Paul's Confidence in God's Power (1 Thess. 2:2)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/2/2014 8:32 AM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  Paul’s Confidence in God’s Power

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Thessalonians 2:3

            Message of the verses:  I want to begin with a preview of what we will be looking at in the first six verses in 1 Thessalonians chapter two, and even though we have already looked briefly at verse we will be looking at the following items in verses three through six.  John MacArthur writes the following as a preview of what we will be looking at:  “As he (Paul) continued the defensive of ministry in this section of the letter, Paul expressed five ingredients that opened his ministry to divine power: his confidence in God’s power, is commitment to God’s truth, his commissioning by God’s will, his motivation by God’s knowledge, and his dedication to God’s glory.”  We look at the first one in today’s SD.

            “2 You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition.” (1 Thessalonians 2:2)

            As we look at this verse we can see that one of the things that Paul was in his life was being fearless.  Paul and Silas had just been beaten and humiliated while in Philippi, they were thrown into the lowest part of the prison where they were chained so that they would not escape, and what did they do?  They began a praise session to the Lord by singing songs to the Lord, and those songs must truly have been meaningful for after God sent and earthquake to the prison which lessened all chains that were holding all of the prisoners none of them tried to escape.  I think that they wanted to hear more of what Paul and Silas were talking and singing about.  The jailor decided to try and kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped, but Paul stopped him and eventually lead him and his whole family to the Lord.  I guess he was listening to Paul and Silas too. This was the birth of the Philippian Church.

            I mention Paul being fearless, and fear has been a problem since the fall of man.  Let us look at what soon took place after Adam and Eve fell.  “9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.’”  (Genesis 3:9-10)  We surely did not hear anything about fear before they sinned, and we didn’t hear about them having any problems with being naked before the fall either.  When sin entered the universe, fear also entered too.

            Yesterday I went to pick up my wife at the airport and got there a little bit early and then I get a phone call from her saying her flight would be late, about two hours late which turned out to be three hours late.  I walked around the airport looking for something to occupy myself for I had forgot to bring a book which would have been a big help to pass the time.  I finally went into a book store where I could not find anything.  Then later on I returned to the bookstore and found a book on fear.  I wanted to read this book so I paid the “full” price for it and began to read it.  I was disappointed that the book was written by a Pastor from a part of Christendom that I have problems with, but decided to read it anyway since I had nothing better to do.  When I was a very young believer my pastor said something that I never forgot.  He said that he liked to read and when he was reading a book that he did not agree with, he equated it to eating fish.  He said that when you eat fish and come to a bone you through it out.  I thought that I would be throwing out a lot of bones from this book on fear, but surprisingly I found few bones so far in this book.  Fear is in the hearts of everyone in some way or another as we all fear something.  I suppose public speaking is number one on a lot of people’s lists, and dying is close to the top too.  When we look at movies about soldiers who plunge headlong into battle we think that there is no fear in them, but there is.  The author writes “Always remember that fearlessness is not the absence of fear; it’s the mastery of fear.”  I think of a couple of verses that speak of fear and how God can care for our fears:  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).”  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love (1 John 4:18).”  There was no fear before the fall, and so we must believe that God can handle our fears if we allow him too and a good example of God handling one’s fears can be seen in the Apostle Paul, for he had much to fear, but he trusted the Lord.  If you or I would have gone through what he went through while in Philippi we probably would not have left there and walked the 100 miles to Thessalonica.

            Our verse states that Paul and Silas suffered and were mistreated in Philippi.  MacArthur states that the word suffer refers primarily to the physical abuse, however mistreated refers to the public disgrace that they went through.  After all Paul and Silas were both Roman citizens and none of this should have happened to them, but if it didn’t then the jailor would not have heart the good news of the Gospel. 

            After the walked the 100 miles to Thessalonica they were also mistreated there as seen in Acts 17:5-6.  They were accused of treason and unfairly assaulted by a mob:  “5  But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. 6 When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have upset the world have come here also (Acts 17:5-6).” 

