Strength, Truth, and Grace (2 Thess. 3:16b-18)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/13/2014 10:38 AM

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  Strength, Truth, and Grace

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  2 Thess. 3:16b-18

            Message of the verses:  My goal is to finish the commentary of the 2^nd letter to the  Thessalonians as we look at the final two and a half verses.

            Strength (2 Thessalonians 3:16b):  “The Lord be with you all!”  I hope you remember that we have mentioned the different attributes of God in past SD’s, and one of them is that He is omnipresent, which means that God is everywhere.  When studying the attributes of God from a book entitled “The Joy of Knowing God” the author writes that the presence of God is even in hell, and then went on to explain that there were different kinds of presences of God, and that is exactly what we will be looking at to answer this question as to why Paul writes that the Lord be with us all.  In his commentary on this section John MacArthur writes that he believes that Paul is speaking of God’s Holy Spirit to be with them, and of course all true believers.  He quotes John 14:16-18 which says “16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.  18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”  Acts 1:8 says “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."”

            Why do believers need the presence of God’s Holy Spirit?  To answer this question we will briefly look at six reasons why believers need God’s strengthening presence in the form of His Holy Spirit from the commentary of John MacArthur.

            “First, it enables them to resist temptation.”  This may sound like a funny statement, but when I was working on the midnight shift many years ago I use to leave the house at 10:13 and this always reminded me of 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”  This verse is a part of my prayers, that God will give me the grace to overcome temptations.  Now remember that the word “temptation” can also be translated as “tests.”  God tests us while Satan tempts us so if we fail a test then we are then being tempted.  MacArthur writes “Christ’s strength will open up the path for believers to flee temptation.”

            “Second, believers need God’s strength to face Satan and his demon hordes.”  The answer to how we face Satan and his demon hordes is found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”  Paul then goes on to identify the pieces of the spiritual armor that are needed to accomplish this feat.

            “Third, believers need God’s strength to effectively serve Him.”  We can look at the calling of Paul by the Lord in order to minister to those whom God would lead him to as an example of how we as believers are called to do what the Lord has called us to do for the cause of Christ.  Ephesians 2:10 gives to us how we are called to do work for our Lord:  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  As we look at this verse we can see that before the world was created God was preparing good works for us to do for Him.

            “Fourth, believers need God’s strength to persevere.”  2 Timothy 4:18 is an example of this “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”  Think of this and that is that Paul only wrote four more verses that are recorded in the pages of Scripture as he was about to be martyred for the cause of Christ.

            “Fifth, believers need God’s strength to endure trials.”  This is seen in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

            “Sixth, believers need God’s strength to effectively evangelize the lost world.”  This can be demonstrated as we look at Acts 1:8, a verse we have already looked at:  “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."”   MacArthur writes:  “Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:16-19 summarizes believers’ need for God’s power in every aspect of life.  He prayed that God ‘16 would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18  may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19  and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.’”  Next we look at Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”  We can be assured that God will give us all the strength we need to accomplish the work that He has prepared for us before the world was made by Him.  As we think of this we must look back to what was written in yesterday’s SD about God giving us His peace, and how we must continue to walk in the Lord in a manner that His peace will continue to be in our lives.

            Truth (2 Thessalonians 3:17):  “17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write.”

            As we look at verse seventeen we must realize that Paul is actually interrupting his benediction in this verse, but will return to it in the next and last verse.  Remember that the Thessalonians had received a letter that was from a false prophet who said it was from Paul, however we must remember that Paul used a secretary to write his letters and then at the end of the letter he would write something in his own handwriting in order to assure his readers that it was from him.  Another example of this is found in his letter to the Galatians:  “6:11  See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.”

            We have learned in our study of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians that he indeed knew that he was writing Scripture, and so by knowing this he wanted to make sure that the truth that he wrote would not be confused by some false teacher who claimed that he was writing something in Paul’s name.  Paul was very much concerned of the truth of Scripture.

