October 20, 2024 -- I Thessalonians 5:15-19 -- How to plug into God, the Source of All Power for your life

See to it that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.
I Thessalonians 5:15-19 ESV

As believers who are “born from above” or “born again” it is striking that everything about us has changed. Our will is now submitted to Jesus. Our thoughts are being checked at the gateway of the mind before they hit the lips and cause offense. There is an intentionality in our words and deeds that was not part of our old nature.

As those who are “in Jesus”, that is belonging to Him and seeking to follow Him in every part of the day and night, we realize the ability to talk to God and live at peace with others can only be achieved if God is actively helping us. This too is part of the journey towards greater maturity in our new life in Christ. Step 2 is “I admit my belief that God, the source of all power, restores me on my journey to freedom from addictions and life-controlling issues.” (Overcomers, Step 2, page vii).

The old nature would be to repay evil for evil—and to apply greater force in retaliation so that the other person will think twice about hurting you. However, our life-controlling issue of anger has been submitted to the authority of God and by His Spirit He is helping you to return good for evil. This takes prayer. It takes a dedicated effort to talk with God and bring all complaints to Him, not taking matters into your own hands. That is prayer.

By the way, did you catch Paul (the writer of this letter) his emphasis on doing good to one another and to everyone. Believers get into verbal spats and tussles and misunderstandings. The Devil likes nothing better than for believers to get into scraps with one another so that their testimony about being followers of Jesus and therefore being different from the world is rendered to be without any merit or credibility. This is how God is the source of all power. Believers step back, before speaking, and examine their thoughts and the actions they are about to take before the throne of God’s grace and mercy  Then Christians also intentionally return good for evil in their dealings with non-Christians as well. I suppose this makes sense, we can't expect non-Christians to live according to the high standards we have in Christ. So, a non-Christian by definition a follower of the Devil and inclined to evil, needs to see how a believer overcomes evil with good. In view of Jesus’s life which was poured out for us so that we would not be acting in old, sinful patterns, we ask the Spirit to renew our minds and change the way we live and speak among ourselves and in our dealings with everyone.

Rejoicing always. This is a matter for prayer also—talking to God and noticing all the good things He has given and is giving you: new life. Salvation. Opportunities to show others the change that has taken place in you. The gift of seasons. You see God is the source of all power in your life because you take formal times to speak with Him, and spontaneously, through-out the day, you notice His goodness, His kindness, and His wondrous creation and you can’t help but tell Him how good He really is. So, you plug into God, the source of all power, at different times during the day, as your mind delights in Him and you tell Him He is good. This rejoicing in Him deepens your connection to Him. Binds you closer to Him. Throws down the influences of evil and rips up the well-worn paths of old disobedience as you chart a new course of joy in knowing God.

Perhaps now you understand “pray without ceasing” a bit better. It is both formal times of prayer, like morning Bible reading and prayer times, or prayer at meals thanking God for the food, as well as spontaneous times of telling God how amazing He really is. That is magnifying God—He is great. But when you tell Him, you are making His Name great in your own life, so that You see Him to be bigger than your worst problem, stronger than your worst fear, more persistent than your most agonizing life-controlling problem.

Giving thanks is all too easily confined to the second Monday of October. This brief passage commands the believer to keep adding to the list of thanksgiving each day, every single day that ends with a “y”. (Catch that?) why not give thanks and keep a list. One month later you’ll be awestruck by all the long list of reasons you have to thank the Lord.

Quenching the Spirit is resisting these impulses He gives you to speak with God. Quenching (or stifling) the Spirit means intentionally turning away from acting according to the new life you have in Jesus and not plugging into God, the source of all power. How do you stop stifling the Spirit’s work in you? Confess that you have been. Ask for help to hear the Spirit’s prompts in your conscience. Go to church and listen to sermons, instructing you how to live more fully for Jesus. Find Christian friends you respect and work on being accountable so that together your will grow up in the confident faith lived out that God really is the only source of all power in your life.

God, thank You for opening this conversation between Yourself and Your people through Jesus. Thank You for the Spirit Whom You’ve put in my life. Help me to listen to the Spirit, to get sensitive to the Spirit’s nudges and prompts, so that I will stay plugged into You, the Source of everything good in my life. Amen.

https://youtu.be/DXDGE_lRI0E?si=XMsMlnxO0VHWXyJz 10,000 Reasons

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