October 11, 2011

10-11-11 Tuesday, 7:13 am Springfield, 58 degrees

I found it hard to get out of bed this morning. I attribute this to the exercise I got yesterday with 90 minutes on the elliptical machine, the equivalent of a 9 mile run plus mowing the lawn – my pedometer recorded 19,000 steps! Even though my body is sluggish, I am making good progress toward the February 5 marathon.

I was reading Facebook messages last night and gasped when I discovered that my friend from seminary, Steve Hinkle died last week of a stroke. He and his wife lived in Florida, and his funeral took place on Saturday. Steve travelled to Omaha to sing at our wedding in 1983. During the last several years he and I corresponded mainly through email.

I Thessalonians 4

This chapter addresses directly the topic of my sermon this week. Each verse is loaded with powerful meaning and application. In Verse 1 Paul writes: “As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” Living in order to please God – this is the object of every person who has received His grace in salvation, and has promised to serve Him as Lord. It is a daily opportunity to live in such a way that pleases God.

Verses 3-7 get more specific: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified; that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”

Those “who do not know God” live in “passionate lust”. This is the culture around us, this is what everybody else is doing, this is "normal". God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life! The challenge for me and every believer is to order our lives in a way that guards against sin, and at the same time is not judgmental or legalistic. Those who observe Christians from outside the faith can feel rejected and judged by those of us who seek to live a holy life. My goal is to live according to God's design and demonstrate the value and long-term results from living to please God, and not self.

Guide me Holy Lord as I work this week to prepare a relevant, accurate, uplifting message on living to please God in the area of sexuality.