The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, “16 Rejoice always;

17 pray without ceasing;

18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

19 Do not quench the Spirit;

20 do not despise prophetic utterances.

21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;

22 abstain from every form of evil.”

Whatever you age, you’ve probably already met some “fast-talkers.” Some have wanted you to buy something they had for sale, while others just wanted you to “buy into” their thinking and agree with them for any number of reasons.

Well, the Apostle Paul was decisive in what he said. There is no possible way we could know how fast he talked; but reading the verses above gives us something of an idea how fast he could write! And did he ever cover a lot of ground in 46 words (33 in Greek)!

Analyze these positive verses with me: (1) Rejoice (???????) is a present, active, imperative verb. He means “DO IT!” Whatever the circumstances, just rejoice and keep on rejoicing! (2) Pray (???????????) is another present imperative. It’s a technical religious term that moves us to keep on asking God for help. (3) Give thanks (??????????) means just that, be thankful to God and express that to Him in prayer. All of this is what He wants from us.

Two strong negatives follow: (4) Do not quench (????????) the Holy Spirit means don’t resist or stifle His leadership. He is within us at the LORD’s direction to incentivize us to always obey the will of the Father. (5) Do not despise (?????????), set aside or disregard, the Holy Spirit in any way. Do not treat His leading lightly. He is working within us as believers to fulfill the will of the Father.

The final two emphases of the apostle are first, positive; then, negative. (6) Examine (????????) everything carefully. Whatever it is, don’t jump in or out hastily. Take time for careful scrutiny; and when your examination proves worthy, hold fast to it (7) Abstain (?????) means to “back off, be distant from, have nothing to do with” every form of evil. Stay away from evil (???????), which is not only wrong for you, but is evil-producing in the lives of others.

All of this is strong, sound advice! When we were saved (born again, born from Above) by our Heavenly Father, He gave us the Holy Spirit to protect and to guide us throughout the remainder of our lives. Nurses take directions from doctors; secretaries take directions from executives; Christians take directions from God the Holy Spirit. To fail to follow the Spirit’s directives and warnings is far more dangerous than failing to heed the warnings of weather reporters concerning tornadoes or violent coming storms! Be smart! The LORD wastes nothing; therefore, the Spirit is within us for His purposes, which are always beneficial to us.

Trust and obey, for there’ no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”