Journal

• • Here are some tools to help you with the devotionals:
    • A Guide to Journaling & Prayer
    • A Guide to Self-Reflection
    • A Chart to help articulate feelings

Bible Text:

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

¹ Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. ² For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴ that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, ⁵ not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶ that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. ⁷ For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.      ⁸ Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Reflection & Application

1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

• What about Christian life can be learned from Apostle Paul’s exhortation to the Thessalonians to do “more and more” of what they were already doing?
• What are some things about which I need to heed the urging to do “more and more”?

1 Thessalonians 4:2-8

“The self-control Paul commends is to be exercised “in a way that is holy and honorable” (4:4b), two terms that stand as the antithesis of the “passionate lust” and ignorance mentioned in 4:5. …. Similarly “honor,” a matter both of respect for the opinion and concern for the well-being of others, is primarily other-centered (cf. Rom. 12:10, “honor one another above yourselves”), and thus stands in contrast to “covetous passion” (1 Thess. 4:5a; NIV “passionate lust”), which involves a self-centered concern for one’s own needs or drives. 

“For Paul, sexual activity is not just an inconsequential private activity involving one or more consenting adults; on the contrary, it has an impact on both one’s relationship with God (cf. 1 Cor. 6:12 – 20) and with other people (cf. 1 Thess. 4:6); therefore, it ought to be exercised in a way that is respectful of both.” [1] 

• What is God’s will for my life? 
• What does “sanctification” mean according to this text?
• Why is sexual ethics so important in the life of a Christian?
• Why is knowing God incompatible with living in the “passion of lust”? 
• Are there areas of my life that I have neglected or avoided sanctifying before God?  If so, what can I commit to today to begin living a holy and honorable life before God?

[1] Holmes, Michael W. “, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: 1 and 2 Thessalonians. By Michael W. Holmes, 46-54. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, © 1998.

Prayer