2 Thessalonians 3:3

But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

Encouraging Words

In this day and age when it is so difficult to build relationships that are deep and strong, it is encouraging to know that our Lord will always be faithful to us. He will go beyond faithfulness and He will establish us in such a way that He can guard us against the wiles of the evil one. Glory be to God!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Personal challenge

We often hear people ask what the will of God is. Well, Paul gives us a small glimpse into a part of Gods’ will in our lives. Rejoice always, not just when things are going our way. We are to rejoice in our difficulties as much as we do in our blessings. Pray without ceasing. We are to develop a mindset and a relationship with our God such that every breath is an uttered prayer. That is one of the reasons we have the Jesus prayer, which is, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.” Finally, we are to give thanks in everything. This is like eating a sandwich. The center of the sandwich is praying without ceasing and this is surrounded by rejoicing always and giving thanks in everything. Glory be to God!

1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

Personal Challenge

Practicing the second great commandment of loving our neighbor as we love ourselves can be difficult at times. People are not always easy to love, but then, neither are we. Here are some basic guidelines that can help us to develop the ability to love others. Gently warn those who are unruly, comfort those who are faint of heart, when we see a neighbor who is weak, uphold them, and be patient with all others. If someone treats us in an evil way, do not be evil back but look for the good in them. Loving our neighbor is a process that must begin somewhere and that somewhere is in our own heart. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

Encouraging Words

As Christians, we put our hope in Jesus Christ and that He will carry us through to the end of times. We believe that He will resurrect us from our sleep just as He was resurrected. Our hope does not stop there. Our hope is that He will also raise up all of those who have gone before us and have put their hope in Him as well. This hope gives us peace as we remember our dear departed ones. Glory be to God!

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

Personal challenge

Wouldn’t we all love to be found with our hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the end of time? We are told here by Paul that we do that by increasing and abounding in love to one another and all. And how do we do that? We don’t. Jesus does that in and through us. We need Him much more than He ever needs us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

1 Thessalonians 2:3-4

For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit.

But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.

Encouraging Words

Encouraging aspects of our Christian faith is the legacy of how it has been passed down through the ages. We believe that the fundamental and core teachings were given by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to His apostles. They were given everything needed for His Church to thrive and to succeed throughout the remainder of eternity. Through the governance model established for the Church in the very beginning, these teachings are passed from generation to generation and kept in check by the traditions and structure of the original Church and continue to this day. Scriptures are to be interpreted in this context. Heresies are to be confronted in this context. And our practices even to this day are founded in this context. When a person, or group of people, choose to break away from this foundation, they begin to lose their roots and their approval. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Colossians 4:6

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Personal Challenge

Everyone enjoys a savory meal, a meal that has just the right amount of spices and flavors to make your mouth water for that next bite. This is the image that comes to my mind when I read this verse. Too much salt and the morsel that touches the tongue gets spewed out. Our speech should be savory to those around us, truthful, honest, and yet filled with grace. With this kind of speech, there is no room for sarcasm or put-downs, no room for false platitudes and insincere compliments. We are to answer everyone in a way that glorifies God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Colossians 4:2

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

Personal Challenge

Prayer is one of the most powerful, and readily available, weapons in our arsenal of a godly and righteous life. Unfortunately, it is sometimes the least used. Prayer doesn’t focus on us, it focuses on God and others. Even if we are praying for a need in our own lives, by asking that God’s will be done, we are shifting from focusing on ourselves to focusing on God. He is always there for us, we need only call out to Him earnestly with vigilance and thanksgiving. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Colossians 3:23-24

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

Personal Challenge

In Christianity, there is no room for doing things in a lackadaisical or nonchalant way. If we have truly given our lives over to our Lord, then we will recognize that we are no longer doing things or living our lives for ourselves but for Him. Because of this, we will desire to serve Him with our utmost ability, and then even more. If we are teaching Sunday School, we will go that extra mile to prepare our lessons so that we will glorify Him. If our job is to clean the floors after an event, we will do that to our utmost. If we are blessed with a career, we will execute it as if Jesus was the owner of the company. If we are in any kind of relationship, especially a marriage, then we will act as Christ did for His bride, the Church, and gave His life for her. Being a Christian means taking up our cross and giving our all, our entire lives, to God in everything that we do. Glory bet God!