Words to Live By

I Thessalonians 5 is full of verses that give great advice for Christians to follow. Some of them can be difficult to do, but what an impact we could make in our world if all Christians chose to live by these verses and do what they say. Here's what Paul had to say regarding how Christians should live:

1. Encourage one another and build each other up (verse 11)
2. Respect those who work hard, who are over you in the Lord, and who admonish you (verse 12)
3. Live in peace with each other (verse 13)
4. Warn those who are idle (verse 14)
5. Encourage the timid (verse 14)
6. Help the weak (verse 14)
7. Be patient with everyone (verse 14)
8. Make sure nobody pays back wrong for wrong (verse 15)
9. Always try to be kind to everyone (verse 15)
10. Be joyful always (verse 16)
11. Pray continually (verse 17)
12. Give thanks in all circumstances (verse 18)
13. Do not put out the Spirit's fire (verse 19)
14. Do not treat prophecies with contempt (verse 20)
15. Test everything. Hold onto the good. (verse 21)
16. Avoid every kind of evil (verse 22)

The last two verses are the ones I really noticed today: Test everything. Hold onto the good. Avoid every kind of evil. We could avoid a lot of heartache if we learned to test everything. Just because something sounds good, doesn't mean we should do it. We need to learn to bring everything to God in prayer. Listen to what He says. If He gives you affirmation, then go ahead and do it. If He says no or wait, then don't do it! If you stay away from things that you know are not right, you'll save yourself a lot of trouble. Let's all strive to do the things on this list. These are amazing words to live by!