What Happened?

As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1st Thessalonians 1:3 NLT

When we follow Jesus, our behaviors change. We turn away from those things that have no truth in them - we lay aside our idols. We turn away from serving only ourselves and reach out to serve God by serving others. And just as obvious, we live our lives with HOPE. The New Living Translation reads enduring hope. Hope that lasts...

So, what happened? What caused these changes? Verses 4 & 5 from The Message Bible read, It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special. When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn’t just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions. 

The convictions that we embraced through hearing the Gospel are now undergirded with the steel of the Holy Spirit. God's Word tells us in Galatians 5:22-23 ...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And in Romans 8:5, For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. That's what happened! It's why we've changed. Praise His Holy Name!

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for Your Word sent to convict us, for Your Spirit sent to guide us into all Truth, for Your love to give us life, and for hope - everlasting hope - that is found only in You. May we never lose sight of it all. May we never get over what happened. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen