CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN - Part Two; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN!  That is the theme of Paul’s First Thessalonian letter.  By anticipating the Second Coming of Jesus into the world, we help to align the world to the kingdom of God.  In some small way, we become signposts or outposts for the kingdom.  Read again from the first chapter of First Thessalonians (NLT):

And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Greece, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don't need to tell them about it, for they themselves keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God.  And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven – Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment. (Verses 8-10)

What do we anticipate when Christ returns?  We anticipate salvation not judgment and destruction. 

But there is also the terror of destruction and judgment for those people not living in faith in Jesus.  What do we do with that?

If we live in such a way that makes us outposts of God’s kingdom, then we will emanate the light of God to the peoples around us.  Through us the Holy Spirit will inspire those that are ripe for the harvest of God’s kingdom.  We do not know who these people are, so we must sow the Word of God liberally.  Let the Spirit convict – not our pathetically limited perceptions!

Come soon, Lord Jesus.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

If Paul’s letter to the Philippians could have a subtitle, it would be REJOICE.  So, what would Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians be subtitled?  I think I would go for the subtitled: CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN. 

Christ’s Second Coming is a theme throughout First Thessalonians.  One does not need to read too far into the text to find that theme.  Read from the beginning of chapter one (NLT):

We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.  As we talk to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Verses 2-3) 

In times of duress, it is good to have something to look forward to.  Paul points the Thessalonians to the return of Christ.  It is a part of Paul’s prayer life, and he encourages the Thessalonians to have it a vibrant part of their prayer life.

How do we anticipate the Second Coming of Christ?  How should we anticipate it?  We observe the institution of the Lord’s Supper or communion or the Eucharist – until Christ comes again.  That is one way that we anticipate Christ’s Second Coming.

Is communion enough, though?  Not nearly!  May we live in a way that bends all of our God-given senses to perceiving the working of the Spirit in God’s kingdom right now.

Come soon, Lord Jesus!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Lord of the Dance; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Faith is a beautiful thing.  There is much poetry in faith.  There is much music and song in faith.  And, yes, there is much dance in faith.  Can’t you see the beauty?  Read from First Thessalonians chapter four (Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):

One final word, friends.  We ask you – urge is more like it – that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance.  You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus.  God wants you to live a pure life.  (Verses 1-3a)

Though our Christian faith walk is a life-long journey, we are not called to a dogged religious plod.  No!  We are called to do a life-giving and spirited dance down that narrow path that God calls us to through Jesus Christ.

Show your affection to God the Creator and to Jesus the Word by the way that you move.  Show your affection to God the Creator and Jesus the Word by the attitude of joyfulness in each step of the life dance.  Focus on the dance that God calls you to and you will find yourself closer and closer to living the pure life.

May this call become more like an urge is our lives.  May it no longer be a chore.  May it be who we are.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

How To Appreciate and Show Love to Spiritual Leaders; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Anyone who has ever been a leader will let you know that sometimes leading can be a thankless task.  It becomes thankless not so much when people forget to thank you but when people are belligerent.  There is nothing like trying to lead a stubborn mulish group of people who cannot get along with you or with each other.

Do you want to thank the spiritual leaders among your church body?  Paul gives us a good way to do just that – thank your spiritual leaders.  Read from First Thessalonians chapter five (Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):

And, now friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience.  Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!

Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part.  Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on.  Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet.  Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.  And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other.  Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.  (Verses 12-15)

Honoring our spiritual leaders must go beyond a special recognition in a worship service – though that is nice as well.  To really show appreciation and love to our ordained and licensed ministers we should be pleasant to lead.

Can’t we just get along?  It seems to be a simple concept, but we often struggle with it.  Sometimes it is a difference of interpretation of Scripture.  Sometimes it is an imbalance in the work load.

Let each of us do our part.  Do not expect the ordained and licensed ministers to carry the entire load.

So encourage the stragglers.  Provide rest for the exhausted.  Help them get to their feet again.  Be attentive to the needs of others.

And, as we live in community, let us be careful not to get on one another’s nerves.  But, if we do, let us try not to snap at one another.

