SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/16/2014 8:55 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The Thessalonians’ Honoring of the Saints
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 Thess.
2:14a
Message of the
verses: “For you, brethren, became
imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea.”
Perhaps an obvious question here is why what was it that
made the Thessalonian Church like the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are
in Judah? A little history of the church
in Judah may help us understand the answer to this question. Let us begin at the beginning of the Church
age, for it all began in Jerusalem which is a part of Judea. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ and
just before His going back into heaven He told His disciples to wait in
Jerusalem “Acts 1:4 Gathering them together, He
commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had
promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; 5 for John
baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many
days from now.’” Later on in chapter two
we see that the Holy Spirit did come upon them as they were all baptized with
the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages to those who were
gathered in Jerusalem for the celebration of Pentecost 50 days after the
Passover when Jesus died on the cross.
This was the beginning of the Church, and despite the fact that there
are actually some today who believe that the Church began in the Garden of
Eden, it started there in Act Chapter two on the day of Pentecost. The Church will end when the Lord Jesus
Christ comes to the clouds above the earth and “raptures” the entire Church
into the air to be with Him, both those who had died in Christ and those who
are still alive on that day. (See 1
Thess. 4:13-18 and 1 Cor. 15:51ff.)
As we read through the book Acts we see that as time went
on the church in Jerusalem began to grow as on the first day there were some
3000 people added and we then read of other great numbers being added to the
church. However one of the things that
they did not do was to go into all the world to preach the gospel: “19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all
the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age.’”
(Matthew 28:19-20) We know this
as the great commission and I suppose that the people who were in the church in
Jerusalem were too comfortable to leave their surroundings to do this, but then
came the persecution and this caused many of them to leave and with them they
took the gospel to begin to tell others about how the Lord had saved them. Warren Wiersbe writes “The churches in Judea
had not been exterminated by suffering; if anything; they had been purified and
increased.” As we read this we can see
why the church in Thessalonica and the churches in Judea were alike as they
both suffered persecution.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: As I look at John
2:36 which says “"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who
does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on
him.’” This statement was made by John
the Baptist and it says to me that there are two kinds of people in this world,
those who are saved by believing in Jesus Christ who actually became sin and paid
the price of sin for all those who believe in Him, and those who will pay for
their own sins in hell for all eternity who have not accepted the gift that He
offers. Some people think that all
people are born good, but that is not true for all are born sinners and they
sin because they are sinners. Saying
this I can understand why believers are persecuted for their faith in Christ,
and it is happening more today than at any other time in the history of the
church. It is beginning to happen in our
own country and if the Lord does not return to snatch us out of here we will
see great persecution in the United States of America, which will purify the
church as it did in Judea. On my prayer
list I pray for God to raise up a spiritual giant in this country to be used by
God to bring about a great revival in this country before the Lord returns to
take us to be with Him.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Trust the Lord to bring about a revival
in me and in His Church in our country and around the world.
Memory verse for the
week: Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with
Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me
and gave Himself up for me.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “God” (1 Corinthians 3:9).
Today’s Bible
question: “How long did Jesus pray on
the mountain?”
Answer in our next SD.
4/16/2014 9:39 AM
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