Category Archives: Career

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NOT FIRST


1 THESSALONIANS 4:15

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.” 

Come on now, be honest. Don’t you like to be first in line? We want that from our childhood. When children line up to go to lunch or recess at school, many of them want to be the first in line. Most teachers avoid this fight and assign daily line leaders. We don’t want to be bring up the rear. We want to be first.

But Paul tells us that if we are alive when Christ returns, we will NOT be the first to go. All those saints who have died before His return will precede us. They will burst forth from their graves, or wherever their bodies were laid, a precede us in the air to meet our Lord and Savior. But don’t worry. It will happen so fast you won’t even realize it.

APPLICATION

The next time your little Johnny or Susie fight to be first, read them this verse. First isn’t always better. Show them in this verse that if we are alive when Christ returns, WE will get to see that. Wouldn’t that be grand? Get your child to draw a picture of what they think that might look like. That’s worth being second, isn’t it?

Also, by giving up that fight to be first all the time, we have the opportunity to serve others and lead them to Christ. All those who have gone before us don’t have that opportunity anymore. But while we wait on Jesus to return, we can talk to others about Him and perhaps they can join us on that day.

What are you waiting for? Are you pushing to be first all the time? Don’t! Step back and let others go ahead of you. That can even work in traffic (God forbid, lol). Yield to Jesus. Let Him always be first.

I fight this battle every day, Lord. I want to be first in all my endeavors. Let me learn the humility of being in back of the line so I can serve others.

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ARE YOU PROPER?


1 THESSALONIANS 4:12

“so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.” 

I love to see the difference between English translations and the original languages of the Bible. Sometimes the translations are very different than the original meaning. We just don’t have adequate words to make that translation closer. But the truth of the Word is still there.

This verse is one of those verses. “Behave properly” in the Greek could read “walk in good form.” You get the idea. Paul is telling us and the Thessalonians to represent Christ in their dealings with outsiders (non-believers). Why? To draw them toward Christ and not drive them away. Our actions and behavior should always mirror Christ.

APPLICATION

One of the best things we can teach our children is that their behavior matters. It doesn’t matter just for us. It matters to our Lord. I never wanted to do anything to damage my family name. But I am more concerned that I don’t do anything to harm the name of Jesus. That’s what we teach our children.

If they tell people, especially lost people, that they are a follower of Christ and then live like the world, why would those people want to surrender their lives to Christ? Ask your child what they could do to live differently around their lost friends. I bet they can tell you a number of ways. Then encourage them to do exactly that.

Are you behaving properly? Are you walking in good form? Does your walk resemble your talk? Ask yourself today if your lost friends see the difference Christ has made in your life. If they can’t, perhaps it’s time to re-examine your commitment to Him. Let your light shine today.

I want to draw my lost neighbors and friends to Christ. I desire to see them freed from the bondage of sin. Give me the discipline to live in such a way that others ask me what makes me different.

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REJECTION

1 THESSALONIANS 4:8 

“So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.”  

Rejection is probably the one thing I struggle with most. When I am rejected by someone, it hurts. Most of the time it’s because my pride is hurt. It’s all about me. I know I do NOT need the other person’s acceptance to identify me, but I still don’t like that someone doesn’t like me.   

But we can expect this if we are walking with Christ. Jesus told us, and Paul is telling us in today’s verse. People who aren’t walking in the light do not like the light shining on them. It points out their faults. He exposes their sin. So, if you are walking with Christ and trying to live for Him, others will reject you because of Him. 

APPLICATION 

Teaching our children about rejection is difficult and very emotional. They will encounter this at some point. Other children can be so cruel. Some kids just love to hurt other kids. They think it makes them feel better, but it doesn’t. We have to teach our children that their identity rest in Jesus, not in the opinion of men. 

When our children grasp this truth, they will be able to withstand any amount of rejection. Sure, it will still hurt. But knowing who you are in Christ makes all the difference. Jesus can handle the rejection. He is God. Let Him take those hurled words of insult. Let Him shoulder the load of rejection. He is able. 

Have you been rejected lately? How about by someone you love? Maybe even a family member? It hurts, I know. But give it all to Jesus. Let Him take the pain away. If you are living for Him, He will comfort you in the very midst of the rejection.  

Father, I know You experienced rejection when You sent Your Son to earth to die for us. When the world rejected Him, they rejected You. So, I know You understand how I feel when I go through this. Take this emotional pain from me today. 

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WHERE DOES GOD POINT?

1 THESSALONIANS 4:7 

“For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.”  

Do you ever have any doubts about where God wants you to go or how He wants you to live? If you do, this verse should put those doubts to rest. Look at the verse. It’s pretty simple. God calls us to be holy and sanctified. He never calls us to impurity or anything unholy. Why? Because He wants us to look like Him. 

Everything we do, say or think should be directed toward our sanctification. Do I mean you have to be perfect? Well…yes! But before you panic, that’s not me saying that. God tells us to be holy like He is. He tells us to be perfect like He is. The good news is that it is not up to us to make ourselves holy or perfect. He does that, if we will just surrender to Him. 