            One of God’s attributes is Truth as we learn from what Jesus said “I am the way, the life, and the truth.”  Truth is one of the most important things that we can learn from the pages of Scripture, for God is truth.  Pilate as Jesus what is truth, but he never waited to get the answer.  We must never walk away from the truth that is found in the Word of God, for we must search the Scriptures in order to know the truth that is found in it.  MacArthur writes “Paul wanted the church to be the ‘pillar and support of the truth’ (1 Timothy 3:15).  But to do so, it must be able to distinguish between ‘the spirit of truth and the spirit of error’ (1 John 4:6).  The only benchmark for doing so is the ‘word of truth’ (Col. 1:5; 2  Tim. 2:15; James 1:18), which is why Paul was so deeply concerned to guard, protect, and assure the authenticity of the revelation God gave him.” 

            Grace (2 Thessalonians 3:18):  18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”  Paul wanted the Thessalonians to continue to have the grace of God.  MacArthur gives the following definition of grace:  “Grace is God’s undeserved goodness and benevolence granted to those who in no way deserve it.  Saving grace was decreed by God (Ps. 84:11) and given through our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. John 1:17; Rom. 5:15; 1 Cor. 1:4; Titus 2:11).  Grace is essential, not only for salvation (Acts 15:11; 18:27; 20:24; Rom. 3:24; Gal. 1:6, 15; Eph. 1:7; 2:5, 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:7), but also for endurance (2 Cor. 12:9; cf. Prov. 3:340, service (Rom. 12:6; Eph. 4:7; 1Tim. 1:12-14; 1 Peter 4:10, growth (Acts 20:32; Heb. 13:9; 2 Peter 3:180, and giving (2 Cor. 8:1).  Believers experience God’s enabling, sanctifying grace by trusting Him, obeying His Word, enduring chastening, doing good, walking in the Spirit, and praying.” 

            MacArthur concludes this chapter, and his commentary on 2 Thessalonians with the following paragraph:  “There is a wonderful mystery to living the Christian life to the glory of God.  To do so requires all the understanding, obedience, commitment, dedication, and effort that the redeemed can give.  But all of that would be futile were it not for the peace, strength, truth, and grace that only God can supply.  Paul had the balance when he wrote, ‘For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me’ (Col. 1:29).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful to the Lord for His perfect timing.  I know that I have read the last words that Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians many times, and I can now say that these last three verses of 2 Thessalonians have been very important to me, and as I said they were given to me in perfect timing from the Lord.  Praise the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to remember peace, strength, truth, and grace, and what they mean to me.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-4.

1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness or our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Shem, Ham, Japeth” (Genesis 9:18).

Today’s Bible question:  “The name of which book of the Bible is derived from one of the sons of Jacob?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/13/2014 12:29 PM

           

Peace (2 Thess. 3:16a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/12/2014 10:44 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                                      Focus:  Peace

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Thess. 3:16A

            Message of the verse:  “16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.”

            Before we begin to study what is one of God’s attributes, peace, I want to quote what is an actual short review of 2 Thessalonians that is found in John MacArthur’s commentary on 2 Thessalonians.  “This brief letter has been filled with high drama.  Its three short chapters have described God’s retribution on the wicked rejecters of the Lord Jesus Christ, and their eternal destruction in hell (1:6-10).  It has discussed God’s judgment on the sinful world in the Day of the Lord (2:1-2).  It has also predicted the coming of the final Antichrist, the blasphemous abomination of desolation he will commit, and his ultimate destruction at the return of Jesus Christ (2:3-12).  It has warned of deceiving wolves in sheep’s clothing (2:2-3) and rebuked lazy Christians (3:6-15).  In short it has up to this point been a tempestuous letter.  But this concluding passage is like the calm sea after a violent storm.”  I suppose that peace being one of God’s attributes should be no surprise to me, and yet I do not remember studying about peace as an attribute of God in the books that I studied that spoke of God’s attributes.  We will take a brief look at this attribute in today’s SD.

            MacArthur calls peace as being “highly prized, yet elusive,” and I would hardily agree with that statement, for peace seems to be a difficult thing to maintain in my life, but hopefully after doing this short study on peace that I will be able to have peace that passes all understanding so it will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7). 

