Tag: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18

Is There a Way He Always Wants Us to Live? Are We In This World for Good, Bad or Always Living Indifferently? 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18

1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 New American Standard Bible

Christian Conduct

12 But we ask you, brothers and sisters, to recognize those who diligently labor among you and [a]are in leadership over you in the Lord, and give you  [b] instruction, 13 and that you regard them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. 14 We urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the [c]unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people.

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 New American Standard Bible

2 We always give thanks to God for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; 3 constantly keeping in mind your work of faith and labor of love and [a] perseverance of hope [b]in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, 4 knowing, brothers and sisters, beloved by God, His choice of you; 5 for our  gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sakes.

1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 New American Standard Bible

14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, 15 who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and [a]drove us out. [b]They are not pleasing to God, [c]but hostile to all people, 16 hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always [d]reach the limit of their sins. But wrath has come upon them [e]fully.

1 Thessalonians 3:1-8 New American Standard Bible

Encouragement of Timothy’s Visit

3 Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it best to be left behind, alone at Athens, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the benefit of your faith, 3 so that no one would be [a]disturbed by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. 4 For even when we were with you, we kept  telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; [b]and so it happened, [c]as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I also sent to [d] find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be for nothing.

6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, 7 for this reason, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; 8 for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 New American Standard Bible

Those Who Died in Christ

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who [a]are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep [b]through Jesus.  15  For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive [c]and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a [d]shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, [e]comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 New American Standard Bible

15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18  in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

What message was Paul trying so hard to convey to the Thessalonian church he planted with his constant repetition and implications, of the word “always?”

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3842/esv/mgnt/0-1/

First Question … What does always from 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 mean?

Paul says that we must always seek after that which is good for them.

This word “always” tells us that we cannot pick and choose when or to whom we will do this. It doesn’t distinguish from who did or did not commit an evil act against you. It doesn’t depend on how many times they did it. It doesn’t depend on how much it hurt or how much it may have blessed, healed or rewarded you.

Do you ever think the Bible’s commands seem impossibly all-encompassing?

Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians is chock-full of such directives:

“Rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16).

“Pray without ceasing” (v 17).

Sometimes verses like these seem to raise far more rhetorical questions than provide authentic true biblical answers for.

A bit of detail or a few caveats couldn’t hurt, could they?

And what about the command in verse 15? “Seek to do good.”

For whom? “Everyone.”

When? “Always.” That’s a whole lot of good to a whole lot of people for a whole lot of applied effort, a whole lot of sacrifices of time and material resources!

But perhaps instead of thinking of a command like this as impossibly general, a better way to think of it is that it is abundantly generous.

We have a God who gives and gives and keeps on giving.

No matter how many times we fail Him, He still meets us with both guidance, inspiration, kindness and sometimes fatherly discipline (Hebrews 12:4-11).

Along with Paul, we should ask ourselves,

“What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).

The answer, of course, is absolutely nothing. It is simply in God’s nature and disposition to overflow with kindness, mercy, and grace—and as His children, we should be always, continually, learning to imitate Him as best we can.

We all have bad days, of course.

Inevitably, we will displease, or even hurt, someone at some point.

But what if we went through today or tomorrow with the aim of always seeking to do good to everyone?

What do you think would change?

How would others respond?

Perhaps instead of seeing others as obstacles or roadblocks, we’d see them more as men and women with dignity, who are worthy of love and respect?

Or perhaps instead of us treating some people like enemies, we would begin to try to understand their positions and even genuinely begin to appreciate them.

Whatever the specific situations we encounter, God has placed us in this world for good.

It is our privilege and our good pleasure to share His always abundant kindness and His always abundant goodness with anyone and everyone we possibly can.

Gratitude in Community

1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 The Message

The Way He Wants You to Live

12-13 And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!

13-15 Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

One of the most gratifying experiences in life, I believe, is to see all of Christ’s followers living as Christ’s followers.

I often get glimpses when I visit a person who is sick and I see the many cards they have received, about a meal someone brought the night before, learn that another church member will be bringing them to an appointment the next day.

I get glimpses when I see Christ’s followers teaching Sunday school, sharing their resources with people in need, leading Bible studies in prisons, serving meals to people who are struggling to pay for their next meals for themselves or homeless, or working ­toward justice and peace in our world. I could go on.

As Paul describes the way we should live and serve and be the church together, I feel both challenged and thankful and regretful I didn’t try harder to help them.