            We mentioned that even though Paul and Silas were treated badly at Philippi they came to Thessalonica and preached the Gospel there, and Paul says that it was the Gospel of God.  We have also heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and also Paul states that it was his gospel so what exactly does the Gospel of God mean?  “The term gospel of God appears two more times in chapter 2 (vv. 8, 9) as well as in Mark 1:14; Romans 1:1; 15:16; 2 Corinthians 11:7; and 1 Peter 4:17.  It describes the gospel from the perspective of God as the source.  It is the good news designed by and revealed from God about what He has done to redeem sinners through His grace and by His Son Jesus Christ.”  (John MacArthur) 

            In closing I want to quote both John MacArthur on how they look at the word opposition and how it fits into this verse.  MacArthur states that the word opposition gives us our English word “agonize.”  “It referred to an agonizing life and death struggle.  In the ministry, there is always pressure to mitigate the message, to be inoffensive to sinners, to make the gospel acceptable to them.  But such compromise had no place in Pauls’s strategy.  Instead, he had full confidence in God’s power to overcome all opposition and achieve His redemptive purpose.  The servant of God preaches the true, unmitigated message God has laid out in His Word, not some other message.”  Why does he do this?  It is for sure that he wants to please the Lord, and Paul stated in Philippians “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” 

            Warren Wiersbe states the following on the word “contention.”  “This is an athletic term that means ‘a contest, a struggle.’  Te Greed world was familiar with athletic contests, and Paul often used this idea to illustrate spiritual truths (1 Cor. 9:24-27; Phil 3:13-14; 2 Tim. 4:7).  He used this same word in Philippians 1:30 where he pictured the Christian life as an athletic contest that demanded dedication and energy.  It had not been easy to start a church in Philippi, and it was not easy to start one in Thessalonica.” No with was not easy, but Paul had complete confidence in God to accomplish what God had planned form him to accomplish.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Continue to learn about being fearless, trusting in the Lord to accomplish the things He desires to accomplish in my life.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remember 1 John 4:18.

Memory verses for this week:  Philippians 2:5-10

5 Have this attitude in yourself which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not count regard with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking on the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of man.  8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Judaea” (Galatians 1:22).

Today’s Bible question:  “What did Jesus teach regarding false prophets?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/2/2014 9:54 AM

 

                  

Paul's Opening Reminder (1 Thess. 2:1)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/1/2014 5:06 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Paul’s Opening Reminder

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Thessalonians 2:1

            Message of the verse:  “1 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain.”  (NASB)  “1 My brothers, you know from your own experience that our visit to you was no failure.”  (Philips)

            As we look at this verse we must remind ourselves of what we learned in the first chapter of this letter, for we learned that there were ten characteristics of the elect that these believers demonstrated, so this surely means that Paul’s coming to them was not in vain.  Let us look at the word vain to help us better understand this verse:  John MacArthur writes the following about this word.  “Vain translates kenos, which means ‘empty.’  The term also could denote something that was without purpose, effect, or importance and was thus inconsequential.”  We know from our study of the first chapter that this was not true of Paul’s coming to them.

            Paul was a steward of the Gospel message and it was not taught to him by humans.  Galatians 1:11-12 says:  “11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”  Latter on in the letter to the Galatians Paul gives a brief history of what happened to him after Christ spoke to him on the road, which is seen in the ninth chapter of the book of Acts.  Paul spent much time with the Lord who taught him the things that he taught to others.  Yes Paul was a steward of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but we must remember that we too are stewards of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We are accountable to our Lord as stewards, just as Joseph was accountable to Potiphar as seen in Genesis 39:1-6.  Jesus tells us that all of His stewards will give an account to Him one day:  “1 Now He was also saying to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions.”  This was a parable of an unjust steward who had to give an account to his master.  We can be assured that we will also have to give an account to our Lord, and this will be done at the Judgment Seat of Christ which is spoken of in both Romans and the letters to the Corinthians.  Warren Wiersbe writes “The message of the Gospel is a treasure God has entrusted to us.  We must not bury it; we must invest it so it will multiply and produce ‘spiritual dividends’ to God’s glory.  Some Christians think that the church’s only responsibility is to protect the Gospel from those who would change it (Gal. 1:6-9).  But we also must share the Gospel; otherwise, we are protecting it in vain.” 