Be on the lookout for the best in everyone, and seek to bring it out.

If we can do these things together, then we can show our spiritual leaders the appreciation and love they so richly deserve.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Unexpectedly; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

You will not find this date on your planner or your calendar or your iPad.  We cannot anticipate the timing of the Second Coming of Christ.  But we do need to be prepared.  Read from First Thessalonians chapter five:

I really don't need to write to you about how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters.  For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.  When people are saying, "All is well; everything is peaceful and secure," then disaster will fall upon them as suddenly as a woman's birth pains begin when her child is about to be born. And there will be no escape. 

But you aren't in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won't be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief.  For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night. 

So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be sober.  Night is the time for sleep and the time when people get drunk.  But let us who live in the light think clearly, protected by the body armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. (Verses 1-8)

Christ will come like a thief in the night.  Do not allow prosperity and good will and good feelings fool you.  None of these are necessarily a sign that the time is not yet ripe.  There is no escaping the Second Coming of Christ Jesus.

Since we cannot put it on our calendars, we need to keep alert and awake.  We cannot sleepwalk through life like so many others.  Sober and clear thought is the key to being ready.

And think about and continually develop your faith and love.  Hold fast to your confidence in our salvation through Christ Jesus.  Then we will be well on the way to being alert and sober for the approaching return of our Savior Jesus.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

To Whom Do You Belong? First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Remember to whom you belong.  It is an important task for all Christians – everyone who follows in the Way of Christ.  Read from First Thessalonians chapter three (NLT):

May God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus make it possible for us to come to you very soon.  And may the Lord make your love grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as our love overflows toward you.  As a result, Christ will make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy when you stand before God our Father on that day when our Lord Jesus comes with all those who belong to him. (Verses 11-13)

We belong to Christ.  Jesus has bought us with a precious price.  We are his.

But Christ calls us into relationship.  We also belong to one another.  Let us seek one another out for fellowship in the everyday course of our lives – both in the mundane and the extraordinary, both in the happiest of times and the gloomiest of times.  We need one another for our love to grow and overflow.

We belong first to Christ and then to one another.  When we remember these two things and act on them, Christ will make our hearts strong and blameless and holy.  Together we will stand well before our Lord.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Trouble? First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Have you been having a bad day… or a bad week or bad month or bad year?  Sometimes, having a bad time in life is not about being punished for wrong doing.  The ways of the world are so upside-down from the Way of God that sometimes we are being punished for doing right.

In fact, Paul warned the people of Thessalonica and others that persecution would follow a person who is determined to walk and live the Way of Christ Jesus.  Read from First Thessalonians chapter three (Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):

Not that the troubles should come as a surprise to you.  You’ve always known that we’re in for this kind of thing.  It’s part of our calling.  When we were with you, we make it quite clear that there was trouble ahead.  And now that it’s happened, you know what it’s like.  That’s why I couldn’t quit worrying; I had to know for myself how you were doing in the faith.  I didn’t want the Tempter getting to you and tearing down everything we had built up together.  (Verses 3b-5)

There’s trouble in Christian living.  We cannot separate the trouble for our calling to walk the walk and talk the talk.  So, what do us comfortable Christians in North America do with this fact?  Our lives often seem the furthest from trouble or persecution.  We read about that kind of stuff in the papers about other places in this world.

Yet, if we do nothing more that speak our mind… attempt to speak the mind of Christ together on the issues of our day, we will reap some definite trouble from many of the people in our society – both non-Christians and Christians alike.  We must no longer be afraid of standing up for our Christian faith. 

Let us stand together.  It is far too easy for the Tempter to divide and conquer if we do not stand together.  Let us walk the walk and talk the talk – regardless of the trouble or persecution that may follow. 

Sometimes, we may feel alone in our stand; but do not be fooled.  We are never alone.  Thank God for that!

Praise the Lord!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Getting It All Together; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Have you got it all together?  In the very rare times when I think I’ve got it all together, I am not so confident where I put it!  I am so glad that having all my ducks in a row is not entirely on my shoulders.  I am not talking about only the immediate here.  I am talking about the eternal.