            If one would think about peace and what a worldly definition would be they would miss the mark as far as what God’s definition would be, for one can have peace in the world’s definition by having a restful night’s sleep, or by doing drugs or drinking alcohol.  This surely is not a description of God’s peace.  I remember something that I heard about a very long time ago that has to do with God’s peace.  An artist was asked to paint a picture of “peace” and after he spent time in his work it was time for the painting to be revealed.  As the canvas came off of the painting it revealed a bird, a mother bird sitting on her nest with her baby birds under her.  The amazing thing was that the bird’s nest was situated in a tree branch over a raging waterfall, and left the audience wondering why the artist could call his painting “peace.”  This is the perfect description of peace.  John MacArthur writes “It (peace) is the deep, settled confidence that all is well between the soul and God because of His loving, sovereign control of one’s life both in time and eternity.  That calm assurance is based on knowledge that sins are forgiven, blessing is present, good is abundant even in trouble, and heaven is ahead.  The peace that God gives His beloved children as their possession and privilege has nothing to do with circumstances of life.”

            We will now look at an outline, with some descriptions of what the characteristics of peace are.

1.      Peace is divine, deriving from the Lord of peace Himself.  Just as when we look at some of the other characteristics or attributes of God we find that God is peace, and in this case He is the One who gives His children peace, for that is the only way we can receive it.  As we look at God’s peace we know that just as His other attributes it is perfect.  We know that God is never under stress, never worried, never anxious, never fearful, never unsure, or He is never threatened.  As we look at all of these “never” statements in the sentence above we know that the reason that we can say this is that because of His other attributes.  Now as we search the Scriptures we find out that the trinity, the Father, Son, and the Spirit all have the quality of peace for they are in essence One.  MacArthur writes “In the perfectly harmonious working of the Trinity, the Father decreed peace, the Son purchased it (cf. Acts 10:36; Rom. 5:1; Col. 1:20), and the Holy Spirit brings it.”

2.      “Divine peace is a gift from God.  It is His good pleasure to graciously grant it to those who belong to Him.”  Numbers 6:26 says “The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’”  In all of Paul’s letters we find that peace appears in the greetings of them, and not only his letters, but in Peter’s letters, 2^nd and third John, Jude, and also Revelation.  Now let it be known that God does not give His peace to unbelievers.  In his commentary John MacArthur quotes Puritan pastor Thomas Watson who writes:  “Peace flows from sanctification, but they being unregenerate, have nothing to do with peace…They may have a truce, but no peace.  God may forbear the wicked a while, and stop the roaring of His cannon; but though there be a truce, yet there is no peace. The wicked may have something which looks like peace, but is is not.  They may be fearless and stupid; but there is a great difference between a stupefied conscience, and a pacified conscience…This is the devil’s peace, he rocks men in the cradle of security; he cries peace, peace, when men are on the precipice of hell.  The seeming peace a sinner has, is not from the knowledge of his happiness, but the ignorance of his danger.” 

3.      “A third element of the divine peace that God gives to believers is that it is continually available.”  We may wonder if it is continually available why would Paul pray that the Thessalonian believers continually have peace.  MacArthur writes:  “Because though true peace is always available it can be interrupted.  Weak or disobedient Christians may find their peace disturbed by the same sins, doubts, fears, and anxieties that destroy the false peace of the unredeemed. 

a.       We will now look at reasons as to “How believer’s interrupted peace can be restored, and the first is by trusting God.  Let us look at Psalm 42:11 for an example for this:  “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”  The psalmist teaches us to hope in God. 

b.      The peace of God can be forfeited by sin.  1 John 1:8-10 says “8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”  Here is another quote from Thomas Watson “If you would have peace, make war with sin.”

c.       “Third, peace may be restored by accepting God’s chastening as seen in Job 5:17-24.   “17 "Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. 18 “For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal. 19 “From six troubles He will deliver you, Even in seven evil will not touch you. 20 “In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword. 21 “You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes. 22 “You will laugh at violence and famine, And you will not be afraid of wild beasts. 23 "For you will be in league with the stones of the field, And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you. 24 “You will know that your tent is secure, For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.”  I also think that what we find in Hebrews chapter twelve goes well with this point:  “"My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not son (NKJV).”

d.      “Fourth, peace may be restored by walking in the Spirit, since peace is an element of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22).”

e.       “Fifth, peace may be restored by loving God from the heart and avoiding legalism.”

f.        “Sixth, those whose peace has been interrupted need to pray that the God of peace and the Prince of Peace will restore it.”

