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A Quiet Life, A Loud Witness · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey friends, welcome back to In THE Stillness.
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  This is friendly. So glad that you are joining me
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  on this Tuesday, wherever you're tuning in from.
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  Hope you are having a wonderful day so far.
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  Today we're going to be diving into a passage that is once
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  again, very practical. Like yesterday's, it's going to
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  be going through chapter 4 of First Thessalonians, verses 9
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  through 12. It's a lot about love and living
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  quietly and how those things tie together to being set apart
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  followers of Jesus. So with that, let's go ahead and
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  read it. There's no need for anyone to
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  say much to you about loving your fellow believers, for God
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  is continually teaching you to unselfishly love one another.
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  Indeed, your love is what you're known for throughout Macedonia.
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  We urge you, beloved ones, to let this unselfish love increase
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  and flow through you more and more.
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  Aspire to lead a calm and peaceful life as you mind your
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  own business and earn your living just as we've taught you.
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  By doing this, you will live an honorable life, influencing
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  others and commanding respect of even the unbelievers.
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  Then you'll be in need of nothing and not dependent upon
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  others. OK so first of all, I love how
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  verse 9 it says that the Lord is teaching us how to love and just
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  as we have been taught by God to love one another.
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  This is chapter 4, verse nine. That part stopped me because one
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  of the first verses I ever memorized was first John 49 and
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  then it says this is how God showed His love among us.
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  He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might
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  live, live through him. So I think it's so cool that
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  it's the same verse numbers. They're both about love and both
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  about showing how God himself is our teacher when it comes to
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  love. We are taught how to love
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  through the very person of Jesus Christ.
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  We see His life through the gospels, how He speaks, His
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  actions, the way that He cared for people.
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  He served the hurting people, those lost, those broken.
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  He spoke truth gently but boldly, and ultimately He gave
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  up everything as a fragrant offering.
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  His body was broken, His blood was poured out.
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  That is the ultimate picture of love that we get to see.
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  So when God came to earth through his Son Emmanuel,
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  meaning God with us, he didn't just talk about love, He lived
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  it. And I believe that's the tone
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  setter for how we're called to love unselfishly, sacrificially,
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  and without limits. So we see in this passage, the
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  Thessalonians were known for their love.
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  That's what Paul is saying here, that they were already living it
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  out. And so he's encouraging them do
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  so more and more. And that made me think for me
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  personally, but for all of us, what if people described us that
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  way, The church, the body of believers to be known for our
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  love. There's a song that I really
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  enjoy listening to, and it's called Met by Love by United
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  Pursuit. If you haven't listened to it,
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  please go do it. But it paints this beautiful
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  picture as you're listening of the Father's love for us.
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  It says that we can run straight into his arms unafraid because
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  we've been met by love. So because we've been freely met
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  by His love, may we freely give it.
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  Now I want to go into a question for us to reflect on.
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  Are we known for our love, not just for God, but for other
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  people? Because those two, they go hand
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  in hand. And 1st John once again, chapter
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  4 verse 21, it says that whoever loves God must also love their
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  brother and sister. Think about it like a
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  relationship. When you truly love someone, you
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  care about what makes them happy.
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  You value what they value. That's how love works.
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  It overflows. Now, I know you're not always
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  going to have the same hobbies and interests, and there might
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  be different family dynamics, so it's not always easy to love.
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  But when you care about that person, that's your goal, is to
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  love what they love. And there's always room for
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  more, for greater love, for more of Jesus to be seen through us
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  if his Spirit dwells in you. Love is meant to flow.
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  It's not meant to be restricted. And I want to say if something
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  is blocking that flow, maybe you have tension with someone or
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  you're holding a grudge. Maybe there's pride or there's
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  been past hurt. It's important to deal with it.
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  Scripture tells us in Ephesians 426 to not let the sun go down
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  while we're still angry. So that implies bitterness,
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  holding a grudge. So we need to pursue
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  reconciliation because the ministry of reconciliation,
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  that's what Jesus does for us every single day, and that's
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  what we're called to live out. And also, let's remember, tough
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  love is better than fake love. I wrote that down in my notes
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  and I was like, wow, yeah, I would rather someone be truthful
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  than be phony. I would rather someone be
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  authentic and love me enough to tell me something and show me
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  something in my life that is actually harming me, then to
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  just say it's OK and move on. Now Paul also shifts gears, he
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  says, to make it our ambition to live a quiet life.
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  And that word ambition, I looked it up in the dictionary.
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  But it means a strong desire to achieve something.
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  But it takes determination and hard work, implying that it's
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  not easy to live quietly, especially in our loud,
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  fast-paced world. It's going to take intentional
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  pursuit. But this is our call to
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  responsibility, to show that love is not just in words, but
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  it's in how we live. So a challenge for us is don't
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  be idle, don't be lazy, hold yourself to a higher standard
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  because that's how you live. That points people to Jesus
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  living differently, living consecrated and set apart.
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  This can be shown through working hard, being diligent,
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  being content, and staying grateful with where the Lord has
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  you. Those things are what make you
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  stand out. So find contentment where God
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  has you right now. Another translation says mind
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  your own business. Don't compare your life to
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  others. Work with integrity, even in the
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  small, seemingly unseen things. The Lord sees all, and He will
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  reward those and be present. Be grateful for where you are
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  when you live that way. When you're steady and you're
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  genuine and faithful, others notice whether you know it or
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  not, and you earn respect. Naturally, this does not mean
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  that you're just never going to fail, but consistency in both
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  good and hard seasons, it shows who you live for, whether it's
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  yourself or for your creator. So a few challenge questions I'm
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  going to leave y'all with. First off, what in my life is
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  making things unnecessarily noisy?
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  2:00 AM I working with excellence where God has me in
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  this moment, in this season #3 am I letting his love flow
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  freely through me, or am I holding anything back?
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  So let's move into prayer right now.
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  Dear Father, thank you for showing us what real love looks
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  like through Jesus, your precious Son.
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  Thank you for teaching us through your board, through your
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  Spirit, how to love like you. Would you help us to live
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  quietly but also boldly, to work hard to stay content and to love
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  others so deeply out of an abundance of love for you,
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  Jesus? Father, if there is any tension
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  or distraction in our hearts, would you bring peace?
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  Would you bring clarity to that so that we can pursue
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  reconciliation? If there's any unnecessary
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  noise, would you bring focus? Lord, let your love flow freely
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  through US today and every day. We ask this all in your name,
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  Jesus, Amen. OK, well, that is the podcast
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  content for today. I'm praying that you feel the
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  Lord's nearness and that His love would move through every
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  part of your day. And also, go listen to Met by
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  Love and let it remind you of how deeply known and how deeply
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  loved you are. I'll see you on the next
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  podcast.