Read how Paul closes his first letter to the Thessalonians – First Thessalonians chapter five (Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together – spirit, soul, and body – and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ.  The One who called you is completely dependable.  If he said it, he’ll do it!

Friends, keep up your prayers for us.  Greet all the Christians there with a holy embrace.  And make sure this letter gets read to all the brothers and sisters.  Don’t leave anyone out.

The amazing grace of Jesus Christ be with you! (Verses 23-28)   

It is God and God only who makes everything holy and whole.  If you wish to be holy and whole – spirit, body and soul – then you must depend upon God, who is completely dependable. 

If God says it, God does it.  That is a powerful thought, a powerful truth.  The power of God’s speech has no known bounds.  God says it and speaks it into being.  And that breath of life is within us!

Let us pray for that connection between ourselves and the Holy Spirit of the living God.  Pray for other Christians – near or far.  Embrace one another with the love of Christ.  Be at great pains to leave no one out.

We are enabled to do these things through the amazing grace of God through the work of Jesus Christ.  And it is amazing grace.  I don’t know where I would be today without it!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Return to the Wellspring of Life! First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Ever had a day where it is hard to motivate yourself to do anything?  Today is one of those days for me.  When days like these populate our life, we need to go to the wellspring of life. 

There is a way of living that transcends what we know as living our lives to the full.  There is a way of living that transcends life itself – it defeats death.  That, my friends, is the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul speaks of this quality of living in his first letter to the Thessalonians.  Read from chapter five (Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):

God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ.  He died for us, a death that triggered life.  Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him!  So speak encouraging words to one another.  Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind.  I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it. (Verses 9-11)

Christ died so that we can live a life that is abundant.  Find a way to celebrate that abundant life today.  Encourage other Christians to do the same.  Allow other Christians to encourage you.

It takes a team or family effort to keep ourselves motivated in this life – motivated to do things that praise God and uplift people.  Let’s leave no one out in this effort.  We can leave no one behind, because if we do then a part of us is left behind as well.

To live the abundant life that Christ calls us to is also a matter of endurance.  Keep on in the race.  Seek the finish line.  Help others along the way.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Perfect Practice Makes Perfect; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

In the Christian life, there is no room for resting on our laurels.  The Way of Christ is a life-long process, and endless path in this life.  As we follow Christ, we seek or excel at the Way of Christ Jesus more and more.  Read Paul’s words to the Thessalonians from First Thessalonians chapter four (NASB):

Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need. (Verses 9-12)

It is good that we know Christ’s call to us to love one another.  It is good that we seek to practice this choice of love.  But practice must be sustained to create new attitudes and new thoughts and new patterns of behavior.  At no time is there a point in loving others that we have fulfilled our obligations as followers of the Way of Christ.

And, what are some of the ways of choosing to love one another?  Loving others calls us to a quiet life, where we make certain that our own actions and words do not spoil the peace of other people.  Loving others calls us to support not only ourselves but also be willing and able to support those who are vulnerable in our midst.  Then, we can behave properly to outsiders with Christian love. 

Do not forget – our goal in Christian love is not to have anyone in need.

Let us know the Way of the love of Christ.  Let us do it.  Yes, let us do it more and more.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

You're the Message; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Christians, take note!  Sometimes, you are the only Jesus someone knows.  It is a sobering thought.

How well am I representing Christ in my community?  How well am I walking in the Way of Jesus- in obedience to God?  These are important questions to ask of ourselves and of those people who know us best.  Let us seek the answers and hope that we do well in comparison to the church of Thessalonica of Paul’s day.

Read from First Thessalonians chapter one (Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):

Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you?  The word has gotten around.  Your lives are echoing the Master’s Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place.  The news of your faith in God is out.  We don’t even have to say anything anymore – you’re the message!  People come up and tell us how you received us with open arms, how you deserted the dead idols of your old life so you could embrace and serve God, the true God.  They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom. (Verses 8-10)

You’re the message.  Can you believe it?  It can be so when we follow the Way of Jesus, the Way of obedience to the Lord God.

By faith, we need to trust in the return of Christ.  That trust means deserting idols from our former way of life.  Do we have idols today?  Yes, we do.  Don’t try to fool anyone.

