THE BEAUTY FOUND IN LONGING

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In Christ, Mark

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

But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

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

Do you have someone that you miss seeing?

I know I do.

For as you go through life, the Lord brings you into special relationships, relationships that create special memories and love within us. We cherish those memories and those we made them with but unfortunately, people don’t always stay put, do they? In many ways, we are nomadic and it takes a while for us to finally settle in. When we do, we often find ourselves distanced from those we care deeply for.

For example, my sister and her husband live in England, an ocean apart from me. It has been many, many years (too many actually) since we’ve seen one another to spend time together in person. This has left a beautiful longing in my heart to see them, a beautiful longing grounded in love.

To quench that longing, I am traveling to the United Kingdom in September and couldn’t be more excited about the trip. That excitement has been matched on the “other side of the pond” as my sister has been answering all my questions and providing travel tips in advance before I arrive. Although we are both rather up in years now, there’s giddiness in the air that would rival when we were growing up together as children.

As we turn to our scripture passage today, we find the Apostle Paul opening up his heart to write of his love for the Thessalonian church and the believers there. Through his words, we see the beauty found in longing.

But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

Note here the imagery that Paul uses in comparing himself and the other missionaries as being “orphaned” from their brother and sister Christians in Thessalonica. Like a child who has been separated from their parents physically but always having them in thought, such was the way that Paul and the others felt by wanting to see the Thessalonians but unable to, despite making every effort.

So what hindered them from satisfying their longing?

Paul tells us that it was Satan that blocked their way. Other translations use the words “prevented”, “stopped”, or “hindered” in place of “blocked”. Nonetheless, we learn here that Satan can get in the way of the fulfillment of our longings, something we should remember. Our enemy is never working things out for our good like God is (Romans 8:24) and so it would make full sense that he would keep us from those we love and cherish.

As we see in these closing verses of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2, Paul and his fellow Gospel workers greatly valued their brothers and sisters in Thessalonica. The Apostle tells them in his letter that they are his hope, joy, and the crown he will glory in when Jesus returns.

Think about someone who brings you joy, someone you find hope in and you will have found someone you should have a beautiful longing for.

Maybe Satan has tried to block you from fulfilling your longing in the past whether through a worldwide pandemic or some other means but remember that our Lord is exceedingly greater than our enemy, who will never be victorious in any action that God wished to initiate. Continue to pray, knowing that the Lord can make anything happen that is in accordance with His will and hold onto your beautiful longing with hope. 

I pray that you will get to fulfill it as I will when I travel to England in September.

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

THE CONSEQUENCES OF PERSECUTION

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In Christ, Mark

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

For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

1 Thessalonians 2:14-16

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

For as long as Christianity has existed, there has been persecution and of course that included Jesus Himself. In His case, the Jewish religious authorities, self-proclaimed fervent God worshippers, couldn’t even get past their sinful hatred to realize that they were first plotting to kill and then executing God in human form.

And if this wasn’t bad enough, the Pharisees and Sadducees and teachers of the law, all members of the Sanhedrin, decided to double down on their transgressions and go after anyone who remained a follower of Jesus after His crucifixion, making an example out of Stephen through public stoning (Acts 6:8-15, 7:1-60).

Guess who was on the scene of this execution and in agreement?

We find the answer in the first verse of Acts 8:

And Saul approved of their killing him.

Yes, Saul who also had the name of Paul, the very writer of the words we read in today’s passage, words that speak to the consequences of persecution.

Indeed, if anyone knew about how to persecute Christians, it was Paul. He was very good at it, an instrument the Sanhedrin used to carry out their attacks on Christianity with the hope of eradicating it altogether.

But Jesus had other plans for him, plans to convert the best persecutor into the best Christian evangelist. And when that happened, the once Christian tormentor became the target of intimidation and attack, understanding and personally experiencing the kind of suffering he once imposed first hand.

I often wonder how Paul must have felt as he watched fellow brothers and sisters in Christ endure the kind of harsh treatment for their faith like he used to dole out. I can’t help but think he was constantly struck with sadness and remorse over the person he was before Jesus came along.

But we know he didn’t give up for the cause of Christ, no matter how much resistance and danger he faced. In fact, the constant threatening environment only seemed to embolden him more and as we see in these verses for today, he directed this spiritual confidence to encourage the Thessalonian believers. Look again at his words here:

For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.  1 Thessalonians 2:14-16

Here we find Paul letting the Christians in Thessalonica know that they weren’t alone in their persecution. For “God’s churches in Judea” which were “in Christ Jesus” were suffering “the same things” over the same cause, the cause of the Gospel.

The Christians in Judea, many of which were Jewish converts, were being abused by those of the Jewish faith, the same faith that “killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets”, the same faith that drove out Paul and the other Christian disciples. Paul makes it clear that this wicked conduct, an intentional hostility toward Christian believers to keep the message of salvation away from the Gentiles, had always heaped up the sins of the Jews to the limit while displeasing God.

And this would not go unpunished anymore than any persecution happening to Christians today.

For anyone who seeks to mistreat or hard anyone who is carrying out God’s will of salvation for all people will experience His wrath and no one can stand against such a judgment when it comes.

It’s an unfortunate truth but Christianity and persecution will always be found together until that day when Jesus returns to judge the world and bring perfect justice. Until that time, let us move forward to proclaim the Gospel with a bold courage like Paul, undeterred by anyone as we go forth to carry out Christ’s great commission while trusting God who has our collective backs.

Amen.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: You can learn about current persecution in the Christian church through two organizations dedicated to supporting those who experience hardship for the cause of Jesus.

International Christian Concern   https://www.persecution.org

The Voice of the Martyrs                 https://www.persecution.com

Both organizations offer the opportunity to support Christians in areas of persecution and prayers are always needed in this area.  

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

THE LIVING, WORKING WORD

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In Christ, Mark

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

Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received His message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 NLT

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

At the very center of Christian living is the word of God. For if it weren’t for everything that God has said and the recording of the things He has done, especially the revelation of His salvation plan for all mankind through His Son Jesus, there would be no Christianity nor would there hope for anyone.

On top of this, our God continues to speak to us, sharing His words through our prayer communication with Him and through the counsel we receive from the Holy Spirit.

In other words, we aren’t guided by words that are formed by human wisdom but rather by the very God who created everything in heaven and on earth. Our very being depends on Him and He will ultimately dictate our eternal outcome. This is why it’s so critical to know Him and receive His word with gladness and submission to His will and way for our lives.

The Thessalonian Christians had done this and as we see in verse 13 of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2, Paul shares His joy in knowing that the believers in Thessalonica embraced what they were taught as the “very word of God”, not just “mere human ideas”.

Note that this very word of God didn’t just enter the Thessalonian Christians and then go dormant. Rather, it continued to work within them because they believed in Him and His Son. For the word of God is always a working word that remains alive and active within the heart, mind, and soul of anyone who gladly receives it. It was true in first century A.D. and it remains true today.

Speaking of the word of God, here’s what we learn about it in the Holy Bible:

The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Here, we learn that the word of God is surgical. It penetrates the spirit within a person and “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”. If you read the word of God and feel good within, like that warm and fuzzy feeling people often talk about, then the Lord is signaling to you that you are doing right, obedient to the words you are reading. If you feel guilty or sad when you are reading the word of God, then the Lord is convicting you of your sin and encouraging you to repent and change.

We can always gauge where we are as Christian believers by reading the alive and active word of God, allowing it to work within us.

Here’s another couple verses to consider in regard to the Bible:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

All scripture is alive because God breathed into life and continues to do so. Used properly, it becomes our life instruction manual, “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness”.

God wants us to be “thoroughly equipped for every good work” He will have us carry out and He uses His living, working word to do it.

Finally, consider these words from Peter:

You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,

“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” 1 Peter 1:23-25

All Christians are born again, leaving their sinful lives behind in exchange for new life in and through Christ. It’s impossible to enter Heaven, the very Kingdom of God without it because Jesus said so Himself:

“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3

When a person commits to Christ and is born again, then trade the perishable for the imperishable and this is only made possible through the living word of God that endures forever.

Every day, I get the privilege and honor to be a vessel God uses to share His word with you and others. It’s the best time I spend and I can tell you from experience that the messages I share are definitely grounded in a word that is active, alive, and working. I pray that He is helping you grow in your faith and knowledge of Him as He helps shape you to be the person He wants you to be, a person who is becoming more and more a reflection of His Son Jesus.

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

THE IMPORTANCE OF NURTURING IN MINISTRY

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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

As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.

Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers.

And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For He called you to share in His Kingdom and glory.

1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 NLT

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

Nearly everywhere that Paul traveled during his missionary journeys, he was bringing the Gospel to people, both Jews and Gentiles, for the first time. In other words, Paul and his fellow missionaries had far more knowledge of the scriptures and could speak to them with authority through the power of the Holy Spirit than those they hoped to bring salvation to.

And yet, as we see in today’s scripture passage, the evangelism approach in Thessalonica wasn’t overbearing or demanding. Rather, the “apostles of Christ” engaged the perspective Thessalonian believers as if they were fellow children in the faith, fellow children Father God.

Indeed, the scriptures assure us that everyone who chooses to believe in Jesus as Savior will become a child of God, a co-heir with Christ for the inheritance of the kingdom of Heaven.

Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God...The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. Romans 8:14, 16-17

And so we know that Paul and the other missionaries wanted the budding Christ believers to know that they were all the same, children of God because they believed in Jesus for salvation.

But note that the apostles of Christ also assumed a nurturing role for the Thessalonian church, treating the congregants like a “mother feeding and caring for her own children” or a father who would encourage and plead to his children to live lives that God would consider worthy.

In other words, Paul and the others with them held a deep parental love and sense of caring for the new Christians in Thessalonica, understanding their newness to the faith as they shared “God’s Good News” with them along with fellowship. Paul would write more about this nurturing ministry posture as he wrote to the Jesus followers in Corinth:

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

As a newborn baby craves milk from its mother as its body is not yet ready for solid food yet, so too do new Christian believers need to be brought along slowly as they mature more and more in their faith. That’s the point Paul was trying to make to both the Thessalonians and Corinthians.

Just like parenting, evangelizing new Jesus believers is hard work but there is no more fruit-bearing labor that anyone will ever do in life. Paul and the others worked very diligently among the Thessalonians for the cause of the Gospel but not in a way that was overbearing. They avoided being a burden to the Thessalonians as they preached God’s good news to them.

They also carried out the Christ’s Great Commission with devotion and integrity. We see Paul reminding the Thessalonian church that the ministry work carried out by him and the others was done devoutly and faultless with honesty toward all believers. There was never a time that the apostles for Christ wanted to compromise the Gospel cause through misconduct in their behavior.

Friends, we need to be just as conscientious as we continue to carry on the work of Paul and other Gospel messengers found in the scriptures. For as we go forth to bring the message of God’s salvation offer through Jesus to others, we need to remember to be nurturing in the way we go about our evangelistic work. We need to keep things simple, spiritually feeding prospective new believers baby milk rather than a lot of theological solids. We also need to operate with devotion and love and integrity in everything we do for the cause of Christ.

If we do this, follow in the ways of the greatest apostolic evangelist ever after Jesus, then we can be sure of success in our quest to help the lost become found and saved.

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