Live in peace
Day 641, Thursday, May 14
1 Thessalonians Chapter 5
The beginning of chapter 5 continues discussion of the Day of the Lord, starting with a reminder that it will be sudden and unexpected. God’s people, though, are to live as those prepared. “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
In his final instructions, Paul again tells the Thessalonians to live exemplary lives, individually and as a community. “Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure no one pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.”
Verses 19-22 remind us to keep our hearts and minds open to God. “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophesies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”
Quenching the Spirit refers to suppressing the work of the Holy Spirit by refusing to listen to promptings or to listen to God’s voice.
In Matthew 13:15 Jesus quotes from Isaiah, saying, “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.” That kind of quenching can be deliberate blindness, or it can be the laziness that comes from having experienced something so many times that we take it for granted and no longer give it the attention it needs—the same kind of thing that can happen in a marriage or other human relationship.
In saying “Do not treat prophesies with contempt,” Paul is warning against thinking we know everything; continue listening for God’s voice. That isn’t to say we are to accept every new teaching uncritically. Instead, we are to test them; hold on to what is good and discard the rest.
Thursday meditation
Psalms 119:121-128
I have done what is righteous and just; do not leave me to my oppressors. Ensure your servant’s well-being; do not let the arrogant oppress me. My eyes fail, looking for your salvation, looking for your righteous promise. Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me your decrees. I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes. It is time for you to act, Lord; your law is being broken. Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.
Prayer focus
May we live in peace with one another.
-Rev. Mark Fleming