Don’t put your faith in your own strength – or the strength of your country or nation.  That strength will fail.  Don’t put you faith in your wealth.  That wealth with disappear by thieves and rust and moths.  Don’t put your faith in having the right knowledge or information.  The only knowledge or information worth knowing is accepting Jesus’ Way as the Way.

If we trust only in Jesus, the ripples of our attitudes and thoughts and actions will cause people to take notice.  We, like the Thessalonians, will be the message because we are living the Message of God’s love in a doom and gloom world.

Sometimes, we are the only Jesus that people know.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Joining the Great Reunion with the Lord; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

In this world, we have grief.  At times, our grief is nearly tangible.

In this world, we have hope – through Jesus Christ.  At times, our hope is nearly tangible.

Both grief and hope are interwoven in our lives.  Together they form a beautiful lattice or lace work.  In times of immense grief, our hope is the holes between the materials of grief.  That may seem depressing, but it’s through the holes that the light of Christ shines through.  The holes become holy, and that becomes a great hope.

In times of great joy, hope becomes more tangible and material.  Then, it’s grief that pokes holes in our hopeful happiness.  That may seem sobering, but it’s through the holes of grief that the light of Christ shines through.  Once again the holes become holy, and our hope expands far beyond what we can possibly grasp.

The Apostle Paul is teaching this principle to the Thessalonian church when he writes in First Thessalonians chapter four.  Some people look at this passage and see only the eschatological framework.  But the primary purpose of this passage is to provide hope to those who have lost loved ones to death.  It is not to provide a detailed itinerary of Christ’s return.  Read it below (NAB):

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 

Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore, console one another with these words.  (Verses 13-18)   

Paul writes about a great reunion in the presence of our Lord.  Won’t that be a happy occasion!  And those who have passed into death have the inside track for this joy.  Why should we begrudge them this opportunity?

Yes, we have this hope because of the fact that Jesus died and rose again.  Death has been defeated.  So, let us live in the Way of Christ Jesus – the Way of the cross, a full obedience to the call of God in our lives.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

True Peace and Security; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Rest, wholeness… and peace – these are things that we all desire.  We treasure them.  We seek them.  But we find it hard to change to attain them.

The wisdom of the world tells us that we already have them – rest, wholeness and peace.  We need only to buy into what the world is selling.  It will cost us more than we have… and we will still feel empty – hungry for more.

Do not be lulled into sleep by the seductive lies of this world.  Remain awake and alert to the only true source of rest, wholeness and peace.  Read from the beginning of First Thessalonians chapter five (ESV):

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.  For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 

But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.  For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.  So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. (Verses 1-6)

Do we listen to the seductive whispers of this world?  There is peace and security for those who buy the right things and befriend the right people.  Peace and security are available to those who believe the deceptions, half-truths and lies of this old world.

People that listen are in denial.  They are asleep.  Their heads are in the sand.  Destruction will take them unawares.

As followers of the Way of Christ, we know better.  We live in the light of Christ.  We are both awake and sober.  We know that the world cannot offer us rest, wholeness and peace.  We only get these things from our heavenly Father.

So, let us approach our Lord together.  Let us wait patiently for God’s timing – which is perfect.  And let us rest and find a complete wholeness and peace from our hope in the Lord Jesus.  This is a hope that cannot fail us.

That is true peace and security for all – robbing or leaving out no one.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

A Sustained Commitment; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Christian life and ministry requires a sustained commitment to self development and the development of both the people you serve and the people you serve with.  Do we have a commitment to sustained relationship with the Lord and with one another?  Read from First Thessalonians chapter three (NLT) the sustained commitments that Paul and his co-workers had with the people of Thessalonica:

That is why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong. I was afraid that the Tempter had gotten the best of you and that all our work had been useless. Now Timothy has just returned, bringing the good news that your faith and love are as strong as ever. He reports that you remember our visit with joy and that you want to see us just as much as we want to see you.  So we have been greatly comforted, dear brothers and sisters, in all of our own crushing troubles and suffering, because you have remained strong in your faith.  It gives us new life, knowing you remain strong in the Lord. 

