Am I Spiritually Lazy? 1 Thess. 5:16-24
Pray
Read
NIV– 1 Thess 5:16-24
16 Be joyful always [Rejoice evermore]; 17 pray continually [pray unceasingly or uniterrupted]; 18 give thanks [euchariste] in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
(from New International Version)
Message Paraphrase:"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.
Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.
May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together- spirit- soul, and body- and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!"
This is a challenging section- a laundry list of what the Apostle Paul thought were good things to do. This section could be called: Paul’s list- of spiritual to do’s What a list!!
Be joyful, pray always, give thanks at all occasions, be good, avoid evil...
We have our Christmas season to do lists- what if we put just as much effort this year into Paul’s list- of spiritual to do’s? What if on top of the Christmas to do list- right before the line that says do Christmas cards, or buy Aunt Ruth a sweater= what if we wrote down "Live in God’s will- Jesus Christ style"
Sometimes we want our spiritual life to come to us gift wrapped without any work- but we need to put effort into our side of our relationship with Jesus.
Have you heard this Story: Two college students from the city rented a truck drove into idaho and went deep into the woods, searching for the perfect Christmas tree. After hours of subzero temperatures and a few close calls with hungry wolves, One college guy turned to the other and said, "I’m chopping down the next tree I see. I don’t care whether it’s decorated or not!"
I often say I want to be a faithful, hopeful, prayerful- spiritual person= but am I willing to go and work find it and realized that it is a process that is always happening and not something that one finds gift wrapped.
This means I need worship, prayer, Study in the Bible and acts of service to develop my spiritual life
WE were playing in the snow- Danny falling (on purpose) into the snow, rolling over and its gets on his face, which he tries to clean off with his hands- which are, of course, covered with snow.
Point- sometimes we don’t realize how deep we are buried in our stuff- our sin- our own problems-
It’s okay to admit our inability to heal ourselves spiritually- its not our job. Our job is to admit our problems and take them to the great physician. We are imperfect- we are sinners- the Apostle Paul called himself the chief of sinners
A widow forces herself to smile as she stares in the mirror by the door- she doesn’t want to smile- but she doesn’t know how to tell her friends of her despair
A husband snaps at his wife over a trivial matter- he can’t seem to keep his temper in check lately- he knows somethings wrong
A 17 year old boy keeps trying all the things everybody says are fun- the things his parents say Not to do- he’s not having fun- yet he doesn’t know how to talk to his parents about the real feelings he is having
Who does he talk to? Who can they all talk to? Who can we talk to?
we need to reach outside ourselves for relief- that is prayer. Prayer is a God-created means of communication- that allows us to reach outside of our daily human existence and connect to eternal, divine Spirit of God. To connect with our maker- the one who knows who we truly are and knows the potential of how low we can sink- but also how good we could become. Prayer is the God-given, Spirit enabled ability to communicate with God- thanks be to Jesus.
The centerpiece of this scriptural to do list for me is: v. 17"Pray continually." If we can commit to praying without ceasing, assuredly the joyfulness and thankfulness of v.16 and v. 18 will begin to follow. If we are people of prayer we will be more able to test and discern people’s words= we will be able to cling to the good and avoid the bad.
We aren’t supposed to pray only when we are down or in crisis or in need.
Praying Continually- has been an on and off again hobby for me- I used to try to come up with cute little ideas to try to help me to pray continually. It started when I read this very scripture and then I hear a youth leader say that he prayed whenever he walked through a doorway. The doorway was simply a visible reminder to pray. I figured that wasn’t good enough- so I thought I would try to pray every time I was moving - starting with every time my left foot hit the ground I would pray. The plan was once I got my left foot down, then I would start with my right foot. I never got that far.
I was doing prayer as if it was some kind of mechanical process- instead of the life-breathing, life-giving communication that it truly is.
I think I forget that God is all knowing. I know also that through Christ we are children- and even friends of God. Sometimes I don’t like the way I talk to my friend. I am always asking for things- or I fall asleep while my friend is trying to talk to me.
A book that really helped me is a little book by Brother Lawrence, "Practicing the Presence of God." Brother’s claim is quite simply to live as if God is present all the time. To see how God is working in other people- Brother Lawrence is known for praying amongst the pots and pans- as he was often the one to do the dishes at the monestary. One man I know who prays like this is Rev. Norm Gano- one year at camp when we were talking about how to get the kids to make faith decisions we looked to Norm- he simply said all I do is pray for each of them as they cross my path. And God would lead Norm into conversations with these youth 60 or so years younger than him. Norm and Lawrence understood that God is always present and we should look for Him and pray to Him through our interactions with others.
