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October 27
"I would have been -- B.C."
1 Thessalonians 5:12-24
"... encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone." (v.14)
Mary writes of the change that the Holy Spirit wrought in her after conversion: "I went out to shut the chickens up for the night and found that the boys had closed the door and turned out the light, and all the chickens were outside. Chickens can't see in the dark, and if you shine a light on them, it blinds them. Three years ago I would have given the boys a good spanking, and made them get the chickens in. Tonight, I didn't even stop singing! I went to turn the light on and found that the bulb was burned out. Instead of being disgusted, as I would have been B.
C. (before Christ), I just got a new one and then I got those chickens in with such tenderness that I even surprised myself. When the last chicken was in, I thanked my Father for helping me get them all in so easily by controlling, not the chickens, but me." What the Spirit did for Mary, He can do for you.
Another woman, after finding Christ, went through a time of great persecution from her family. She said: "I used to have a violent temper and my family used to be careful how they talked to me. It was a goal of mine always to have the last word. Following my conversion, my family used to test me by saying all the things they knew used to annoy me. If it had not been for the presence of the Spirit in my life, I know I would not have had the patience to handle their remarks. I still have the last word -- but the last word is silence."
Prayer:
Father, at those times when the last word needs to be silence, help me to have that last word. Drive this thought deep into my heart -- that I always lose when I lose my temper. Amen.
For Further Study
Hebrews 6:1-15; James 1:2-4; 2 Peter 1:6
1. How did Abraham obtain the promise?
2. What will perserverance bring about?
