Thoughts in Worship
Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Friday, June 15, 2018
Audio Link: https://www.spreaker.com/user/reachmanyradio/thoughts-in-worship-06-15-2018
This is devotional thought number 60 in our devotional series titled, “The Gospel According to Paul.”
“Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:10–13).
Jesus said that by one’s fruits we would know of what tree that one is. Oranges come from orange trees. Apples come from apple trees. Pears come from pear trees. Persimmons don’t come from naseberry trees. Star apples don’t come from banana pseudostems. As in nature, with all its predictable order, so with our characters. If we mostly show fruits of corruption, it’s because we are corrupt. If we mostly show fruits of selfishness, it is because we are selfish. If we produce the fruit of the SPirit, it is because the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Such was the case with Paul and his brothers in ministry as they worked in Thessalonica. They bore the fruits of righteousness and pure motives, which both God and people could clearly see.
Not only did Paul and his ministry partners live holy lives among the people, but they also brought a divine message from God, which they could readily accept as God’s Word because it was. This begs the question, “How do we know when people are carrying the message of God’s Word?” When the lifestyle of the messengers coincide with God’s revealed will, the Bible, and their message/prophecies are subject to the biblical prophets, we can accept the messages as from God.
Here’s a case in point: King David lusted after and then had sex with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife. He then conspired against and murdered Uriah. When the prophet Nathan showed up to share a parable with the king that exposed his guilt, David could readily accept the counsel as from God, because it perfectly aligned with God’s revealed will, the Scriptures. The blessing was that David, having received the message as from God, was transformed by the message. He repented and lived his life according to God’s will.
This underscores the ideal for all of us. If, God forbid, we should lose focus of Christ, and God sends us a direct message as a tender or stern reminder of what He has already revealed, we should be thankful that God invested so much to provide you a way to escape the separation from God that sin creates. This is great news!
I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, are you?—L. David Harris (www.LDavidHarris.com)