Hello:
We are more than half way from completing the reading of the New Testament. I encourage you not to give up, there is great benefit in knowing the word of God.
The follwing is an Outline of the book of 1 Thessalonians.
I - An examplaary Church, 1:1-10
II - A model Minister, 2:1-20
III - Holy Life, 3:1-4:12
IV - The Coming of Christ and the Day of the Lord, 4:13-5:28
Hello:
Book of Ephesians Challenge – Day 13 – 1 Thessalonians 1 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 For we know, brothers and sisters[b] loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. (1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 1:2-5 )
There are many definitions for the word power in the dictionary. However, I think that every time we see the word power used in reference to a church or a Christian, the most appropriate definition is the one from Physics. Power is the rate of doing work. The equation can be written: P=W/t.
The last promise of Jesus to his disciples before going back to heaven was power. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We get power in order to do work. An nou travay pou le Segne avan soley la couche. That was the kind of power manifested by the church of the Thessalonians.
We need to pray for the manifestation of the power of God in our church. Apostles Pau was very happy because the gospel that he preached was not simply with words but also with power. That power allowed the church to do much work produced by their faith and by their love for the Lord Jesus. We all can be used by God, we all should earnestly desire to be used by God.
May the Lord richly bless you?
Hello:
Book of 1 Thessalonians Challenge – Day 14– 1 Thessalonians 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:7-12)
The title of Apostle of Love goes to John, I think that the title should also be shared by Paul. Maybe Paul’s love is a different kind of love. After all, he tells us how every Pastor, every Priest, every church leader should love their church. “Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you the gospel of God but our lives as well (vv. 8-9).”
One of the tests of love is the test of forgiveness. Why are we able to forgive our children so easily, day after day? Because we love them. Why is God able to forgive us after we have sinned against him so many times? Simply because he loves us and cares about us. He is our Father in heaven.
Paul loved the church of Thessalonians with the love of a mother which is basically nurturing. He also loved them with the love of a father which demands instruction and discipline. This completeness of love is very important in the family environment for the development of well-adjusted children. Love is the answer to all our difficulties.
May the Lord richly bless you?
Hello:
Book of 1 Thessalonians Challenge – Day 15– 1 Thessalonians 3 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13)
The number one skill that someone can develop in his lifetime is the skill of thinking about God. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you (Isa. 26:3).” Keeping our minds on God, reading his word, praying his word, will keep us out of all of our difficulties. No matter what they can be, spiritual, physical, mental etc.., thinking about God will keep us out of those difficulties. Because he is God and Father.
“Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you (v. 11).” Paul always reminds us that God is our Father. Why do we need this constant reminder? It is so since God being our Father is a difficult truth to grasp and to accept. Have you ever asked yourself if God is really “our Father”? That means your father, his father, their father, father all of us, making of all of us a bunch of brothers and sisters.
Mostly likely our next question is: Does God really care? Fortunately, the Bible gives us the answer to most of our questions about God. The Holy Spirit, our teacher par excellence who is always present to guide us, provides us the added insight to perfect our spiritual understanding. Because God is love, he desires that his most cherish dwelling place, the heart of men, be filled with love. We must pray for Love. With Love we will do mighty things.
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. (1 Thessalonians 3:12)
May the Lord richly bless you?
Hello:
Book of 1 Thessalonians Challenge – Day 16 – 1 Thessalonians 4 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
The national tragedy of last week can bring back very painful memories to those of us who have recently lost a loved one. However, we need to be careful so as not to go back to a long period of grieving or worst fall into depression. As believers in the Christ, we are commanded to grieve differently as non-believers do. We grieve with hope, the hope of the resurrection.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:1 we read, “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope (v. 13). Apostle Paul went to explain why we should not be grieving like the world. It is because of the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
We need to remember that God is in control of our lives. In the Old Testament God set a length of time for the period of mourning. The people mourned for Aaron for 30 days (Deuteronomy 20:29), and they wept the same amount of days, thirty days, for Moses (Deuteronomy 34:8). In Haiti after the grieving period people burned their grieving clothes, a way to say, “We are done with the grief.” They go on with the business of living. Life continue!
May the Lord richly bless you?
Hello:
Book of 1 Thessalonians Challenge – Day 17 – 1 Thessalonians 5 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24)
It doesn’t seem humanly possible “to rejoice always, to pray continually, and to give thanks in all circumstances (v. 16).” With only our human determination, we won’t be able to complete this task. However difficult it may be, the task of “on-going rejoicing, of continuously prayer and total gratitude must be completed by every child of God.” The Bible explicitly says, “This is God’s will for you in Christ.”
The Holy Spirit of God wants to express himself fully in our lives. He wants to be manifested in our individual lives and in the church. He manifests himself in his gifts “by a message of wisdom, by a message of knowledge, by extraordinary faith, by gifts of healing, by miraculous powers, by prophecy, by distinguishing between spirits, by speaking in different kinds of tongues, and still by the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12).
The Holy Spirit also manifests himself by his fruit: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5). We need to open ourselves to be used by God. To see his love, his grace and his power shine brightly in our lives. God’s blessings are for the whole individual, spirit, soul, and body. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it (v. 24).
May the Lord richly bless you!