1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 says,...
Today's verses are 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13, which read,
Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 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.
Here is another long sentence from Paul to close out this chapter. Each verse has a major point.
v.11 - "...direct our way to you;..." - Paul is praying for God to open up the doors to see the Christians in Thessalonica. He is actively praying for more involvement in the lives of these Christians to see further growth. A praying point for us to pray about opportunities for us to growth together in our walk with the Lord.
v.12 - "...and may the Lord cause you to increase..." in what? "...in love for one another and for all people,..." is the answer. Do we have an increasing love for those we worship with? Do we have an increasing love for humanity to share the message of the gospel with them as Paul did with the now Christians in Thessalonica? This is something definitely to pray for. Have we allowed some of Satan's tactics to rob us of increasing in our love? I have seen him (Satan) work in the church and halt a congregation from loving one another. Our main emotion and reaction should be love which will direct all other actions taken within the body of Christ, easy and hard.
v.13 - "...so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness..." Holiness refers to our everyday conduct. Our hearts are established in love so that our actions reflect what is inside of us. What is inside comes to the outside. You know that this can work in the negative also, so may our hearts be established in God's love for the church and all so what comes out of us is holiness and not a tool to be used by Satan.
May we be known by our love. But what if we haven't been known by our love? What if we have displayed acts that were very unlovely to someone in the church or the community? You start right now and you pray to God to open up the opportunity to make things right. You pray for that love in your heart to start and to increase toward that person. You pray that your heart will be establish in love so that your next action toward them would be of holiness. "What is done is done" is a common phrase that many times has stopped us from seeking God's help to see restitution and resolution to a situation that probably was not guided by a heart of love. God is in the business of reconciliation. It is His specialty and we are to be like Him. Start praying for that ever increasing heart of love.
"Lord, may Your Spirit bring up whatever needs to be brought up in my life to see Your work happen. May love in my heart increase for You and the for the church and for the world. Convict me quickly of my acts of unholiness so I can see who I am following at that moment. Guide me to right wrongs with a new heart of love. Amen."
Pastor Adam
Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 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.
Here is another long sentence from Paul to close out this chapter. Each verse has a major point.
v.11 - "...direct our way to you;..." - Paul is praying for God to open up the doors to see the Christians in Thessalonica. He is actively praying for more involvement in the lives of these Christians to see further growth. A praying point for us to pray about opportunities for us to growth together in our walk with the Lord.
v.12 - "...and may the Lord cause you to increase..." in what? "...in love for one another and for all people,..." is the answer. Do we have an increasing love for those we worship with? Do we have an increasing love for humanity to share the message of the gospel with them as Paul did with the now Christians in Thessalonica? This is something definitely to pray for. Have we allowed some of Satan's tactics to rob us of increasing in our love? I have seen him (Satan) work in the church and halt a congregation from loving one another. Our main emotion and reaction should be love which will direct all other actions taken within the body of Christ, easy and hard.
v.13 - "...so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness..." Holiness refers to our everyday conduct. Our hearts are established in love so that our actions reflect what is inside of us. What is inside comes to the outside. You know that this can work in the negative also, so may our hearts be established in God's love for the church and all so what comes out of us is holiness and not a tool to be used by Satan.
May we be known by our love. But what if we haven't been known by our love? What if we have displayed acts that were very unlovely to someone in the church or the community? You start right now and you pray to God to open up the opportunity to make things right. You pray for that love in your heart to start and to increase toward that person. You pray that your heart will be establish in love so that your next action toward them would be of holiness. "What is done is done" is a common phrase that many times has stopped us from seeking God's help to see restitution and resolution to a situation that probably was not guided by a heart of love. God is in the business of reconciliation. It is His specialty and we are to be like Him. Start praying for that ever increasing heart of love.
"Lord, may Your Spirit bring up whatever needs to be brought up in my life to see Your work happen. May love in my heart increase for You and the for the church and for the world. Convict me quickly of my acts of unholiness so I can see who I am following at that moment. Guide me to right wrongs with a new heart of love. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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