Skip to main content

Daily Devotion: 1 Thessalonians 5:24-25

By

1 Thessalonians 5:24-25    "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.  (25)  Brethren, pray for us."

Today, we will finish the book of 1 Thessalonians. I want us to think about the faithfulness of God.  Have you ever felt that God was leading you to do something, but did not feel that you were able to accomplish it?  Today's passage of Scripture reminds us of a wonderful truth concerning our Lord.  He has already given us the ability to do that which He places on our hearts to do. God is faithful.  He always equips us when He sends us out.

How does He equip? First, He promises to be with us. We are equipped with His presence. He has provided the complete armour of God for our protection. He has given us the Word of God as our sword to fight the good fight of faith against the adversary.  Then He seals us with His promise of grace and mercy to which He is always faithful.

We are in the week leading to Easter, so let us look at Jesus as the ultimate example. Let's look at the words of our Lord concerning His death.  "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." (John 10:18)   We read as preparation was being made to travel to Jerusalem, "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." (Matthew 16:21)  Yes, Jesus believed and trusted the promises of the Father. But not only did He believe them in His heart, His actions reflected that great trust and confidence.  He submitted Himself to the sufferings of the depraved humans who intensely hated Him. Why?  Because that was the purpose for which He came to this earth and He was holding to the "commandment" (promise) of God that He would be raised again. In His doing so, you and I have eternal life in our Lord.

Peter stood on the day of Pentecost declaring this great truth.  "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:  (23)  Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:  (24)  Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." (Acts 2:22-24)  What do these verses tell us?  God had a purpose for His Son. God delivered Jesus for that purpose to be accomplished. He came in total submission to the Father's will.  He laid down His life on the cross, "WHOM GOD HATH RAISED UP."   God is faithful. He was faithful to His Son and He is faithful to you and to me.  Will we take that precious truth and submit to God's will for our lives?

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Daily Devotion: Psalm 88:1-4

By
Psalm 88:1-4  A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. "O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:  (2)  Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;  (3)  For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.  (4)  I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength" I've said this before and I will say it again (and probably more times before we get to the end of the Psalms) - I love the Psalms because I can surely identify with them. Most Psalms start in a low place and as the writer expresses his thoughts, the Lord begins to lift him up out of that dry place.  Though this entire Psalm is a fervent cry unto the Lord, the Psalmist tells us specifically in three verses that he cried daily unto the Lord. Just a few Psalms ago, we were reminded that God always hears our prayers. ...
Read more

Daily Devotion (Video): I Will Fear No Evil - Psalm 23:4

By
Read more

Daily Devotion: Knowing God By Bearing Fruit

By
Some will notice the title is not “Bearing fruit because we know God,” so to avoid getting sidetracked with that, we can start with the fact that we won’t bear any godly fruit unless our heart has been changed and the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Also, to avoid confusion, I’ll be using the terms “bearing fruit,” “good works” and “service” interchangeably.  I took this article’s title from Part 7, of John Piper’s “Look at the Book” session on Colossians 1:9-12. I greatly encourage you to view that short video to get his excellent exposition on this subject.  When I saw the title of the video earlier this year, I got kind of excited because that’s the direction my thinking has gone in the past several years. My thinking was founded Biblically with verses on good works like Matthew 5:16 – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven.” But I couldn’t expand it to expla...
Read more