Friday, July 14, 2023

LIVE QUIETLY AND WORK HARD FOR THE LORD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If someone were asked about the way your live your life, would they say that you go about it quietly?

It’s really not something we necessarily think about but as we see in today’s verses from the fourth chapter of 1 Thessalonians, the scriptures do provide guidance on it.

Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. Vv. 10b-12

Here we find God’s word spoken through Paul telling Christian believers, whether in Thessalonica or elsewhere, to show ambition toward leading a “quiet life”, one where you should “mind your own business and work with your hands”.

I have been around those in Christ who always seemed to want to be the center of attention. No matter how much someone else might want to share a view, they would always chime in with their opinion on a matter, feeling the need to get the final word in. Ultimately, this kind of me-first behavior would turn people off and they would start to tune out the person who sought to dominate.

When we turn to Jesus’ ministry, He typically maintained a low profile and actually preferred it to being in the spotlight. If anyone was to be glorified, He made sure it was His Father God, first and foremost. Jesus went about His Father’s business every day and worked hard with His hands, heart, mind, and mouth every day in His efforts to help people come to salvation through Him.

We’re expected to follow the lead of our Savior. It’s what puts the Christ in our Christian lives. The Apostle Paul knew this as well as anyone and wanted the Thessalonian believers to continue to live in the ways of Jesus so they would position themselves to “win the respect of outsiders” daily without burdening them with dependency. It was important to show everyone that they placed their faith in the Lord and in Him alone for provision.

Lead a quiet life and get to work being the hands and feet of Jesus.

That’s the message the Lord is giving us through His word today. It’s up to us to put it into practice.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

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