November 8, 2023
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in 2 Thessalonians? Here’s today’s reading:
2 Thessalonians 1 (NIV)
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.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.….Continue Reading
I went to a soccer game last night for my daughter and it was a big win taking them to the finals for state champions. While walking to my car I saw a girl from the team sobbing and yelling, confused about this reaction after winning, I found out she was unhappy with the amount of playing time she received during the game. Certainly this behavior was over the top but as I read this chapter it made me think about how people see our reactions to things and in particular to our trials.
Is this what we look like in front of people? So focused on the negative that we fall apart and forget all we have to be grateful for. Do we crumble in the face of personal adversity forgetting about the greater good. When we are refined through fire God’s work is being done and it is our job to show God work even through our trials by remaining faithful, by remembering all we still have and acknowledging He is still with us, and by allowing the situation to change us and possibly even change those watching us!
(11) To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, (12) so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I love these two last verses…Paul indicates that he and Timothy ALWAYS pray for the believers in the church at Thessalonica. This is a reminder to me that I should be vigilant to keep others always in my prayers…which can seem daunting and make my prayer time seem increasingly long…but that is how God would desire it, and the more I draw near to God, the more He draws near to me!
I love how Paul indicates that it is GOD who makes us worthy of His calling. We know there is nothing in us that is worthy of God’s love, much less the atoning sacrifice of Christ for us on the Cross! But God! That is why we work out our salvation with fear and trembling…for it is GOD who works in us, both to WILL (resolve) and to WORK for His good pleasure. Paul links his letter to the Philippians here with his letter to the Thessalonians, almost echoing his exhoration in Phil 2:12-13.
“So that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” When we experience the power of God working within us, both to will and to work for His good pleasure, we experience an intimacy that only God can give. How great and loving is our God? That the one who spins things in orbit would condescend to enter into intimate fellowship with us? That God would invite us into His very being through fellowship and indwelling of His Holy Spirit within us…this is incredible!
Indeed, as Peter says in 2 Peter 1:3-4 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, (4) by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
The reality that God has made promises to me and every believer that allow us to become partakers of the divine nature…that is absolutely incredible. God’s will for us is our sanctification…we saw that in 1 Thess Chapter 4. But He does not call us to something that He does not equip us for! 1 Cor 10:13 makes it clear…He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can endure, and in temptation He will always provide a Path of Escape, so that we may endure it! So much of our life with Christ comes down to what we really want. If we want God…we shall have Him, abundantly!!
Imagine that Sean! Amen! What a great expression of His grace towards us!
II Thess 1. If I understand this correctly, the Thessalonians were dedicated evangelists after Paul left, verses 7 & 8. The Word of God spread wide after they received the truth. Great testimony! -gy
2 Thessalonians 1
Isn’t it interesting to see the similarities and differences that existed amongst the churches that Paul founded. Here he praises them, like he does others, for their perseverance in trial and maintaining faith and good conduct in the midst of it. But then he relates it to the coming of Jesus which this church was interested in and what Paul brought up in his first letter. Jesus at one point will come to judge the world and by virtue of that will affirm that those who believed and followed Him were right and the ones who didn’t were wrong. When we are living our lives it can seem just the opposite. We seem to be the fools or the ones discredited for what we believe, and yet the reality is those who believe in Jesus and let that faith condition their lives are the most right and have aligned themselves with the truth of the universe. We are truly the woke ones who see and understand the reality of God and His truth! There will be no question about what is right when Jesus is revealed and we will be glad at that point that we believed and stood for the truth. So let’s be glad about that knowledge now and grow in confidence in the truth that Jesus and the apostles have taught us, believing and following those things rather than the deception in the world. May we be counted worthy of His calling and have all the purposes He has for us fulfilled in and through us!
2 Thessalonians 1
Paul is thankful for the believers that they are growing in their faith and is also praying for them. He also encouraged them that their enemies will be dwelt with in due time by God. Whether now or when Christ comes back in the Second Coming. Christ on returning will come as the Powerful Almighty God to conquer and destroy those that would oppose Him and would attack Israel. Verses 7-9 May we ever be looking for His return as we live for Him.
11 ¶ Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,
I thank God for you, brothers and sisters, because you have a strong faith, and your love radiates through your words and actions. I pray that God may continue to make you his instrument of peace and that he would bless you abundantly for all the righteousness and goodness that is produced by your faith in Jesus.