Another figure that helped me from church history- is sister Therese of Lisieux. She was like Lawrence in that she was not famous or anything, just a person trying to practice prayer. She did something that is called the way of the little things. She would do particular things to encourage herself to lead a prayerful life of service. One thing she did was to forsake her self, and she deliberately spent time with the most annoying and ignored people of her convent- she forced herself to see these people as they were created in the image of God and as people dearly loved by Jesus Christ.
Personal- Carmena, a friend of ours who seems to be constantly praying
I am still unlearning my old ways of "mechanical" prayer and learning that prayer is a way of life. A life of living in the presence of God, of living fully in appreciation of others and their value before God.
One method of prayer that I have begun using lately is an ancient practice of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is a simple prayer called the "Hesychasm" or Jesus Prayer. The words are simply: Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. REPEAT. Many orthodox Christians pray this prayer throughout their day- almost as a way of spiritual breathing. They pray in order to live spiritually, just as we breath in order to live physically.
The goal is to use this repeated prayer as a vessel for back and forth communication with God. But this too has its challenges for me. Just the other day I became conscious that I was praying this prayer- and almost saying the words without any consideration. Then I realized that each word has a depth of meaning- Lord- my God, my boss, my King, My commander- the Son of God- the one who was before all time, the very substance of God, the one who came as a baby Yeshua and died as the Messiah- the Christ- the one who rose from the dead- this is the one from whom I ask mercy- forgiveness, grace and compassion- for He allows me into His presence, into His salvation though I am a mere human, a broken down, imperfect, impatient, unloving, arrogant human- and I can live in His world only by His mercy. Wow. God talked to me through those ancient repetitious words.
We Want Authentic Joy in our life. Who doesn’t we should desire to be Real, authentic, honest-to goodness spiritual people. How easy it is to get off track from the life we were made to live in- the life which is the will of God in Christ Jesus.
It’s why we come to church. Te restart- and get on track. You are here at church- probably means you want an authentic spiritual life- a living- breathing relationship with God
Christmas shopping, though fun, can be difficult. Did you hear about the guy that bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas? A friend of his said, "I thought she wanted one of those sporty 4-Wheel drive vehicles."
"She did," he replied. "But where am I gonna find a fake Jeep?"...
Don’t do fake.
Don’t be spiritually lazy this Christmas. It’s a lame excuse to say, "everybody’s doing it." Don’t be lazy. Develop your spiritual life this Christmas. Talk to Jesus. Be authentic this Christmas- be who you were created to be. Start wherever you are- you won’t start by being a master of prayer- nor should that ever be your goal. You should seek to have God master you.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners.
Amen.
Read
NIV– 1 Thess 5:16-24
16 Be joyful always [Rejoice evermore]; 17 pray continually [pray unceasingly or uniterrupted]; 18 give thanks [euchariste] in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
(from New International Version)
Message Paraphrase:"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.
Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.
May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together- spirit- soul, and body- and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!"
This is a challenging section- a laundry list of what the Apostle Paul thought were good things to do. This section could be called: Paul’s list- of spiritual to do’s What a list!!
Be joyful, pray always, give thanks at all occasions, be good, avoid evil...
We have our Christmas season to do lists- what if we put just as much effort this year into Paul’s list- of spiritual to do’s? What if on top of the Christmas to do list- right before the line that says do Christmas cards, or buy Aunt Ruth a sweater= what if we wrote down "Live in God’s will- Jesus Christ style"
Sometimes we want our spiritual life to come to us gift wrapped without any work- but we need to put effort into our side of our relationship with Jesus.
Have you heard this Story: Two college students from the city rented a truck drove into idaho and went deep into the woods, searching for the perfect Christmas tree. After hours of subzero temperatures and a few close calls with hungry wolves, One college guy turned to the other and said, "I’m chopping down the next tree I see. I don’t care whether it’s decorated or not!"
I often say I want to be a faithful, hopeful, prayerful- spiritual person= but am I willing to go and work find it and realized that it is a process that is always happening and not something that one finds gift wrapped.
This means I need worship, prayer, Study in the Bible and acts of service to develop my spiritual life
WE were playing in the snow- Danny falling (on purpose) into the snow, rolling over and its gets on his face, which he tries to clean off with his hands- which are, of course, covered with snow.
Point- sometimes we don’t realize how deep we are buried in our stuff- our sin- our own problems-
It’s okay to admit our inability to heal ourselves spiritually- its not our job. Our job is to admit our problems and take them to the great physician. We are imperfect- we are sinners- the Apostle Paul called himself the chief of sinners
A widow forces herself to smile as she stares in the mirror by the door- she doesn’t want to smile- but she doesn’t know how to tell her friends of her despair
A husband snaps at his wife over a trivial matter- he can’t seem to keep his temper in check lately- he knows somethings wrong
A 17 year old boy keeps trying all the things everybody says are fun- the things his parents say Not to do- he’s not having fun- yet he doesn’t know how to talk to his parents about the real feelings he is having
Who does he talk to? Who can they all talk to? Who can we talk to?
we need to reach outside ourselves for relief- that is prayer. Prayer is a God-created means of communication- that allows us to reach outside of our daily human existence and connect to eternal, divine Spirit of God. To connect with our maker- the one who knows who we truly are and knows the potential of how low we can sink- but also how good we could become. Prayer is the God-given, Spirit enabled ability to communicate with God- thanks be to Jesus.
