Am looking at 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12.
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this 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.
This prayer follows Paul's thoughts earlier in 2 Thessalonians 1:1-10. I blogged about my reactions to verses 3-10.
In brief, Paul gave the Thessalonian believers some encouragement about how the sufferings they have experienced has not gone unnoticed by God and that those who persecuted them will be judged someday. It is in this context that Paul launches into a prayer for them.
Worthy of his calling strikes me. On one hand, there is no way I'm worthy of his calling in the sense I know I am, simply put, nothing more than a sinner saved by grace. On the other God has called me out of my old life which was controlled by sin and death into freedom (Romans 8:1-2). Thus, at one time a prayer to live worthy would have been pointless is now possible!
And so how does this work itself out in my life?
Paul's prayer continues ... by his power he may fulfill ...
every good purpose of yours ...
every act prompted by your faith ...
Imagine that!
Within the Thessalonian followers of Jesus, within us, within me, there are good purposes percolating within because our lives have been transformed by God. Within me, there are deeds prompted by the faith in my life. When those things show up within me, God's power is happily added onto it to strengthen it and to bring it to reality.
And then what happens?
the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him ...
The good deeds we do bring glory to Jesus!
J.S. Bach was well known for putting the initials S.D.G. at the end of his composition. S.D.G. stood for Soli Deo Gloria which is Latin for to the Glory of God alone.
Lord Jesus, please continue to work in my life by strengthening and prompting the desire to be holy in thought and deed. Help me not to quench those thoughts that push me towards godliness and help me to resist those thoughts that are selfish and wicked. Amen.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
2 Thessalonians 1:3-10
Taking a look at 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10 tonight.
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. Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
There are places in the world today where being a follower of Jesus is not the safe thing to do. Yet, these believers persevere. We need to thank God for them and pray that their faith which really can cost them a lot would keep growing.
UPDATE: Diane at Crossroads is wondering if persecution might be around the corner in America?
I wonder what kinds of challenges did the Thessalonians face during their life times?
We know from Acts 17 that Paul faced opposition such that he and Silas fled to Berea. Those same opponents went to Berea to caused trouble such that Paul had to flee from there as well. One would suppose that even with Paul gone, those critics would still put pressure on the fledgling church.
Paul placed their experience in a broader context ...
All 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. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and 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. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
I was listening to Dennis Prager on the radio the other day and he was talking with a caller about the existence of an afterlife. He asked her, do you believe there is a good god out there?
She said, yes.
Prager then said, if you believe that then you have to believe in an afterlife because a good god would want justice and if this life is all there is then the scales of justice would be unbalanced.
Other than this line of reasoning, I'm not sure one can argue for the existence of an afterlife.
This passage makes me also think about our current "clash of civilizations" with the radical Islamic followers. Am I allowed to turn Paul's writing here into a prayer for this day and age?
God, you are just. I trust that either in this life or the next you will pay back those who terrorize and kill innocent people. Grant relief to those who cry out to you how long must we suffer at the hands of people who would bomb markets and schools? Lord, may you be glorified in your people who exhibit faith, hope and love. Lord, speed the day when all will see your glory as you are revealed again but this time in the fullness of your glory. Amen.
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. Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
There are places in the world today where being a follower of Jesus is not the safe thing to do. Yet, these believers persevere. We need to thank God for them and pray that their faith which really can cost them a lot would keep growing.
UPDATE: Diane at Crossroads is wondering if persecution might be around the corner in America?
I wonder what kinds of challenges did the Thessalonians face during their life times?
We know from Acts 17 that Paul faced opposition such that he and Silas fled to Berea. Those same opponents went to Berea to caused trouble such that Paul had to flee from there as well. One would suppose that even with Paul gone, those critics would still put pressure on the fledgling church.
Paul placed their experience in a broader context ...
All 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. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and 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. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
I was listening to Dennis Prager on the radio the other day and he was talking with a caller about the existence of an afterlife. He asked her, do you believe there is a good god out there?
She said, yes.
Prager then said, if you believe that then you have to believe in an afterlife because a good god would want justice and if this life is all there is then the scales of justice would be unbalanced.
