1 Thessalonians 3 & 4

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1 Thessalonians 3 (NLT)

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1 Thessalonians 4 (NLT)

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What I learned today...

Ch. 3:

v. 3-5, 7-8: "...and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know what we are destined for such troubles. Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come-and they did, as you well know. 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 our work had been useless." "So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord."

It is important for me to remain strong in faith in the Lord, even when I'm struggling and suffering. I never really thought about this before, but it's not only for me... I could be an encouragement for others in this also.

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v. 10: "Night and day we pray earnestly for you..."

This goes along with some things posted yesterday about praying. It's important to recognize "night and day" as well as "earnestly."

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v. 12: "And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows."

This verse doesn't boast of minimal love... overflowing love is on an entirely different level. My commentary book referenced John 13:35... "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." This kind of ups the ante and brings a whole new importance to the act of love. I desperately want others to see Jesus through me, and it's extremely clear here that one way to do this is through showing overflowing love to others.

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Ch. 4:

v. 8: "Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you."

The thought of rejecting God puts more fear in me than just the thought of disobeying Him. This is a great reminder of the seriousness of disobeying God!

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v. 10: "Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more."

The Thessalonians were known for their faith and the love they showed for Christ and for others (Ch. 1-3), but Paul encourages them to love even more. We can never love too much!

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v. 14-18: "For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words."

The last verse really caught my attention. I believe that all of this will happen, and I very much look forward to it.. it's something that is engrained in my heart... but do I encourage others with it? Possibly, but definitely not enough. It's something that brings so much joy to my heart, and I wish for everyone else to experience it also, but I'm not doing my part in sharing that joy.

Hebrews 5 and Trusting God

Hebrews 5

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Verse 7

"⁷While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God."

How often do I pray like this? Not often enough. Jesus really meant His prayers and put everything into them. I tend to hold myself back in my prayer life. I need to give everything I have to God!

God listened to Jesus, because He maintained a deep reverence for God.

Reverence (noun)

1. a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe

2. the outward manifestation of this feeling

3. a gesture indicative of deep respect

Jesus displayed all of these. Not only did He have respect and awe for God, but He showed it. I must continually give glory to God. Something as simple as bowing while speaking to God shows respect and reverence. I need to remember my place before God... He is above me, not the other way around; Nor are we equals.

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Today I had a little lesson in trusting God. Often when I have a problem arise, I pray about it, but I don't give it completely to God. I still stress and worry about it, even though I have asked God to help me. This shows a lack of trust in Him. When I do this, I'm basically saying, "God, will you help me? ...I know you say you will, but I don't really believe you will solve it for me, so I'll just keep on stressing about it." I really need to learn to go to God (whole-heartedly!) and then trust Him! He has never failed me in the past, so why do I think He would now? Anyways, today I was really struggling with something, and I prayed to God about it. Then I told myself that I need to actually trust God, and let the worry go. After that, I knew that I needed to take action, and I was able to do so with a calm attitude, thanks to God. I knew in my heart that God would take care of my problem, if I would only allow Him to. So end of story, I was able to take the steps to work out my problem, and all is good now! It's amazing what can happen when I trust God!

It's also important for me to remember that God has His own timeline and way of making things work out. If I pray to God about something, and it doesn't get solved or answered the way I want, that doesn't mean that God isn't listening to me. He is probably just answering my prayers in another way than what I have set in my mind. If I would have an open mind about it, I may be able to see more clearly what God is doing. Afterall, He knows what I need better than I do.