Unashamed Reading Plan
Check out all the previous Unashamed readings here.
Unashamed Reading Plan | Week 15 | Day 4
Prayer
Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. Ask God to give you His wisdom today.
Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:7-11
Read these verses three times slowly.
For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Reflection & Questions
Yesterday, we saw that Jesus will come suddenly and we need to be ready for Him. In the verses today, which follow on from yesterday’s, Paul answers what it looks like to be ready. We’re not to fear, but put on faith, knowing what Jesus has promised. We’re not to isolate, but to put on love, showing others what has been shown to us. We’re not to be discouraged at the darkness of the world, but to have “hope of salvation” – knowing that the best is yet to come, knowing that we are destined to “receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that …we may live together with him.” This is the good news! This world is not the be all and end all. In fact, it’s just barely the beginning. Jesus is coming back for His own. And whether they’ve already died, or are still alive, there will be a grand forever reunion for all His followers when He returns!
- What word or phrase from today’s verses encourages you?
- Are you arming yourself with faith, love and hope knowing it’s going to get harder, not easier, to follow Jesus in the last days?
Prayer
Talk to God in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:8-11
Read these verses three times slowly.
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Reflection & Questions
Yesterday we talked about being awake and ready for Jesus to come. And today there are 3 important words that we need to remember in order to help us stay awake and alert and close to Jesus. They are faith, hope, and love.
We can have faith by believing what Jesus said: that He has promised to save us from our sins and He is coming back again. We can have hope by understanding that, even though life is sometimes tough here on earth, when Jesus comes again we will live with Him and that is going to be awesome! Meanwhile He has also asked us to show love to those around us, just as He has shown to us.
Those three things should keep us pretty busy while we wait for Him to come again!
- Faith, Hope, and Love – can you come up with a way to show each of these this week?
Pray
Thank Jesus that He is coming back someday to rescue us from all evil. And ask Him to help you have faith, hope, and to show love.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