4.      “A fourth element of the divine peace that God continually gives the redeemed is that ‘it exists in every circumstance.’”  As we are learning more about God’s peace we have to notice that the peace that He has, that He gives to us is for every circumstance that we will face in our lives.  As we look back to the picture that the artist painted in which he called peace, we can see that the mother bird was completely at peace even though the waters were ragging around her, and not only her but her little birds she was caring for. 

MacArthur finishes this section with the following words: “Paul longed for God to grant the Thessalonians peace so that no matter what their circumstances were, they would experience settled confidence and unshakable joy amid the storms of life.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can praise the Lord for what I have learned from this short section that is found in 2 Thessalonians, for there were some things in this section that not only taught me some new truths, but also reminded me of truths that I had forgotten.  God’s timing is always perfect.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “If you would have peace, make war with sin.”

1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, but the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “In Tarsus” (Acts 22:3).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who were Noah’s sons?”

Answer in our next SD.   12/12/2014 12:59 PM

 

Love (2 Thess 3:15)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/11/2014 8:50 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                                      Focus:  Love

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference:  2 Thessalonians 3:15

            Message of the verses:  “15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”

            We are at the last verse from John MacArthur’s outline in his next to last chapter in the book of 2 Thessalonians, and then we will have only three more verses before we conclude these two wonderful letters that Paul penned to the young church in Thessalonica.  I am thankful to the Lord for the things that I have learned from these two letters, and now we will look at this last component that Paul speaks of as he deals with those who were disobeying the Lord by refusing to work in order to support themselves and their families.

            I mentioned in yesterday’s SD, or perhaps the one before that that I believed that this was the last step in the disciplinary process of believers who continually sin and have no desire to repent, but this is only the third step as the fourth step is that the congregation gives the person over to Satan.  Paul spoke of this in 1 Corinthians:  “1Co 5:5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”  The case that Paul is speaking of here is that a son was actually living with his father’s wife, his step-mother and would not repent of it.  The problem was that the Corinthian’s were actually proud of the fact that they were tolerant with this man’s sin.  Even this final step is done in love, and it is believed that this man finally did repent of this sin and Paul had to write to them again and tell them to allow him back into fellowship with them.  Now we believe that this is the same person that Paul is speaking of in 2 Corinthians.  When the person was given over to Satan Paul is not saying that this person would lose their salvation, but that they would be in the place like an unbeliever and people were to treat him as such, that is that they should be praying for him to repent of his sins.

            In this third step Paul is saying not to treat this man like and enemy, but love him and admonish him as a brother.  This man had not yet been put out of the fellowship like the man in 1 Corinthians.  I say this man but we don’t actually know how many Thessalonians were involved in this discipline. 

            “John MacArthur writes:  “This point provides a much-needed balance to the discipline process, noting that the motive for disciplining sinning believers is love.  Galatians 6:1 gives the proper attitude for those engaged in the discipline process:  ‘Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.’”

            MacArthur concludes the chapter writing these words:  “Our culture’s work ethic has eroded, but the biblical work ethic remains constant.  When Christians diligently pursue the vocation to which God has called them, God is honored.  Therefore, ‘All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against’ (1Tim. 6:1).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When I look at the different lists of sins that are mentioned in the NT in different places I know that I will have problems with one or more of them, and perhaps not the same ones as others and so I desire to have compassion for those who struggle with different sins that I don’t struggle with even though I don’t struggle with the same ones.  A very long time ago I was on picket duty with a fellow believer and he told me that if he were in a room with millions of dollars in it that he would not be tempted to steal any of it.  However if he was in a room full of women he would be strongly tempted to lust after them.  He had no trouble with stealing, but lusting.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-4.

