2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (NLT) So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Christians at Thessalonica were exemplary followers of Christ who underwent persecution and hardship and remained faithful through it all. Their faith was being talked about throughout all the churches everywhere. But here we find the Apostle Paul still praying for them. He was praying that they would live a life worthy of the call that Jesus had made to them. In God's sovereign plan, He had made it so that the people of Thessalonica would hear the Gospel through the Apostle Paul's ministry. He knew that a good number of them would respond to "the call," forming the Church at Thessalonica. Now Paul is praying for them and reminding them to live in a way that would honor Jesus, because it was Him who called them out and saved them.

One of the problems that we encounter with this call is feeling worthy or even being worthy. If we really have had an encounter with the Lord Jesus, then we know that we aren't worthy of anything. How then can we live a life worthy of the call of God on our lives? The passage of scripture above tells us. It is in Jesus Himself giving us the power to live the worthy life that God calls for. The Lord knows that we are not capable of it, which is why Jesus came to rescue us. Now that He has rescued us, we are still not capable of it on our own. We need His power to accomplish anything at all, including living the life that the Word of God commands us to live, which comes before being able to efficiently and effectively spread the Gospel. Notice that the way to honor Jesus and spread the Good News about Him is by the way that you live. Just talking about Jesus and how He came to revolutionize our lives without the evidence of that revolution in our own lives usually does more harm than good. But thank God that it is Jesus that does it in us and through us. It's His power at work in us. Our part is to completely surrender to His will while giving up our own so that His power will rest on us (2 Corinthians 12:9) and work through us to accomplish everything that the Lord has prepared for us to do through our faith in Him.

Don't waste time by failing to allow Jesus to have a full takeover of your life. Live the life that is truly life by living worthy of the call that Jesus has placed on you. It will bring honor to Him and to you and you will be a shining light for the Gospel for all to see.

Pastor Joey Vazquez