October 16

1 Thessalonians 4
The Lord is the avenger of all who have been defrauded or taken advantage of, especially in the church. How does this increase His glory? He doesn't just remove our sins from us, declaring us justified. He also desires to change us so that we no longer sin. I was talking with a friend yesterday concerning disciplining children. He told me how he told his children, "Some one has to play the bad guy, and that is me." Why do we as parents sometimes have to play the bad guy and discipline our children? Because if we don't discipline them, our children's nature is such that they will never learn proper behavior. The Lord works with us in a similar way. He disciplines us so that we might change in behavior to reflect what He has judicially declared to be true of us. In short, He calls us to holiness. He disciplines us so that we will trust Him to make us holy in our experience. He calls us to love. He disciplines us so that we will trust Him to make us loving in our experience. His glory is on the line in our experience. That's why He is an avenger. It is to make our lives reflect His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John