2 Thessalonians 3:16-18

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 

English Standard Version 

  May we care for one another with the same level, especially in such divided times -- may we hope and pray that God will grant us peace in every way, and may we dream that for one another.  I hope that over the next four months that Americans can pray that for one another, that we may truly pursue peace and hope for God to bring that peace, one to another, and that the church may show the way.

2 Thessalonians 3:13-15

2 Thessalonians 3:13-15 

English Standard Version 

  This hits home, right?  How easy is it to get worn out in serving others, in doing good?  It can be tiring, it can wear out the soul, especially when we work and work and work and it feels like our toils have little impact on the world around us.

  But let us not grow weary in doing good.  May we encourage one another to keep serving, to keep striving.  Whenever we serve another person, we serve a beloved creation of God.  May we keep that in our minds and in our hearts, and may we continue to strive, to pursue holiness and unity in Christ's church.  That's a worthy goal, a story worth telling, a life worth living.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-12

2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 

English Standard Version 

  The church is a community.  If everyone is not doing their part, then that's how a community can begin to rot.  Everyone is going to work at different levels, everyone has different capabilities -- Paul isn't disputing that.  But everyone has a part to play, and if there are people in the community sitting back and not doing anything to serve the community, then that places more burden on those who are working  Paul recognizes how damaging that could be, and so he encourages each and every person to find their role in the church and the community.  May we all be actively serving, using our gifts, pursuing faithfulness and holiness and stewardship.  We don't have to do this loudly, but we can be quiet, faithfully striving, faithfully serving, thinking of the community.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

English Standard Version 

  Here's Paul, one of the key leaders of the church, and in the first two verses here, we get a glimpse into his suffering.  Paul's been focused on the church and their questions, but he lets his guard down here, requesting prayers for his own suffering, but then he immediately pivots right back to the church, encouraging them by reminding them of the Lord's faithfulness, praying for God to direct their hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ.  Can you imagine if you could find a way to focus on those two things all day?  You'd feel amazing!  

  Paul is teaching us here.  He's reminding us that even in our own suffering, we can look for ways to encourage others.  When we're rooted in Christ, we know that Christ will lead us through suffering, so we can use that time to find others to encourage.  In so doing, we help build and strengthen the church!

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 

English Standard Version 

  We've all seen the analysis many times -- at the end of the movie Titanic, there was plenty of room on the door for both of them.  However, Jack couldn't hold on -- the cold water and the hardships wore away at him, and eventually he slipped into the watery depths.  

  Paul is writing to a church in the midst of hardships.  The threat to them is that they'll succumb to the pressures of adversity, so Paul is calling on them to stand firm, to hold onto the traditions.  In the midst of so many things leaning on them, Paul is telling them that their faith is what truly, truly matters, and so they need to stand firm, based on God's love, and trusting that God will comfort their hearts at the same time.

  May we find the strength to hold firm as well.  The world is a hard place, and we need the community of believers to gather around us to help us hold firm.  It's a hard thing to do on our own, but we're not called to do this on our own.  We're called to be in community, to serve one another, so that in the midst of the storm, we help each stand firm.

2 Thessalonians 2:7-12

2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 

English Standard Version 

  It's remarkable to think about Paul's life.  He was a very successful Pharisee with a great career ahead of him -- he could've ascended to the ranks of leadership, but he left all that behind after his experience on the road to Damascus.  He must've had very convincing proof that Jesus was who he said that he was.  Paul was an educated man, well-grounded in the ways of religion and extremely unlikely to be taken in, so I don't doubt that God gave him something that was ironclad.  It was an amazing experience, and Paul was clearly given other knowledge as well.  Paul was given gifts for the church, and he used those to encourage early church members, especially those who were suffering.  Paul traveled around the known world and wrote letters to communities in the hopes of sharing the Gospel and encouraging them in the midst of trials and tribulations.  Here, Paul reminds them of the amazing power of God -- the breath from the mouth of God will be enough to kill the one who opposes God.  God's power is such that the breath will be enough -- the same breath with creative power that moved over the watery chaos in the beginning will conquer the destructive chaos at the end, and there will be order, God's beautiful order, that will reign in the new creation and in the hearts of those who follow God.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-6

