1 Thessalonians 4:9 - Learning from the Lord

1 Thessalonians 4:9 "There is no need to write you about love for your fellow believers. You yourselves have been taught by God how you should love one another." (TEV)

I used to love to study people. I'd watch how one person would interact with another............tune into the expressions on each of their faces. I used to spend a great deal of time studying..........reading.......speaking with people to try to get a better understanding of what makes us tick.

I can remember as a teenager watching a person's eyes. The eyes speak volumes of what is going on inside a person's mind. The eyes will either ratify the truth being spoken or let it be known that the person isn't being straight with the other. I read somewhere that the eyes are supposed to be windows into a man's soul. And I firmly believe that.

I wish I could report that I have arrived at some conclusions, but the more I study those around me the less I seem to understand about them............there is always something that surprises me........and I'm sure it will continue to be that way because there will always be something to learn in this life..........my capacity to learn what there is there to learn will always be extremely limited.

When I read tonight's scripture it came to me quite suddenly how fortunate I am to have the love of God...........how humbling it is to be accepted as I am to do the work of the Kingdom with the Lord teaching me all that I need to know.

The things the Lord has already taught me continue to amaze me............He has given me a look at the things that really matter to Him and written these in a language so simple...........so clear...........so full of His love.

That's what Paul is telling me tonight...........(a paraphrase) "I don't need to teach you about how you should love your brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord has already done that." It was spoken into my spirit by His Spirit.

And taking this idea a step further.........the Lord has already written down many other lessons on how I should behave towards believers and non-believers. They're all in the Bible..........waiting for me to open it and read it..............and listen to the Lord speaking what I need to know directly into my heart. And it gets better.

There will be the day when I find I'm in His Presence....when I cross from life into eternal life..........where I will understand even more about what my Creator and my God has fashioned for me in my Inheritance.

Love in Jesus,

Jim

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"But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired." (1 Corinthians 12:18 NASB)

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

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This devotional was originally posted on CCI-Devo - Daily Group Devotionals on December 28, 2003 in post #440. It was written by Jim Ross, a former United Pentecostal Church member, who attends Christian Challenge International, the sponsor of the devotional group. The devotional is the copyright of Jim Ross and is reprinted on this site by permission.

Page added April 17, 2006

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