Good Morning Friends,
“You are all sons of the light and sons of the
day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be
like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those
who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But
since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and
love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not
appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live
together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,
just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:5-11)
In Christ, we are children of light and
children of life. Christ is the Light of the world and He is the Life. Outside
of Christ the world is full of darkness, controlled by wickedness and
selfishness. Outside of Christ the world is full of death, there is no
spiritual life without Jesus Christ.
When Christ brings light and life into our
lives He changes us. It doesn’t happen automatically and not without our
cooperation. Paul challenges the Thessalonians to be alert and self-controlled.
Those are the keys to allowing Christ to change us. When we pay attention to
the Lord and focus on Him, He changes us. When we give in to our flesh and
focus on ourselves, we allow the darkness to continue its influence in our
lives.
Paul mentions one more key to the life-changing
work that Christ wants to do in our lives -- the help that Christians give to
each other. We can’t successfully live the Christian life alone. We need other
believers to encourage us and to help build us up. That’s the purpose of the
church and its contribution to our lives. Don’t try to go it alone, get
connected to other believers. You need what they can offer to you and they need
what you can offer to them.
His, by Grace, Steve
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