I’m challenged in realizing that living for Jesus is hard work. Perhaps the Lord’s hardest instruction is to live peacefully together and to always strive to do good to others, including, those with whom we deeply disagree. (Matthew 5:38-48)

It must be why Paul calls us to always remember our rootedness in Christ.

Jeremiah 17:8 New American Standard Bible

8 For he will be like a tree planted by the water
That extends its roots by a stream,
And does not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought,
Nor cease to yield fruit.

like a tree planted by the water That extends its roots by a stream, always rejoice and always pray and always be thankful, always and continually to honor God.

To be clear, ‘continually’ isn’t about skipping through life with our head buried in the ground or so haughty that we can smell and taste and touch the clouds.

It’s about remembering, in all we do, the sacrificial love and grace we’ve been shown in Christ.

Carrying gratitude around with us daily, as Christ carried his Cross, helps to shape our testimony and our witness of Christ’s true saving love to the world.

In the name of God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit ……

Praying ….

The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
Running down upon the beard,
As on Aaron’s beard,
The oil which ran down upon the edge of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For the Lord commanded the blessing there—life forever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

“God, How May I Know What Your Will For My Life Is?” John 7:16-19

1. Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.

2. Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be
filled with messages from thee.
Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use
every power as thou shalt choose.

3. Take my will, and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.

John 7:16-19 The Message

16-19 Jesus said, “I didn’t make this up. What I teach comes from the One who sent me. Anyone who wants to do his will can test this teaching and know whether it’s from God or whether I’m making it up. A person making things up tries to make himself look good. But someone trying to honor the one who sent him sticks to the facts and doesn’t tamper with reality. It was Moses, wasn’t it, who gave you God’s Law? But none of you are living it. So why are you trying to kill me?”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Is Jesus For Real?

Do you ever wonder if Jesus actually was what he claimed to be?

Do we have trouble at times struggling with understanding what he is saying in these tremendous passages, especially in the Gospel narrative of John?

Well, if that is the case, Jesus tells you what to do: Practice what he says.

Obey his words.

Repent of your sins.

Come to Him.

Cast yourself upon his mercy.

Believe in his forgiveness, and go out in obedience and treat people the way he says to.

Then we will know from an inside knowledge that no one can take away that what He says is true, because His authority, teaching, is in line with the reality we are seeing of God at work through us.

This is a sacred principle that runs all through our life: We all learn by doing.

A doctor may learn all that the medical books can teach them, but until they get their hands into their clinical specialty, area of expertise, surgery or dispenses medicines to people who are in critical need of their service, never really learns.

The same is true in any field: We all learn by Our Doing.

When we do what Jesus says, we practice obedience and discipline ourselves, we begin to understand with a deep conviction that He knows what life is all about.

This explains the phenomenon of certain people who become Christians—some of them early, some late in life—and who immediately practice what they have learned through study of God’s Word, and then grow with astonishing rapidity.

They subtly become “more” grown up, capable, well-adjusted whole persons, seemingly almost overnight, while others who sit under the teaching of the Scripture for years hardly seem ever to grow at all; they are still childlike in their behavior, emotionally upset, anxious, timid, stagnant and fear-ridden.

This is because they are not doing what they hear.

They are only maintaining themselves in a “milk and cookies” Christianity.

Those who put into practice the truth they hear begin to grow immediately.

Now, it is graduating into whole hearted “meat and potatoes” evangelism.

They have entered the place called the tried, true, “Will of God For Their Lives.”

Ways to Know God’s Will for Your Life

When I was a young (in the faith) Christian, I seemed to continually wrestle with knowing to know what God’s will was for my life.

I wanted more than anything to follow His plan.

Interestingly, now that I’m “older” (currently 62 years old), I still wrestle with knowing and doing God’s will in my life.

Over the years of “near continual discernment” I have come to learn that this is not just something that many young persons does early in life; it is that lifelong pursuit, through study, prayer, in order to stay in the exact center of His plan.

So, then, how can we authentically, faithfully know God’s plan for our lives?

Over the past twenty-some years that I have been in both lay and lay pastoral ministry, I have discovered several vital keys to genuinely knowing God’s will.

Here they are:

1. Walk with God.

Proverbs 3:5-12 The Message

5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
    Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
    your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
    give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
    your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
    don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
    a father’s delight is behind all this.

For starters, if you are authentically interested in knowing God’s plan for your life, then you must genuinely learn to walk faithfully, faith-filled, with God.

You need to engage, work literally all of the soils of your life cultivate, develop and sow, plant the seeds of a harvest, then bear fruit – a relationship with Him.