APPLICATION 

Don’t you wish you had perfect kids? Wouldn’t it be fantastic if your Elrod or Gertrude never misbehaved? Of course, if you had perfect kids, you would think it was because you are the perfect parent. You would probably write a book on being the perfect parent. You would probably go on a book tour and sign the books and give speeches on how to be the perfect parents. 

That is EXACTLY what God did. He is perfect. He wrote a book to tell us how to be perfect. He sent His Son to us to tell us how to be perfect. His Son gave speeches on how to be perfect. We just need to listen to Him. All the answers we need to parent our children perfectly are contained in His Word.  

Will you ever be perfect? Not until you reach eternity. Then and only then will you be perfected. Then and only then will you cease to sin. Then and only then will you achieve holiness. God knows that, but we are still to strive to be like Him every day. Will you today? 

O Perfect One, make me like You. Show me all my faults and failures. Help me perfect myself to live just how You want me to. 

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DO YOU USE PEOPLE?

1 THESSALONIANS 4:6 

“and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.”   

There was a song in the 70’s that talked about using things and loving people, rather than loving things and using people. Which are you? Pau is warning us in this verse not to take advantage of or step over others. This was especially true in the context of this verse – sexual immorality. Sexual sin always hurts others. 

In our daily lives as Christians we should never do anything that hurts another person, whether they are believers or not. Our goal should always be to bring them along the path to righteousness, to point them to Christ. If we are “using” them, we are not doing that.  

APPLICATION 

Children can get into this habit of manipulation of people if we don’t guide them. Your little Susie will see how other girls get boys to like them. Of course, she wants to fit in with her girlfriends, so she learns to “use” the boys to get what she wants. 

Your Johnny may see girls as just a conquest. He hears the other guys talking and wants to play the same game. Listen to me, Mom and Dad. You must teach your children this truth. Everyone is loved by God and is precious to Him. He longs for each and every one of them to come to Him. Our job is to teach our children to see them as brothers and sisters in Christ or as potential “family members.” 

Are you guilty of transgression against your brother or sister? Have you defrauded or stepped over someone? Confess that as sin and ask the Lord to help you make it right. As the verse says, “the Lord is the avenger in all these things.” You certainly don’t want the Lord avenging your wrong against them. Make it right today. 

If I have wronged someone today, Lord, please forgive me. Give me the opportunity to go to them and make it right. I truly want to be a witness for You. 

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ARE YOU PASSIONATE?

1 THESSALONIANS 4:5 

“not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; “ 

I will never forget telling my son to pursue his passion, in regards to choosing a career. Passion is a good thing, if focused on the right thing. That’s why I find it so interesting that Paul used these two words, “lustful passion” here in this verse. Every word used by any of the authors of the Bible were inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16), so these words were not an accident. 

“Passion” literally means to eagerly desire and want something. It can be good or bad. I have an intense passion for God’s Word. That’s good. But “lustful” is where we get the word  “pathology.” It’s only used three times in Scripture, and all three times it’s bad.  It refers to a lust or desire not from God. THAT’S what Paul is warning against. 

APPLICATION 

I bet your little Johnny or Susie have a passion for something. If it lines up with God’s Word, encourage it. If it doesn’t, squash it now. Seriously! Don’t let an unhealthy passion for something fester in your child’s life. It will only bring sorrow and pain down the road. 

As Christian parents, we want to encourage our children to pursue those healthy passions. We don’t want them chasing ungodly passions, like the world. Just as Paul warned the Thessalonians, we need to be alert to our children’s passion.  

What are you pursuing today? How would God classify your passions? Are they lustful (not godly) or pure and healthy (godly)? It’s easy to figure that out. Just ask Him. He’ll tell you. If it brings Him glory, go for it. If it only brings you satisfaction and attention, you had better look closer. 

My desire, O God, is to desire only You. My heart yearns for a deeper knowledge of You and a more intimate relationship. Show me how to pursue that passion and give You the glory. 

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IT’S NOT COMPLICATED

1 THESSALONIANS 4:4 

“that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,”  

Don’t read too much into this verse. It’s pretty simple. Not too complicated. Paul is telling us to control our bodies. As Christians, the Thessalonians needed to be reminded that even their bodies were a reflection of Christ. The same goes for us today. So, what does that mean? 

It does NOT mean that we get obsessed with exercise. While that is good and necessary, this earthen vessel is just that – an earthen vessel. It is going to get old and broken. We can’t stop the aging process. But we can honor God by how we treat it. Our body is deserving of sanctification and honor because it is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Shouldn’t He live in a nice place? 

APPLICATION 

Take your children on a ride to the part of town where the houses are run down and in need of repair. Then take them to a newer neighborhood and show them some new homes. You are not trying to say anything about the people who live there. You are just looking at the structures. 

