Today's Bible reading was as usual, a very convicting passage. (PS if anyone else would like to write about how they have been convicted by the Holy Spirit and get it posted for all the church to see, I'd totally welcome being out of the hot seat!)
I could just rewrite the whole passage which is just full of convicting words, but you can read that yourself- I Thessalonians 4:1-12. For the purpose of this blog, I'd like to just focus on verses 9 and 10.
"Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more..."
Firstof all, lets just note the point about being taught by God to love one another. We have all been taught by God to love each other. John 15:13 tells us, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." Jesus taught us by example how we are to love each other. We certainly can't use the excuse that we didn't know how or to what extent we are supposed to love each other.
Second, Paul pointed out that not only were the Thessalonians loving as they'd been taught by God, but they were loving the brothers throughout Macedonia (you can click here to see a map of Thessalonica and Macedonia). And let's remember that Paul was writing a letter from over 500 miles away (at a time when there weren't cell phones), which means that the Thessalonians had a reputation of loving their brothers that had spread throughout the region. Wow! That is the reputation I want for to have myself and our church!
Third, Paul wasn't just congratulating the Thessalonians on their good reputation. He was also urging them "to do this more and more" . Hmm. I get the idea that there isn't supposed to be a limit to our love for each other, that we don't get to take a break from loving on another. Instead, our love for each other needs to be consistent, so that we have a reputation for that love in our congregation and community, and yet constantly growing.
Sisters, we have the Spirit of God inside of us! We have been given the power and the command to love one another. I have loved the many ways I see (and experience) the women in our church loving each other well and supporting each other in so many ways. Let's pray for each other that we will do this "more and more" !
More and More
Today's Bible reading was as usual, a very convicting passage. (PS if anyone else would like to write about how they have been convicted by the Holy Spirit and get it posted for all the church to see, I'd totally welcome being out of the hot seat!)
I could just rewrite the whole passage which is just full of convicting words, but you can read that yourself- I Thessalonians 4:1-12. For the purpose of this blog, I'd like to just focus on verses 9 and 10.
"Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more..."
First of all, lets just note the point about being taught by God to love one another. We have all been taught by God to love each other. John 15:13 tells us, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." Jesus taught us by example how we are to love each other. We certainly can't use the excuse that we didn't know how or to what extent we are supposed to love each other.
Second, Paul pointed out that not only were the Thessalonians loving as they'd been taught by God, but they were loving the brothers throughout Macedonia (you can click here to see a map of Thessalonica and Macedonia). And let's remember that Paul was writing a letter from over 500 miles away (at a time when there weren't cell phones), which means that the Thessalonians had a reputation of loving their brothers that had spread throughout the region. Wow! That is the reputation I want for to have myself and our church!
Third, Paul wasn't just congratulating the Thessalonians on their good reputation. He was also urging them "to do this more and more" . Hmm. I get the idea that there isn't supposed to be a limit to our love for each other, that we don't get to take a break from loving on another. Instead, our love for each other needs to be consistent, so that we have a reputation for that love in our congregation and community, and yet constantly growing.
Sisters, we have the Spirit of God inside of us! We have been given the power and the command to love one another. I have loved the many ways I see (and experience) the women in our church loving each other well and supporting each other in so many ways. Let's pray for each other that we will do this "more and more" !