            Let us look at two verses on the word faithfulness, which is what we as stewards are to be:  “1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.”  In the KJV the word that is translated “trustworthy” in the NASB is translated “faithful” 53 times. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Just as Paul, Silas, and Timothy were faithful in preaching the gospel to those who were in Thessalonica so I want to be found faithful as a good steward of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Giving the pure truth of the Gospel is probably one of the most important things that I can do, for in doing this the Holy Spirit can change a life and also can change where a person will spend eternity.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  As a steward I want to be faithful.

Memory verses for the week:  Philippians 2:5-10

5 Have this attitude in yourselves 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 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, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

Answer to our last Bible Question:  “And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.”  (Numbers 21:8)

Today’s Bible Question:  To the churches of what place was Paul unknown by face?”

Answer in our next SD. 

4/1/2014 5:50 PM

 

Intro to 1 Thess. Chapter Two

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/31/2014 6:47 PM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Introduction to 1 Thes. Chapter 2

            In today’s SD we will begin to look at the second chapter of First Thessalonians even though this is not what I had planned to do for today’s SD. 

            In Warren’s Wiersbe’s beginning commentary on chapter two of First Thessalonians he states “Chapter 1 of 1 Thessalonians introduced us to Paul the Evangelist.  This chapter introduces us to Paul the pastor, for it explains how the great apostle cared for the new believers in the churches that he founded.  Paul considered ‘the care of all the churches’ (2 Cor. 11:28) a greater burden than all the sufferings and difficulties he experienced in his ministry (2 Cor. 11:23ff).”  I think that this statement should make us think about how Paul’s mind and spirit worked, for his care for all of the churches that he founded meant more to him than all of the difficulties that he went through and those were a lot of difficulties explained in 2 Corinthians 11:23 and following.

            Now I am going to next put into this SD something that I used in an earlier SD when looking at Jeremiah, but the quote came from John MacArthur’s commentary on 1 Thessalonians. MacArthur writes and spoke about what kind of man God calls to be one of His Pastors, and when I first looked at this statement I began to incorporate it to my prayers form the pastors at or church, for as he states in this statement without the Holy Spirit involved in a Pastor’s life he would not accomplish anything. 

“Praying for Pastors and Leaders

The following is a quote from John MacArthur’s commentary on the book of 1 Thessalonians.

“Those called to be elders in the church, who preach, teach and lead God’s flock, are entrusted with the unequalled duty of proclaiming the gospel to unbelieving sinners, and bringing those who believe and are baptized into the fellowship of the local church.  There the Holy Spirit will sanctify them as they worship God in spirit and truth, submitting to the exposition and application of Scripture.  Pastors also must intercede for their people through public and private prayer, oversee the administration of the Lord’s Table so their people will regularly confess their sins and renew their covenant of obedience, equip other teachers and workers within the church, superintend and enforce church discipline, and provide biblical counseling to the congregation.  All of this spiritual work is to build up the saints to maturity—‘to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ’ (Eph. 4:13).

“The elder must be a spiritual physician who can capably apply biblical cures to those vices and heresies that might afflict members of his church.  He also must be a tender shepherd who, while feeding the flock, also heals their wounds, clams their fears, protects them from spiritual dangers, and comforts them in their distresses.  In short, he is to be a champion for biblical truth (1 Tim. 4:12), a provider of spiritual resources (1 Peter 5:1-2), a guardian and protector (Acts 20:28-31), and always a model of spiritual virtue (1 Tim. 4:12), for all of which he is directly accountable to his Lord Jesus Christ (Heb. 13:17; James 3:1).