Ask them which house they would want to live in? I am sure they will pick the new house. Explain to them how their bodies, if they are believers, is like that. We must care for our bodies since it is where the Holy Spirit lives, and it’s the very thing that people see about us.  We all get sick and may get diseases. We are not referring to that. But we must do all we can to let our “vessels” honor the Lord.  

Okay! Here comes the hard question. How is your vessel looking? God loves you no matter what your body type. But He desires us to honor Him with what He has given us. Abusing our bodies dishonors the Lord. Abusing our vessels may make it unusable to the Lord. Keep yourself ready for the journey. You never know where He may ask you to go. 

Lord, I want to be used by You. Help me discipline my body to be prepared for whatever task You have for me. I thank You that You have given me the strength to serve. 

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BE SANCTIFIED

1 THESSALONIANS 4:3 

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;” 

Just what does this mean? Be sanctified! How is that possible? How can we possibly be sanctified? In this verse Paul tells the Thessalonians to keep themselves pure, to protect their bodies and to flee from immorality. Remember they are in a pagan city surrounded by idol worship that usually involved sexual practices. Enough about that! You get the picture. 

But Paul is saying “Run from that stuff!” However, they need to run to God. He is the only One who sanctifies. We can’t sanctify ourselves. When we surrender to Him and to His Will, then He can begin the sanctification process. He can make us holy, just like Him, if we allow Him to work in and through us. 

APPLICATION 

Now, how do you explain sanctification to your children? Well, sanctification means you are looking more and more like Jesus. Have you ever seen a picture of a child whose face was aged to look older? The program projects what the child would look like in 10, 20 or 30 years. This would be a fun thing to do with your child. 

Then read this verse and explain that the Lord knows EXACTLY what they are going to look like. More importantly, He knows how close they can look like Him if they surrender to Him. Ask your child if they want to be like Jesus (they probably don’t want to look like Him with the beard and long hair, lol). I bet they will want to BE like Him. Your job starts right there. You can help them make good choices while they are young, so they will know how to do that as the age. 

How are you doing with your own sanctification? Are you fleeing from immorality? We may not have pagan temples around us, but we sure have the lures of this world that can rob us of being sanctified. Will you surrender to Him today and allow Him to work on you? 

Lord, sanctify me today. Take my life and make it Yours. I want to look just You. 

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JUST WALK

1 THESSALONIANS 4:1 

“Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.  

My granddaughter just learned to walk. One week she’s crawling and pulling up to stuff and the next…she’s off to the races. She looked so funny trying to get her balance and take those steps. And she looked so different standing upright, rather than crawling. Her walking changed the way she looked and acted. 

Hmmmm! That might just apply to us. Think about it. How we walk with Christ affects how we appear to others. How balanced we are in our strides can either influence others to follow us or run from us. Our walk does affect others, whether we want to admit it or not. 

APPLICATION 

Do you remember the hours you spent teaching your little Elrod or Gertrude to walk? Holding their little hands as they took their first steps. Following close behind in case they stumbled. Picking them up and drying the tears when they fell. All of those are part of helping them learn to walk. You wouldn’t have dreamed of letting them do it all on their own. 

It’s the same way with their walk in Christ. We have to hold their hand, guard against stumbles and pick them up and dry the tears when they fail. The difference between learning to physically walk and spiritually walk is eternal. Their spiritual walk will determine where they spend eternity.  

How are you doing as a parent in guiding your child’s walk? How is your walk? Paul is imploring us to walk and please God, just as he was encouraging the Thessalonians. Does your walk please God? If not, change course or change strides. Just walk to please Him. 

Walking with You, Lord, is a pleasant thing. Sometimes You take me on paths I don’t want to go, but I trust You. I will surrender to You today and allow You to point out the way. 

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SUPER GLUED


1 THESSALONIANS 3:13

“so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”

That may sound silly – super glued! But I love that stuff. When something needs to be held tight and not move, pull out the super glue. Just make sure you have it set in the right place, because once the glue is applied, it’s not moving.

That’s the meaning behind the word “establish” in today’s verse. God will super glue your heart “without blame in holiness.” Of course, everything God does is eternal. He doesn’t mess around with temporal stuff. So, if He establishes your heart, He intends it to last for eternity.

APPLICATION

How do you apply this verse to yourself and your family? God can only establish your heart if it is yielded to Him. He won’t force you. As bad as you want your children to follow Christ, it is only possible if they surrender to Him. 

Our job as parents is to prepare our children’s hearts to be established by the Lord. That means we are consistently teaching them God’s Word. We know it won’t come back void. We are consistently teaching them to pray, so when the Holy Spirit draws them to surrender, they will know His voice. 

Have you fully, and I mean fully, surrendered your heart to Him? Does He have it all? If you are holding back, He can’t establish you as blameless or in holiness. If we insist of handling part of our heart ourselves, it will not be secure. Allow the Lord today to have it all.  He can handle it. He can secure it.

You are the Maker of my heart, therefore, You are the only one who can establish it. Thank You, Lord, for super glueing my heart today.

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