Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances
Daily Verse Second Reading – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.…
View On WordPress
0 notes
If you look for reasons on why your life “hasn’t started yet”, and begin to feel like “you’re missing out”- please know, you’re not. God has a plan for you. Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 4:16, Psalm 40:4, Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 16:20, Romans 8:5-8, Ephesians 3:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, & 2 Timothy 2:13. We never miss out on what’s going on with the physical world. The constant need to know everything, follow everything, watch everything, keep up with everything- it’ll never end. It’s a snake-swallowing-itself kind of experience. You miss one party, you fail one exam, you lose one friend, you fight with one of your parents, you don’t have one newer brand of phone, you don’t speak one more language, you don’t read one more book, you don’t listen to one song, you don’t watch that one movie, you don’t have that one license or degree or job- and we treat it like it’s the end of the world and the problem is, when we make our own plan, our own expectations the world, we lose sight and faith and humility for God’s plan for us. Yes, it’s unsettling for what goodness and merciful things will come, but at least you can rely on God to make something magnificent of you through it.
27 notes
·
View notes
“The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24 NIV)
“When God Appoints You, He Anoints You” By Rick Warren:
“God never asks you to do something without providing what you need to do it. Anointing is a sign of God’s equipping you to fulfill an assignment he’s given you. When he gives you an assignment, a plan, or a strategy, he is going to empower you.
Just as a lamp won’t shine unless it’s plugged in, your light won’t shine unless you’re plugged into your power source. You cannot fulfill the purpose you were created for apart from the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 NIV)
If you want God’s power to work through your life, you need to understand what it means to have his anointing and keep a few things in mind.
1. When God says to do it, you can count on his anointing. Jesus’ last assignment to his disciples was impossible. There was no way they could possibly take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. It could only happen through his power. God will often give you an assignment that looks physically impossible, but he will make it possible. “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24 NIV)
2. God’s anointing makes difficult tasks easier. Your resources are limited. Your energy is limited. Your knowledge is limited. Your wisdom is limited. Your talent is limited. God’s is not. With God’s anointing, you can handle things better, last longer, and go farther. “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources [God] will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:16 NLT)
3. God’s anointing makes the impossible possible. In your business, marriage, health, and relationships, you’re going to come up against insurmountable problems. God is a competent Father. He can handle any problem you give him. Nothing is beyond his ability or his resources. “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27 NIV)
4. God anoints your life to bless others. Jesus came to comfort the afflicted, the broken-hearted, those who are enslaved to habits, those who don’t know how to get out of debt, and those who are blind. And he anoints you to comfort others as well. “Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.” (Acts 10:38 MSG)
5. For every new challenge, you need fresh power from God. Anointing by the Holy Spirit cannot be stored up. You cannot handle today’s problems with yesterday’s anointing. You certainly can’t handle the problems you’re going to have tomorrow, next week, and next year with yesterday’s anointing. Stay in touch with God so that he can constantly fill you with his grace, love, and power. Ask for God’s anointing again. James 4:2 says, “You do not have, because you do not ask God.” (NIV)
47 notes
·
View notes
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐲
The spiritual gift of prophecy is an extraordinary and unique gift. Paul says:
¹ “Make love your aim, but strive earnestly after the spiritual gifts, especially for that of prophecy.”
—1 Corinthians 14:1, Seek the Gifts That Build Up the Community
The Greek word for the gift of prophecy is propheteia which is the ability to receive a divinely inspired message and deliver it to others in the church. These messages can take the form of exhortation, correction, disclosure of secret sins, prediction of future events, comfort, inspiration, or other revelations given to equip and edify the body of Christ.
³ “On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to men for their building up, their encouragement, and their consolation.
⁴ Whoever speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but whoever prophesies builds up the Church.”
—1 Corinthians 14:3-4
This gift is a blessing to the church and should not be quenched or despised.
²⁰ “Do not despise prophecies.”
—1 Thessalonians 5:20
In the New Testament the Apostles, not the prophets, took over the role of Scriptural proclamation from the Old Testament Prophets.
Those who have the gift of prophecy differ from the Old Testament Prophets who spoke the authoritative Word of God directly. Their words were recorded as Scripture as they proclaimed, “Thus says The Lord,” whereas the messages from those with the spiritual gift of prophecy must be tested.
