Many Pastors choose motto texts for the churches they serve at the turn of the year. I don’t tend to do that; I find it hard to think of one text to determine an entire year of Christian living. But this year is different. I have found God’s will for us as a church!
To tell the truth, it wasn’t hard… God spells it out for us. After all, “for this is God’s will for you” is a pretty obvious marker… It’s not a frequent pointer either. A quick search reveals that it occurs in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5:16–18, and a similar phrase is used in 1 Peter 2:15. It’s the three verses in bold that I have decided to focus on this year. These’ll be our “motto text.”
Sometimes we Christians wonder about what God would have us do in a particular scenar-io, when we feel at crossroads. I don’t wish to play down the complexity of life here—but what if we could simplify things? After all, the Bible assumes that God’s peopleknow God’s will for them – see Romans 12:1–2. If this meant that in the Bible I will find the answer to every specific decision I need to make, I would need a fleet of trucks to carry my Bible around: it would be that thick!
In the verses we’ll consider in January, we shall find God’s will for us. I honestly think it is this simple. It is us, people, who compli-cate life. This is why we find simple hard. But there is freedom to be found here. A freedom I crave: for myself, my family, and you, dear Brothers and Sisters “in Christ Jesus.” I pray 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 will serve as a compass (not, therefore, turn-by-turn navigation!) to life as Christians in the year of our Lord 2023—and beyond.
Calix
Pastor
January 2023
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