Day: June 26, 2021

Faithfulness to the Lord (Jun 26)

Paul has many pleasant memories
of the days he spent with the
infant Thessalonian church. Their
faith, hope, love & perseverance
in the face of persecution are
exemplary and Paul’s labours
as a spiritual parent to the fledging
church have been richly rewarded.
His tender affection is visible as
he encourages the Thessalonians
to excel in their faith, increase
in their love, and rejoice always
as they await the Return of the Lord

Dear Lord, we are inspired by the
faithfulness of the Thessalonians
even in the midst of persecution.
Help us to remain Faithful and
live in the expectation that
Christ will return at any time
and we will be with Him forever.
Grant us a Prayerful Spirit.
Grant us Your Word to work in us.
Grant us Abound In Love. Amen.

Lord, grant us a prayerful spirit:
We always thank God for all of
you and pray for you constantly.
We remember before our God
and Father your work produced
by faith, your labour prompted
by love, and your endurance
inspired by hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ (1Thess 1:2-3).
Lord, I thank You for the gift of
direct access to You in prayer
and for my loved ones & friends.
Bless them Lord, draw them
into closer relationship with You.
Help me be faithful to pray for them
constantly as long as I have breath.
Lord, real faith is demonstrated
by seeking after You. Give me
a sincere heart and a faith that
pursues You; for living for You
is the great hope of my soul. Amen.

Lord, let Your Word Work in us:
We never stop thanking God when
we receive His message from us,
you didn’t think of our words
as mere human ideas. You adopted
what we said as the very word
of God which of course; it is.
And this word continues to work
in you who believe (1Thess 2:13).
Lord, it’s Your Word that is needed
most in any situation, for Your Word
has the power to bring about
good as well as lasting change.
Lord, You know how to express
Yourself thru flawed human beings;
Fill us O Lord with Your Spirit
to speak forth Your Word of truth.
Help me see Your mind and heart in
anyone who speak Your word. Amen

Lord, abound us in love & devotion:
(Paul wrote): Night and day
praying exceedingly that
we may see your face and perfect
what is lacking in your faith…
And may the Lord make you
increase and abound in love
to one another… so that He may
establish your hearts blameless
in holiness (1 Thess 3:10-13).
Lord, grant that our hearts may
be so brought under the influence
of these divine truths that we will
yield ourselves in devotion to Christ.
May our longing to satisfy the
heart of God be the chief aim
of our lives. Lord Jesus breathe
Your Spirit into our hearts
for Your name’s sake. Amen.

Confident Hope In Christ

We start the Gospels, with
Matthew who presents Jesus as
the Christ, Israel’s messianic King.
Mark presents Jesus as the Servant
who gave his life for mankind.
Luke presents Him as the perfect
Son of Man saving the lost.
And John presents Jesus as
Son of God offering eternal life.
We have also covered Acts which
chronicles Growth of the church.

Turning to the Pauline epistles:
In Romans, Paul gives a sample of his
message before he arrives in Rome.
And First and Second Corinthians,
Living for Christ in corrupt society.
In Galatians, Paul calls Christians
to faith and freedom in Christ.
In Ephesians, Paul strengthens
the believers in their faith by
explaining the purpose of the church.
In Philippians, strengthens believers
by showing that true joy comes
from Jesus Christ alone. And in
Colossians, Paul shows believers
have everything they need in Christ.

And Paul writes 1 Thessalonians
to encourage them. They were
being persecuted and he urges
them to persevere. Their city is
full of sensual temptation and
he exhorts them to hold to
Christian standards. Finally he
corrects some misunderstanding
about the return of Christ.

As the believers face growing
persecution, Paul writes 2 Thess to
encourage them God’s judgment
will eventually bring about justice.
He dispels the rumour that the
Day of the Lord has already come.
They had concluded they were living in the tribulation and quit their jobs.
Paul exhorts them to return to work
& stop burdening the body of Christ.
Instead they are to use the time
they have and not be weary in
well doing before Christ returns.

We will cover the two letters
to the Thessalonians in two weekends over four sessions:
1Ths 1-3: Faithfulness to the Lord
1Ths 4-5: Watchfulness for the Lord
2Ths 1-2: Hope in Christ’s Return
2Ths 3: Living in Light of His Return
Lord as we meditate, help us
be strengthened in our faith,
be remain faithful to the Lord;
be Prepared for Your Return.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.