²⁹ “As for the prophets, let two or three speak, and let the rest weigh their words. ³⁰ Should a revelation be made to someone else who is sitting there, let the one who is speaking stop. ³¹ You can all prophesy, but one at a time, so that all may receive instruction and encouragement. ³² Indeed, the spirits of the prophets are subject to their prophets’ control, ³³ for God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the Churches of the saints,”
—1 Corinthians 14:29-33
¹ Beloved,
do not trust every spirit,
but test the spirits
to see whether they are from God.
For many false prophets
have gone out into the world.
² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God:
every spirit that acknowledges
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is from God,
³ and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus
is not from God.
This is the spirit of the Antichrist,
about whose coming you have been told,
and that it is already in the world.
—1 John 4:1-3, The Spirit of the Antichrist in the World
Again, the prophecies do not constitute the authoritative Word of God, but are the human interpretation of the revelation that was received. They are spoken in human words through a human mind which is why they must be tested against the Scriptures.
²⁰ Do not despise prophecies. ²¹ Test everything, and hold fast to what is good.
—1 Thessalonians 5:20-21
The Holy Spirit gives the gift of prophecy to some believers to make God’s heart known and to edify the church. This gift is for the benefit of both believers and unbelievers and is a sign that God is truly among His church.
²⁴ However, if everyone is prophesying and an unbeliever or uninstructed person should enter, he would be reproved by all and judged by all, ²⁵ and the secrets of his heart would be revealed. Then he would fall down and worship God, declaring, “God is truly in your midst.”
—1 Corinthians 14:24-25
Those with this gift are sensitive to both the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the needs of the church body. They should be humble and continually study the Scriptures in order to test these revelations before speaking them. When they do speak, they should allow and even expect others to weigh what is said against the Scriptures and interpret the message accordingly. In this way the church may be continually built up together in unity.
⁴ “Whoever speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but whoever prophesies builds up the Church.”
—1 Corinthians 14:4
²² Clearly, then, tongues are intended as a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is designed not for unbelievers but for believers.
²³ Therefore, if the whole Church has assembled and everyone is speaking in tongues, would not any uninstructed person or any unbeliever on entering conclude that you are all out of your minds? ²⁴ However, if everyone is prophesying and an unbeliever or uninstructed person should enter, he would be reproved by all and judged by all, ²⁵ and the secrets of his heart would be revealed. Then he would fall down and worship God, declaring, “God is truly in your midst.”
²⁶ “And so, what then should be done, brethren? When you assemble, each of you should bring a psalm or some lesson or a revelation, or speak in a tongue, or offer an interpretation. Everything should be done with the goal in mind of building up.”
—1 Corinthians 14:22-26
⁶ “We all have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If it is a gift of prophecy, we should exercise it in proportion to our faith.”
—Romans 12:6
¹⁰ “To one, is granted the gift of mighty deeds; to another, the gift of prophecy; and to yet another, the gift to discern spirits. One receives the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them.”
—1 Corinthians 12:10
¹ “Make love your aim, but strive earnestly after the spiritual gifts, especially for that of prophecy. ² If anyone speaks in tongues, he is speaking not to men but to God, and no one understands him, for he is speaking mysteries in the Spirit. ³ On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to men for their building up, their encouragement, and their consolation.
⁴ Whoever speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but whoever prophesies builds up the Church. ⁵ I wish that all of you could speak in tongues, but I would much prefer that you could prophesy. For the one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless the latter can interpret what he is saying so that the Church may be built up.”
—1 Corinthians 14:1-5, Seek the Gifts That Build Up the Community
¹¹ “It was he who established some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry in building up the body of Christ,”
—Ephesians 4:11-12
¹⁰ “Like good stewards of the varied graces of God, use whatever gift each one of you has received to serve one another.
¹¹ Whoever speaks should do so as one who is speaking the very words of God. Whoever serves should do so with the strength that God provides. In all things, let God be glorified through Jesus Christ, for to him belong all glory and power forever and ever. Amen.”
—1 Peter 4:10-11
33 notes
·
View notes