Recipe for Life 3

1 Thessalonians 5:19

I remember well from my childhood the many times my mother baked a cake and we all had to tiptoe around the house. We feared that any noise might cause the beautiful creation in the oven to collapse into a mess. So, I can relate with the advice “Don’t slam the oven door if you have a cake baking. The top of the cake will drop.”

We need to be careful with our actions so that they don’t cause problems in other places. What command is given in today’s passage?

The statement is simple. “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.” Don’t do those things which make others give up hope and inspiration. We all must be aware and cautious with our attitudes and words.

So often I have seen people get on fire about doing something good. They may want to do an outreach, help needy people, raise money for the poor and so on. And there is frequently someone who will douse the flames of inspiration. “We can’t do that!” “That’s silly.”

Then you can see the top of that cake collapse. The drive to do good things is suddenly extinguished, the hopes squashed, the confidence gone. If we are going to obey Proverbs 22:6 and teach others in the way they should go, we should be willing to encourage rather than discourage. We should fan the flames of the Spirit rather than put them out.

This does not allow for everyone to do whatever they wish. We must go about ministry and God’s work with proper planning and pure intent. But we must be willing to allow others to pursue the hopes and desires the Holy Spirit has instilled in them. We must be there to encourage and assist, and then trust that God will have things work as they should.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Is there a spiritual fire that you need to encourage rather than put out?

Teach One Another 5

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

The other day my wife and I were recommending a course of action with our teenage son, but he seemed reluctant to listen to our advice. I finally stopped the conversation and explained that what we were advising was not meant to frustrate and torment him, but the advice was intended to make things as good as they could be with our son because we loved him and wanted the best.

The same type of situation can occur when dealing with issues of faith, especially those new to the faith. The path of salvation, the changes needed, the new attitude can be confusing or difficult to accept.

In his letter to the church in Thessalonica Paul offers some encouragement. What does God want for us? What has Christ done? What are we to do?

As believers in the faith, as Christian brothers and sisters, we are meant to uplift and encourage one another. Part of our teaching is to be the message of salvation for those new to the faith and those who may have lost sight of the purpose of Jesus.

Even those who have been faithful for many years need to be encouraged and lifted up from time to time. But in our teaching and instruction, in our encouragement, we need to be certain that our purpose is clear.

As we have seen before, we must be certain that the word of Christ dwells richly within us. We must be certain that what we do, we do in the name of Jesus and for the purpose of strengthening faith and securing salvation.

We all must remember that God’s intention for us is that we do not suffer, but that we are saved, even when we are not completely aware of the salvation offered. We should continue to build up the family of faith but with the awareness that we may need to explain our purposes to those who are learning.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you encourage another in the name of Christ?