mattbraunlin
Member
The New Dawn
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
Chuck Swindoll
Do not let us speak of darker days. These are not dark days; these are great days! The greatest our country has ever lived! And we must all thank God that we have been allowed - each of us according to our station - to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race.
Winston Churchill, October 1941
This blurb is for all believers, but most especially those of the older generations who mourn in quiet frustration and despair over the current state of things. Bear with me:
For years I nursed a quiet contempt for Paul's Letters. Something about his style repelled me. I liked his theology, but the way he presented it was like nails on a chalkboard. I have read them under protest, but I largely avoided his work when I could.
Praise God, he has lately led me out of this maze of foolish obstinacy and I have finally embraced these crucial writings with open arms.
And God wasted no time.
I have been studying 1 and 2 Thessalonians. I specifically chose these Letters because even by my standard with Paul, I had scarcely read them at all. I’ve spent some substantial time in 1 Corinthians and Philippians, but never Thessalonians. And this morning God used these blessed texts to shine beautiful revelation into my heart.
When Paul and his tiny band of freedom fighters first went to Thessalonica, they went to a pagan land of heathen gods, surrounded on all sides by gentile strangers who knew nothing of monotheism, let alone the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thessalonica was a barren spiritual wasteland. Paul had no idea whether his trip there might not just be a failure, but might even cost him his life.
It is within this context that I find 1Thessalonians, most especially the first chapter, to be of crucial importance to believers today. Through these thunderous words, God is straining to reach our 21st century ears with a message of tremendous hope.
Within the context in which I have described Paul's first arrival in godless Thessalonica, consider verses like these:
We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
v. 2-3
So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.
v. 6
And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.
v. 8-9
Brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord always, and again, in the here and now, I say REJOICE!!
We are indeed at one of the great low points in the history of faith in our nations. A post-Christian western world, where the young are being taught to glut their starving spirits on drugs and sex and consumerism and perverted science.
But should that unavoidable fact let us spiral into despair? Should we bow our heads in defeat, sending mournful prayers to God as we lie paralyzed in fear and helplessness?
I don't think Paul would have thought so.
My fellow Christ-followers, how honoured we must feel, and I do emphasize must! For here in the 21st century we have arrived at the docks of the Thessalonica of our time. A great invasion of the Holy Spirit is about to unfold. The Pauls and Silas’ and Timothys of our time are nearing the shores of enemy-held territory, and truly we are they. An entire generation of young people are tired of their prison food and, though they do not yet even know it, are crying out for the spiritual feasts of the Lord.
Why are we so unhappy? What reason could we possibly have to be unhappy?! We are Pauls, brothers and sisters! We are privileged beyond measure. We have been chosen to take part in one of the greatest mass-revivals of all time, landing on the beaches of the enemy and waging war against the evils which have our families in chains.
We get to cause trouble, and it's gonna be good.
As usual, as I write I am like Dr. Jones in The Last Crusade, in his search for the Holy Grail: I know everything except where to begin. I am just one guy with no money or clout; the proverbial beggar whose only problem with riding is that he has no horse. But I am absolutely certain that he is ready to unite his scattered people, wounded and demoralized in the wake of a lost battle, and shout through them to the powers of this world that the war is far from over.
So prepare. Pray. