Do not quench - 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Good morning everyone! God is good all the time, all the time God is good. TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

Yesterday we talked about be joyful, continue praying, be thankful in all circumstances and this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Paul was teaching that we should thank God in everything. Evil does not come from God, so we should not thank him for it. But when evil strikes we can still be thankful for God's presence and for the good that he will accomplish through the distress.

A preacher man and member of his congregation were walking down the street and suddenly a thief jumped out, demanded their wallets and jewelery. They gave up their wallets, watches and rings. The thief had a gun and when he ran off the preacher said aloud, "Oh thank you LORD!" The member asked why he thanked God for being robbed. The preacher man stated, "I did not thank God for being robbed, I thank God he spared our lives and we only gave up material things." Could you have said this?

This goes back to 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Look at verse 19 - "Do not quench the spirit."

What, exactly, does this mean to you? Do not quench the spirit? Quench in Greek is 'sbennymi' which means to suppress. Used in this text is a synonym of the word despise in verse 20. Paul is telling us that we should not ignore or toss aside the gifts or leading of the Holy Spirit.

Keep It Simple - Let the Holy Spirit work through you. You may need to just S T O P - and listen to what or where the Holy Spirit is leading you. Tune in to HS 101 (Holy Spirit 101) and listen. Listen as you do to your radio, your cell phone when it rings, your spouse or children when they call you. Use the old AT&T slogan: "We(Holy Spirit) will be in touch, so you be in touch."

Oh, wait, listen, do you hear that? Jesus is calling, calling to you and to me. He is saying come home, oh sinner, come home. Can you come home to Jesus? Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace
Johnny