1 Thessalonians 1:8-10

The last thing that Paul mentions n 1Thessalonians1 that will identify true seekers&followers of Christ is a FAITH that changes the way we live when we truly revere The Lord and what He has done for us->1Thes1:8-10,”The Lord’s message rang out from you(out from the way they lived/things they did & did not do/the way they spoke/the way they treated others/the way they thought,etc.)not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.....They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”As was the case w the Thessalonians, our entire life will be impacted by what Jesus has done for us,& by the unbelievable/awesome relationship with The One True Holy God that Jesus makes possible...IF we truly accept what Jesus only can offer...!If our lives do not demonstrate that we are IMPRESSED GINORMOUSLY by these things...then we have not come to realize the AWESOMENESS of these things.If our lives do not have areas where we are TURNING AWAY from things unholy&unrighteous,and TURING TOWARD GOD...,then we must ask ourselves the question,”what &/or whom am I being identified with by the way I live/the things I do & do not do/the way i speak/the way i treat others/the way I think,etc.?The Thessalonians lived in such contrast to the way that the world around them lived...that their FAITH impacted the world around them for the GOOD of the world around them!Dear Lord,there are many areas of my life that I am hanging on to things & ideas (both become idols) that are disabling me from being devoted to the kind of turning to You that Paul talks about in these verses.I pray for Your Spirit & Your Word to shine a revealing light into my life so these areas will be revealed without doubt...& then help me to muster the courage,strength,resiliency,and FAITH to turn wholeheartedly toward You.

1 Thessalonians 1:6

The next characteristic that will identify a sincere seeker/follower of Christ is that they will be “imitators of the Lord”(1Thes1:6).In order for the new seekers/followers in Thessalonica to do this,they looked to the people that were seeking/following Christ themselves(“You became imitators of us and of the Lord:in spite of severe suffering”).The Thessalonians deliberately changed the way they were living their lives from ways that looked like/smelled like/thought like/loved like/worked like/spoke like/played like...all the people around them,to ways that looked like/smelled like/thought like/loved like/worked like/spoke like/played like the people that were themselves seeking/following Christ,and the MOLD they were using as The Standard was The Lord Jesus Christ!They were looking for others that were seeking to live as Christ lived. The people around us,particularly those that we “desire what they have”,will have a direct impact on our minds/hearts/lives...some part of us will become imitators of them.We must be mindful of this impact,and make the same choices the people In Thessalonica did by redirecting their “attention” to those people that were earnestly & humbly seeking/following Christ.Proverbs 13:20 says,”Walk with the wise and become wise,for a companion of fools suffers harm.”And Proverbs 1:7 says,”The fear(awesome respect/reverence)of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”So-we need to look for those who revere The Lord and His Word...and let our lives be more like them than those that do not revere The Lord and His Word....and be deliberate about what our lives look like/smell like/think like/love like/work like/speak like/play like to those around us.Dear Lord...I have modeled much of my life to be an imitator of people and aspirations that would not be seen as giving You nor Your Word reverence and honor in my life...forgive me...and wake me up to what I am imitating in my life...and help me to aspire to imitate You and be drawn to others that have the same desire...to be imitators of You!

1 Thessalonians 1:4-10

N 1Thessalonians1:4-10,Paul talks about how sincere seekers/followers of Christ can be identified by a few things that happen in their minds/hearts/lives.1st characteristic is how our minds/hearts/lives are impacted by the Gospel of Christ->1Thes1:5,”....because our gospel(Gospel of Christ)came to you not simply with words,but also with power,with the Holy Spirit & with deep conviction.”.This means that if we truly accept God’s Gifts of Mercy & Grace through Christ,that it was not just by our hearing the message of the Gospel...but by the powers of God’s Love via His Spirit personally touching our minds/hearts/lives with His Glory.Whenever a human is in the presence of God/His Glory,there is 1 of 2 reactions that will occur-we either turn and run away because we cannot bear the overwhelming TRUTHS that God’s Glory reveals(TRUTHS about the Absolute Glory of God & His Righteousness are more than a bazillion times “brighter” than the sun...bringing into The Light ALL TRUTH...about God,& about ourselves)and our pride &/or arrogance refuses this “exposure” to such absolute TRUTHS.The other response is that our minds/hearts/lives fall prostrate before The Holy&Righteous One that LOVES us endlessly...and we are so humbled by such absolute TRUTHS that we ACCEPT our NEED for what only The Gospel of Christ can give.The 2 choices are that we either choose to accept His Love,or we refuse & run away from from such absolute TRUTHS because our arrogance &/or pride will not “allow” us to accept our desperate NEED to be saved.Both of these involve the power of The Holy Spirit! When we accept The Truths of the Gospel...we accept the Spirit of Christ into our hearts/minds/lives.When this sincerely happens,we are truly changed by the “conviction”(the quality of showing that one is firmly convinced of what one believes or says)that occurs in our hearts/minds/lives...then changes occur in our hearts/minds/lives as we grow in our faith.Dear Lord...help me to be increasingly mindfully/heartfully aware of Your Spirit in my life.Help me to turn from my arrogance/pride,and humbly accept what Your Spirit is teaching me through Your Word and through Your Spirit’s Power.