“Even the uniquely gifted apostle Paul asked the question, ‘And who is adequate for these thing?’  (2 Cor. 2:16).  He realized that no man could effectively discharge the immense obligation of spiritual leadership by human wisdom, effort, and strength alone.  He knew that only God could provide the power to be an effective leader, although he struggled with his flesh and found himself not doing the things he wanted to do and doing the things he did not want to do (Rom. 7:14-25).  God graciously game him suffering and pain to continually humble him and make him dependent on divine power (2 Cor. 12:7-10).”

            As we go through the first six verses of chapter two we will find out that these verses speak of what a leader needs to be, and the sad fact is that there are not many good leaders in the Church today in our country.

3/31/2014 7:16 PM

 

 

 

Looking for the Return of Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 1:10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/20/2014 9:30 AM

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  Looking for the Return of Christ

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 Thess. 1:10

            Message of the verse:  “10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”

          In today’s SD we will be looking at the tenth characteristic of the elect which is the expectant looking for the return of Christ.  I have mentioned in an earlier SD that Paul mentions the return of our Lord in each chapter of both Thessalonian letters, and as we will learn each time it is mentioned does not always mean what we call the Rapture of the Church.

            As we begin to look at this tenth characteristic of the elect that Paul describes in the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians we see that it is a familiar one for true believers as the return of Jesus Christ is a very important doctrine that the church has.  Let us first of all look at the book of Acts and see how Dr. Luke describes the return of Christ to heaven and also what the apostles learned from this:  “6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 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." 9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."  John MacArthur writes “The reference to the Resurrection establishes the ground for the return of Jesus Christ.  God raised Him from the dead because He was pleased with His sacrifice for sin and because He wanted to exalt Him to the heavenly throne  from which He will return to exercise His sovereign right to rule as King of Kings.”

Jesus was taken up to heaven from the Mount of Olives and it is this same place that He will return.  Warren Wiersbe writes the following on the return of Christ to the earth:  “Two aspects of the Lord’s return must be distinguished.  First, Jesus Christ will come in the air for His Church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).  This will usher in a period of Tribulation on the earth (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).  At the close of the period, He will return to the earth with His church (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Rev. 19:11-21), defeat His enemies, and then set up His kingdom (Rev. 20:1-6).”  There have been volumes written about what this short paragraph says, but all of what the paragraph says is true. 

            1 Thessalonians was one of the earliest books that Paul wrote, as it is believed that Galatians was the first book that he wrote, and this means that there were still many people who had seen and heard firsthand the things that had happened with the Lord Jesus Christ.  As the centuries have past we must rely on the written Word of God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to teach us from His Word in order to believe these things.  I can testify to the fact that it was this doctrine of the end times that the Holy Spirit used to bring me to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

            The return of Jesus Christ is the believer’s hope as Paul writes to Titus about “11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”

            As believer of Jesus Christ we are a waiting people and Paul writes about this aspect of waiting much in his letters to the Thessalonians. The theme of this section is “An Expectant People.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following on how a local church should live expectantly:  “A local church that truly lives in the expectation of seeing Jesus Christ at any time will be a vibrant and victorious group of people.  Expecting the Lord’s return is a great motivation for soul-winning (1 Thess. 2:19-20) and Christian stability (1 Thess. 3:11-13).  It is a wonderful comfort in sorrow (1 Thess. 4:13-18) and a great encouragement for godly living (1 Thess. 5:23-14).  It is tragic when churches forget this wonderful doctrine.  It is even more tragic when churches believe it and preach it—but do not practice it.”

