Advent 2019 - Day 16

READ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24:

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Don’t stifle the Spirit. Don’t despise prophecies, but test all things. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will do it.

Sometimes we encounter passages of Scripture that are just really hard to understand. They don’t seem to make any sense and we aren’t sure how to respond to them.

This is NOT one of those passages. Paul is so clear and his words carry so much application for us.

Part of the plan God has been playing out from the beginning is us. We are definitely not the focus of the plan, but we are part of it. And what God desires for us in His plan is really well laid out here in 1 Thessalonians. Pray without ceasing, rejoice always, and be thankful in every circumstance. Paul goes on and explains how we need to test everything. Not out of doubt, but out of being refined. 

Abstain from every kind of evil. If you are reading this, I want you to try something. The next time you are going to do something and you’re not sure if it is evil or not, just ask yourself a few questions:

1. Would God receive glory if I did this?
   
2. Would I honor God and my family by doing this?
   
3. Is there a chance I could get myself or someone else in trouble by doing this?

It really isn’t difficult to abstain from evil. The hard thing is to try to be a Christian and live outside of what God wants you to do.

REFLECT:

Are you doing evil things right now? Stop doing them. Give them over to the Lord. Ask Him to help you.

How can you verses 16-22 into practice this week?