God’s work… my part

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

2 Thessalonians 2:13

Salvation involves the work of God first and foremost. God provided the means of my salvation through the satisfying sacrifice of His Son. The death of Christ provided the satisfaction of the penalty of my sin. The resurrection of Christ provides the means for me to have a new life forever covered by the righteousness of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It all begins with Jesus. It is all provided by this magnificent grace. 

But I must believe. I must, by faith believe this truth. I must commit my hearts and life fully to the reality of my salvation and I must entrust my soul into His care. This is vital. I did not do the saving. I do not do the transforming. But by faith I am saved. By faith I am changed. By faith the Spirit of God comes to dwell within me and my Savior loves to change me. I must believe to know this change. I must commit to Jesus to know I am beloved by the Lord. He did the impossibly hard work of atoning for my sin. I do the trusting, believing, and obeying as He renews my life.

My life has been lived in this tender tension of trusting Jesus Who has done everything for me. And in denying myself, taking up a cross of faith, and following Him, I am totally transformed! And it is He who comforts my heart and establishes me in every good work and word (2 Thessalonians 2:17).

test and provoke

They tested God again and again

and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

Psalm 78:41

How like ancient Israel

is my own living soul

I forget too soon

the God I know

He is patient

in His grace

yet I am sinful

to His face

I will test Him

in selfish ways

make my demands

reject what He says

I can turn my back

to the Savior’s cross

forgetting He saved Me

at enormous cost

I must not test

the Lord my God

that much is clear

in His Word

Instead repentance

should move my heart

turning from sin

at the start

Lord, I am broken

make me true

although provoking wrath

is what I do

I confess now to

the Holy One

I beg forgiveness

from the Son

And as I pray

on bended knee

I know Your Spirit

remakes me

Although I test You

again and again

You take me back

into Your land

how it will be

…when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

2 Thessalonians 1:10

There isn’t much more to add to Paul’s view on how this is all going to eventually be. Jesus will return. Those who have believed in Him will rejoice, marvel and worship Him. Those who persecute Christians will be dealt a quick justice blow (2 Thessalonians 1:6). Those who have suffered for Jesus’ sake will find relief (2 Thessalonians 1:7). Jesus will come with a host of angelic soldiers to inflict fiery vengeance on those who reject God and disobey the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:8). They will enter eternal destruction, permanently and finally cast away from the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

This really is how it will be… for certain. Paul, as an apostle, was taught these truths about the future of the world by Jesus Himself. Paul shared this with the church to encourage believers to faithfully cling to Christ and proclaim the gospel despite the resistance and the apparent rise of evil. This helped them to endure. They lived a difficult existence. But knowing that Christ is King and Judge, Savior and Sovereign, brings comfort and strengthens the church with an unstoppable hope.

The truth here still brings needed perspective. The world gets worse and worse. A season of tyrannical power has emerged in our world once again. Wars are everywhere. Communication may be more global and instantaneous than anyone in Thessalonica in the first century could ever have imagined. Yet hate fills hearts, evil abounds, life is cheap, violence is glorified, God is mocked, and the gospel is hated in words or in actions all around us. The world is on the brink of collapse. This is the result of evil ruling hearts. It is time for Jesus to bring justice and in the end, His eternal rule of peace! 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

King of Creation

For the LORD is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

Psalm 95:3-5

You Who made it all

Creation’s Ruler

Universal King

Controller of wind

Director of waves

Sender of storms

Shaker of the earth

You hold this planet

and all that is on it

God Who made me

Ruler of my heart

King of my life

Controller of my destiny

Director of my story

Calmer of my storms

Shaker of my content

You lead all my experience

and all my future

Great God

King of all

Nothing is deeper than Your depths

Nothing is higher than Your throne

No sea will cover Your majesty

No mountain will dwarf Your glory

I worship and bow down

I kneel before my Maker

I am Yours

Everything is Yours

I am led by You

All is led by You

I will breathe in Your care

and exhale the praises of Your greatness

The importance of “ALL”

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

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

Rejoice ALWAYS. This apostolic command to the Thessalonians was given in a season of intense persecution and suffering. And it was given to a church struggling with the right perspective about their future. But Paul taught them to take comfort in the gospel truth of the resurrection and the return of Christ in glorious reign over the world that currently hates Him and His people. That was the perspective to provide hope for rejoicing. Rejoice when? Always. We worship and rejoice not always at what is, but at what Christ has already done and what is certain to come with our hope.

Pray WITHOUT CEASING. This command also was important for the Thessalonians (and for us) to understand. When times are hard: pray. When things go well: pray. When you need hope: pray. When you have hope: pray. When you feel alone: pray. When you are together: pray. There is never a moment of our mortal lives when prayer is incongruous with our circumstances. It is always needed. It is always necessary. It is always good.

