Every genuine Christian trusts in God’s Word, puts his or her beliefs into action toward others, and is confident of his or her ultimate destination. In today’s devotional, Dr. Michael Youssef encourages us to consider and imitate some distinctive traits of the Thessalonian believers.
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[00:00:00] 3.
[00:00:09] The Despensible Traits by Dr. Michael Youssef
[00:00:13] In the opening verses of 1 Thessalonians, Paul describes 10 distinctive traits of the
[00:00:19] Thessalonian believers.
[00:00:20] 1.
[00:00:21] They had a working faith.
[00:00:23] 2.
[00:00:24] They had a laboring love.
[00:00:26] 3.
[00:00:27] They exhibited an enduring hope.
[00:00:30] 4.
[00:00:31] They displayed humility before God for His election and power.
[00:00:35] 5.
[00:00:36] They had genuine imitators of Christ.
[00:00:38] 6.
[00:00:39] They had joy in the midst of trouble.
[00:00:42] 7.
[00:00:43] They lived exemplary lives.
[00:00:45] 8.
[00:00:46] They had zeal in their witnessing.
[00:00:48] 9.
[00:00:49] They demonstrated transformed lives.
[00:00:52] 10.
[00:00:53] They expectantly awaited the return of the Lord Jesus.
[00:00:58] To summarize, Paul said that the Thessalonian believers were characterized by faith,
[00:01:04] hope and love.
[00:01:06] The three indispensable traits of a genuine Christian.
[00:01:11] Each of these traits is outgoing, not inward, active, not passive, visible, not hidden,
[00:01:18] public, not private.
[00:01:20] Faith is active toward God.
[00:01:22] Love is active toward other people.
[00:01:25] Hope is active toward our expectation of the Lord's return.
[00:01:29] Faith is anchored in the past in actual historical events as we look back on the
[00:01:34] Lord's saving work on the cross.
[00:01:37] Love is anchored in the present as we practice Christ-like love toward the people around us.
[00:01:43] Hope is anchored in the future, in the trustworthy promises God gave us in His word.
[00:01:49] Every genuine Christian trust in God's word puts his or her beliefs into action toward
[00:01:55] others and is confident of his or her ultimate destination.
[00:02:00] These three traits—faith, love, hope—prove that we follow Christ not just on Sunday but
[00:02:07] every day of the week.
[00:02:09] Let's pray together.
[00:02:10] Lord, thank You for the example of the Thessalonians who lived out their faith in the midst
[00:02:15] of desperately difficult circumstances.
[00:02:18] We praise You for granting them great faith that inspires us today and we ask for Your
[00:02:23] Holy Spirit to work in us.
[00:02:26] Work in us that same faith, love and hope that we might endure all things as we keep
[00:02:32] our eyes on Jesus.
[00:02:34] We pray this in the name of Jesus.
[00:02:36] Amen.
[00:02:38] To take a deeper dive into today's devotional topic, check the show notes for links to
[00:02:43] additional resources.
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[00:02:50] an episode.
[00:02:52] My Devotional is a ministry of leading the way with Dr. Michael Yusef.
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