             I now want to look at which part of the return of Christ Paul was writing about in this verse.  John MacArthur writes “Rescues denotes the deliverance the Lord provides.  He is the Rescuer, Deliverer, and Savior of those otherwise headed for divine judgment and eternal punishment.  In the ancient world, the idea of divine wrath was accepted, but there was no genuine hope of rescue from it.  By contrast, in the postmodern world the idea of divine wrath is rejected, so the Rescuer is not needed or heeded.  Orge (wrath) describes God’s settled eternal judgment against sin.  Some believe the wrath to come refers to the Great Tribulation, and see this rescue as the promise of the pretribulation Rapture, expounded upon later in this epistle.  But the immediate context of Paul’s discussion of election and salvation rather than eschatology rules out temporal wrath and points to eternal wrath, as does the wrath mentioned in 5:9—“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

            At this time I want to quote both John MacArthur and Warren Wiersbe in their end commentary on the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians.  MacArthur writes “These ten marks of the elect are true of every genuine follower of Christ.  But from time to time it is possible for even true believers to lose touch with those realities in their lives and to live sinfully inconsistent with their position in the body of Christ.  Peter urged his readers, ‘Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you’ (2 Peter 2:10).  It is not that they need to convince God—He already knows who constitutes the elect.  But there is nothing more assuring for those who profess faith in Christ than to know their true spiritual condition by means of these ten spiritual benchmarks.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “What every church should be is what every Christian should be:  elect (born again), exemplary (imitation the right people), enthusiastic (sharing the Gospel with others), and expectant (daily looking for Jesus Christ to return).

            “Perhaps it is time for an inventory.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can’t help but think about what I quoted in our last SD from Richard Strauss on living a more simple life and to be more active in spreading the good news of the Gospel, and to be giving more funds to help those who are doing the same thing.  I believe with all of my heart that the Lord Jesus will return to the earth, first to the clouds above the earth to call His Church home to be with Him, and then to the Mount of Olives with His saints to stop the battle of Armageddon.  I want to live like I believe this.   

My Steps of Faith for Today:  1 Peter 3:15

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 on 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 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:  “The land of Nod” (Genesis 4:16).

Today’s Bible question:  “Nam a Moabite girl.” 

Answer in our next SD.

3/20/2014 11:17 AM  

Total Transformation from Idolatry (1 Thess 9a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/19/2014 11:18 AM

My Worship Time                                                    Focus:  A Total Transformation from Idolatry

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Thessalonians 1:9b

            Message of the verses:  “and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God.”

I posted something of Facebook this morning that goes along with what we are studying in this portion of 1 Thessalonians and would like to put it here, but first a little background on how I happened to read what I am about to quote.  Last night was one of those nights when I could not sleep as I was up to sometime after 3:00 AM.  I had read a little bit from the book that I have been reading “The Joy of Knowing God” right before I planned on going to sleep, but sleep would not come to me and so I finished the chapter before I finally went to sleep.  The book is about the attributes of God, and the attribute that I was studying last night was God’s Jealously.  Now how can the jealously and the study of turning from idols to serve the living God go together?  Well I hope the quote will explain that.  “If God, by virtue of His essential being, must be jealous for His uniqueness and His supremacy above all, then those who know Him and want to please Him should be just as jealous for Him.  If we are serious about our relationship with Him, we shall exalt Him above everyone and everything else in our lives; we shall be absolutely dedicated to living for His honor; we shall be zealously committed to doing His will.  The primary goal of our lives will be to show the world that our God is the one true and living God—that he alone makes life meaningful and worthwhile.

“We live in a pagan society where money is god and material possessions are the chief object of man’s worship.  We need people who will be very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, people who will stand alone if need be against this insidious and contagious brand of idolatry and show the world that the Lord is God, people who will adopt a simpler life style and use their resources for His glory rather than for their own comforts and pleasures.”  (The Joy of Knowing God by Richard Strauss)

            I suppose that when we look at the last half of verse nine from 1 Thessalonians we think that we do not have the problems that those people had before they became believers, as we don’t bow down to idols like they did, but do we?  An idol is anything that keeps us from the true worship of God.  “1Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2  "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3  "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4  "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments (Exodus 20:1-6).”  This is the first of the Ten Commandments, so we must believe that the Lord had great reason to make this the first.

