Day 125/260: Read 2 Thessalonians 3

Paul often asked for prayers from his brethren. It is always interesting to notice the specifics of his requests.

Humility is a mark of Paul’s appeal. He does not plead for personal success, or for his own popularity. Rather, he wants them to pray “that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified.” Is that our prayer today?

Further, he asks for prayers “that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men.” What is the purpose of this request? The answer may lie in one of his letters to Timothy.

The apostle wrote to the young evangelist, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

We will face hardships in life. There is no denying that. But the fewer hardships we face, the more we can work toward the advancement of God’s kingdom through evangelism.

Are you praying “that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified”? Are you living “in all godliness and reverence” so that you can be a profitable servant and effective proclaimer of the gospel?

Memory (Recite to a friend without looking)

1 Thessalonians 5:21. “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”

Pray

Pray that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified.

Day 124/260: Read 2 Thessalonians 2

Traditions can be a good thing, or they can be a hindrance. In matters of opinion, if one refuses to change his practice simply because “that’s the way we’ve always done it,” that is stubbornness. If our practices are based merely on traditions, then we should be flexible and willing to try new things.

However, there are some traditions that should never change. “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.” The traditions revealed in the Bible are inspired traditions, given to us by the apostles and other men who were led by the Spirit to write the things they wrote. Those are non-negotiable traditions.

Sadly, man has attempted to change God’s Word from the very beginning. Time and time again, the inspired writers cautioned against changing the things that have been revealed. Paul said, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7).

May we never pervert that which was handed down by inspiration; let us rather “stand fast and hold the traditions” revealed in Scriptures.

Memory (Fill in the blanks)

1 Thessalonians 5:21. “Test _____________ things; hold _____________ what is good.”

Pray

Pray for strength of conviction in standing firm in what God has revealed.

Day 123/260: Read 2 Thessalonians 1

Faith demands obedience.

There has long been a popular false doctrine that God saves by faith only. That concept is found nowhere in the Scriptures; in fact, it contradicts clear New Testament teaching. Using the example of Abraham, James 2:24 explicitly states, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”

Faith that does not cause one to obey the will of God is not a Biblical faith. Read through the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. See how faith motivated those saints of old to act. Their works were demanded by their faith in what the Lord had said to them.

Our faith demands action today as well. When Jesus says, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned,” and our initial response is not, “Let’s get down to the water right now!”, there is a problem. If we look for loopholes, or ignore the first part of the verse and focus on what He didn’t say in the second part, where is our faith?

Paul shows the importance of obedience in the first chapter of 2 Thessalonians. When Christ returns, He will come “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Have you obeyed?

Memory (Fill in the blanks)

1 Thessalonians 5:21. “Test all _____________; hold fast what is _____________.”

Pray

Pray for opportunities to faithfully obey God’s will.

Day 122/260: Read 1 Thessalonians 5

My telephone rang the other day. On the line was a man who had just been released from prison for burglary. He wanted to know if I would be home Thursday night, as he planned to break in to my home and steal my possessions.

It’s preposterous to think that such a thing would really happen, isn’t it? Yet that is what so many think about the second coming of our Lord. Look at all the natural disasters and wars and diseases…surely He is coming back soon!

Jesus, Paul, and Peter all attest to the fact that there will be no sign or forewarning, but that Christ’s return will be “as a thief in the night” (Matthew 24:43; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10). We have a responsibility to “watch and be sober…putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”

Don’t fall for the shysters who claim to know the exact hour of Jesus’ return. No one knows, and there will be no extrabiblical warning. “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:38-39).

The warning is in the Word, not in the world.

Memory (Copy into a notebook 5-10 times)

1 Thessalonians 5:21. “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”

Pray

Pray for stronger faith in the Word of the Lord, and a stronger faith in living His will.