Joy, Prayer, Thanksgiving, Obedience

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22    
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 what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

Because of who we are called to be in Christ, because of the absolute hope of His sanctifying work in us, and because God gave gifts to men to preach and teach, we can always find something to rejoice over.  And because we have so much to have this joy in, we must continue to pray as often as possible and be thankful for everything.  By so doing, we will not stop God’s Spirit of grace working in and through us, the church.  We listen to those God gives wisdom to, yet test all we hear by His word for truth.  We do not want to be deceived nor lead others astray, so we stand on the rock of His word, who is Christ in the flesh.  In all these things, we avoid what we were saved from, the evil of rebellious sin in thought, word, and actions.   We grasp what is good with both hands as we look intently in the face of Jesus.