1 Thessalonians 5:19-28
Reflect
This passage is a part of the final instructions of the letter Paul sent to the church at Thessalonica, and he wanted this letter to be read to all believers everywhere (v27).
The first instruction is “do not put out the Spirit’s fire” (v19). Holy Spirit works in our hearts and our lives, and as a result we are called to do or say something or to change ourselves. And we can be afraid or shy to do what Holy Spirit calls us to do. Paul encouraged us to let and trust Holy Spirit works in us!
Second, God uses different people to spread His word, so we need not treat this person with contempt (v20). As humans, we have a problem that we start looking at “faces”. The real prophet, who speaks God’s Word, is speaking not just from himself but God gives His word to say to us. Paul encouraged us to have the desire to listen to God’s word and not contempt the prophet.
Third, we are allowed to test everything, but we need to be careful (v.21-22). God gave us freedom and He called us to be wise. If it is good, we should hold on to it. But if it is any kind of evil, we need to avoid it. Paul encouraged us to be wise.
And finally, Paul reminds us that only God has the power to sanctify and to keep us (v.23-24). We need to trust God.
Paul knew how important it is to pray for each other, to have fellowship, to have apostles’ teaching, and God's grace to be with us. (v.25-28).
Let God bless everyone!
Sasha Lushchyk
Pray
- Pray for our Senior Lead Team Pastor, Lyle Buyer, his ministry, and family.
- Pray for our Church Board members: Beth Cheung, Gerhard Hiob, Hal Reirson, JD Kliewer, Mary Jetha, Mike Ross, Randy Voss, Seth Jansen, Trevor Toews, Uwem Okome.
- Pray for our Custodians, Adit Gamble, Stan Goodnough and Anne King; Facilities Manager, Joe Richards.