We Complicate It

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

We make the Christian life more complicated than it needs to be. This is not to say that life itself cannot get complicated. There are always things and circumstances that are beyond our control. However, there are many things that are within our power to control. We can choose to start each day with prayer and reading God's Word. We can choose to live a quiet life, by minding our own business, and choose to bring our business directly to God or a brother/sister in Christ that He has put in our life to be our shoulder to lean on; rather than plaster it all over social media. We can choose to go to work, even if we do not particularly like what we are currently doing, and do our job as working to please Jesus, and not men (Colossians 3:23). We can choose to be careful not to ruin our testimony before the unsaved people at our jobs by having a good work ethic, getting to work on time, and not use company time to gossip, and "goof off". We can choose to protect our testimony around the unsaved, in social circles, by not acting like the world in the language we use, telling inappropriate jokes, and instead using language that encourages and adds flavor to other people's lives (Colossians 4:5-6). We can choose to serve God by serving in the local church and giving of ourselves, our time, and our resources to help those that God puts before us to minister to. The Christian life is really not complicated, even in the midst of hard times, if we choose to keep our focus on the One who can guide us through it, if we choose to walk with Him the way we are supposed to walk with Him, in godly righteousness, by the power of His Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26).

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).