1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakes of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Martha” (John 11:39).

Today’s Bible question:  “Where was Paul born?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/11/2014 9:30 AM

Shame (2 Thess. 3:14)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/10/2014 9:28 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  Shame

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  2 Thessalonians 3:14

            Message of the verses:  “14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame.”

            Just a little reminder of what we are looking at from verses 6-15 of 2 Thessalonians chapter three.  John MacArthur writes “Since this was the third time that Paul had to deal with this issue (3:10; 1 Thess. 4:11-2), he bluntly and directly confronts those who stubbornly refused to work.  This passage contains six incentives to motivate those sinning to repent and get to work:  disfellowship, example, survival, harmony, shame and love.”  We are looking at the fifth of these incentives in today’s SD, and by God’s grace we will look at the last one, love, in our next SD.  I do want to make a change in the NT book that we will be looking at next year, and this will take longer than a year to finish, but it seems to me that the Lord has impressed on my heart to look again at the book of Revelations.  I have already posted my first study on Revelations on my blog, but I look forward to studying the wonderful book again.  The times we are living in seem to have something to do with why I wish to look at it again.  I guess Colossians will have to wait for a while for me to look at.  Every book that I look at in the NT will be a second time studying it, but remember God’s Word is something we can study again and again and never exhaust it.  I have heard that when we get to heaven we will continue to study God’s Word and this would not surprise me one bit.

             We have spoken about the steps of discipline that is found in Matthew eighteen in earlier SD’s, and the verse we are looking at today seems to me, is the last step in this process without turning the person or persons over to Satan as Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians.  As we will learn tomorrow all of these steps are done in love in order to have the person repent.

            As we look at this verse we see the words “do not associate with” in it and John MacArthur write the following about these words:  “The strong double compound verb sunanamignumi) associate with) literally means, ‘to mix up together with.’  The church individually and collectively was to withdraw fellowship from such persons and avoid them.  Surely they were not to participate in the love feast, since feeding them a meal would condom and perpetuate their indolent behavior.  The pressure of isolation was to be brought to bear on them to produce repentance.”   It is hard on a person to not have fellowship with other believers, who hold so much in common, so this is a great way to show them the error of their ways and to get them to repent and then go to work.  What this does to the sinners is to put them to shame.  A man especially has much difficulty in not being able to provide for his family, as least that should be their attitude.  Unfortunately there are many men living in our society who not only do not provide for their family, but don’t even live in the same house with them for they are out living on the streets looking for other women to bare children for them.  This is the sad result of not following the Biblical principles that Paul is writing of in this section of Scripture.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  All sin is shameful to commit, at least it should be.  There are times when sin seems to have control of me in certain areas and I need the grace of God to show me how to “set my mind on things above, and not on the things that are on earth.”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth (Col. 3:2).”

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-4.

1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “The place of the skull” (Mark 15:22).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘Lord by this time he stinketh: for he has been dead four days’.”

Answer in our next SD.

12/10/2014 10:08 AM

           

 

The Incentive of Harmony (2 Thess. 3:11-13)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/9/2014 10:21 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  The Incentive of Harmony

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  2 Thessalonians 3:11-13

            Message of the verses:  “11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. 13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.”

            Paul has spent a lot of time trying to teach the Thessalonians that all who are able to work should be doing so.  It is not told to us how Paul got the message that there are still some who are not willing to work.  We know from the first letter that Paul got his information from Timothy, who had visited this church, but perhaps Paul was sent a letter about this situation or someone traveled from Thessalonica to Corinth to tell him about this situation.

            The phrase “doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies” is a play on works in the Greek language according to John MacArthur who writes “Paul says they were not ergazomenous, but periergazomenous; ‘not busy, but busybodies.’  Not content with refusing to work productively, they used their unoccupied time to wander around interfering in the lives of other in the church (1 Tim. 5:13).  The nonworkers were an irritant, creating disunity and discord by being a burden on those who did work.  That was beginning to affect the loving harmony and effective witness of the assembly of faith.” 

