There are two kinds of people in this world - those that encourage and inspire and those that sit back and suck all the encouragement out of you.
As I was reading this week in 2 Thessalonians I was reminded of Paul's advice to the church of the Thessalonians and to us today. He said, "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you recieved from us." (2 Thes. 3:6).
My first hint that this was some pretty strong advice was in the way he began..."In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ". I don't know about you but that got my attention. There a people in the church that are doing nothing but waiting around for the second coming of Jesus Christ. They are not working, they are not encouraging, they are doing nothing but as my friend Sam Glen once said, "leaving butt prints in the sand."
Don't get me wrong, they were excited about Christ's return, so excited in fact that they seemed to have just stopped doing anything. Stopped working, stopped sharing, stopped encouraging, stopped period. They became idle.
As I read this I thought to myself that Paul must be writing this because there was great potential in this church for idleness and possibly even complacency. I believe the potential for this is even greater today and that's when the light bulb went off. I must, we must, surround ourselves with people who are motivated, excited, engulfed by the cause of Jesus Christ. That kind of ferver is contagious.
But idleness is contagious also. It's like a dog with fleas. If you hang around it long enough your gonna get fleas...your going to become idle. I don't want to become idle. I don't want to be yet another impression of butt prints in the sand.
I wrote this in my journal this morning and hope it will be some encouragement to you..."I must surround myself with fools for Christ. Those that have a ferver beyond the average - it's contagious but so is idleness - it's contagious also - I must stay away from idleness"
Isn't that what Paul said, "keep away from every brother who is idle..."?
Lord, your ways are SO not mine. Yet I learn more and more about you! I pray that I might be surrounded by radicals in the faith - those that are excited to serve you! May I be aware of that that lack ferver and stay clear!
As I was reading this week in 2 Thessalonians I was reminded of Paul's advice to the church of the Thessalonians and to us today. He said, "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you recieved from us." (2 Thes. 3:6).
My first hint that this was some pretty strong advice was in the way he began..."In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ". I don't know about you but that got my attention. There a people in the church that are doing nothing but waiting around for the second coming of Jesus Christ. They are not working, they are not encouraging, they are doing nothing but as my friend Sam Glen once said, "leaving butt prints in the sand."
Don't get me wrong, they were excited about Christ's return, so excited in fact that they seemed to have just stopped doing anything. Stopped working, stopped sharing, stopped encouraging, stopped period. They became idle.
As I read this I thought to myself that Paul must be writing this because there was great potential in this church for idleness and possibly even complacency. I believe the potential for this is even greater today and that's when the light bulb went off. I must, we must, surround ourselves with people who are motivated, excited, engulfed by the cause of Jesus Christ. That kind of ferver is contagious.
But idleness is contagious also. It's like a dog with fleas. If you hang around it long enough your gonna get fleas...your going to become idle. I don't want to become idle. I don't want to be yet another impression of butt prints in the sand.
I wrote this in my journal this morning and hope it will be some encouragement to you..."I must surround myself with fools for Christ. Those that have a ferver beyond the average - it's contagious but so is idleness - it's contagious also - I must stay away from idleness"
Isn't that what Paul said, "keep away from every brother who is idle..."?
Lord, your ways are SO not mine. Yet I learn more and more about you! I pray that I might be surrounded by radicals in the faith - those that are excited to serve you! May I be aware of that that lack ferver and stay clear!
