Daily Devo- I Thessalonians 5:12-28 "God's To Do List For You"

I Thessalonians 5:12-28

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, 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. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

25 Brothers, pray for us.

26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (ESV)

 Lord as I look at this passage, I see one thing after another that You have commanded I do. Not suggestions. Not things to do if I like and agree with someone, but commands. 

 to respect those who labor among you

I need to show respect for the preachers, elders, pastors, teachers, etc., who are working around me, The command to respect has NO qualifiers on it.
are over you in the Lord and admonish you

This tells me that I will have someone in authority over me. I must accept that
esteem them very highly in love because of their work.

I need to love those who are laboring for my very soul.
Be at peace among yourselves.

Stop fighting and being selfish! God says to be at peace. And He doesn't say, "Only if you get YOUR way"
admonish the idle

The lazy need to be told there is work to be done. They need to be shown that being a Christian is not about sitting in the pew for an hour, but a life of service to God.
encourage the fainthearted

Those that are frightened we must encourage to hold on.
help the weak

Those who are weak in their faith need to be helped along so they can grow. Not tossed aside and ridiculed.
be patient with them all.

There are no qualifiers in this command. That word ALL, means in the Greek, ALL. It applies to all those God has just talked about. Tough command. We must be patient with people. Reason? God is, Thankfully, patient with us!
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil,

This one really needs no explanation. If someone hurts you, do not hurt them back. Easy to understand. VERY hard to do because the world screams something different. People that are supposed to be Christians will scream something different too at times. God has the right way.
always seek to do good to one another and to everyone

This is what we do to the people doing evil to us. We do good to them. This is what we do to people who do good to us. This is what we do to people that do not know Jesus. We do good to everyone so that people see the character of Jesus. No BUT......'s allowed!
Rejoice always

 Rejoice no matter what. Find something to rejoice in. God alone is enough to make you rejoice. Jesus alone is enough to rejoice in. Just rejoice. It is a great substitute for complaining and anger.
pray without ceasing

Prayer time in a quiet place is awesome. But you cannot stay in that closet forever. Pray with every step you take. While you drive. While you work. While you are having a conversation with others. FYI: Your eyes can be open while you pray!!!
give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Be thankful for where you are. The situation you are in is God's will for you at that moment. What can you learn? How can you grow? If He is telling you to move then move. He will lead the way. (Clarification: In no way am I saying that God is calling you to stay in a dangerous or abusive place! That is NEVER the will of God!) Be content.
Do not quench the Spirit.

Listen to the Spirit in your life. That is why he resides in you. To prompt you. To teach you. To lead you in the ways of the Lord. Do not keep trying to snuff Him out of your life! You need the Spirit!
test everything

By God's Word. All of God's Word. Do not just look for a verse out of context that agrees with your position. You want to be in agreement with God's position!
hold fast what is good

Hang on to the good. Hang on tight. It is not easy. It is easier to hold on to the evil because it feels better sometimes. Hold on to God's Word, The Spirit, God's Church! Great starting place. Hold on tight!
Abstain from every form of evil.

Do not do what is against God's Word. Ever. There is never a reason to do something different than God says to do. The evil in the world will destroy you. Just walk away! Actually, RUN!
the God of peace himself sanctify you completely,

God and only God will sanctify you. That means He has set you apart for a special purpose. Only God can do that. You must believe he has done that, and done it completely.
may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

We must keep ourselves blameless. Our spirit, our soul and our physical body. God wants us to give ourselves fully to Him, to submit and be blameless!
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

God is faithful. He will do what he says he will do. We must trust Him to do what he says he is going to do!
Brothers, pray for us.

Pray for the leaders. And each other. This is not optional. God commands it.
Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

The word ALL is used here AGAIN. Greet each other like you love each other and are all in the same family and on the same team.
I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

It is YOUR responsibility to tell others what God says! Even the hard parts. This is a strong statement, "I put you under oath" these are things God wants people to know!
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you

I wish I could say I was going to do this list perfectly today and everyday. I know better. I will try. I will be led by the Spirit, but when the time comes when I do mess up, I will cling to this last item on the list. The grace of Jesus will be right there with me. It will pick me up, dust me off and set me back on the right path to continue to do these things. Grace. We cannot LIVE without it. We need to know this, because we are called to show the Grace of God everyday!

Thanks for bearing with me. But this To Do list of God's had to be shared. 

I am off now to begin, will you join me? I hope so, for it is then you will find yourself chasing after hearts!

Chasing After Their Hearts,

Glenda Johnson