            These nonworkers were being strongly commanded in the name of Jesus Christ, and also gently exhorted to work so that they could lead productive lives and not be a burden to others who were in the church.  Paul tells them “to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.”  The message puts it this way for verse 12:  “This must not be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately—no excuses, no arguments—and earn their own keep.”

            Paul encourages the rest of the church to not be discouraged, or grow weary of doing good.  Now Paul knows that this could happen because they had to feed the ones who were not working and also they may have been bragging about the fact that they did not have to work and were being fed from those who were working.  I have seen this actually happen from people on welfare in country, and this is one of the things that are bringing our country down and into bankruptcy.  Paul did not want discord to happen in the church so he encourages those who were doing right to continue to do right.  Now remember those who are unable to work must be taken care of by those who are able to work.  We see a picture of this in the early church from the book of Acts as David writes in Psalm 37:21 “The righteous is gracious and gives… All day long he is gracious and lends.”  The following is a quote from our Lord as seen in Luke 14:12-14 “12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. 13  "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14  and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."”

            In one of the sermons I listened to on this section by John MacArthur he stated that in today’s world that more than 90% of the people who are out on the street begging for food are not really poor but actually making a good living at begging.  This is why it is hard for me to give to people like this.  We all have to be wise in our helping the poor for even organizations who are collecting money to help the poor are not all legitimate for some of the keep much of the money to pay themselves while others keep very little or none at all of what is collected.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:   Be wise in helping the poor, but do help them.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Memory verses for the week:  1 Peter 1:1-4.

1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promise, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Not grudgingly, or of necessity, but cheerfully.”

Today’s Bible question:  “What do the words Calvary and Golgotha mean?

Answer in our next SD.

12/9/2014 11:02 AM

 

The Incentive of Survival (2 Thess. 3:10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/8/2014 9:44 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  The Incentive of Survival

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  2 Thess. 3:10

            Message of the verses:  “10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.”

            This is not the first time that Paul has talked to these people about this subject as we have discussed before.  1 Thess. 4:11 “And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you.”  1 Thessalonians 5:14 “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”  So the problem is not that they did not know this, the problem is that they were not following this command that Paul has given to them as the Word of the Lord.

            We have a great problem in our country with the giving away of food stamps to people who are just unwilling to work, and this causes those who receive them not to want to work, and then this causes more problems for it makes our society into an entitlement society.  What will probably happen is that one day we will run out of money to give the people who are unwilling to work and then there will be riots and eventually this will help in destroying our country.  The problem with history is that people don’t learn from it, so Paul is trying to stop this kind of behavior in Thessalonica.  My father was out on his own at very early age, but he never wanted to receive anything without working for it.  I have heard some stories or him riding the rails, moving from place to place just to try and find enough work in order to eat.  This was passed on to his children and I am thankful for this quality of my father because it helped instill it into my life, the lives of my sisters, and the lives of our children, and they are passing it onto the lives of their children. He was born on this day in 1915.

            We must remember that Paul’s issue is with those who will not work, and not with those who were unable to work.  If the church in our country would take care of the ones who are unable to work, then they would not have to rely on the government to care for them.  We have to be an example to the world by taking care of the ones in the flock we attend.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Trust the Lord to continue to give me the desire to help others who are in need by doing all that we can.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Mark 14:38 “"Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."”

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-4.

1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “A rod” (Exodus 4:2).

Today’s Bible question:  “According to 2 Corinthians 9:7, how should one give?

Answer in our next SD.

12/8/2014 10:09 AM

 

Example (2 Thess. 3:7-9)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/7/2014 8:33 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  Example

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  2Thessalonians 3:7-9

            Message of the verses:  “7  For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, 8  nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; 9  not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example.”

            We are looking at the second sub-point from John MacArthur’s commentary on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15.  He has entitled this chapter “Work: A Noble Christian Duty.”