Matthew 13:10-17 The Message

Why Tell Stories?

10 The disciples came up and asked, “Why do you tell stories?”

11-15 He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward a welcome awakening. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again:

Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing.
    Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing.
The people are stupid!
They stick their fingers in their ears
    so they won’t have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
    so they won’t have to look,
    so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face
    and let me heal them.

16-17 “But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.

Christianity is all about working the soils, relationship rather than just religion.

And so you must cultivate your relationship with God.

We must seek to know Him through our labor, not just seek to know about Him.

We will cultivate that relationship best by spending time in His Word, taking time for prayer, and taking every opportunity you can to be involved in church and fellowship gatherings small group Bible study and prayer, opportunities.

When we seek “work these soils” cultivate these disciplines in, within our life, God will begin the first steps, plant the first seeds, to revealing His plan to you.

2. Surrender your will to God’s.

Romans 12:1-2 The Message

Place Your Life Before God

12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Far too many times when we say we are seeking God’s will, what we are really wanting to say to God is this: “OK, God, here’s what I’m planning to do.” “Now I need you authentically, faithfully [automatically] to rubber stamp this, all right?”

I must break into your Theology to tell you that this is not really going to be an effective thought or planning, process in discovering and finding His true will.

Before God will begin to allow the seed to germinate, reveal His will to you, you must be committed, faithful, to doing whatever it is He desires for you to do.

God will likely be slow, not as we understand slow, but God understands slow, to show you His true plan if He knows you will likely not do that plan anyway.

Jesus was willing come to die for us, so shouldn’t we be willing to live for Him?

When we surrender to Him, that is when He really begins to direct our steps.

3. Obey what you already know to be God’s will.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 The Message

The Way He Wants You to Live

12-13 And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!

13-15 Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

Many people seem to want to know what God’s plan is for their lives, but they overlook the fact that 98% of His will is already delineated carefully through His Word – God is very authentic, clear about many, many aspects of His will.

Honor, respect those leaders and authority figures who work so hard for you, who have been given by God, the true responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your faith journey, in your wisdom and understanding and practice of obedience.

Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part to get along with others.

Warn the “freeloaders” to “get with the plan for the community” and start earning their keep, “get along with God’s plan for His Kingdom” and to laboring for God.

Gently encourage and inspire and empower the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet, showing them places where they may rest.

Be patient with each person, attentive to their individual needs.

Be careful that when we get on each others nerves, we do not snap at each other.

Look for the best in each other and always do your best to bring out their best.

Be Cheerful – no matter what!

Pray all of the time.

Thank God – no matter what happens!

If we do not practice His Presence, obey the things God has shown us clearly to be His will, why then would we think He would reveal any further information regarding His plan for our lives?

Practice Obedience and Practice His Wisdom are critically important first steps.

4. Seek godly input.

Proverbs 11:14 The Message

14 Without good direction, people lose their way;
    the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.

One key component to finding God’s will is to seek the input of godly advisors in your life.

If you don’t currently have 3-4 godly mentors, then I would highly recommend that you seek them out right away.

Think of it this way: you should understand that you are basically a composite of the five people you spend the most time with.

So, then, it is vital that you choose those five people well.

If you choose to surround yourself with godly advisors, they’ll be instrumental in helping you discern God’s plan for your life.

But if you surround yourself with people who are far from God, your hope of finding His best for your life will be greatly diminished.

The church is designed to help you greatly with this.

I would encourage you to be in church every single time the doors are opened.

The more you involve yourself with a community of believers, the greater your chances will be of finally finding authentic godly men and women who can help you discern God’s will.

5. Pay attention to how God has wired you.

1 Peter 4:7-11The Message

7-11 Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!

God has created you and me to fulfill a specific role in this world.

There is no one else who can achieve completely what God has purposely created us to do.

God has gifted every one of us to perform a special mission for which we alone were created.

How amazing is that?

Wow!

So, when you seek to discover God’s will for your life, pay attention to how He has gifted you.

His plan for you will always be directly related to the gifts that He has bestowed upon you.

The great news is that you will automatically be good at whatever it is that He has called you to do!

6. Listen to God’s spirit.

John 16:12-15The Message

12-15 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’

I experienced a major turning point in my own prayer life when I learned simply to shut up while I was praying.

That may sound odd to you, and it seemed odd to me at first.

You see, I used to do all the talking when I prayed to God.

