Saturday, April 27: “Earnestly Seeking Excellence”

1 Thessalonians 4: 1:“We request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.”

As seen Wednesday, the desire to please the Lord is not a character weakness; it is a sign of a strong spirit. In fact, St. Paul not only encourages this earnest desire in the Thessalonians, he exhorts them to excel in it. As he would later say to the Colossians,“Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the Name of the Lord.”(Colossians 3: 17)Whatever you do or say, make sure it’s pleasing to the Lord, and that desire will bear the fruit of excellence.