- For this is the will of God, your sanctification…1 Thessalonians 4:3a – Sanctification is the process of making something holy. How that works with us it is shows that our life is meant to be increasing becoming more usable to God for the intended purpose He has for us. God’s work is holy work and for us to be a part of that work we to need to be holy. Thankfully we find our holiness in not of ourselves but through our relationship with Jesus, but our lifestyle can become one where God’s holiness isn’t able to work through. This is where sanctification comes in. It is our growing in our lives of allowing everything of ourselves to be usable for God’s holy work. This is going to require change from us. Unholy to holy doesn’t happen without change. Be open then to the changes God is leading you to in your story. It’s not to punish you, He’s shaping you into the disciple that is holy and ready to be used for His purpose. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac
- For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 1 Thessalonians 4:7 – Paul was reminding the church how they had been called to live. Not allowing things like lustfulness and sexual immorality to taint their life with sin, but to live a pure and holy life. We though know that things like lust aren’t the only ways to live an impure life. We can taint our life with sins such as worry or anger or selfishness. Impatience, greed, and pride as well. See Paul was speaking to a certain church with certain temptations, but we can cloud our life with sin in so many other ways. Be aware then of the certain temptations that are a struggle for you. We each deal with different struggles in our walk, it’s important then we realize them, lean on God with them, and even be vulnerable enough to share them with trusted brothers and sisters in Christ. We all have struggles, but we don’t need to self identify with them or live by them. Accept the freedom from sin that God has given you and live in the holiness you’ve been called to. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1271
- Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 1 Thessalonians 4:1 – The Greek word used for “do so more and more” is “perisseuete” and it means to abound, to exceed the ordinary. As he gets closer to ending his letter, Paul tells the church to exceed the ordinary effort given in one thing, in walking in a pleasing to God way. They learned from him how to walk in a pleasing to God way, now they were being called to do so more and more, always striving to exceed yesterday’s walk. He reminds them of two ways specifically on how one can walk pleasing to the Lord. To abstain from sexual immorality and to love one another. I think for us today as believers, seeking to remain faithful to the truth of God’s word in a world that rejects God’s word, this passage is our answer. We live in a world where sexual immorality is everywhere, we even just had a month currently seeking to celebrate pride in doing the very thing God in His word directs us away from. We also live in a world where loving another person comes after loving one’s self, and if you happen to have anything to spare, you might show love to another person as long as it benefits you. God, knowing His followers are existing in such a world, is calling us to not live like the world. To abstain from the sexual immoral things God’s says to stay away from and to love others deeply, even before yourself. And to do so “perisseuete,” to do so more and more. Let today be a day you walk in a pleasing way to God more than yesterday. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2775
Daily DEVO 