Other than this line of reasoning, I'm not sure one can argue for the existence of an afterlife.
This passage makes me also think about our current "clash of civilizations" with the radical Islamic followers. Am I allowed to turn Paul's writing here into a prayer for this day and age?
God, you are just. I trust that either in this life or the next you will pay back those who terrorize and kill innocent people. Grant relief to those who cry out to you how long must we suffer at the hands of people who would bomb markets and schools? Lord, may you be glorified in your people who exhibit faith, hope and love. Lord, speed the day when all will see your glory as you are revealed again but this time in the fullness of your glory. Amen.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
2 Thessalonians 1:1-2
Am looking at 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2 this morning.
Paul, Silas and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scholars suggest that 2 Thessalonians was written shortly after 1 Thessalonians probably in response to the latest report Paul received from the church in regards to confusion about what happens to Christians who had died and "the day of the Lord" which he touched on in 1 Thessalonians 4-5. Paul will get to that right after this greeting.
But for the moment, I just want to reflect on the greeting.
Church. What is it today? What was it like back then?
The other day I was web surfing and I came across this item which is links to a series of articles about what we know of the early church. Unfortunately, one can only read excerpts of the articles unless you have a subscription. More searching yielded this item which is a full article not requiring a subscription.
In brief, the article mentions that a "typical" church in the olden day did the following things: prayer and fasting, baptism, greeting kiss, Lord Supper/Communion/Eucharist, provide assistance to the needy and indeed, they had a "sermon." Here is the excerpt in the article describing this part of the church meeting:
Imagine believers going about their daily lives running into other believers saying, "I heard a letter from Paul arrived yesterday! They are going to read it on Sunday!! Make sure you can be there!!!"
Think about the excitement of one of the literate members of the community being asked by the leader of the church, "I want you to write a copy of the latest letter from Paul! We need copies so we can pass them around to other churches so they can benefit!"
Perhaps one of the wealthier members of the church would say, "Here take some of this money so you can buy the best papyrus to make the copies!"
Imagine the sweat on the brow of the copywriter! He doesn't want any mistakes. He finishes the copy and asks another literate member of the congregation, "PLEASE look this over and check for any mistakes!"
Image source: http://www.lib.umich.edu/pap/exhibits/papyri_james/1_2.html
What would it have been like as the believers packed into a home for a meeting and the leader stands up with the letter from Paul and starts reading it aloud?
For us today, we take for granted the Bible. I confess to occasionally yawning during the sermon and playing the game of "roast pastor" at lunch skewering the sermon. Lord, have mercy!
I suppose maybe I'm "romanticizing" how excited the early believers were.
But as I reflect this morning, I am struck by my own lack of anticipation.
Lord, you have assembled the church. It is made up of flawed people like me who are so often ungrateful, selfish and not fully focused on you. Yet, you in your grace, keep pursuing me and reminding me of who you are. Keep after all of us at the church I'm at. Help our church to be a light to the people around us. Increase our anticipation of what you will do. Give us courage to live for you. Amen.
Paul, Silas and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scholars suggest that 2 Thessalonians was written shortly after 1 Thessalonians probably in response to the latest report Paul received from the church in regards to confusion about what happens to Christians who had died and "the day of the Lord" which he touched on in 1 Thessalonians 4-5. Paul will get to that right after this greeting.
But for the moment, I just want to reflect on the greeting.
Church. What is it today? What was it like back then?
The other day I was web surfing and I came across this item which is links to a series of articles about what we know of the early church. Unfortunately, one can only read excerpts of the articles unless you have a subscription. More searching yielded this item which is a full article not requiring a subscription.
In brief, the article mentions that a "typical" church in the olden day did the following things: prayer and fasting, baptism, greeting kiss, Lord Supper/Communion/Eucharist, provide assistance to the needy and indeed, they had a "sermon." Here is the excerpt in the article describing this part of the church meeting:
And on the day called Sunday there is a meeting in one place of those who live in cities or the country, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read as long as time permits. When the reader has finished, the president in a discourse urges and invites [us] to the imitation of these noble things.This picture started me thinking about the level of anticipation the Thessalonian believers must have had when news of a letter from Paul had arrived!