But then, several years ago, I read Bill Hybel’s book, Too Busy Not to Pray.

That book completely changed the way I approached God through prayer.

Since reading that book, I have added a significant component to my prayer life: listening.

I take time to “very carefully” listen to what God might have to say to me.

Practically, the way I go about this is to bring a notepad with me when I sit down to pray.

Then I contemplate at the top of several thoughts things like the following:

  • “What is the next step in my career?”
  • “What is the next step in my ministry?”
  • “What is the next step for my family?”
  • “What is the next step for my marriage?”
  • “What is the next step in my education?”
  • “What is the next step in my finances?”

During my prayer time, I meditate on questions such as the above.

Often, God will start flooding my heart with ideas and information regarding one or more of those questions.

Sometimes, not all of the time I write as fast as I can as He speaks to my heart.

What a glorious experience to sense His Spirit on me, guiding my thoughts and words, guiding my personal studies of the bible, writing of these devotionals.

Through experiences like this, He has shown me many times with great clarity what His will is for my life.

I long for those experiences when He speaks to me like that.

Those times are truly, authentically, life changing.

7. Listen to your heart.

Psalm 37:3-6 The Message

3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed,
    settle down and stick to your last.
Keep company with God,
    get in on the best.

5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back;
    he’ll do whatever needs to be done:
He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day
    and stamp you with approval at high noon.

In addition to listening to the Spirit, I also recommend listening to your heart.

I love this passage, because it shows me that, when I am walking with the Lord, He will actually let me do many really cool things that I actually love to do!

When you are close to Him, He actually begins to shape your desires so that you desire the things that He has already called you to do.

So then, His plan actually becomes a super-exciting adventure.

I always have the most fun in life when I am doing God’s will.

And that is because He shapes and transforms every single one of my “wants” to always wanting to do all those things for which He has actually created me.

8. Take a look at your circumstances.

Acts 16:6-10 The Message

6-8 They went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there either. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport Troas.

9-10 That night Paul had a dream: A Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans.

God often clearly demonstrates His desired plan for our lives by His lining up circumstances in obvious ways.

And He also shows us what His will is NOT for us to do in that same way.

It is not His will for you to take the job that is not offered to you.

If you are of short stature it is not likely that God has created you to play 60 plus minutes of professional American NFL football.

But then again, there is the opportunity to play sports like professional soccer and be successful at a host of other amateur, professional sports opportunities

Over the years, I’ve discovered God is pretty good at opening and closing doors.

He even did that for the Apostle Paul and his entourage in the Book of Acts. 

So, even Paul had to face closed doors in his ministry.

God often uses closed doors to show us clearly what He does NOT want us to do.

And He also uses open doors at times to show us what He DOES want us to do.

Of course, this does not mean that every single open door is definitely God’s plan, but it surely and certainly does help to give you some basic direction.

A Closing Thought:

Psalm 27:7-10 The Message

7-9 Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs:
    “Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,”
    my whole being replied,
“I’m seeking him!”
    Don’t hide from me now!

9-10 You’ve always been right there for me;
    don’t turn your back on me now.
Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me;
    you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
    but God took me in.

The next time you begin to ponder God’s plan for your life, I would encourage you to study and pray over the Word of God and mull over the above eight keys.

In fellowship with your brother and sisters in Christ, use these principles to help you to hone in on His plan.

And when you earnestly and fervently seek His will alone, you will 100% find it!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 84 The Message

84 1-2 What a beautiful home, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
    I’ve always longed to live in a place like this,
Always dreamed of a room in your house,
    where I could sing for joy to God-alive!

3-4 Birds find nooks and crannies in your house,
    sparrows and swallows make nests there.
They lay their eggs and raise their young,
    singing their songs in the place where we worship.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God!
    How blessed they are to live and sing there!

5-7 And how blessed all those in whom you live,
    whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
    discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
    at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!

8-9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, listen:
    O God of Jacob, open your ears—I’m praying!
Look at our shields, glistening in the sun,
    our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.

10-12 One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
    beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.
I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God
    than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.
All sunshine and sovereign is God,
    generous in gifts and glory.
He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions.
    It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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When You Cannot nor Do not Feel Like Being Thankful this Thanksgiving, Why Should we Pray? 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18

1 Thessalonians 5:12-18English Standard Version

Final Instructions and Benediction

12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,[a] encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Signs of the Thanksgiving season are everywhere this week.

Everywhere we go we are consistently reminded by everyone an everything we see we are to give thanks for all that we have, especially our friends and family.