            This morning, Sunday morning, I take time to pray for our Pastors, and in a portion of my prayer for them I use some of the material that John MacArthur used in his commentary on the Thessalonian letters that Paul wrote.  MacArthur states that the reason that Paul was such a good pastor was that he followed that of the Lord Jesus Christ, he mimicked Him, which is what the Greek verb is translated as “follow our example.”  Paul is telling the Thessalonian believers to follow his example, and one of the examples that they should follow is his work ethic, which is something that some of them were not following.  Paul reminds them that they knew of his work ethic, for they saw it when he was there, and that was not to long ago from the time he penned this letter.

            Paul writes that he “did not act in an undisciplined manner among” them, and “this is related to the word translated ‘unruly’ in verse 6 and undisciplined’ in verse 11.”  This type of ministering is the opposite of some of the false teachers that were around at that time and for a matter of fact are still around today.  All we have to do is look at the houses some of these health and wealth ministers are living in and the cars and planes they ride in and it is surely the opposite of the kind of life that Paul lived when he wrote this letter.  Paul writes that he did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it.  They were able to do this because of the work that they did while living there.  Paul is speaking of all three of the people that were there including himself, Timothy, and Silas.

            Paul is making sure that they did this to set an example of how to live the Christian life, for actually they all had the right to expect food and lodging from these believers because Christian full time workers like Pastors and missionaries have the right to make their living from preaching and teaching the Word of God.  “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him Gal. 6:6).”  John MacArthur writes that the most detailed exposition of this principle is in 1 Cor. 9:3-14:  “3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4  Do we not have a right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? 7 Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? 8 I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, "YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING." God is not concerned about oxen, is He? 10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. 11 If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? 14 So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.”

            As we look at this passage we can see that Paul asked a series of rhetorical questions where the answer “yes” is demanded.  MacArthur finishes his commentary on this section with these words:  “Since Paul humbly labored to meet his needs in addition to his ministry, how could anyone else justify not doing so?  But despite all of Paul’s hard work to be a godly model for them, some still refused to work.  For them, stern measures were in order.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I desire to set a good example to others as I walk with the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Set a good example for those who are watching me.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-4.

1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promise, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “The Southern.”

Today’s Bible question:  “What symbol of power was Moses known to carry?”

Answer in our next SD.

 12/7/2014 9:15 AM

Disfellowship (2 Thess. 3:6)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/6/2014 11:07 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  Disfellowship

Bible Reading & Meditation                                            Reference:  2 Thessalonians 3:6

            Message of the verses:  “6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.”

            I wish to begin by writing a bit about church discipline, because that is what this verse is talking about, for Paul is giving a command in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in this verse, and that command is not a suggestion, but a literal command to those who were capable to work, but did not work and were actually living off of the church.  In Matthew chapter 18 we see what our Lord Jesus had to say about church discipline and what we see in this verse is actually the third stage of church discipline.  First a believer confronts a sinning brother, who continues to repeat a sinful action and talks to him about it.  Next, if the brother does not repent there is brought two more people to confront him, and then if he still does not repent it is to be told to the church and then the church has to stay away or shun this person until he repents.  Now understand, and this is important, that this is all to be done in love in order to motivate the sinful brother to repent and come back to the church in order to again have fellowship.  Paul is telling other believers to stay away from these people who refuse to work.

            MacArthur writes “Those who refused to work were placed in the category of those guilty of leading an unruly life.  In a military sense, (ataktos unruly) refers to ‘being out of rank’ ‘out of line’ or ‘out of order.’  It was also used in extrabiblical Greek writings to refer to apprentices being truant from work.  Paul described the unruly in verse 11 (the only other time the word appears in the New Testament) as ‘doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.’”

            When Paul came to them when the church began he taught them about this fact that believers are to work if they are able.  Next he wrote to them in the first letter about this “11  and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, 12  so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need (1 Thess. 4:11-12).”  “14 We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone (5:14).”  Now he writes to them again because after the visit of Timothy Paul knew that this was still a problem.

            We have mentioned before why these people were not working, or at least gave some explanations as to why commentators believe they were not working.  It could have been that they were converted Greeks who though that physical work was something that they did not have to do, and then it could have been that since the false teachers were telling them that they were already in the tribulation period that since Jesus would be coming soon there was no need to work.  Both excuses are wrong and so Paul tells them if they did not work they should not eat.

