A Colander

1 Thessalonians 5:23
A colander is a simple yet handy tool I use frequently to clean my veggies before preparing them for a salad. This is similar to what God does to each of us when we give our lives to him. Often times it takes a good scrubbing and even repeated washings to get us clean but that is what we need so we will be pure, ready to stand before him. Paul in trying to prepare believers for the second coming wrote, "And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) (1 Thessalonians 5:23 Amplified Bible)." Paul left some excellent instructions in chapter 5 that would help us in the dark times we live in to stay pure and ready for Christ's return. He spent much of the conversation warning his brothers to be alert for they would never know the hour that the day of the Lord would come. We must strive to be self-controlled, though that can be so difficult in the defiled world we live in with its many temptations. We must pray and help each other to stay on course, seeking God and giving him glory in all circumstances. Today, read and take to heart 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. "May the grace of our Lord be with you, now and always may you stay, blameless till he comes." (Omega, Rebecca St. James)

Listen to Omega today by Rebecca St. James during your devotional time to help you remember this passage of Scripture.

A Trashcan

Philippians 3:8
Today's meditation is a hard word from Paul discussing putting our desires and quest to get somewhere in this world behind us for the sake of following Christ. His letter talks about his early days of being a Pharisee and very respected among his people to throwing that all away. Paul writes, "We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. (8) Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:3-9 NLT)." In our day this would be the equivalent of being a celebrity with tons of money and fame and being asked to give it all up and toss it away to seek after Christ. Would you do it? Have you had to make a tough choice like that in your spiritual walk? On a smaller scale, years ago I walked away from a stable, steady paying job to do youth ministry full-time. It was a big risk, moving to a new town, not knowing how I'd be received or even how long I'd last. Then after a few years there my health and ability to do my job fell apart and I found myself unemployed and in poor health with no real clue where to go next. Yet, I wouldn't have gone back and done things differently because I knew in my heart God sent me there and would continue to provide for me wherever he sent me. Understand that Jesus never promised life to be smooth sailing, he said there would be sacrifices, he made the ultimate one, but he did promise to be with us always. Pray that when God sends a challenge your way that you will have courage to count all you've gained in this world as trash and follow after the one who made a sacrifice far greater than any of us will ever make, yet did it with humility. A good song to go with today's devotion is "Good Life" by Audio Adrenaline.