2 Thessalonians 1
Daily Bread 2 Thessalonians 1
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3We 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. 4Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
5All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
Observation:
2 Thessalonians has many of the same themes as 1 Thessalonians, including Paul’s encouragement to them to stay strong in faith and love. And also the reminder that when Jesus returns those who persecute them will receive what they deserve. In fact it says that he boasts about their clinging to their faith in the midst of these trials.
Why is this? Because our faith is proved most clearly when we are going through hard times not good times. As some have said, it is easy to be a Christian when everything is going well. But when things aren’t going well that is when we need to persevere in what we know to be true, even when circumstances aren’t in our favor.
Another thing I picked up is the aspect of being counted worthy of the kingdom of God. Part of God’s calling us as believers is that He knew that we could withstand what comes our way. And of course when things aren’t going well we can hold on to the fact that one day Jesus will return and our labor will not be in vain.
Application:
It seems to be the case that we grow the most in our love, faith and hope is when we go through persecutions and trials. We probably don’t face the kind of persecution the Thessalonians did, but I know as a pastor I am ministering to many who are going through severe trials and testing of their faith.
What I find is that as bad as some of these situations are, there is a depth of faith and love that gets released in the midst of these situations that is unparalleled to anything else. Often these kinds of trials bring us back to what is most important, God, family and friends. Often these trials can re-calibrate and re-focus us to put more time and priority into those things that are most important to us.
I don’t know what you are going through, but I pray like the Thessalonians that your love for each other and your faith and hope might grow in spite of the external things happening in your life. When things seem most unfair remember that one day God will right all wrongs and you will be rewarded for your faith!
Prayer: God thank you for the testimony of the early church, who grew in faith and love despite the persecution and trials from the outside. Help us to grow in faith and love toward you and each other, as we each face various kinds of trials in our lives. Count us worthy of your kingdom and give us your power in Christ to stand up under these trials in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3We 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. 4Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
5All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
Observation:
2 Thessalonians has many of the same themes as 1 Thessalonians, including Paul’s encouragement to them to stay strong in faith and love. And also the reminder that when Jesus returns those who persecute them will receive what they deserve. In fact it says that he boasts about their clinging to their faith in the midst of these trials.
Why is this? Because our faith is proved most clearly when we are going through hard times not good times. As some have said, it is easy to be a Christian when everything is going well. But when things aren’t going well that is when we need to persevere in what we know to be true, even when circumstances aren’t in our favor.
Another thing I picked up is the aspect of being counted worthy of the kingdom of God. Part of God’s calling us as believers is that He knew that we could withstand what comes our way. And of course when things aren’t going well we can hold on to the fact that one day Jesus will return and our labor will not be in vain.
Application:
It seems to be the case that we grow the most in our love, faith and hope is when we go through persecutions and trials. We probably don’t face the kind of persecution the Thessalonians did, but I know as a pastor I am ministering to many who are going through severe trials and testing of their faith.
What I find is that as bad as some of these situations are, there is a depth of faith and love that gets released in the midst of these situations that is unparalleled to anything else. Often these kinds of trials bring us back to what is most important, God, family and friends. Often these trials can re-calibrate and re-focus us to put more time and priority into those things that are most important to us.
I don’t know what you are going through, but I pray like the Thessalonians that your love for each other and your faith and hope might grow in spite of the external things happening in your life. When things seem most unfair remember that one day God will right all wrongs and you will be rewarded for your faith!
Prayer: God thank you for the testimony of the early church, who grew in faith and love despite the persecution and trials from the outside. Help us to grow in faith and love toward you and each other, as we each face various kinds of trials in our lives. Count us worthy of your kingdom and give us your power in Christ to stand up under these trials in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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