            John MacArthur ends his commentary with the following paragraph:  “That the lethargic believers faced church discipline shows the seriousness with which God views failing to work.  Since true believers cherish the fellowship of other believers, being cut off from it should be painful enough to effect a change in their behavior.  The drastic step of church discipline was also necessary to protect the church’s reputation with outsiders.  The world must also know that God does not tolerate indolence and laziness.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to look at what the Bible says about church discipline as being something how a parent handles the problems of his children, and this is to be done with an attitude of love, and sometimes tough love.  There has to be a balance in love.  Love never wants to get even, and love is never so soft that we just allow people to live like they want to live in a sinful manner.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to learn and grow from the things that I study from the Word of God.  Continue to meditate on verses that I am putting to memory.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-3.

1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of or God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Abner” (2 Samuel 2:8).

Today’s Bible question:  “Which kingdom, Northern or Southern, lasted the longest?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/6/2014 12:12 PM

PT-2 Intro to 2 Thess. 3:6-15

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/5/2014 10:14 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-2 Introduction to 2 Thess. 3:6-15

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  2 Thess. 3:6-15

            Message of the verses:  As we continue to look at the introduction to these verses from 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 we must understand the importance of work in our lives, and the best way to keep things into perspective is to look at what the Word of God has to say about work, realizing that this is a very important subject, for when we turn to the first page of the Bible we see that God was working as He created the heavens and the earth.  We must also realize that as soon as God created Adam that He put him to work for we read about Adam naming all of the animals, and also he was told to tend the garden that God put him into.  This is important because some believe mistakenly that man did not have to work until after man sinned, but his work became harder after sin entered the world.  “17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ’You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18  "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19  By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return’ (Genesis 3:17-19).”  We read that Jesus worked when He came to earth “John 5:17 But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.’”  We look at our passage from 2 Thessalonians and we see that Paul worked, as his work was being a tent maker, which is how he supported himself for the most part as he was spreading the Gospel from place to place.

            How are believers suppose to view their work?  It is a ministry that God has given to every person who is a believer, and this goes from the woman staying home to care for the household to the man or woman who works at a big cooperation having what the world sees is a very high position of work.  In his commentary John MacArthur gives five reasons for the work of believers.  The first one is “God exalted work by commanding it.”  Second:  “God Himself sets the example of work for all to follow.”  Third:  “Work is a feature of the creation mandate and is therefore a normal part of man’s existence.”  Forth:  “Work is a gift from God.”  And fifth:  “The biblical work ethic affirms that all work can be elevated above the mundane by being done for the Lord Himself.”  Ephesians 6:5-7 reads as follows “5  Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men.”

            I have mentioned before that I was a foreman at a very large foundry for most of my career and I had believers who worked for me, and I am ashamed to say that many of them did not hold true to the words that Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:5-7, and these verses did apply to them even though they were not “slaves.” 

            John MacArthur finishes his introductory commentary with this paragraph:  “Since this was the third time that Paul had had to deal with this issue (3:10; 1 Thess. 4:11-12), he bluntly and directly confronts those who stubbornly refused to work.  This passage contains six incentives to motivate those sinning to repent and get to work:  disfellowship, example, survival, harmony, shame, and love.”  We will be looking at these six incentives, hopefully in the next six days and then we will look at the following verses of 2 Thessalonians after that.

            In the following paragraph Warren Wiersbe writes about the problem of work in the Thessalonian church:  “Paul expected the whole church to work together in solving this problem.  The church in love must deal with its own members and seek to help each one obey God.  To assist them in this task, Paul gave four motives to encourage the careless believers to turn from their sins and start earning their own bread.” 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I desire to continue to have the same attitude about work as I did when I was working at my job.  My work is surely different now and even though it is different I need to cultivate the right attitude in doing it.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Not to grumble when asked to do something around the house.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 3:1-3.

1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Melita” (Acts 28:1, 7).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who was the captain of Saul’s army?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/5/2014 10:53 AM