2 Thessalonians 2:1-6 

English Standard Version 

  So the church is asking an incredibly valid question -- when will the day of the Lord come?  They were expecting it imminently, and they're waiting, and suffering, and wondering.  Some are likely falling away from the church, opting not to endure, believing that the promise isn't reliable.  Paul is trying to assure them, and to assure us, that there is a process.  There is a son of destruction that will come, who will oppose all things and try to claim a seat in the temple.  Until this happens, then the day of the Lord will be waiting.

  Here we are, 2,000 years later.  You likely have questions.  I also have questions.  The early church was awaiting the return of Christ within years or decades of the crucifixion.  Christ still hasn't returned.  So how do we deal with that?  The reading tomorrow will expand on the man of lawlessness, but for the meantime, I trust in God and in God's church.  If Jesus Christ is able to be raised from the dead, then I think he's worth waiting for -- be it 2 or 2,000 years.  If he truly is larger than life and larger than death, then worshiping him isn't the wrong choice.  He predicted his own death and resurrection, and he walked out of a tomb promising that we could all follow him on the same path.  That God stands outside of time and space, and so I'll spend my life patiently waiting, if that is the case.  He is worth following, no matter the timeframe.

2 Thessalonians 1:9-12

2 Thessalonians 1:9-12

English Standard Version 

  Scripture provides plenty of hints as to what it might look like when Christ comes in fullness.  Whatever it exactly is like, I know that I want to be in the community of people who proclaim him as Lord and Savior, and not in the alternative.  Paul is in the midst of reminding the church in Thessalonica that there will be consequences for those who afflict them with pain and suffering, and those will be settled by God.  They have to trust in this process, trust in this outcome, as challenging as a message as that is.  

  The individuals in the church are suffering, and so Paul commits to be in prayer for them, that they may know the power of God at work in them.  Paul cannot be with them in body, but he can join with them in prayer, confidant that God is with them, confidant that the eternal witness of the church is gathered around them.  Paul believed that God would work through their prayers -- may we have the same faith, the same confidence.

2 Thessalonians 1:5-8

2 Thessalonians 1:5-8 

English Standard Version 

  When someone wrongs us, we have two choices.  We can try and make things even, or we can trust in the Lord to set things right through God's justice and in God's time.  It's always tempting to try the first, but it's also exhausting, and that's how the cycle of violence is perpetuated, because it's rare for people to think things are fair -- we always feel slighted, and that we need to get back at the other party.  

  However, if you trust in the Lord's ability to set things straight, then it's tremendously freeing, and I think it's the only way to cope with grave injustices.  If the world's justice fails you, how else can you deal with it?  I don't know that you can ever strike back enough to feel like you've set things right, and in this worldly time frame, some things can never be repaired.  If we look on an eternal scope, however, the God who exists outside of time and space has the ability to truly set things right.  I don't think it's always going to be the way we imagine it will be (reminding me of the quote that if you think God has the exact same enemies that you do, maybe you need to re-evaluate things), but we can trust the Lord of love and grace to deal with things the way they ought to be.  

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4 

English Standard Version 

  It's wild to me that in the last sixteen years of doing these devotionals, there are entire books that I've never been through.  In the past, when I've read verses 3 and 4, I think I've separated them in my head.  The faith of the church is growing, and their love for one another is increasing... and yet they're suffering under persecutions and afflictions.  I so often am guilty of reading the Bible verse by verse, but then I hold these together, and isn't it remarkable that the faith of the church is growing despite these persecutions and afflictions?  One would suppose that they'd be negatively impacting the church, but instead, the church continues to grow, and the church members are filled with love for one another!  What a strong hold on the Gospel they must have to not fade away in the midst of persecution but to cling even more tightly to the Good News preached by Paul. 

  May we study these words with the same spirit, with the same focus, that the message of the Gospel may be such good news to us as well!