But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more.

 

Friday, December 8, 2023


Psalms 11; 14

Isaiah 42:1-17

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12


Observances: The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Richard Baxter, pastor and spiritual writer (d. 1691)


But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more.


The nature of the kingdom of heaven is to expand. God is not a “one and done” kind of Person. Do you want friends? Jesus teaches you how to buy friends for heaven, that is, to develop relationships that will stretch out into eternity. Do you desire holiness? Jesus will send you His Holy Spirit, which will increase your desire for the things of heaven, and the will to achieve them. Is it life you are after? Jesus will give you life, life in abundance.


Let the people from the desert to the towns shout for joy; let them declare God’s praise from the mountains all the way to the coastlands. God is sending Jesus, in whom He delights, in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring forth justice to the nations. His kingdom is an ever-increasing kingdom. He looks for the smouldering wick and blows it into a blazing flame. He searches out the bruised reed and tends it back into health and vigour.


Paul has heard the positive report about the Thessalonian Christians. They are standing firm in the faith, and that news gives Paul life. But now he asks for more. It is not enough to hold a little pail of faith in one hand as you stumble into the next life. Holiness is to be lived now. The kingdom of heaven is here, now.


The gospel message frees us to live the good life. We have freedom and peace in the security of the knowledge of what Jesus has done for us. The good life is a life that is better and better every day. Be freed from your idolatry. Be freed from your controlling lusts. Be freed to live quietly. Be freed to behave properly towards the great mass of lost people so that they may see our works and give glory to our heavenly Father. Be freed from dependence on anyone else.


Our Great Shepherd gives us everything we need, and His blessings are new every day. You may not think you need it, but once God has given it to you, you will see how much better off you are. God the Holy Spirit, influencing Paul’s words, urges us to love one another more and more. This is God’s will: our sanctification, to do so more and more.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday, September 12, 2022

  Monday, September 12, 2022 Psalm 33 Habakkuk 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:1-14 In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. The lectionary has taken us from the beloved disciple to one of the most beloved of Paul's epistles: Ephesians. Paul must have loved this church very much: we get a sense of his fondness for them and their shared sense of purpose and worship just from the introduction. In what is likely just an introduction to a letter in the style of the ancient Roman world, Paul has managed to squeeze in the entire, wondrous story of God's work of redemption. Paul has framed it the way it ought to be framed: in a pastoral, encouraging tone. He has three main points here (remember, Paul proceeds logically to build up an argument, unlike John who circles around his main point). First: God intended to save us before the world was formed. Think back to the first l
Read more

“Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.”

  Monday, September 11, 2023 Psalms 28; 29 1 Kings 7:51-8:21 Acts 26:19-32 Observance: Deiniol, bishop (d. 384) “ Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.” The great many blessings of being under the protection of the blood of the Lamb fill our hearts with joy and peace. To have the Almighty Creator of the universe, the One who sits above the flood, filling the temple of our being with the cloud of His presence is what it truly means to be human. Every day is filled with adventure; every night turns to the rest of the victor. Certainly there are chains: sometimes they are physical chains, the suffering of being a Christian among people who do not love the Lord. Sometimes they are spiritual; the attacks of the powers of the air who try to distract us from the One we love. But they always fall away. Our Rock of Ages always frees us; always brings us out of the pit of despair. A won
Read more

Monday, September 19

  Monday, September 19 Psalm 45 Nahum 1:15-2:9 Ephesians 4:17-28 ...be renewed in the spirit of your minds... It is far too easy to read some of these Pauline lists of virtues and vices and feel like we have gone back to the dark days before the Reformation. The idea that if we behave ourselves then we can call ourselves “good people” is pagan, not Christian. Paul feels very strongly about how Christians behave, he “affirms and insists” upon it. But it is because of what has already happened that we should mind our step, not because of where we are going. Christ's resurrection is many things, but one aspect relevant for Paul's teaching this morning is that it demonstrates to us the radical new reality in which we now live. We too have passed (spiritually) from death to life; therefore, we experience a “renewal of our minds”. Instead of treading water until we die, we live lives. Everything now makes sense: God has spoken, so we have logic. God made us in His im
Read more