How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy in the presence of God.  Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill up anything that may still be missing in your faith. (Verses 5-10)

New life for Christian ministry and Christian living bubbles up from knowing that we are not alone in our struggles to glorify God and edify others.  Only together can we remain strong in the Lord.  Let us look to fill up anything that still might be lacking in each others’ faith.

Let us stand together, because when we are divided we will fall.  It is Satan (or the Tempter’s) goal to divide and conquer.  Let us avoid this fate by always staying in touch regardless of the physical distance that may separate us.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Let's Hear it for the Fathers; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Happy Father’s Day!  Let us be thankful for our earthly fathers who are faithful.  When our earthly fathers fail (and they all do at one time or another), we have our heavenly Father to be thankful.

I give thanks for my dad.  I give thanks for his obvious care for me and my family.  I give thanks for his steadfast love of my mother.  He is a remarkable gift to me – one straight from heaven.

I also give thanks for my heavenly Father.  I give thanks for His love and His patience with me.  I give thanks for the loving Father who both welcomed back a straying son and cared for a son who remained faithful.

Our God is heaven is an example for all earthly fathers to emulate.  I hope that I pass that test as I seek to be a godly father for my son Micah.  We read about that example from First Thessalonians chapter two (from Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):

You remember us in those days, friends, working our fingers to the bone, up half the night, moonlighting so you wouldn’t have the burden of supporting us while we proclaimed God’s Message to you.  You saw with you own eyes how discreet and courteous we were among you, with keen sensitivity to you as fellow believers.  And God knows we weren’t freeloaders!  You experienced it all firsthand.  With each of you we were like a father with his child, holding your hand, whispering encouragement, showing you step by step how to live well before God, who called us into his own kingdom, into his delightful life.  (Verses 10-12)  

My father worked hard to support his wife and eight children.  I saw it.  May I work as hard to support my wife and my son as we seek to do God’s will here in Hutchinson, Kansas.

God, please guide me in my upbringing of Micah.  May I seek always to hold his hand – through the good times and the bad.  May I whisper encouragements into his ear as he grows into the man that you created him to be.  May I use Your Word to show him the step-by-step instructions for living well before God.

If I can accomplish these things, our lives as a family will be a delightful thing indeed.  God, be at the center of our family life.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Goodbyes are Hard! First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Saying goodbye and getting closure is a most difficult thing for me.  This was a difficult day for me.  I had to say goodbye to the wonderful fifth and sixth graders that I have come to know.  I had to say goodbye to the wonderful staff… my co-workers in Christ this week.  Yes, I’ve renewed friendships and gained new ones.  I look forward to next year with the hope that many of us will return (both staff and children).

It is a long trip back from a mountain top experience to the everyday humdrum of life.  I am trying to return as slowly as I can, but new ministries are waiting for me as I return.  I have set aside much of the afternoon (of the sixteenth) to get caught up on my blog… and to start getting caught up with some laundry.

When it comes down to it, I want to wish both my old and new friends the same wishes that Paul extended to the Thessalonian church at the end of First Thessalonians chapter five (NIV):

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.  The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. (Verses 23-24)

Be sanctified by the God of peace – a peace that penetrates all of our beings.  May the Spirit of the living God keep you safe and blameless until we meet again or until the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Each one of us has begun a new work in Christ Jesus.  It is Christ who calls us… and he is faithful to finish that work.

Praise God!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

A Call to Renewal; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

At times life can become wearisome.  Sometimes it seems that we live without hope.  Despair can become prevalent.

There is another way.  God calls us to renewal.  This renewal begins as we seek to live together as God our Creator originally intended us to live.  But that is not the totality of the renewal Christ calls us to.

Renewal in Christ means eternal life.  It is fully sustainable life that is wonderful beyond our imaginings.  Eternal life is both infinite in quantity and in quality.

Will we answer that call together?  Read Paul’s words from First Thessalonians chapter four (NIV):

For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. (Verses 7-8)  

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

A New Understanding; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Through the Scriptures, we can come to a new understanding of the world around us.  We can see the values of this world as they are – upside-down.

