SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/18/2014 8:27 AM
My Worship Time Focus: 8th Characteristic of the Elect: Telling
others about Christ
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1
Thessalonians 1:8-9a
Message of the
verses: “8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and
Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so
that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves report about us
what kind of a reception we had with you.”
When we began to look at how the Thessalonians became
believers we read from the 17th chapter of Acts, and we learned that
Paul had come from one direction and the Holy Spirit had prevented him from
going in two other directions so he had to go into what is modern day Europe, into
the providence of what is modern day Greece.
Now the place that Paul ended up was in Philippi and then after a short
stay he was beaten and kicked out of Philippi, so he went on to Thessalonica. Now we also learned that Thessalonica was
strategically located for travel as it was on a bay and also was on the main
East, West road of that day. We see that
Paul was not there too long either, but we have been learning that the Holy
Spirit of God was working with the new believers so that when Paul wrote this
letter he learned that they were really true believers and that when he begins
his letter to them he speaks of ten characteristics that they had which were
evidences of those who are elect of God.
We look today at the evidence of evangelism, and this is very important
for new believers and all believers. On
a personal note I can vividly remember when I became a believer while on
vacation in Florida and when I got home I was eager to tell my friends about
what happened to me and desired to have that happen to them to so I told them
how they, too could be saved. There is
great excitement when a person comes to know the Lord, so great an excitement
that they want to tell others and this is what these young believers in Christ
were doing as we see from our text today.
John MacArthur explains the meaning of “Sounded forth (exechetai) is used only here in the New Testament and means ‘to
blast forth’ or ‘to sound forth very intensely.’ Outside the New Testament, the term was used
to refer to a blaring trumpet, or a rolling thunder. The perfect tense form of exechetai indicates the church’s bold,
continual trumpeting of the gospel message.”
MacArthur writes “Their influence was so clear and
extensive that Paul said he had no need to say anything. In fact, news of the Thessalonians’ salvation
and subsequent powerful witness was so convincing that Paul said the people who
heard the testimony of the church could themselves report about us what kind of a reception we
had with you. Rather than Paul
telling people he met in his travels about what God had done in that city,
people were telling him what was becoming commonly known. Every church could wish for such and impact
and reputation.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: It was a little
over a month ago that we were privileged to be in the hospital when our seventh
grandchild was born. Olivia Grace came
into the world on the 12th of February and what a blessing it was
for parents and grandparents. Seeing the
new birth is even more exciting, for when that happens we know that that person
will live eternally with our Lord Jesus Christ.
While I was in Florida a number of years ago I was
listening to Chuck Swindoll, and few people can tell a story like he can. He was talking about an older lady who was in
the office of a doctor who was a believer and when it came time for her to see
the doctor he saw the lady talking to a person about the Lord and so he told
his nurse not to bother her for she was giving birth. There is nothing more exciting than seeing a
person come know the Lord.
My Steps of Faith for Today: 1 Peter 3:15 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in
your hearts, always being
ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the
hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”
Memory verses for the
week: Philippians 2:5-9
5 Have this attitude in
yourself which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form
of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied
Himself, taking of the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness
of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a
man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death
on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God
highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “His only begotten Son” )John
3:16).
Today’s Bible
question: “Who said, ‘But as for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord’?”
Answer in our next SD.
3/18/2014 9:04 AM
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