SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/17/2014 10:35 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Lead a Quiet
Life
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1
Thessalonians 4:11a
Message of the
verses: “and to make it your
ambition to lead a quiet life”
As I was listening to the sermon from John MacArthur on
this section that we are looking at I began to understand something that I did
not understand before. I have mentioned
that I came to know Christ as my Savior and Lord due to listening to some tapes
on the return of our Lord Jesus Christ to take His bride (church) back to
heaven with Him. We will study about
this in great detail next month (Lord willing).
I wanted to tell anyone who would listen to me about this, and probably
made a nuance of myself on sever occasions. It seems that this was what the
believers in Thessalonica were also doing so Paul tells them that they ought to
lead a quiet life, and by their life they would have opportunity to tell others
about the Gospel. God has used me to
lead people to the Lord by allowing me to strike up a conversation with them
about the end times, but it was God who brought these people into my life for
His glory.
John MacArthur writes “Paul did not command the Thessalonians to live lives of
noisy, frenetic evangelistic agitation. Instead,
and as a result of their excelling still more in brotherly love, they were to
make it their ambition to lead a quiet life.”
He goes on to explain the verb usage by writing “In that
phrase Paul used the two verb forms in almost a contradictory fashion. Make it your ambition (from philotimeomai)
means to be zealous and strive eagerly, even to consider it an honor (as in
Rom. 15:20; 2 Cor. 5:9), whereas lead a quiet life (from hesuchozo) means to be silent (as in Luke 14:4; Acts 21:14), not
speaking gout inappropriately (see 1 Tim. 2:11-12), remaining at rest and
tranquil (as in Luke 23:56). In
anticipation of the Lord’s return, believers are to lead peaceful lives, free
of conflict and hostility toward others, which is a witness to the transforming
power of the gospel.”
I suppose if your neighbors saw you doing all kinds of
crazy things like selling everything and then spending all your money on things
to pass out telling others that the Lord was about to return soon that they
would not want to listen to the good news of the gospel. If we live quiet lives and wait for the Lord
to open up doors to tell others about the good news of the gospel, then we will
also have an opportunity to tell others about the “rapture of the church.”
Spiritual meaning for
my life today: Trust the Lord to
lead people into my life in order to tell them the good news about the gospel
and also about the return of our Lord from heaven.
6/17/2014 11:01 AM
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