1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

1Thessalonians5:16-22 is critically important for our lives to have the kind of endurance and perspective that Jesus alone can provide for us,and God DESIRES for us!Satan knows this,and he is a vicious thief that never gives up atTEMPTing to take from us what God DESIRES for us.These verses say,”Be joyful always,pray continually,give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good,avoid every kind of evil.”The 1st thing Satan is going to atTEMPT to Rob us of is the RIGHT kind of joys in our life.He uses many tactics,one of the most effective is to TEMPT us away from the very things that bring enduring eternal/REAL joys,with things that are fleeting with false joys that rot;fade;destroy;and always lie to us about how they ultimately satisfy(they cannot).The 2nd thing addressed n these verses is what happens to us when we accept the TEMPTING just mentioned->we lose our thankfulness for what God has done through Christ and for WHO HE IS & for HIS PROMISES!This then leads to a waning relationship with The Lord and His Spirit that lives inside those who trust in Christ(we put out the Spirit’s fire in our lives).This leads to our treating God’s Word/His Prophecies with conTEMPT....We can come against these tactics of the devil by “testing everything” of it’s TRUTHfulness....testing everything with The Word of God,with the HELP of His Spirit(praying continually),and then avoiding every kind of evil(including those kinds that are sneaky in how they cloak themselves in the private times of our lives and thoughts).These verses give us a step by step “process” of how to live our lives aware of what Satan is always up to;the signs to look for in our lives that will be 1st indicators of how “healthy” our relationship with The Lord is....and how to shore up our hearts/minds/lives from the atTEMPTS of the devil in and around our lives too rob us of what Hod DESIRES for us to have.Dear Lord,I pray for Your Help in fanning the flame of Your Spirit’s Presence in my life....help me to hold on to what is TRULY GOOD,& to defend against all else that the devil will atTEMPT to use in my life,& lie about...help me to avoiding every kind of evil...