Give thanks in ALL circumstances. Thankfulness keeps us humbly in relationship with the God Who saves, keeps, and helps us every day. And no matter what we face, difficult or easy, being grateful to a gracious, merciful, wise, and loving God is always the response we should have. I have to admit, this is not easy during confusing losses or in a culture where wrong seems to be rewarded and righteousness ridiculed. Lament often accompanies my gratefulness. Yet here is this clear, non-negotiable command to give thanks to God for it all. Why? His grace pours into our mess and is transforming us even in the midst of what is hard to handle. Will I believe and trust this truth? Thankfulness helps me keep trusting.

God is wise in instructing us to keep our hope alive at all times by rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks for it ALL. The God of ALL, over ALL, in ALL deserves ALL our worship in this way!

my dwelling place

Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place—

the Most High, who is my refuge—

no evil shall be allowed to befall you,

no plague come near your tent.

Psalm 91:9-10

I live in You, Lord

no building of brick and wood

is my true home

it is just a place

to live in Your presence

protected by Your hand

kept by Your mercies

sheltered by Your grace

in awe of Your great name

I live in You, Lord

my refuge from all storms

when life becomes threatening

You are my protection

You are my deliverance

my hope is secure

my help is at hand

my Deliverer is here

I am secure

I live in You, Lord

my tent staked down

until the day that

You take me to our home

I am safe and happy

for God is my dwelling place

the Most High is my refuge

I rejoice in His nearness

I worship in His salvation

those asleep

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

1 Thessalonians 4:14

“Fallen asleep”. That’s Paul’s phrase to describe believers who have preceded us in death. It is a comforting metaphor, not because they are somehow soul slumbering in death. It is a comfort because of the reality that those dead in Christ will rise again. They will return with Jesus at His Second Coming. “Asleep” implies “awakening”. It means that resurrection is a sure thing… as real as knowing that Jesus died and rose again. It is a gospel certainty.

There are times that I long to be with loved ones who are “asleep” right now. I wish for a conversation. I crave their perspective in my current confusion. I’d give anything to hear them talk about their ongoing life with Christ, in Christ, beyond death. I want a lovely hand to hold just one more time, a deep conversation with one who really knows my soul, a hug from a long gone parent, grandparent, or mentor. And so Paul’s words informing me that these loved ones are “asleep” and that a future reunion is guaranteed gives me hope. It may be cloudy today. Sunshine is coming. What I long for is real… as real as the moment I feel right now.

Lord,

I have stood by gravesides and memorials and wept. I will do so again soon. One day others will do so for me. I remember dear friends and family, my close loves, now “asleep”. With them I await Your “cry of command”, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God to sound! And I will see them again right by Your side! If I die today, I know that I too after “sleeping” will hear that trumpet and arrive alongside all of them. I do not weep hopelessly. I miss these people. I really do. I miss my sleeping family, brothers, and sisters in Jesus. Yet I hope. I smile in my tears knowing that day will surely come when remembering is changed to an awakened reality. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Amen

thriving and happy

For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

1 Thessalonians 3:9-10

Paul was grateful for good news in ministry. He had his share of difficult circumstances: struggling new churches he was forced to leave too early, persecution from pagan enemies, threats of death from Jewish religious authorities, and the hazards of first century travel in the Roman Empire. Yet to hear that the church in Thessalonica was thriving was exactly the kind of encouragement that kept ministry zeal flowing.

Paul was eager to return to them. Timothy had been dispatched to check in on a church that Paul had been forced to leave too quickly. And Timothy’s news that the Thessalonians exhibited strong faith in the gospel evidenced in a loving community AND that they longed to see Paul again, made all the difficulties and distress melt away. Paul was filled with a love to minister among them again. Knowing that the church stood fast in the Lord revived Paul’s weary soul (1 Thessalonians 3:8).

Now Paul was ready to return. He was ready to make this report a face-to-face experience in joyful reunion. He was ready to enjoy ministry among them. He was ready to instruct, teach, model the gospel, and make disciples… to finish the apostolic work that had been prematurely interrupted. Paul was filled with ministry joy and expectation.

Lord,

You know how Your kingdom grows. And sometimes ministry has seasons of hardship and struggle. Yet the joy that we can know when Jesus lives in us,  the fruit of the Spirit grows in us, and a community of disciples worship their Savior is worth all of the hard work. Keep that vision fresh in me too Lord!

Amen

gentle

But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

1 Thessalonians 2:7

Ministry has an intense side to it. Many times people need to wrestle with a hard truth, make a difficult choice, or be confronted about a destructive, sinful behavior. But even in those moments, Paul’s tender metaphor of a mother with her infant child still should dominate how ministry is perceived and experienced. Love is gentle. It can sense when immaturity and need require a more motherly hand.

I know I have needed that sort of gentle nurturing at times. This was particularly true of my early commitment to follow Jesus. There are people in my past, people God used when I was a toddler in the faith, to gently show me what to do. Some of them just imitated Jesus quietly. They were patient. They talked to me. They understood. They didn’t rush, or scold, or smother me. By their example they winsomely won me over to live as they did. They were gentle, caregiving nurturers and stand as giants to me now.

Lord,

I am not sure that my discipleship example has always been a gentle one. Help me to pause, to care, to show with gentleness and to nurture the fruit of the Spirit and the example of Christ. May I be not just an instructor… not just a challenger… but a nurturer.

