FINAL REQUESTS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

1 Thessalonians 5:25-28

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s message, the penultimate message in our study of 1 Thessalonians, we saw where the Apostle Paul had a special for his readers, the believers in Thessalonica, and that wish carries to us today.

What was the wish?

You may remember that it was for God to sanctify the Thessalonian Christians so that their spirits, souls, and bodies would be kept blameless up to the time when the Lord Jesus returns. We know that sanctification leads to a person being holy as God is holy, set apart from the world and its sinful ways. Paul wanted that for his brothers and sisters in Thessalonica and the Lord still desires it for us today.

And this brings us to the final verses of chapter 5 as Paul closes out this letter. There we find the Apostle offering up a series of requests, not just for the Thessalonians but for anyone else who would read this in the future. Look again at his words here before we look at each specific matter he encourages:

Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Vv. 25-28

Request #1: Pray for us.

Paul spent a great deal of time in prayer, interceding for all new Christian churches but especially the ones he had a personal involvement in. He knew that Satan would come and attack the fledgling congregations with the hope of destroying them but he also knew that the Lord was more powerful than the enemy and would always lead the church to victory if they just remained faithful and focused on Him.

In this first request, we find the Apostle asking for the believers in Thessalonica to reciprocate intercession for him and the other missionary servants assisting him. The Thessalonians were very aware of all the dangers Paul had faced and continued to face for the cause of Christ and so they should have been more than willing to lift up prayers for safety as well as for the Lord to continue blessing the Gospel work that was happening.

Today, we should also ask others to pray for us as we pray for them. Part of the beauty of Christian fellowship is this wonderful willingness to turn from self to take on the needs of others. We should always seek to intercede for those we know because the Lord is ever ready to receive our prayers and act upon them.

Request #2: Greet all of God’s people with a holy kiss.

Different cultures have different ways to greet one another. In biblical times, it wasn’t unusual for people to share a kiss when they met. In its essence, a kiss isn’t anything less than a way to express love and friendship toward another person and in its holy form, it’s not meant to be construed as sexual or sinful like the kiss that Judas placed on Jesus to betray Him (Luke 22:47-48). Holy means it is of God and His love so at its root, a holy kiss is nothing more than extending God’s love to another person.

Today, many countries still exchange kisses culturally, typically either one, two, or three groups of kisses, first on the right cheek and then the left with the exception of Italy where the exchange starts on the left. And while the starting point and number of kisses may vary, what hasn’t changed is the meaning of the holy kiss, still carried out more than 2,000 years after the days of the Bible.

Request #3: Have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

Any letter is of no good if it goes unread. It is a waste of the time spent by the writer to put a message down on paper.

As we have seen through the study of 1 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul had much to share with the Christians in Thessalonica, providing spiritual wisdom and guidance that would be critical to their growth and survival as a church. He wanted to make sure every believer received his direction that was grounded in the Lord Jesus and so he made sure to give clear instruction that everyone was to hear his written words.

I believe Paul’s command still holds true today as we approach the scriptures and this epistle in particular. We need to make sure that we read it and then share it with others so they can hear the very word of our Lord, the word that is our daily spiritual bread (Matthew 4:4).

Request #4: The grace of God be with you.

Where would anyone be without the grace of God found in Christ Jesus?

Lost and hopeless, that’s where.

This is why we should always be asking for the grace of the Lord to be with everyone, on fellow Christian believers who have already received such grace and on those who have yet to believe, those in sin who are unsaved, those who are sitting in the crosshairs of His judgment. For the latter, our prayers should be that they come to find and experience the amazing pardon that comes by simply believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Until that time, they are on the road to Hell and no one should wish that on anyone.

Friends, what an amazing journey this has been through the first of the two letters Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. Tomorrow, we will begin looking at the second but until then please pray for me and this ministry, greet me daily with love and fellowship through a virtual holy kiss, make sure you read Paul’s letter to Thessalonica as well as all other scriptures to all the brothers and sisters, and through this all, may the grace of God ever be with you.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com