Here is Today's Message

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 Exploring Message


1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 Be cheerful no matter what;

pray all the time;

thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

Don't suppress the Spirit,

and don't stifle those who have a word from the Master.

On the other hand, don't be gullible.

check out everything, and keep only what's good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.

2 Corinthians 6:4-10 Our work as God's servants gets validated--or not--in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly--- in hard times, tough times, bad times;

when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating;

with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love;

when were telling the truth, and when God is showing his power;

when we're doing our best setting things right;

we're praised, and when we're blamed, slandered, and honored; true to our word, through distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God;

terrifically alive, thought rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immerses in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on hangouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.

Ephesians 6:17-18 God's Word is an undispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential inn this ongoing warfare.

Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

You're God Taught

1 Thessalonians 4:1-5 One final word, friends. We ask you--urge is more like it-- that you keep in doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged way religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance.

You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus.

God wants you to live a pure life. Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.

Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body,

not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.

1 Peter 2:15-17 It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re a danger to society.

Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules.

Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.

Don't Believe Everything You Hear

1 John 4:1-3 My dear friends, don't believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.

Here's how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ--the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh and-blood person--comes from God and belongs to God.

And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought!

Philippians 4:8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.