Imagine believers going about their daily lives running into other believers saying, "I heard a letter from Paul arrived yesterday! They are going to read it on Sunday!! Make sure you can be there!!!"
Think about the excitement of one of the literate members of the community being asked by the leader of the church, "I want you to write a copy of the latest letter from Paul! We need copies so we can pass them around to other churches so they can benefit!"
Perhaps one of the wealthier members of the church would say, "Here take some of this money so you can buy the best papyrus to make the copies!"
Imagine the sweat on the brow of the copywriter! He doesn't want any mistakes. He finishes the copy and asks another literate member of the congregation, "PLEASE look this over and check for any mistakes!"
Image source: http://www.lib.umich.edu/pap/exhibits/papyri_james/1_2.html
What would it have been like as the believers packed into a home for a meeting and the leader stands up with the letter from Paul and starts reading it aloud?
For us today, we take for granted the Bible. I confess to occasionally yawning during the sermon and playing the game of "roast pastor" at lunch skewering the sermon. Lord, have mercy!
I suppose maybe I'm "romanticizing" how excited the early believers were.
But as I reflect this morning, I am struck by my own lack of anticipation.
Lord, you have assembled the church. It is made up of flawed people like me who are so often ungrateful, selfish and not fully focused on you. Yet, you in your grace, keep pursuing me and reminding me of who you are. Keep after all of us at the church I'm at. Help our church to be a light to the people around us. Increase our anticipation of what you will do. Give us courage to live for you. Amen.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
1 Thessalonians 5:23-28
Call me an oddball but I'm kind of fascinated by how the New Testament letters come to a conclusion. This is kind of the place where the writer tosses out a few last thoughts to encourage and challenge the readers.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 brings the letter to a close.
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.
Sanctify. Not a commonly used word outside of religious circles! Check out the dictionary for its meaning. Excerpt:
You might have heard of Rick Warren and his book the Purpose Driven Life?
I read his book a couple of years ago. He believes the five purposes of our lives are: worship (relationship with God), discipleship (living in a Christ-like manner), fellowship (being involved with the lives of other followers of Jesus), ministry (offering service to other people) and evangelism (telling people about Jesus who aren't yet following Jesus).
Interestingly, St. Paul mentioned that this involves your whole spirit, soul and body.
We often get into lingo that separates things by saying, oh, that is a spiritual matter and that is not a spiritual matter. In some ways that is true but they are still connected. I'm not a theologian but from the years of hearing sermons, the distinction is thus: body is the physical part of our existence, the spirit is the part of us that is the divine spark that allows us to know God and the soul is the intellect, emotion and will.
I suppose one can get into an abstract discussion of whether the soul and spirit actually exist. That is beyond the scope of this blogger! I suppose the difference between us humans and the rest of the created life forms on earth is the spirit and the will. Only humans appear to need or want to worship god! And only humans appear to have a free will. Other life forms more or less just respond on instinct. I suppose skeptics of free will use their free will to believe that our belief and exercise of free will is illusionary! Again, well beyond the realms of this blog ... I'll leave that for real philosophers. I'm just an arm chair one.
IN any case, we are set aside for a purpose!
Brothers, pray for us.
I can't say I understand how prayer works!
Imagine you are in the heavenly realms and prayer requests from a billion people arrive on your prayer email inbox. How do you answer them?
Bruce Almighty was a funny but thoughtful film in 2003 and one of the scenes was Bruce deciding to answer all the prayer requests with a YES with humorous and chaotic results.
So, I don't know how prayer works. I just am told by the Scriptures that I should pray. And if I'm changed by praying that's great. If the situation is changed by praying, super.
I think of prayer mainly trying to bring my heart in-line with the heart of God.
Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
Ah, the famous give us a kiss passage!
Remember, this was a Mediterranean culture! You know how expressive people are in that world! In some places it is two kisses and in some places it is three?
Here in please don't invade my personal space America, a handshake will do nicely. Maybe a "side" hug. For people you know better or who are more touchy feely types, a full hug.
