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Praying 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 – Don’t Forget to Tell Who Told You
TEXT – “Additionally then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received instruction from us on how you should live and please God — as you are doing — do this even more. For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus.” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2)
DEVOTIONAL – As parents, we would send messages to one child through another. For example, we would tell Son #1 to tell Son #2 to take out the garbage. Son #1 goes to Son #2 and says, “Take out the garbage!”
Let’s pause. What do you think happened to the garbage?
Back to live action.
When the garbage stayed put, I’d ask Son #1, “Did you tell your brother to take out the garbage?” He’d say, “Yes”. Then I’d ask Son #2, “Did your brother tell you I said to take out the garbage?” He’d say,, “No”.
Let’s pause again.
Neither son is lying. So,what went missing in the communication? “Dad/Mom said….” I had to remind my sons, “Make sure you say I told you to tell your brother….”
In our text, Paul requested and urged, and then added, “This is the command of the Lord Jesus.” When anyone tells us that we must do something to please God, it better be because the Lord commanded it.
PRAYER – Dear God, my intentions are good because I just want to help. May I be quiet more often when giving my opinion. May I be bold when speaking how you say we must live. When you are commanding through people, may we obey you exceedingly and abundantly. May we desire to please you through the Lord Jesus, amen.
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