Daily Bible Study

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Day 149 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast to what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. Do you find some things that look easy to be hard? It’s easier to read instructions than it is to carry them out. Paul gave the Thessalonian church a set of instructions that looked easy to follow. The first time I read these instructions, I wondered how I could always rejoice, always pray, and be thankful for everything. I wondered what it meant to quench the Holy Spirit, and what did Paul mean by not despising prophecies. How did I test everything and hold fast to what was good? I knew I was a sinner, so how could I abstain from every form of evil? Suddenly it seemed impossible to be a Christian. How about you? Do you wonder the same things I did? 1. Rejoice always. It sounds simple, and it is. You heard the phrase: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Satan will do everything he can to destroy your faith, bring doubt into your life, and keep you from the joy that was yours the moment you accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. Don’t let Satan take away your joy. When your boss hands you your walking papers and you find yourself unemployed. Rejoice. God has something better for you. When the home you want to buy goes to someone else. Rejoice, God has a better home for you. When the child you longed for, loved, held in your arms, dies through violence or disease, rejoice. Your child is with Jesus. You will see him or her again and your joy will be boundless. Don’t look for the worst in every situation. You make Satan happy when you do. Tear his kingdom down by rejoicing when he comes against you from every direction. Turn what he did into joy. 2. Pray without ceasing. You can’t spend every waking moment on your knees. However, you can pray without ceasing. When you see the ambulance, pray for the person who might face eternity. When you hear about violence and war, pray for the war to end and peace to come between the nations or people. War doesn’t only happen between nations and governments. It can feel like you’re at war with your neighbors. Pray for God to help you bring peace in your situation. When you face a test, you studied hard for, pray for God to bring the answers to mind when the moment of truth happens. Many people find tests hard because no matter how hard they studied, they freeze when the paper is in front of them. Remember, Satan doesn’t want you to pray. He doesn’t want you to succeed. Calm your mind and allow the Holy Spirit to recall everything you studied. You know the answers. Bring confidence with you to the test. It doesn’t need to be a test from a teacher, it could be your first driving test, a test for employment, a test of your faith. No matter what the test, pray for God to calm your mind and bring to remembrance to mind and you will cast off the enemies plans against you. You will always find a reason to pray. 3. Be thankful for everything. Just as you can be joyful in everything, you can be thankful for everything. No matter what situation you face, give God thanks. When the bills are due and there’s no money in the bank. Give God thanks for His provision. When there’s no food on your table, thank God for His provision. When you lose your job, thank God for providing you with a better job. God will always come through for you. Don’t allow Satan to bring doubt and fear into your life. Trust and believe in God’s provision. Remember God will supply all your need according to His riches in Christ Jesus. You belong to Him. He will always provide everything you need. 4. Do not quench the Holy Spirit. Satan will do everything he can to bring doubt into your life. You have the Holy Spirit living in you. Doubt and fear quench His work in your life. It will cause joy and thankfulness to flee. He will bring depression into your life if you give him just one word of hope that he succeeded. Don’t let him succeed. Don’t douse the fire of the Holy Spirit in your life. Let it rise up into a mighty flame of faith. Remember, you can do all things through Him who gives you strength. Satan is a liar and the father of all lies. Quench his plans against you. God has plans for you to give you hope and a future. The Holy Spirit will bring those plans to fruition. 5. Do not despise prophecies. What does that mean? First, you need to pray for the Holy Spirit to help you when someone prophesies over your life. There are many false prophets who bring false hope into your life. Satan works through those people. The Holy Spirit will bring a check in your spirit, and you will know the truth from the lie. God only wants your good. Every good and perfect gift is from above. God brings prophecies to His people with words of confirmation. When someone tells you something good will happen, check it with the Holy Spirit. If it’s from God, someone else will confirm it without realizing what someone else said to you. God will confirm the dream He gave you through another believer. It’s the double check of the Holy Spirit. Wait for God’s confirmation and don’t despise what you see and hear. 6. Test everything and hold onto what is good. Scripture tells us not to test God. That testing is not what Paul refers to here. That testing is tempting God. You can’t tempt God. However, you can test everything. When something seems to good to be true, it often is. Satan will always try to give you something that looks good. He wraps evil in beautiful packages. Test what looks good. The Holy Spirit will always show you what is good and what comes from God. Hold onto those gifts. 7. Abstain from every form of evil. You accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Your immediate thought is that every bad habit you had before you accepted Jesus will suddenly disappear. You will be free from cigarettes, pornography, drug addiction, and those things that seem harmless, finding excuses to work overtime to earn more money. ANYTHING you put ahead of God is evil. Satan will tell you God doesn’t want you to have good things. He wants you to be poor, so you spend more time away from your family and more time at work. Jesus said when you put Him first, He will give you the desires of your heart. God wants you to succeed. He gives you His Word to show you how to succeed in life. When you read and study His Word, you will quench every dart Satan fires against you. Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that you can rejoice always, pray without ceasing, thank God for everything, and not quench the Holy Spirit. He will guide you into all truth, and the truth will set you free from everything Satan brings against you. Let’s pray: Father, help me to stand against Satan with Your Holy Spirit to guide me in everything in life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 12 December 2023 by Valerie Routhieaux The image belongs to me.