SCRIPTURE: 1 THESSALONIANS 3
BIBLE VERSES:
“ May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)
PAUL’S LONGING TO SEE THE THESSALONIANS (vs. 1-5)
Paul sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage the Thessalonian believers in their trials.
TIMOTHY ENCOURAGING REPORT (vs. 6-13)
When Timothy came back and brought the good news that the Thessalonians believers had pleasant memories with Paul and wanted to see him, Paul was encouraged despite of the persecution he encountered. He thanked God for they were standing firm in their faith. In closing, he gave this blessing: “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” (vs. 12-13)
THOUGHTS
Paul was not able to meet the new believers in Thessalonica. What did he do to help them?
- He sent Timothy to minister to the church
- He prayed for them.
- He wrote letter to encourage and comfort them.
- He reminded them of Christ’s coming.
We are commanded to preach the gospel to the lost. We have to send missionaries to places we cannot reach so that the gospel can be preached to the ends of the earth.
Every believer is built up with the Word of God. The word of God must not only be preached. It must be taught and explained so that every saint can see and partake it with understanding about the truth.
Prayer is essential to have a mature faith. Prayer gives us power and strength to sustain trials and persecution. Every Christian must have a consistent prayer life so that he can abound in love, establish in hope and grow in faith. We are commanded to pray for one another and for the lost.
The coming of Christ is a reminder for us to keep our lives blameless and clean.