Joel M Bradshaw

11Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.–2 Corinthians 13

Paul concludes with five commands and one promise. Wear these as attitudes this Thanksgiving especially as you are with family. Be refreshingly different!

1. REJOICE. This is actively living the fruit of the Spirit, JOY, in your life by how you respond to the situations you find yourself in. Your rejoicing tells God that you celebrate His guidance in your life.
2. RESTORATION. Practice the grace necessary to restore and forgive. See the Gospel transform your relationships by owning what you can own and staying intentional about the right things.
3. COMFORT. Comfort doesn’t mean making excuses for sinful habits or enabling hypocrisy. Comfort seeks the best for another during a difficult season in a manner that glorifies Jesus.
4. AGREE. There are doctrines that should divide and others that shouldn’t. We don’t have to agree regarding the rapture or the various millennium end-times positions. We do have to agree about Jesus and the Gospel.
5. PEACE. Another fruit of the Spirit that should be present! Peace means handling conflict appropriately and seeking restoration biblically. Peace thrives in an environment of confession and repentance. Peace depends upon grace given to the undeserved who own their wrongs and seek forgiveness.
6. PROMISE. And Paul promised that the God of love and peace would be with them. Our God promises peace and His love is the reason any of us is saved (John 3:16).
7. Today especially, model these things as you sit around Thanksgiving tables and have conversations. Again, living the Bible allows you to be refreshingly different!–JMB