Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

The Apostle Paul continues to give us practical and applicable advice for our daily Christian lives. The first lesson is to “Rejoice at all times”. Think about all the things Paul suffered during his ministry, imprisonment, beatings, and illnesses, yet Paul continues to rejoice always. Why? Because Paul knows this is not our “best life now”, this is actually our worst life now. The best is yet to come, the New Heavens and Earth (Rev.22) because Christ is Risen!

Secondly we should “pray without ceasing”. Prayer should be central to our daily lives. Prayer should be like oxygen for our souls. How can we have a relationship with Christ, if we are not praying? How can we know our Fathers will, if we are not praying? How can the Holy Spirit fill us up , if we are not praying? Pray without ceasing in all circumstances!

Give thanks for everything! All these actions tie into each other, if you don’t know what to pray, give thanks to God! We have been blessed with so many things, we have so much to be thankful for, we need to keep an eternal perspective on our daily lives. Be Thankful that God created us and breathed life into our lungs. Be Thankful , that Jesus chose us and died for our sins. Be Thankful, the Holy Spirit has baptized us and made us Born Again

Listen to the Holy Spirit! Jesus called the Holy Spirit our advocate, our counselor, our helper (John 14:26) To deny or neglect the wisdom of the Holy Spirit is to deny God. Remember blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:31-32) We need to be willing to be led by the Holy Spirit as our guide and counselor

Finally, another application is to “Abstain from all evil” As Born Again Christians (John 3:3), our bodies are the Temple of God with the Holy Spirit living inside of us (1 Cor.6). We can’t pollute our temples or bodies with sin and evil, this is an abomination before God. As the Apostle Peter said “Be holy because He (God) is Holy” ( 1 Peter 1:16)

Being a Child of God, a Born Again Christian is the greatest honor and calling anyone could receive, walk worthy of being a servant of Christ, Amen