            This is the 9^th characteristic of the elect and it shows that the Thessalonian believers went from the worship of idols to the worship of God, for they had a new Master and it showed in their lives that they had a new Master.  Remember 2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”  John MacArthur writes the following about the word “turned.”  Turned is from the verb epistrepho, which is used in the New Testament to indicate the fact that in the sinner’s conversion there is a turning in the absolute opposite direction.  (Acts 9:35; 11:21; 26:18; 2 Cor 3:15; cf. Luke 1:16; James 5:20).  Such conversion entails repentance, a turning from idols and in faith submitting to the Savior alone (Acts 20:21).  Such turning is far more than merely changing one’s belief about who Christ is—it is a complete reversal of allegiance, from idols to serve a living and true God.  The word Paul chose for serve (doleuein) means to serve as a bond-slave, which was the most demanding form of servitude.”  I can understand this turning and serving a new God from the time of my conversion in January of 1974.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  A desire to live a more simple life and to be able to give more to the cause of Christ, for that is the best investment one can make.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Allow the Holy Spirit to give me the grace to commit to serve Him and to bring honor to my Lord.

Memory verses for the week:  Philippians 2:5-9

5  Have this attitude in yourselves 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 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:  “Joshua” (Joshua 24:15).

Today’s Bible question:  “where did Cain go to live after killing Able?”

Answer in our next SD.

3/19/2014 12:10 PM

  

 

 

8th Characteristic of the Elect: Telling others about Christ (1Thess. 1:8-9a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/18/2014 8:27 AM

My Worship Time                  Focus: 8^th 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 17^th 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 12^th 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

       

7th Characteristic of the Elect (1Thess. 1:7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/17/2014 8:54 AM

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Exemplary Behavior, 7^th Characteristic of the Elect

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Thessalonians 1:7

            Message of the verse: “7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.”  7 As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.”  (HCSB)  “7 Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you?”  (Message)

            The reason that (as seen in the Message), believers looked up to them was because of what Paul wrote in verse six:  “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit.”

            As believers in Jesus Christ we want to become more and more like Jesus Christ:  “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren (John 8:29).” We have already seen from verse six that Paul was thankful that the Thessalonian believers were imitating, or they were like the examples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and also of Paul, Timothy, and Silas.  Now they have become examples for other believers.  John MacArthur writes about the word translated “Example.”  “Example is the Greek word tupos (‘exact reproduction’), from which the English type derives.  The Thessalonians became like blueprints for others throughout the region to build their lives on (cf. 1 John 2:6).”  “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked (1 John 2:6).” 

            During Paul’s life and time the Providences of Achaia had cities of Athens and Corinth in them and were in the South while the Providence of Macedonia was in the North and had cities of Thessalonica, Philippi, and Berea in it.  The Thessalonian believers were an example to those who were in both Providences of Macedonia and also Achaia.  An example of this is seen in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 where Paul writes “1 Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, 2  that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. 3  For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, 4  begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, 5  and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”  Paul is telling those in Corinth that there was a wonderful example given by those in Macedonia about giving and also about stewardship as they out of their poverty gave more than they were able to give to the saints.  (I believe the money was going to the church in Judah, and there is much said about this money that was going to go to Jerusalem). 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Thessalonian believers are truly a great example to follow as they in a short time became imitators of the Lord, and also of those who brought them the Gospel, and then they themselves became examples for others to follow.  It is wonderful that their great example can be seen in today’s world for me to follow too.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To be like the Thessalonian believers.

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 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:  “Timothy” (1 Corinthians 4:17).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who did God give that believers might live?”

Answer in our next SD.

3/17/2014 10:06 AM