I Thessalonians

Interesting that Paul begins 1Thessalonians with mentioning Faith,Hope, & Love in verses 2-3,”We always thank God for all of you,mentioning you in our prayers.We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by FAITH,your labor prompted by LOVE,& your endurance inspired by HOPE in our Lord Jesus Christ.”.In 1Cor13,after Paul tells about all the GOOD things that can be part of our lives as followers of Christ,he says that only 3 of these will truly stand the rest of all time and all circumstances->faith,hope,& love!So,when 1Thes1:2-3 calls out these and gives us a clue as to how faith,hope,&love will live in our lives & through our lives....we should dig in too understand how our lives are doing!1-“work produced by faith”!As much as anything else,this is talking about how my faith is being kneaded into my life and thereby becoming an increasingly significant factor in how I think;how I live;how I respond;how I treat others;how I make decisions,etc.SO,what I think;how I live;how I respond;how I treat others;how I make decisions;etc.,will reveal what kind of faith I truly have,as well as what I truly have faith in!2-“labor prompted by love”!This is talking about what truly motivates my heart/that part of my life that “autonomically” responds to situations&circumstances around me.Do I autonomically respond in ways that the Heart of God would...the way that Jesus would....are my heart motivation “strings” being changed and tuned so my heart resonates in tune with God’s Heart?3-“your hope inspired by endurance”!This talks about what kind of “foundation” my life is being built on/what am I using as guidance&instruction to build a life& will it stand the test of all circumstances through all time?Jesus talks about this n Matthew7:24-27,”“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”This 3rd one is key in having the other 2 be what they NEED to be in our lives.And IF this 3rd one is true for my life,then I need to regularly check the first 2 in my life too make certain that how I am building my life will stand the test of all circumstances and all time...and tell a story of my life of how I “turned from idols to serve the living and true God,and to wait for His Son from Heaven,whom He raised from the dead-Jesus,who rescues us from the coming wrath”(1Thes1:9-10).These verses beg me to ask,”what is the story I am writing for my life.....& what kind of faith and love is being revealed through my life...?”Dear Lord,this one reveals so much about me that I NEED You to change in me/about me.I have allowed other things to become a part of my life/kneaded into my life that are not from You...and areas of “who & what” I am have been shaped in ways that I want to be rescued and reshaped by You.Lord Jesus,please remind me of this prayer regularly...so as my life is reshaped & rebuilt every day,Your Words will be the very foundation as the reshaping&rebuilding occur in my life.

Colossians 3

The people In Colosse were new,enthusiastic followers of Christ.They had heard from firsthand witnesses about Jesus,His Life;His Sufferings;His Death;His Resurrection;& His Ascension!Many of the Colossians became new believers!But the challenge facing them was that of becoming followers of Jesus Christ...Jesus becoming Lord of lords in their lives.Satan himself is a believer!Satan was an eyewitness to absolutely everything about Christ,& he even waged a battle(s) with Christ to prevent the life of Christ from fulfilling every prophecy spoken in the Old Testament that when fulfilled by Christ conquered the power of sin & death for those who trust in Christ.Satan waged battle(s) with Jesus and lost!SO! Satan is definitely a believer!BUT,Satan is NOT a follower of Jesus Christ!Satan is tuned to/focused on nothing but his own egotistical/arrogant/prideful/evil/selfish desires...these are what Satan is laser focused on/tuned in to with his existence!In writing to the people in Colosse,Paul appreciates “where” the people are in their “faith”.They are at the intersection of BELIEF,and LIFE DECISION!This an intersection we all have in our lives!That intersection that determines whether or not we are going to heed the MESSAGE of what we believe or not!Whether or not we are going to choose to have our hearts/minds/lives changed by what we believe or not!There are 3 basic ways we make our choice..#1-we can do what Satan does...we can rebel from the truths about Christ and what He alone offers us for Eternity!In essence WE decide to be “lord of our OWN life”!#2-We can make our choice “passively” by not really doing anything about what we believe..,but only “believing” the awesomeness of Jesus and what He offers us through His Mercy&Grace...& never truly seeking to follow Christ as Lord.This is exactly like being given the most valuable present ever, & never opening it/never letting it bless us with the awesome GIFT inside!In essence this choice is very likely to “passively” turn our lives over to “lords” that are not interested in what is BEST for us in the long run!#3-We decide that what we believe about Jesus is so significant that HE must be made Lord of our heart/mind/life...that HE alone can be TRUSTED with our life-& we become sincere SEEKER-FOLLOWERS of Christ...we make Jesus Christ,Lord of our life.We APPRECIATE the fact that the only lord that is ABLE&WILLING to give us BLESSINGS that include ETERNAL SECURITY is The Lord Jesus Christ!All others are totally incapable & UNtrustworthy!This is why Colossians3:1-3says,”....set your hearts on things above,where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.Set your minds on things above,not earthly things.For you died,& your life is now hidden(protected/provided)with Christ in God”.We make Jesus Lord only when die to ourselves being lord,and we set/focus our minds/hearts/lives on Jesus being Lord by sincerely seeking and following Jesus Christ as Colossians3:15-17 encourages us,”Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts....Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as your teach & admonish(advise/guide/warn/help)one another w all wisdom...whether in word or deed,do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,giving all thanks to God the Father through Him”.Dear Lord Jesus,a lot of my time is spent in “passive mode”,unknowingly veering my heart/mind/life away from the only RIGHT FOCUS for my heart/mind/life.Please help me to be increasingly aware of the “passive mode” in my heart/mind/life...& bring close those around me that have You as Lord in their heart/mind/life so they can encourage me away from the “passive mode” and back to You being Lord of my heart/mind/life.