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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Hold Fast to the Good BibleVerse:1 Thessalonians 5:15, 22 "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not hinder the Spirit, or disdain prophecy. but test everything, hold fast to the good, abstain from every form of evil." Message:
A series of short exhortations (verses 16-22) finishes up the substantive content of 1 Thessalonians. Stylistically, Paul uses a technique that we use today in these seven verses. As a transition from the complex and deep content of his main text, he gives a short summary before making a formal closing.
It may seem odd that verses 16-18 are the most quoted and best known words from 1 Thessalonians; but short, aphoristic sentences tend to be more quotable. And it is a lovely sentence, full of hope and encouragement. The overstatement is characteristically Pauline. Nobody “prays without ceasing,” literally. But if we try, we reap the benefit of constant prayer and do not get pulled away too far from the Spirit by the distractions of worldly life.
drawing of a monk at prayer
I know a man who wears a copper bracelet with a small cross on it; and he says that, every time his eye falls on it, it reminds him to say a prayer, rejoice, and give thanks. It is not a bad idea, and I might try it myself. This is what Paul seems to be getting at: that when we focus our attention too long on the affairs of the world, we create cracks through which evil may penetrate.
But what do we make of the statements, “do not quench the Spirit” and “do not reject prophesy”? They seem unconnected, but when we read through the epistle a few times, we see that Paul always groups “like with like”; teachings that appear together are connected. Paul does not want us to stifle people who express Christian messages, but he expects us to “test it” somehow!
Without a long discussion, I am simply going to take the position that “testing” modern-day prophecy and claims of messages from the Holy Spirit necessarily means, “accept it if and only if the message is in harmony with Scripture.” No matter how nutty they may sound, people should be given the respect of our attention and time; but we should be careful to weigh it against words were are sure come from God.
Paul does not mean that we should hold up words, thoughts, deeds, ideas, proposals, etc. against the image of religious thought within our mind. The theological system in our brain is faulty and easily manipulated by rationalization and compromise. He means, test it against the true Word of God. Not what we infer from the Bible, but what the Bible states in unambiguous terms.
Meditation : “All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more and more strongly the truths contained in the Sacred Scriptures.” ~ Sir William Hershel Prayer : May I go in peace, with God and with his other children, and may we love one another as Christ taught us. May I follow the example of good saints of old, and may God comfort and help me and all who believe in Him, both in this world and in the world which is to come. Amen. |
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