My husband recently preached a lesson from 1 Thessalonians 5 which I found extremely motivating. Over the next few days I would like to share some of it here in the hope that it will encourage you too.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says:
"Rejoice always;
pray without ceasing;
in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
While these verses may not be a mouthful - they are certainly a life-full.
They are in league with "...however you want people to treat you, so treat them" (Matt. 7:12), and "Let all that you do be done in love" (1 Cor. 16:14). These verses have few words, but require a lifetime of work and practice.
In this passage, we can see from the original text (in Greek) that Paul placed the adverb forward for the sake of emphasis; it literally reads: "always" rejoice, "ceaselessly" pray, "in everything" give thanks.
This shows us that the trio belong together.
It also impresses upon us that Christianity is a lifestyle, a walk. Many could say that they do these things from time to time, but according to the apostle Paul, a true Christian is characterized by these—they are done "always" "without ceasing" and "in everything."
That is why my husband titled the sermon, "Always" Christians.
We do not want to be "Sometimes" Christians; only Christians when it is convenient.
James called Sometimes Christians "double-minded" in his letter (James 1:8; 4:8), and in Rev. 3, Jesus called it being "lukewarm" (Rev. 3:16), and we know how God feels about that. It’s easy to say you are a Christian and act like it from time to time, but you can’t fool God—He knows whether it’s real or not.
As Paul said earlier in this epistle, we are to "walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory" (1 Thess. 2:12).
As one of our Bible school teachers said, "Sitting in a church building doesn’t make you a Christian, any more than sitting in a chicken coop makes you a chicken."
God desires "always" Christians. Over the next few days we are going to look at these three areas in which our lives are to be "always," "without ceasing," and "in everything."
Please feel free to leave any thoughts regarding these verses in the comments section below. | 
