
Always, Continually, in all Circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-23) Mission Blessings
Published at : October 25, 2021
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-23
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject 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.
Today’s title is “Always, Continually, in all Circumstances”
Christianity is not a religion but life. That is what serious Christians often say. I can’t agree more. When we say that it is not a religion, it means that Christianity is not a religion that emphasizes mostly informalities and ceremonial rites without any substantial impact on people’s life and society. As a matter of fact, a good portion of worldly religions is like that. They make people follow some sort of religious rites that they have made and make them believe that such rites or ceremonies could bring substantial changes in their life. Christianity differs from all those worldly religions in that God told people not to indulge in such formal or ceremonial rites without genuine love and faith in the living God. God of the Bible not only forbids worshipping lifeless idols but also idolizes Himself who is the living God. Subsequently, faith in the living God results in its constant impacts on real life. In short, when people come to know the living God, their daily lives are changed substantially. I believe we see a good example of such transformed lives in today’s passage. Apostle P: aul gives Thessalonian Christians three very brief and practical admonitions. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.” What impresses us deeply in these famous commandments is the adverbial words and phrases such as “always”,” continually” and “in all circumstances” as much as the actual verbs such as “rejoice”, “pray”, and “give thanks”. As a matter of fact, the three adverbial praises all have the same connotations. They all emphasize the constancy of fundamental elements of the Christian life such as rejoicing, praying, and thanksgiving. In other words, Our joy in God, our trust in the Lord, and our gratitude for Him should be manifested all the time in everything that we do in our daily life. There is no room here for Sunday Christians or seasonal believers. What is your faith in God like? Do your Christian faith and the Christian life have the constancy that God has envisioned for you when He called you? Are you rejoicing Him always, trusting in Him continually, and praising Him in all circumstances? Then you can be assured that you are walking in God's way. Amen!
1 Thessalonians 5:16-23
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject 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.
Today’s title is “Always, Continually, in all Circumstances”
Christianity is not a religion but life. That is what serious Christians often say. I can’t agree more. When we say that it is not a religion, it means that Christianity is not a religion that emphasizes mostly informalities and ceremonial rites without any substantial impact on people’s life and society. As a matter of fact, a good portion of worldly religions is like that. They make people follow some sort of religious rites that they have made and make them believe that such rites or ceremonies could bring substantial changes in their life. Christianity differs from all those worldly religions in that God told people not to indulge in such formal or ceremonial rites without genuine love and faith in the living God. God of the Bible not only forbids worshipping lifeless idols but also idolizes Himself who is the living God. Subsequently, faith in the living God results in its constant impacts on real life. In short, when people come to know the living God, their daily lives are changed substantially. I believe we see a good example of such transformed lives in today’s passage. Apostle P: aul gives Thessalonian Christians three very brief and practical admonitions. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.” What impresses us deeply in these famous commandments is the adverbial words and phrases such as “always”,” continually” and “in all circumstances” as much as the actual verbs such as “rejoice”, “pray”, and “give thanks”. As a matter of fact, the three adverbial praises all have the same connotations. They all emphasize the constancy of fundamental elements of the Christian life such as rejoicing, praying, and thanksgiving. In other words, Our joy in God, our trust in the Lord, and our gratitude for Him should be manifested all the time in everything that we do in our daily life. There is no room here for Sunday Christians or seasonal believers. What is your faith in God like? Do your Christian faith and the Christian life have the constancy that God has envisioned for you when He called you? Are you rejoicing Him always, trusting in Him continually, and praising Him in all circumstances? Then you can be assured that you are walking in God's way. Amen!

alwayscontinuallygospel