The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Thessalonians 5:16-23, “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.

23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Of the 14 epistles (letters) Paul wrote, First Thessalonians is the first. It was written to the Church in Thessalonica in A.D. 52. As with all writings in every age, the verb is the most important word in the sentence. That’s why I embolded them in the passage above. They set the pace and emphasis for our understanding of the Word; and they ought to set the pace and emphasis for our lives and our witnessing.

Christians ought always to be glad. We ought always to immerse ourselves in prayer; and in that prayer, we ought to always give thanks to the LORD. Why? Because it is God’s will that we do so. There are a host of things that change when we simply follow God’s will. I am not the first to experience it, but I will acknowledge that His will for us is infinitely greater than our will for ourselves. That’s why we ought never to quench or supress the will of the Spirit.

Things contained in the Scriptures are to be understood and followed. That’s why the examination of everything –especially what’s contained in Holy Scripture – is vitally important. When we learn what the Word teaches about truth, we will neither despise nor render useless its prophecies. Instead, we will “hold fast” to it. That includes abstainence from every form of evil. We’ve all read books that contain evil words and ungodly schemes. Evil there is the word kakos. But, the word evil used by Paul in verse 22 (poneros) means “evil producing.” It’s bad enough to read and think the bad words; it’s worse when we repeat them to someone else. “Did you hear what he said?” Just leave it alone. To talk about the evil language someone said is to reproduce it.

What’s most notable is that God, who sanctifies (makes us holy) only does so when we have put away the evil from within us. Notice how Paul puts it: “Now, may the God of peace…make you holy entirely.” He can do it; He will do it –but only when we follow His teachings and steadfastly resist all evil. May God help us all to resist evil and embrace His love.

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.”