Faith Like the Thessalonians

For the longest time I wasn't sure how to learn for what I was reading in the bible. I thought, "Well cool the Thessalonians went through trials." Every single word that is in the bible is God-breathed so we need to examine it and think, "What does God want me to see here?" So, here are several points about learning from the Thessalonians.

• The Thessalonians were said to have endured "severe suffering" but in spite of it received the joy give by the Holy Spirit. These people chose to live a off the joy of the Lord instead of their circumstances. We can do the same thing! In Nehemiah 8:10 it states, "Do NOT grieve, the Joy of the Lord is your strength!" God's word is ALWAYS truth so we can have complete faith in this and live it out.
• We need to live it out like the Thessalonians did. Paul says in verse 9 that the acts of the Thessalonians are a witness to their faith. We should be so on-fire for God that even a stranger walking on the street could identify us as a follower of Jesus Christ through our actions. One of my favorite quotes is, "Preach the gospel at all times, and only when necessary use words." However, on the other side of the token take head to Matthew 6:1 "Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness in front of men, to be seen by them. For this there will be no reward." When we choose to act Jesus we should only be doing it for an audience of one, Jesus Christ. Because when we give all the credit and glory to HIM, "all things will be given to you!" [Matthew 6:33] Take the advice that Paul gave the Thessalonians in chapter 4 verse 11, "Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before."
• Set yourselfs apart. In Thessalonians 5:4 it reminds us that we are children of LIGHT, we are not of darkness so we can't be like the darkness. Every single person has a God-ordained call on our lives If we fall spiritually asleep and start to mic with the darkness we might loose sight of this spectacular call and not receive all that God has for us!