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By John | November 5, 2008
From the Word: No cruise control (from I Thessalonians 4:1-8)
”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.” (I Thessalonians 4:1 NASB)
Well, Lord, after all these years of walking with you I would like to think that I’ve figured a few things out, enough to keep me in right standing with You from here on out, yet Paul does not assume that to be the case with the Thessalonians, nor with himself for that matter (Phil 3).
How am I to “excel still more”? I can only live that out by intentionally, consciously reminding myself to keep my eyes fixed on You. Life is distracting enough that if I were to go on cruise control there would quickly be enough brush fires and distractions to negate the influence of years of good habits - devotions, diet, rest, exercise, etc. Lord, thank You for this tap on the shoulder, this request, this exhortation to excel still more, to conscioulsly keep at it and not allow my natural tendencies to overly influence my behavior and my spontaneous decisions. O Lord, may You be pleased as I walk with You today. May I conduct myself so as to grow more deeply in love with You , to understand You more fully, to know what You would have me do so that my thoughts, words, and actions are pleasing to You and bring You glory. Amen.
Please pray with us this week:
I was reveiwing some of my memory verses that I posted last week on the sovereignty of God. Next thing I knew I was facing an unexpected development. I had done my best to be responsible and prep the car for a trip to Massachusetts this past weekend, and what I did caused a small problem with the car so that we couldn’t take it (I overfilled the coolant reservoir and coolant got on the serpentine belt, causing it to slip off). We had to take the other car on the trip. On Monday, while fixing my mistake, our mechanic found a bigger problem - a bad water pump. If my attempt to be responsible had not caused a problem, we could have been stranded with a broken down car somewhere along the NJ turnpike or on the GW bridge in New York City. Thank God with us for His sovereignty even in my mistakes!
Topics: In the Word and Prayer |