I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
In the olden days, most people couldn't read. Thus, the leaders of the church would read aloud the scrolls and letters so the people would learn about God and how to live and follow Jesus.
Imagine, a little church in those days what an exciting thing it would be to have one of the church leaders announce: today, we got our own copy of Paul's latest letter! Let's all meet on Friday night at farmer Jacob's house and we will share a meal, pray and read the latest letter we got!
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
We live and walk in grace as much as we live and walk by breathing air!
Lord, help me to realize you have set me apart for a sacred purpose. My life means something because you have taken a hold of it. Help me to be seeing the bigger picture in life and praying for all the little details. Guide me to be a person of encouragement of others by a meaningful touch and the sharing of the Word. In need your grace daily. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 brings the letter to a close.
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.
Sanctify. Not a commonly used word outside of religious circles! Check out the dictionary for its meaning. Excerpt:
1 : to set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use : CONSECRATEImagine that? You and I, when we become part of God's family, are set apart for a sacred purpose!
You might have heard of Rick Warren and his book the Purpose Driven Life?
I read his book a couple of years ago. He believes the five purposes of our lives are: worship (relationship with God), discipleship (living in a Christ-like manner), fellowship (being involved with the lives of other followers of Jesus), ministry (offering service to other people) and evangelism (telling people about Jesus who aren't yet following Jesus).
Interestingly, St. Paul mentioned that this involves your whole spirit, soul and body.
We often get into lingo that separates things by saying, oh, that is a spiritual matter and that is not a spiritual matter. In some ways that is true but they are still connected. I'm not a theologian but from the years of hearing sermons, the distinction is thus: body is the physical part of our existence, the spirit is the part of us that is the divine spark that allows us to know God and the soul is the intellect, emotion and will.
I suppose one can get into an abstract discussion of whether the soul and spirit actually exist. That is beyond the scope of this blogger! I suppose the difference between us humans and the rest of the created life forms on earth is the spirit and the will. Only humans appear to need or want to worship god! And only humans appear to have a free will. Other life forms more or less just respond on instinct. I suppose skeptics of free will use their free will to believe that our belief and exercise of free will is illusionary! Again, well beyond the realms of this blog ... I'll leave that for real philosophers. I'm just an arm chair one.
IN any case, we are set aside for a purpose!
Brothers, pray for us.
I can't say I understand how prayer works!
Imagine you are in the heavenly realms and prayer requests from a billion people arrive on your prayer email inbox. How do you answer them?
Bruce Almighty was a funny but thoughtful film in 2003 and one of the scenes was Bruce deciding to answer all the prayer requests with a YES with humorous and chaotic results.
So, I don't know how prayer works. I just am told by the Scriptures that I should pray. And if I'm changed by praying that's great. If the situation is changed by praying, super.
I think of prayer mainly trying to bring my heart in-line with the heart of God.
Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
Ah, the famous give us a kiss passage!
Remember, this was a Mediterranean culture! You know how expressive people are in that world! In some places it is two kisses and in some places it is three?
Here in please don't invade my personal space America, a handshake will do nicely. Maybe a "side" hug. For people you know better or who are more touchy feely types, a full hug.
I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
In the olden days, most people couldn't read. Thus, the leaders of the church would read aloud the scrolls and letters so the people would learn about God and how to live and follow Jesus.
Imagine, a little church in those days what an exciting thing it would be to have one of the church leaders announce: today, we got our own copy of Paul's latest letter! Let's all meet on Friday night at farmer Jacob's house and we will share a meal, pray and read the latest letter we got!
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
We live and walk in grace as much as we live and walk by breathing air!
Lord, help me to realize you have set me apart for a sacred purpose. My life means something because you have taken a hold of it. Help me to be seeing the bigger picture in life and praying for all the little details. Guide me to be a person of encouragement of others by a meaningful touch and the sharing of the Word. In need your grace daily. Amen.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
1 Thessalonians 5:12-22
Some parts of the Bible are harder to understand than others. Some parts are straightforward. Am looking at 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 today and this is one of those how you should live straightforward passages. Not always easy to live out but very clear on what is the right way to do things!
