Passage Read: 1 Thessalonians 1-2
Meditation Verses: 2:11-12
Thought
This shows the work both of a father and of a Christian leader: to exhort and encourage and implore his own children or his congregation to walk in a manner worthy of God. Salvation is not merely believing some things about Jesus, because the Gospel comes to do a work in the hearts of those who believe, changing those who recognize that it is the word of God. But the Gospel and the Spirit do not work in isolation. There needs to be those who exhort us and encourage us and implore us--three strong words--to live a life worthy of the Lord. It is far easier for us to fall back into old ways--or never break off with them--than it is to walk in step with the work that the Gospel and the Spirit intend to do in us. So as a father should naturally exhort and encourage and implore his own children to walk in the way he desires, so also a teacher or leader of the church should exhort and encourage and implore those who believe to walk in ways that honor and glorify their Father in heaven.
Application
I need exhortation and encouragement and imploring to keep me growing. The Gospel and the Spirit are there to help me, but I need continual reminders from those around me to make the changes that the Word and the Spirit desire me to make. And I can and should be that for others too. Any church service or fellowship should exhort, encourage or implore me to walk better in Christ's ways. And any time I open God's Word, I should also listen carefully for His exhortation, encouragement or imploring. I need to take pains to change my ways and align them with Christ's. It is not enough to wait and hope that the Gospel and the Spirit work these changes in me. They only work with me, not despite me. If I refuse to submit to them and do as they instruct, it is the same as rejecting the instruction and training of my father. I would be in rebellion, and that is not the kind of son who remains, but one who is lost. So any resistance or overlooking or ignoring of God's will, I need to repent of, submit myself to the Lord and His Word, and live as it tells me to live.