The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Thessalonians 5:14-23, “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
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.
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.”

Have you ever read more exciting thoughts than the ones set forth for you in the above Scripture? I doubt that you have. I even doubt that you could. There is an urgency in Paul as he writes to the Christians at Thessalonica. Admonish… encourage…help, and be patient with everyone.

Were Paul writing today, it is doubtful that he would change anything, including the order (…admonish…encourage…help, etc.). His temperament, however, is as justified as it is necessary. Parents will understand this. Unruly children (of all ages) will eventually surrender to it.

We are not to stifle the urgencies of the Holy Spirit in our lives! Oh, how often we fall prey to what we want or don’t want instead of yielding to the cry of the Spirit. He
calls us to do what we don’t normally do, and to desist from the things we normally embrace.

In Paul’s concluding verse above (v. 23), he admonishes us as if he were immersing us in the fullness of God’s peace. “Spirit and soul and body” covers everything; and our submission to the LORD will indeed be our preservation if we “hold fast to that which is good” (v. 21).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom