DEVOTION
2 THESSALONIANS
PERSEVERANCE AND FAITH
2 Thess 1:4
4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
NIV
Although I really am not enduring much in the way of persecution and trials I wonder if anyone can boast about my perseverance and faith. Yet, at times I do think I have been thought of by some of my acquaintances, especially the liberal ones, as being foolish to believe as I do. To actually believe the Bible was inspired by God is really a fools thought to them. Then to believe Jesus actually rose from the dead and ascended into heaven physically is just way to naïve on my part. I think I even get a little persecution from the body of believers. When I fail, or fall short, I am told so, and reminded that I come across as being so spiritual, or that I do daily devotions and yet I am not perfect. So I suppose in some sense that is a form of persecution. I also think I have over the years gone through times I could count as a trial or pressures on my life. There have been times of very difficult situations when it may have been easy to just give up. So I guess I could say I have had the perseverance, the patience to wade through all of those things and continue to hold fast to my faith in God and in my salvation through Jesus Christ. I am not sure how many people even know about those events in my life in order to boast about how I have held on and continued to trust God no matter what the circumstances I found myself in. I surely know not a single one of those non believers could ever convince me I was foolish in my faith. But those trails, those moments which exerted pressure on me, those times were hard to believe God was in charge. I have had dry times, when I felt God was so far away. My mind said just continue to go through the motions, don’t quit, don’t give in or up, keep going and as sure as God is God, he was able to break through my dryness and encourage me on. I don’t know what I would do without him. So why do others not boast about my perseverance and faith? Are they jealous? Do they think they have more faith or are better than me? Are they just as troubled as I am? Are they going through the same or more trials and persecutions as I have and am? I suppose I should be boasting about their perseverance and faith.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
More and More
DEVOTION
2 THESSALONIANS
MORE AND MORE
2 Thess 1:3
3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
NIV
More and more are the key words here that speak directly to the heart of the issue of faith. It is not just good enough to have faith. It would seem it may not even be good enough to that my faith grows. I think this verse speaks to the issue of my faith growing even above an ordinary degree. That is the question which I must search my heart each and every day. Is my faith growing above an ordinary degree? Does my conviction in that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ grow above an ordinary degree each day of my life? Does my faith grow exceedingly more regarding Christ being the Messiah and through him I have obtained eternal life in the kingdom of God? These are facts I certainly believe and profess but that may not be enough. I think I am supposed to increase in my convictions of these truths. How do I do that? I wonder if trusting him more and trusting me less would qualify. I wonder when I start thinking about how I can do something I am decreasing in my faith rather than increasing. Is there anything I can do? Yes, I can increase in my faith in God. I can increase in my trust in him for all things in my life. I know I can never qualify myself for entrance into the Kingdom of God. I can never be perfect in word, thought or deed which I believe is needed if anyone thinks they have the ability to gain entrance on their own. But nothing counts except Jesus. My faith in that must grow and grow exceedingly above ordinary growth. My faith cannot simply plateau or get into a routine or rut. It cannot stay the same, in fact, if it is not growing; it is stagnant being dull and sluggish and may even smell like in the case of stagnant water. No, I must be on the more, growing more and more, ever increasing in my faith, my trust, my belief in God. I must do that even in the face of opposite, even opposite from the family of God. Attacks on my imperfection, attacks on my failures, and attacks on my seemingly arrogant attitude regarding spiritual matters must all be ignored. If I were to allow those things to sink in, it would have an adverse effect on my faith. No, I believe God more than anyone. I believe God desires that of me. I believe I must continue to grow in my trust of him for every aspect of my life, more and more.
2 THESSALONIANS
MORE AND MORE
2 Thess 1:3
3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
NIV
More and more are the key words here that speak directly to the heart of the issue of faith. It is not just good enough to have faith. It would seem it may not even be good enough to that my faith grows. I think this verse speaks to the issue of my faith growing even above an ordinary degree. That is the question which I must search my heart each and every day. Is my faith growing above an ordinary degree? Does my conviction in that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ grow above an ordinary degree each day of my life? Does my faith grow exceedingly more regarding Christ being the Messiah and through him I have obtained eternal life in the kingdom of God? These are facts I certainly believe and profess but that may not be enough. I think I am supposed to increase in my convictions of these truths. How do I do that? I wonder if trusting him more and trusting me less would qualify. I wonder when I start thinking about how I can do something I am decreasing in my faith rather than increasing. Is there anything I can do? Yes, I can increase in my faith in God. I can increase in my trust in him for all things in my life. I know I can never qualify myself for entrance into the Kingdom of God. I can never be perfect in word, thought or deed which I believe is needed if anyone thinks they have the ability to gain entrance on their own. But nothing counts except Jesus. My faith in that must grow and grow exceedingly above ordinary growth. My faith cannot simply plateau or get into a routine or rut. It cannot stay the same, in fact, if it is not growing; it is stagnant being dull and sluggish and may even smell like in the case of stagnant water. No, I must be on the more, growing more and more, ever increasing in my faith, my trust, my belief in God. I must do that even in the face of opposite, even opposite from the family of God. Attacks on my imperfection, attacks on my failures, and attacks on my seemingly arrogant attitude regarding spiritual matters must all be ignored. If I were to allow those things to sink in, it would have an adverse effect on my faith. No, I believe God more than anyone. I believe God desires that of me. I believe I must continue to grow in my trust of him for every aspect of my life, more and more.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Where Are They?
DEVOTION
2 THESSALONIANS
WHERE ARE THEY?
2 Thess 1:1-2
1:1 Paul, Silas and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
NIV
So how do I deal with a salutation? Of what importance is it to me knowing that three men conspired to write this letter under the influence of the Holy Spirit? Wait that is just it, three men united their hearts and spirits to agree with the Holy Spirit regarding what they were to say to those believers who read this letter. I think that in itself is a great accomplishment. I know God has told his followers that whenever two or three are gathered in his name, he would be in the midst of them. As well as if those two or three agree on anything they ask for it will be done for them. So here are the three and they are asking God the Father to bestow grace and peace upon those readers in the church of the Thessalonians. Of Course I have to accept this for my own personal being as well, for I am also a reader of this letter which God has seen fit to include in his accumulated sayings for all his church. So knowing that he surely answered that prayer of those three who agreed, I have his grace, his divine influence on my heart, and his peace, my oneness with him. That is an awesome thought and feeling to know I am so connected with God, not because of me, but because of him. Now, there is also the point here that I also should be both in agreement with other believers and gathering with them so as to experience his presence in the midst of us. I think all too often this agreement thing is set aside because of doctrines and disagreements over the interpretation of what God said. When that happens I do not think God is in the midst. I think that excludes him completely. Oh sure we gather, but really we don’t agree. Even when two of three of us get together to pray for someone, I think it is possible some really don’t expect God to heal, they might believe he could, but question of he would. Am I at fault in not agreeing with those who interpret the word different them I do? Should I be agreeing with them so God could be there? I am not sure about that. Maybe they should be agreeing with me. See how divisive this becomes. I do think we do need to find those things we can agree on, but that requires open discussions without debate filled with stubbornness. I am not sure I am capable of such kind of thing. I am so solid in how I see the scriptures; in fact, I cannot understand how some could see any
2 THESSALONIANS
WHERE ARE THEY?
2 Thess 1:1-2
1:1 Paul, Silas and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
NIV
So how do I deal with a salutation? Of what importance is it to me knowing that three men conspired to write this letter under the influence of the Holy Spirit? Wait that is just it, three men united their hearts and spirits to agree with the Holy Spirit regarding what they were to say to those believers who read this letter. I think that in itself is a great accomplishment. I know God has told his followers that whenever two or three are gathered in his name, he would be in the midst of them. As well as if those two or three agree on anything they ask for it will be done for them. So here are the three and they are asking God the Father to bestow grace and peace upon those readers in the church of the Thessalonians. Of Course I have to accept this for my own personal being as well, for I am also a reader of this letter which God has seen fit to include in his accumulated sayings for all his church. So knowing that he surely answered that prayer of those three who agreed, I have his grace, his divine influence on my heart, and his peace, my oneness with him. That is an awesome thought and feeling to know I am so connected with God, not because of me, but because of him. Now, there is also the point here that I also should be both in agreement with other believers and gathering with them so as to experience his presence in the midst of us. I think all too often this agreement thing is set aside because of doctrines and disagreements over the interpretation of what God said. When that happens I do not think God is in the midst. I think that excludes him completely. Oh sure we gather, but really we don’t agree. Even when two of three of us get together to pray for someone, I think it is possible some really don’t expect God to heal, they might believe he could, but question of he would. Am I at fault in not agreeing with those who interpret the word different them I do? Should I be agreeing with them so God could be there? I am not sure about that. Maybe they should be agreeing with me. See how divisive this becomes. I do think we do need to find those things we can agree on, but that requires open discussions without debate filled with stubbornness. I am not sure I am capable of such kind of thing. I am so solid in how I see the scriptures; in fact, I cannot understand how some could see any
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Engaged
DEVOTION
1 THESSALONIANS
ENGAGED
1 Thess 5:25-28
25 Brothers, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
NIV
The end of the letter sees valediction, the closing thought as it were, the sincerely yours. But here it includes so much more. The Lord is not finished with instruction. It apparently is important for me to pray for others and to greet others with a holy kiss. I think the whole of that idea is based on the simple fact I do not stand alone. I am a part of a community in which I am required to participate. I cannot be idle or just be a bystander; I must be engaged within the community I live in. Now that is the of course the community of believers, the local church. I surely would not go around greeting all my physical neighbors with a holy kiss, heaven rebid! Now I suppose it would be appropriate to pray for my neighbors in that the Holy Spirit would speak to their hearts about repentance and acceptance of Jesus. But my prayers for my fellow believers, those in my community of faith are a different matter. How am I to pray for them? What should the focus of my prayers be? Should I pray for their health or for their success in their endeavors of life? Should I just pray that God would bless them? Should I pray for their spiritual growth? Remember who I am praying to should have some bearing on what I am praying for. I think perhaps my prayer should be more alone the lines of asking God to simply have his way with them. Although I do think it would be alright to ask him to bless them, to guide them, to protect them, to use them for the benefit of his kingdom, to keep his hand upon them and thoughts like that. I think again the point is that I should be focused them and their relationship with God. That focus would then be physically demonstrated by my greeting them with a holy kiss, rather than a wave across the foyer. Or maybe then that passing “how ya doing” as I travel down the hall to class, or even just the handshake in greetings during the service. How worldly have our greetings become? How polite. Now care surely is needed in greeting the women of the church. I can’t just go around kissing them all, can I? So then what is a holy kiss? A pure, morally blameless kiss would be describing it I think. So then pure in thought and pure in deed would be alright. But keeping to the basics, I must be engaged with my fellow believers, that is it in a nutshell. And I will surely accept the influence upon my heart, his grace being with me. Amen.
1 THESSALONIANS
ENGAGED
1 Thess 5:25-28
25 Brothers, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
NIV
The end of the letter sees valediction, the closing thought as it were, the sincerely yours. But here it includes so much more. The Lord is not finished with instruction. It apparently is important for me to pray for others and to greet others with a holy kiss. I think the whole of that idea is based on the simple fact I do not stand alone. I am a part of a community in which I am required to participate. I cannot be idle or just be a bystander; I must be engaged within the community I live in. Now that is the of course the community of believers, the local church. I surely would not go around greeting all my physical neighbors with a holy kiss, heaven rebid! Now I suppose it would be appropriate to pray for my neighbors in that the Holy Spirit would speak to their hearts about repentance and acceptance of Jesus. But my prayers for my fellow believers, those in my community of faith are a different matter. How am I to pray for them? What should the focus of my prayers be? Should I pray for their health or for their success in their endeavors of life? Should I just pray that God would bless them? Should I pray for their spiritual growth? Remember who I am praying to should have some bearing on what I am praying for. I think perhaps my prayer should be more alone the lines of asking God to simply have his way with them. Although I do think it would be alright to ask him to bless them, to guide them, to protect them, to use them for the benefit of his kingdom, to keep his hand upon them and thoughts like that. I think again the point is that I should be focused them and their relationship with God. That focus would then be physically demonstrated by my greeting them with a holy kiss, rather than a wave across the foyer. Or maybe then that passing “how ya doing” as I travel down the hall to class, or even just the handshake in greetings during the service. How worldly have our greetings become? How polite. Now care surely is needed in greeting the women of the church. I can’t just go around kissing them all, can I? So then what is a holy kiss? A pure, morally blameless kiss would be describing it I think. So then pure in thought and pure in deed would be alright. But keeping to the basics, I must be engaged with my fellow believers, that is it in a nutshell. And I will surely accept the influence upon my heart, his grace being with me. Amen.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
By God
DEVOTION
1 THESSALONIANS
BY GOD
1 Thess 5:23-24
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.
NIV
There it is right up front and personal like. I cannot do it, I could never do it, I will never be able to do it, no matter how hard I try, no matter how diligent I am or become, I cannot make myself holy. It is only God himself who will sanctify or make my holy through and through or absolutely perfect. Does that mean I should not even try? How can I? I do not have to power to make myself perfectly holy. I can make every effort to live a clean upright life, keeping myself the best I can from failing or falling to some temptation, but it won’t work all the time, perfectly. I can make every effort to be righteous but that is all it is going to be, an effort, and then one that will fall short. So I am left with the simple truth that it is God and God alone who make me perfectly holy. He completes it with absolute perfection. He does that work in my spirit, my soul, and my body. He makes that part of me which will depart my body when I die, my spirit, who I really am holy and pure and blameless because of Jesus Christ, not because of what I do. Well it is because I accepted that provision he make on the cross, but that is all I could ever do to be holy in his sight. He makes my soul, or that part of me I represent to all others, my personality, my mind holy and acceptable to him. I cannot do that, I cannot make my mind, my thoughts, my conscience self holy and acceptable to him except through the cross of Christ. And my body, the whole of me, I cannot separate that part from the rest of me. I think at one time there were those who taught that. But God tell me he will also make my physical part holy and acceptable to him. All that I am, or will ever be is completely in the hands of God. And even I am not faithful in living an absolutely holy and perfect life; he is faithful in making me absolutely holy and perfect to him. That is an awesome thought. As imperfect as I am to me, he sees me as perfect because he sees me through the blood of Christ. I have been washed in the blood, and make white as snow, by God.
1 THESSALONIANS
BY GOD
1 Thess 5:23-24
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.
NIV
There it is right up front and personal like. I cannot do it, I could never do it, I will never be able to do it, no matter how hard I try, no matter how diligent I am or become, I cannot make myself holy. It is only God himself who will sanctify or make my holy through and through or absolutely perfect. Does that mean I should not even try? How can I? I do not have to power to make myself perfectly holy. I can make every effort to live a clean upright life, keeping myself the best I can from failing or falling to some temptation, but it won’t work all the time, perfectly. I can make every effort to be righteous but that is all it is going to be, an effort, and then one that will fall short. So I am left with the simple truth that it is God and God alone who make me perfectly holy. He completes it with absolute perfection. He does that work in my spirit, my soul, and my body. He makes that part of me which will depart my body when I die, my spirit, who I really am holy and pure and blameless because of Jesus Christ, not because of what I do. Well it is because I accepted that provision he make on the cross, but that is all I could ever do to be holy in his sight. He makes my soul, or that part of me I represent to all others, my personality, my mind holy and acceptable to him. I cannot do that, I cannot make my mind, my thoughts, my conscience self holy and acceptable to him except through the cross of Christ. And my body, the whole of me, I cannot separate that part from the rest of me. I think at one time there were those who taught that. But God tell me he will also make my physical part holy and acceptable to him. All that I am, or will ever be is completely in the hands of God. And even I am not faithful in living an absolutely holy and perfect life; he is faithful in making me absolutely holy and perfect to him. That is an awesome thought. As imperfect as I am to me, he sees me as perfect because he sees me through the blood of Christ. I have been washed in the blood, and make white as snow, by God.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Every
DEVOTION
1 THESSALONIANS
EVERY
1 Thess 5:22
22 Avoid every kind of evil.
NIV
Another zinner, short and to the point. I had to check out the Greek to make sure I was not thinking in terms of what I have heard other men teach on this verse. They have used this verse for that teaching I think is based on the original Greek word here also used in the Gospel of John for the appearance of God or the form of God. But that is the exact case here, to abstain from every form of evil, not the appearance of it, but every kind, every form, every type of evil. What good would it be if I were to engage in evil as long as I did not appear to? That is if I did evil in the private away from the watchful eyes of other believers. No, I think this means to abstain from it, not just avoid it or the appearance of it, not just go around it but keep away from it. The question of course I have to ask myself is if I spend any time defining for myself exactly what is evil and what is not. Do I look for the line and see how close I can get to it without actually crossing over to the wrong side? Evil is always there tempting me to get closer and closer. That is how I could view this verse but if I connect it with the whole of holding onto that which is good and avoiding that which is bad, then it hands out another meaning. If I test whatever I hear from the mouths of men and gather to myself that which is good and agrees with the word of God, but throw out that bad teaching which does not agree with the word of God than I am complying with this verse. I am avoiding every kind of bad theology, bad doctrine, bad teaching, for I have tested it against the word. Now should I avoid evil, of course, but keeping this in context the evil is those bad men using the word for their own gain, their own evil purposes of exerting power and authority over others. They lift themselves up as someone special striving to gather as large a crowd of followers as possible as a goal. This to me is as evil as it gets, to use God for one’s own selfish ambitions. Yet I am also to test everything as to its good or evil in the sense of behaviors and attitudes of my heart. I am to hold onto the goodness which God brings into my being and throw off the bad, or evil which fights to cling to my heart. Either way it is a battle. I cannot listen to the bad teaching of those who are evil and I cannot allow evil to penetrate or dominate my being. Knowing the word of God gives me the opportunity to distinguish between what is good and what is bad. I think the key word in this verse is every.
1 THESSALONIANS
EVERY
1 Thess 5:22
22 Avoid every kind of evil.
NIV
Another zinner, short and to the point. I had to check out the Greek to make sure I was not thinking in terms of what I have heard other men teach on this verse. They have used this verse for that teaching I think is based on the original Greek word here also used in the Gospel of John for the appearance of God or the form of God. But that is the exact case here, to abstain from every form of evil, not the appearance of it, but every kind, every form, every type of evil. What good would it be if I were to engage in evil as long as I did not appear to? That is if I did evil in the private away from the watchful eyes of other believers. No, I think this means to abstain from it, not just avoid it or the appearance of it, not just go around it but keep away from it. The question of course I have to ask myself is if I spend any time defining for myself exactly what is evil and what is not. Do I look for the line and see how close I can get to it without actually crossing over to the wrong side? Evil is always there tempting me to get closer and closer. That is how I could view this verse but if I connect it with the whole of holding onto that which is good and avoiding that which is bad, then it hands out another meaning. If I test whatever I hear from the mouths of men and gather to myself that which is good and agrees with the word of God, but throw out that bad teaching which does not agree with the word of God than I am complying with this verse. I am avoiding every kind of bad theology, bad doctrine, bad teaching, for I have tested it against the word. Now should I avoid evil, of course, but keeping this in context the evil is those bad men using the word for their own gain, their own evil purposes of exerting power and authority over others. They lift themselves up as someone special striving to gather as large a crowd of followers as possible as a goal. This to me is as evil as it gets, to use God for one’s own selfish ambitions. Yet I am also to test everything as to its good or evil in the sense of behaviors and attitudes of my heart. I am to hold onto the goodness which God brings into my being and throw off the bad, or evil which fights to cling to my heart. Either way it is a battle. I cannot listen to the bad teaching of those who are evil and I cannot allow evil to penetrate or dominate my being. Knowing the word of God gives me the opportunity to distinguish between what is good and what is bad. I think the key word in this verse is every.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Testing 1,2,3 Testing
DEVOTION
1 THESSALONIANS
TESTING 1,2,3 TESTING
1 Thess 5:21
21 Test everything. Hold on to the good.
NIV
Another one of those little gems, small but mighty is this verse. How am I to test everything? I know I am supposed to as instructed here, but how? I am to examine, to scrutinize, to recognize what is genuine after my examination, to deem what is worthy. Let me see, that would be only one thing, the word of God. Everything I hear from the mouth of any person must be tested against the word of God. Especially when someone is speaking about religious or spiritual matters I have to test their words against God’s words. I have to doubt there must have been men of that time who were using spiritual ideas for their own gain. I know that surely exists today, I only have to turn on the television to one of those religious channels to watch them in action. Right, I know some or good people and doing the right thing. But some are not and that is why I am to test everything. Even when it comes to my own pastor, I am responsibility to test what he says. I am not supposed to blindly follow any mans teaching. I am responsibility for knowing the word of God for myself and to follow it and it alone. This is why God has given out the gift of discerning of spirits as one of his gifts to his church. To be able to discern in the spirit the falseness in teaching, preaching, and the writings of men is required. I think all too often it is easy to be deceived by some charismatic personality if the discerning of spirits is ignored. I also must be careful to rightly divide the word of God, not only for myself, but when I am given the opportunity to preach, teach and write. I must hold on to the good within the scriptures and let go of the bad that is within the world. How does this test up? Is this what God really means? That sure sounds like I have spiritual pride. But that is exactly what God tells me to do, to test everything.
1 THESSALONIANS
TESTING 1,2,3 TESTING
1 Thess 5:21
21 Test everything. Hold on to the good.
NIV
Another one of those little gems, small but mighty is this verse. How am I to test everything? I know I am supposed to as instructed here, but how? I am to examine, to scrutinize, to recognize what is genuine after my examination, to deem what is worthy. Let me see, that would be only one thing, the word of God. Everything I hear from the mouth of any person must be tested against the word of God. Especially when someone is speaking about religious or spiritual matters I have to test their words against God’s words. I have to doubt there must have been men of that time who were using spiritual ideas for their own gain. I know that surely exists today, I only have to turn on the television to one of those religious channels to watch them in action. Right, I know some or good people and doing the right thing. But some are not and that is why I am to test everything. Even when it comes to my own pastor, I am responsibility to test what he says. I am not supposed to blindly follow any mans teaching. I am responsibility for knowing the word of God for myself and to follow it and it alone. This is why God has given out the gift of discerning of spirits as one of his gifts to his church. To be able to discern in the spirit the falseness in teaching, preaching, and the writings of men is required. I think all too often it is easy to be deceived by some charismatic personality if the discerning of spirits is ignored. I also must be careful to rightly divide the word of God, not only for myself, but when I am given the opportunity to preach, teach and write. I must hold on to the good within the scriptures and let go of the bad that is within the world. How does this test up? Is this what God really means? That sure sounds like I have spiritual pride. But that is exactly what God tells me to do, to test everything.
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