SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/8/2014
10:51 PM
My Worship Time Focus: The Requests
Paul made for the Thessalonians PT-3
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2
Thessalonians 1:11d
Message of the
verses: I want to quote the entire
eleventh verse for this Spiritual Diary because the word “fulfill” has to do with both the third and fourth part of this
verse. “11 To this end also we pray for
you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for
goodness and the
work of faith with power,”
Paul wants God to fulfill both every desire for goodness
and also the work of faith with power.
Now anyone who has read much of what Paul has written has
come to the conclusion that salvation is by faith alone without any human work
involved in salvation. However we also
know that once a person becomes a believer in Jesus Christ for salvation that
they are to produce good works as Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10, a verse that I
often use in my Spiritual Diaries. “For
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” There is a much misunderstood section that is
found in the book of James whereby people think that James is teaching
something different about the way a person is saved, when actually he is
teaching about the kind of works a person should be doing to prove that they
already are saved: “14 What use is it,
my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith
save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily
food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be
filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body,
what use is that? 17 Even so faith,
if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well
say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the
works, and I will show you my faith by my works." 19 You believe that God
is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you
willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son
on the altar? 22 You see
that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works,
faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND
ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT
WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend
of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25
In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she
received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the
body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” We then can conclude that a person is saved
by faith alone, but then he shows that he has faith by doing good works for the
cause of Christ that God has called for him to do that He prepared for him to
in eternity past.
We have seen a phrase in the first letter to the
Thessalonians that Paul used that although is not used here in this section the
concept is seen here. Paul knew that the
Thessalonians were true believers and he also knew that they were using the
power of God to perform good works for the cause of Christ, but we can be
assured that Paul wants them “to excel still more.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I desire to
realize the good works that the Lord wants me to accomplish for the cause of
Christ so that I can excel still more in doing them.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the Lord to increase my faith as I go
through a test in my walk with the Lord.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “He hid and feed one hundred
of them in caves” (1 Kings 18:4, 13).
Today’s Bible
question: “To whom did Paul see himself
a debtor?
Answer in our next SD.
10/8/2014 11:21 PM
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