Normally, we would wish to avoid suffering.  Normally, we want to be our own man (or woman).  Christ calls us to be different.  Read from First Thessalonians chapter one (NIV):

You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.  And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 

The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia – your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. (Verses 6-10)

Imitate God despite the severe suffering that follows it.  Welcome the message with joy!  Turn from idols to worship the Creator rather than the creation.

Allow nothing to come between you and God.  Band together in Christian love.  If you do, you cannot go wrong.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Be Creative! First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

We are made in the image of God.  Part of being made in the image of God is being a creative being.  We are made to work and to create.  We are not meant to be idle.

As we work and create to glorify God and edify our brothers and sisters, we meditate on the words of God that are etched on our hearts.  We etch God’s Word on our hearts by all of our spiritual practices – Scripture reading, prayer, meditation, fasting and fellowship.

When we combine work with being, we become solid witnesses to those around us.  Even as we work to support ourselves, we work to build community.  Though in ways we are independent, we are equally dependent upon one another (Interdependence).  And we are totally dependent upon God.

These are the lessons Paul sought to teach the people of Thessalonica in First Thessalonians chapter four.  Read it below (NIV):

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. (Verses 11-12)

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

A New Shape; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

As we allow the Holy Spirit deep into ourselves, we begin to take on a new shape.  Old habits and old ways fall by the wayside.  New ways and habits form from deep within us.

We are no longer to hide in the darkness.  We are to be characterized by the light.  To be in the light means to be on high alert for God’s movement in our lives.  It means being self-controlled – willing to flow where the Spirit moves us.

To take this new shape, we will need to leave behind the practices that we wish to hide in darkness – drunkenness, apathy and denial.  These are some of the things that are left behind.

To take this new shape, we will need different ways to protect ourselves.  Faith and love becomes our breastplate of protection – a protection of our hearts and attitudes.  Our hope in the salvation of Christ becomes our helmet to protect our mind and thoughts.

And let us not forget that it is not our strength that accomplishes these feats.  It is the strength of the Way of Christ Jesus and the strength of the Holy Spirit that he gives us.

We learn these things from First Thessalonians chapter five.  Read them below (NIV):

But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.  You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 

But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.  For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (Verses 4-11)

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

A Good Time to Get Away; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

I love camp!  It is a chance to get away from the daily grind.  It is a chance to get in touch with God’s marvelous creation.  It is a chance to connect with old friends and make new ones.

God is at camp.  In fact, God is everywhere.  There is much to be joyful about in that truth.  There is much to be thankful for in that truth.

It is my prayer that we have many opportunities to pray and to worship in this unique setting.  It is my prayer that each of us will have a mountain top experience – a tiny preview of what heaven will be like.  It is also my prayer that when we leave at the end of this week that we will return slowly – and that we will take some of what we have learned with us home.

Help us, O Lord, to take our new awareness home with us so that we might be joyful always, to give thanks often, and to pray continually.  Just as it tells us in First Thessalonians chapter five.  Read it below (NIV):

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (Verses 16-18)

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Camp Day One; First Thessalonians

May the mumbling commence!

Welcome to day one at Junior Camp (5^th and 6^th graders) at Camp Mount Hermon!  Today is a day that begins with preparations for the arrival of about twenty or so bright and shining faces.  We will welcome God in a new way when the children arrive.  May the children come to Jesus.  It is his command.

Let us hold fast to our roles as adult leaders and guides.  Paul writes about a pattern for this holding fast in the second chapter of First Thessalonians.  Read it below (from the NIV):

As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.  We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.  Surely you remember, brothers, 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. 

You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.  For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (Verses 6b-12)

We are called to be gentle like a mother with her children.  We are called to remember that when we serve children we give them not only the gospel but also ourselves.  We are called to labor night and day.

We are also called to be holy, righteous and blameless among the children.  We are called to deal with them as a father with his children – encouraging, comforting and urging them to live lives worthy of God.  Please note that nowhere in this list is the word punishing or persecuting.

It is hard work.  It is God’s work – among us and through us.  Let us support one another as we seek to help the children connect to God in a special way at camp.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out