But what if maybe you an I do not feel thankful?

Maybe this year we are unable to locate one single reason to be thankful.

Maybe you an I are lacking close relationships or recently have gone through a major breakup or loss of a loved one. Maybe you an I do have others in our life, but our relationships are too complex, too conflictual or way too disappointing.

Perhaps the economic climate in our families precludes our usual shopping day.

Perhaps we have lost our job or have serious or chronic health problems, which make it difficult to feel thankful.

Or we might struggle with homelessness, a new high risk of homelessness or addictions, or depression or other mental health problems that make getting through every day a huge challenge we do not feel like confronting.

Maybe there is someone in our family who has become seriously ill and is now unable to participate in the festivities, maybe they have moved far away, there is no money anywhere for anybody to travel the distance now between you both.

Maybe our loved ones are members of the Armed Forces of our countries and the situation is such that no one is able to get those “orders” to travel home.

Perhaps we now have no home to go to because of major weather events which have destroyed the home or flooded it out or made it uninhabitable an unsafe.

Perhaps the home you knew or had just bought, has burned to the ground.

Perhaps the home you knew is now the home you can never go back to because you are a refugee or an immigrant fleeing a dangerous and unstable situation.

If one of these situations resonates with you, or resonates with me, we might not be feeling very thankful this season and we pray others to leave us alone.

For some other people, reminders to be thankful can bring joy. But what are the effects of being prompted to be thankful when you just aren’t feeling thankful?

Unfortunately, when you aren’t feeling thankful, even the minutest, smallest of reminders to be thankful are “offensive,” can make you and me feel even worse.

When you are struggling, being prompted to be thankful may seem insensitive.

You may feel misunderstood, alone, or isolated.

You might feel like everyone around you is thankful and full of joy, and you are alone in your thanklessness.

You may feel annoyed or even angry if it seems that others want you to be thankful to fit their schema for the holiday. If you have tried to feel thankful and just cannot bring yourself to do it, you may feel disappointed in yourself.

I confess… some days I don’t feel thankful. On those days I can still make of list of all my blessings, but instead of it propelling feelings of gratitude it makes me feel that much more guilty its not there, you cannot put it there. 

It’s a horrible feeling to be trying with everything you have to feel something you know you should be feeling but are not and do not believe you are allowed. 

Does that ever happen to you?

Is this a familiar sensation?

If this is how you feel, getting through the holiday can be challenging.

Here are some ideas for making it a bit easier.

1. Accept your feelings and be compassionate with yourself. 

You may think that you are supposed to feel thankful on Thanksgiving.

This is especially true if there are some aspects of your life that are positive, such as good health or a steady job.

However, sometimes our struggles weigh heavily on us, making it difficult to appreciate our blessings.

If this is happening to you, that is alright.

It happens to the best of us.

Not being able to feel thankful doesn’t make someone a “bad person.”

You may be having a tough time, and the tough times may be fleeting or may be more longstanding.

Either way, please see yourself as a good person, and treat yourself with the compassion and understanding that you deserve.

Accepting your feelings is important because it can bring you more peace than trying to fight them.

In addition, accepting your feelings is important because denying feelings can lead to other problems.

“Fake it till you Make it?”

If you are determined to stride into Thanksgiving pretending to feel something that you don’t, this façade can crumble in a hurry during the day, leading you to feel embarrassed or even worse than when you started in the first place.

2. Make a plan for challenging interactions. 

Many holidays have fallen apart as a result of quibbling throughout the day or full-blown arguments.

If you somehow anticipate being annoyed, irritated or provoked by someone during the day, whether it’s your mother-in-law, third cousin, or own spouse or child, make a plan now for how you will react. First, foremost – Pray to God!

Thanksgiving dinner is definitely not the most opportune time for proving that case you are right or making a case for something controversial that is vitally important to you, especially if you are out of sorts and not feeling your best.

Instead of trying to win those arguments, try embracing the goal of getting through the day with as much of God’s grace and God’s peace as possible.

To do this, you need to think about what you will do when someone sets you off or gets under your skin that will deescalate the tension.

This could be ignoring a comment, agreeing if you can, agreeing to disagree, changing the subject, or saying you aren’t going to talk about a particular topic.

Doing any of these things will probably mean that you are being the bigger person. This may not be “fair,” may seem like you are avoiding, but it will increase the chances of you making it through your day with less stress.

3. Make a plan if you are going to spend the day alone. 

For any number of reasons, many people find themselves dining alone on Thanksgiving when they rather would spend the day with others.