Amen

our help

O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,

and you have healed me.

Psalm 30:2

This was the testimony of David, whose life was nearly in constant threat. The close love for God that David developed as a shepherd alone in the pastures carried him through very difficult parts of his later life as king. The God of protection and deliverance shepherded the shepherd boy AND the shepherd king. David knew that closeness to God came through those deliverances. God was near at all times. David was comfortable crying for help, trusting the God of deliverance, and finding healing, comfort, and relief.

In the thirtieth psalm David expresses four ways God worked in the first three verses of the poem:

1.  “You have drawn me up…” Psalm 30:1. This was a change in position.

2.  “You have healed me..” Psalm 30:2. This was David’s preservation.

3.  “You brought up my soul…” Psalm 30:3. This was how a depressed soul experienced a pick up.

4.  “You restored me to life…” Psalm 30:3. Death lost. This was God prevailing.

God is near. God is at work. He loves to show Himself in our most difficult moments. Will we cry out? Will we know the God who prevails over death? Will we let God pick up our souls from the depths of the hell we feel? Will we trust Him to preserve our lives? Will we let Him change our position? We can know all this, and more, if we will trust Him, cry out to Him, and let Him do His good work. God will help!

Imitators and Examples

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

Disciples follow their master

We do what we are shown

We know as we are known

We live what we see

We model what will be

Disciples imitate

Imitation is not hypocrisy

To follow is not just an act

Following puts feet to the fact

There is the truth in how we live

There is sacrifice in how we give

Disciples imitate

Disciples are an example

Jesus is recognized in us

Disciplemakers modeled by us

Others can do right too

Simply doing what we do

Disciples are examples

Examples can be followed

And in that way we proclaim

and live by our Savior’s name

We call others to follow Jesus

Just asking them to act like us

Disciples are examples

flawed followers

And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

Matthew 28:17

As Jesus prepared to leave His men at His ascension, He commissioned them to make disciples by teaching His gospel. And although obedient to Him, they were still flawed followers. Yes, they worshiped a resurrected Lord with Whom was all power and authority. And yes, even in their worship they wavered with doubt. Jesus would still use these struggling people who wanted to believe and to follow His commands. We don’t have to be perfect to follow Jesus. We don’t have to be perfect to proclaim His good news. God uses us, struggles and all, because the power in not in us, but in Jesus!

When we obey despite our struggles we are believing the authority of Christ. We have none on our own. We are broken, but healed. We are struggling, yet strengthened. We are flawed, yet forgiven. We have to work past doubts yet come to the conviction that a living Jesus Who rose from the dead commands us to tell His story! He is our authority. He is our power. He will use those He chooses so that His power is made perfect in our weaknesses.

We are sent into the world to be used to help others know and follow Jesus. We call them to believe the good news, to repent of sin, to follow Jesus by baptism, and learn from God, by His Word, in the work of His Holy Spirit. Flawed followers though we may be, Jesus builds His kingdom as we simply obey and let His power use us for His purpose.

And Jesus is always with His flawed followers. The last words He speaks in Matthew’s gospel echo through all of church history: “I am with you always, to the end of the age”. And so Jesus lives in us, through us, among us, and with His flawed followers. He calms fears. He removes objections. He stands by us even as our doubts tempt us not to stand by Him. He strengthens us in struggles. He will never leave us. And despite our flaws, Jesus rules and reigns as He remakes us for His glory. AMEN!

cast burdens to God

Cast your burden on the LORD,

and he will sustain you;

he will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

But you, O God, will cast them down

into the pit of destruction;

men of blood and treachery

shall not live out half their days.

But I will trust in you.

Psalm 55:22-23

David wrote these words to process disillusionment, disappointment, betrayal, and bewilderment. A person who was once in his inner circle of friendship and leadership had turned against him. Now that former friend has become a conspirator with his enemies plotting David’s downfall. It is more than David is able to stand (Psalm 55:12-14). It is heartbreaking to experience such a betrayal. It was painful for David and in one sense this psalm is prophetic of what Jesus would experience as one of His friends/disciples would also turn Jesus over to His enemies.

But David trusts God and not the fickle allegiances of people. He knew that the Lord would not fail Him even as people would disappoint him and sometimes seek his destruction. David knew God would be his vindication. God judges the hearts of all. God knew all about the betrayal. God would handle the unrepentant actions of those who turned against His king. And the God of justice would take care of what David had experienced. The treachery would not stand. David needed only to trust the God Who delivers! And so David cast His heavy burden down and let God pick it up.

Lord Who catches what we cast,

Give us the faith to trust You with these heavy burdens. Life can have relational heartaches and burdens of betrayal too intense to emotionally understand. Help us, like David, to cast them to Your wise justice and trust You! And when betrayal is evil and real, You will dispense the proper recompense and justice that is more than equal to the treachery we feel. As for us, help us by Your Word and Your Spirit to trust in You… Jesus, through Your betrayal our souls were saved! We know You know and You provide our hope.

Amen