We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
The first batch of challenges in regards to how people should treat those who are in leadership in the church setting:
respect those who labor among you ...
esteem them very highly in love because of their work ...
In the English language, I don't sense a huge difference between those two words. Any English majors out there reading this blog? 8-) Both words, to me, don't convey a lot of emotion but more thoughtful reflection. For instance, one might have respect for a tough-as-nails drill instructor but might not have much feelings. Would a Greek lexicon help?
Respect is Strong's word number 1492. The definitions listed are to see, to ascertain and to know. Esteem is Strong's word number 2233. The definitions listed are to lead and to consider. Did that help?
Anyway, seems to be similar words and in any case the thing we should do in regards to those who lead in the church.
Then Paul gives a series of exhortations on how to live with one another:
Be at peace among yourselves
admonish the idle
encourage the fainthearted
help the weak
be patient with them all.
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil
seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
Very much in line with the teachings of Jesus.
Then Paul has challenges about how to face the circumstances of life:
Rejoice always
pray without ceasing
give thanks in all circumstances.
Tough ones for me to do consistently as I can, at times, be a whiner!
Finally, Paul has some commands in regards to things of an explicitly spiritual nature:
Do not quench the Spirit
Do not despise prophecies
but test everything
hold fast what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.
I often wrestle with the question of how does the Spirit work in our lives? How personal should we expect God to be? In what ways does the Spirit intervene in our lives?
As for prophecies, what does that really mean?
We have "special revelation" in the form of the guidance in the Bible. We have "natural revelation" in the form of conscience and reason. Is there "personal revelation" in the form of prophecies? If so, in what way does this happen?
In any case, it would seem Paul is from Missouri (the Show Me state) with his admonition, test everything.
Lord, I look over this list of things and I know I fall short every day. Forgive me when I think only of myself and lose sight of the needs of others. I need help to live this out. I often get discouraged by life's circumstances. Yet, I should know better because I can walk in your wisdom. Grant to me insight into what happens day-to-day to see where I can grow and develop in me a better BS meter that recognizes what is good from what is evil. Amen.
We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
The first batch of challenges in regards to how people should treat those who are in leadership in the church setting:
respect those who labor among you ...
esteem them very highly in love because of their work ...
In the English language, I don't sense a huge difference between those two words. Any English majors out there reading this blog? 8-) Both words, to me, don't convey a lot of emotion but more thoughtful reflection. For instance, one might have respect for a tough-as-nails drill instructor but might not have much feelings. Would a Greek lexicon help?
Respect is Strong's word number 1492. The definitions listed are to see, to ascertain and to know. Esteem is Strong's word number 2233. The definitions listed are to lead and to consider. Did that help?
Anyway, seems to be similar words and in any case the thing we should do in regards to those who lead in the church.
Then Paul gives a series of exhortations on how to live with one another:
Be at peace among yourselves
admonish the idle
encourage the fainthearted
help the weak
be patient with them all.
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil
seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
Very much in line with the teachings of Jesus.
Then Paul has challenges about how to face the circumstances of life:
Rejoice always
pray without ceasing
give thanks in all circumstances.
Tough ones for me to do consistently as I can, at times, be a whiner!
Finally, Paul has some commands in regards to things of an explicitly spiritual nature:
Do not quench the Spirit
Do not despise prophecies
but test everything
hold fast what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.
I often wrestle with the question of how does the Spirit work in our lives? How personal should we expect God to be? In what ways does the Spirit intervene in our lives?
As for prophecies, what does that really mean?
We have "special revelation" in the form of the guidance in the Bible. We have "natural revelation" in the form of conscience and reason. Is there "personal revelation" in the form of prophecies? If so, in what way does this happen?
In any case, it would seem Paul is from Missouri (the Show Me state) with his admonition, test everything.
Lord, I look over this list of things and I know I fall short every day. Forgive me when I think only of myself and lose sight of the needs of others. I need help to live this out. I often get discouraged by life's circumstances. Yet, I should know better because I can walk in your wisdom. Grant to me insight into what happens day-to-day to see where I can grow and develop in me a better BS meter that recognizes what is good from what is evil. Amen.
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