father in Heaven->”And we thank God continually because,when you RECEIVED the word of God,which you heard from us,you accepted it not as the word of men,but as it ACTUALLY IS,THE WORD OF GOD,which is AT WORK IN you WHO BELIEVE.”.This means that when I neglect my time studying God’s Word,or don’t sincerely seek to know God’s Heart as HIS Word works within me to reveal HIS Heart to me/within me...,then I am in essence avoiding or even denying THE WORK of God’s Spirit in my life.This results in challenges of True Faith,and a True Belief,that lead to challenges to my life of having a sincere NEW Heart growing to be healthy in my life.This leads to many claiming to be Christians having lives that are not much different from the “impurities” of the world around us that Ezekiel36:24-27 says we will be cleansed of when we decided to Trust Christ.If our lives are not being changed/impacted by the work of God’s Spirit in me...I gotta ask the question,”what is at work in me”!?If my life is not undergoing the “metamorphosis” of God’s Work In me....then I need to sound a personal ALARM in my life that opens up the cleansing powers of God’s Spirit in my life,& redirects my heart/mind/life to seek God’s Word with my heart/mind/life.Dear Lord,I have had periods of stagnation in my heart/mind/life with You...and I can look at these and realize not only what I have missed at times,but also how my heart became hardened like that which Ezekiel talks about.Jesus,tune my heart/mind/life to Your Spirit living living in me...and stir a desire in me to feast on Your Word as sustenance for life...nourishment for my heart/mind/life...and may I also seek Your Work in my life.