The centerpiece of this scriptural to do list for me is: v. 17"Pray continually." If we can commit to praying without ceasing, assuredly the joyfulness and thankfulness of v.16 and v. 18 will begin to follow. If we are people of prayer we will be more able to test and discern people’s words= we will be able to cling to the good and avoid the bad.
We aren’t supposed to pray only when we are down or in crisis or in need.
Praying Continually- has been an on and off again hobby for me- I used to try to come up with cute little ideas to try to help me to pray continually. It started when I read this very scripture and then I hear a youth leader say that he prayed whenever he walked through a doorway. The doorway was simply a visible reminder to pray. I figured that wasn’t good enough- so I thought I would try to pray every time I was moving - starting with every time my left foot hit the ground I would pray. The plan was once I got my left foot down, then I would start with my right foot. I never got that far.
I was doing prayer as if it was some kind of mechanical process- instead of the life-breathing, life-giving communication that it truly is.
I think I forget that God is all knowing. I know also that through Christ we are children- and even friends of God. Sometimes I don’t like the way I talk to my friend. I am always asking for things- or I fall asleep while my friend is trying to talk to me.
A book that really helped me is a little book by Brother Lawrence, "Practicing the Presence of God." Brother’s claim is quite simply to live as if God is present all the time. To see how God is working in other people- Brother Lawrence is known for praying amongst the pots and pans- as he was often the one to do the dishes at the monestary. One man I know who prays like this is Rev. Norm Gano- one year at camp when we were talking about how to get the kids to make faith decisions we looked to Norm- he simply said all I do is pray for each of them as they cross my path. And God would lead Norm into conversations with these youth 60 or so years younger than him. Norm and Lawrence understood that God is always present and we should look for Him and pray to Him through our interactions with others.
Another figure that helped me from church history- is sister Therese of Lisieux. She was like Lawrence in that she was not famous or anything, just a person trying to practice prayer. She did something that is called the way of the little things. She would do particular things to encourage herself to lead a prayerful life of service. One thing she did was to forsake her self, and she deliberately spent time with the most annoying and ignored people of her convent- she forced herself to see these people as they were created in the image of God and as people dearly loved by Jesus Christ.
Personal- Carmena, a friend of ours who seems to be constantly praying
I am still unlearning my old ways of "mechanical" prayer and learning that prayer is a way of life. A life of living in the presence of God, of living fully in appreciation of others and their value before God.
One method of prayer that I have begun using lately is an ancient practice of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is a simple prayer called the "Hesychasm" or Jesus Prayer. The words are simply: Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. REPEAT. Many orthodox Christians pray this prayer throughout their day- almost as a way of spiritual breathing. They pray in order to live spiritually, just as we breath in order to live physically.
The goal is to use this repeated prayer as a vessel for back and forth communication with God. But this too has its challenges for me. Just the other day I became conscious that I was praying this prayer- and almost saying the words without any consideration. Then I realized that each word has a depth of meaning- Lord- my God, my boss, my King, My commander- the Son of God- the one who was before all time, the very substance of God, the one who came as a baby Yeshua and died as the Messiah- the Christ- the one who rose from the dead- this is the one from whom I ask mercy- forgiveness, grace and compassion- for He allows me into His presence, into His salvation though I am a mere human, a broken down, imperfect, impatient, unloving, arrogant human- and I can live in His world only by His mercy. Wow. God talked to me through those ancient repetitious words.
We Want Authentic Joy in our life. Who doesn’t we should desire to be Real, authentic, honest-to goodness spiritual people. How easy it is to get off track from the life we were made to live in- the life which is the will of God in Christ Jesus.
It’s why we come to church. Te restart- and get on track. You are here at church- probably means you want an authentic spiritual life- a living- breathing relationship with God
Christmas shopping, though fun, can be difficult. Did you hear about the guy that bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas? A friend of his said, "I thought she wanted one of those sporty 4-Wheel drive vehicles."
"She did," he replied. "But where am I gonna find a fake Jeep?"...
Don’t do fake.
Don’t be spiritually lazy this Christmas. It’s a lame excuse to say, "everybody’s doing it." Don’t be lazy. Develop your spiritual life this Christmas. Talk to Jesus. Be authentic this Christmas- be who you were created to be. Start wherever you are- you won’t start by being a master of prayer- nor should that ever be your goal. You should seek to have God master you.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners.
Amen.
posted by Palouse Fed. Church at 12:57 PM
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