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When Ben Fuller sings, "Making my Father proud looks a whole lot different now" in his new song "Proud," he is ripping pages out of my story and laying them bare. I spent a lot of energy trying to please earthly men. What I really want to know is how to please my Heavenly Father.

Join me as we dive into a few ways we can please God. The question is, are we up for the challenge?

In this week's episode, I discuss the following:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include:
  • Consult an overview
  • Read in context (read the whole letter)
  • Listen to an audio version of the text
  • Follow the cross-references
  • Make observations
  • Make a list
  • Complete a word study
  • Consult an outside resource
  • Meditate on Scripture
  • Compare and contrast
• How my personal story is reflected in the lyrics of Ben Fuller's song, "Proud"
• Walking in a way that is pleasing to God - 1 Thessalonians 4:1
• Discovering what cannot please God - Romans 8:8
• What walking in the flesh looks like - Romans 8:5-8
• Our hope that we can ever walk in the Spirit - Romans 8:9-11
• Consulting an overview of 1 Thessalonians to discover the theme of exhorting godly living
• Making observations of the text to meditate on or explore further
  • Ask and urge - "1 & 2 Thessalonians Verse by Verse" by Grant Osborne - Amazon Paid Link
  • Sanctification - GotQuestions.org Article
  • God as "Avenger"
  • The contrast between impurity and holiness
• The sex-saturated world in the time of the Thessalonians is not unlike our own - "Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians" by Mark Howell - Amazon Paid Link
• How abstaining from sexual immorality carries with it the idea of distance -- don't even get close to it
• The Greek word for "avenger" - BibleHub.com - God is a justice giver and cares deeply about this subject
• John Stott, "Some Christians sow to the flesh every day and wonder why they do not reap holiness. Holiness is a harvest; whether we reap it or not depends almost entirely on what and where sow."
• Paul's illustration of slavery helps us understand - Romans 6:19
• Practical steps to move toward holiness
  • Love one another - 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
  • Aspire to quiet living - 1 Thessalonians 4:11
  • Mind your own affairs - 1 Thessalonians 4:11
  • Work with your hands - 1 Thessalonians 4:11
• The bookends of "urge" and "do this more and more" - 1 Thessalonians 4:1, 10

 

Becoming a slave to righteous living is what pleases God and puts us on the path to greater holiness.

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