There are ways to get around this: inviting others to your home, asking a friend if you can join them (even if doing so is a little awkward), or volunteering at a church or at a homeless shelter or other location serving Thanksgiving dinner.

If none of these ideas appeal to you or are possible, you can still make peace with the holiday on your own. The irony here is that many of us would typically be thrilled to have a day to ourselves with no expectations for productivity.

However, the day can feel mightily empty when it’s a holiday.

Now is the time to start re-framing how you think about this day on your own.

This may not be what you wanted, but it’s what you have.

So, how can you make the best of it?

What would you do if the day were not a holiday?

Thinking about this now is important so you can research what shops or restaurants will be closed and gather whatever you need for your day now.

Remember too that a good plan does not necessarily mean that you won’t have feelings of sadness or disappointment.

But a good plan for filling the time with things you enjoy should help the hours roll by faster and with more pleasant moments.

4. End the day with something to look forward to. 

What do you most enjoy doing in the hour or two before going to sleep?

Maybe it’s a cozy spot with a good book, or a bath and glass of wine, or a long drive, or walk outside.

Whatever it is, do it.

If you have a busy day with friends or family, prioritize carving out and protecting this time.

If you are on your own, save these activities for the end of the day.

Doing this will serve two purposes.

First, you will have something to look forward to as you make your way through your day.

Second, it is a way of rewarding yourself.

By evening, you will have made it through a day that you found challenging.

This is not an easy feat, and you should take pride in what you have done.

How Does the Word of God encourage Us during particularly Hard Times?

1 Thessalonians 5:12-18New American Standard Bible

Christian Conduct

12 But we ask you, brothers and sisters, to recognize those who diligently labor among you and [a]are in leadership over you in the Lord, and give you [b]instruction, 13 and that you regard them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. 14 We urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the [c]unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

As believers, we are taught to pray.

But what are we taught to pray?

The Word of God for the Children of God

– Begin to Reflect upon something an someone far, far greater than yourself,

Upon God, the Father an Go the Son and Holy Spirit,

Even if you do not know the words – Sing Psalms ….

For example ….

Psalm 42English Standard Version

Book Two

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

To the choirmaster. A Maskil[a] of the Sons of Korah.

42 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?[b]
3 My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
    as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
    and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
    a multitude keeping festival.

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation[c] 6 and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
    therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
    at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
    have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
    and at night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones,
    my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”

11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.

But why should we pray when we do not feel like it?

But why should we pray when we cannot bring ourselves to do it?

Prayer, even the most silent and most anguished of prayers brings us into a time of sacred communion with God, the maker and sustainer of the universe.

God gives us life, and he sustains our daily living.

We should pray because God has everything we need and wants us to flourish.

What’s more, we should pray, even in silence, even when we feel like crying because in prayer we give thanks to God for all that he is and all that he does.

In prayer, even the most silent and anguished prayer, we recognize our ­utter dependence on God. It can be hard to admit that we are completely dependent.

But at the same time every anguished prayer opens our hearts to more fully experience the breathtaking scope of God’s amazing grace and mercy for us.

Thanksgiving in prayer is not just a good idea or a suggestion, though.

It’s a command, as the apostle Paul reminds us.

By rejoicing always, praying continually, we obey the will of God for us in Christ Jesus who taught His disciples to pray, under any and every last circumstance:

From the Scriptures:

He (Jesus) was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.
–Luke 11:1-4 (NRSV)

Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
For if you forgive others of their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
–Matthew 6:9-15 (NRSV)

Sometimes we think of such “continual” commands as an even worse burden.

But obeying this command (1 Thessalonians 5:12-18)will bless us beyond measure, put us in the best position for loving and serving God in the world.

So when you pray today (and always), spend time communing with God, ask him for whatever you need, in the living Word of God and feel the strong rush of his grace and mercy resulting in a sense of gratitude that shapes all you do.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Creator God, your mighty hand threw chaos aside, your hand created heaven and earth, your hand threw the stars into space and the same hand which created me, now reaches down to me with the very gentlest and healing of touches. Yet God, I don’t have the strength to deal with the situation I am facing right now. I pray please uphold me with your stronger than my own righteous right hand. I don’t know what else to do now, or who else to turn to, please help me. You say that I do not need to be afraid, do not need to let my heart be troubled or dismayed because you are my God and you are with me. Still I hurt! Help me to know your presence in the midst of my circumstances and draw strength from you. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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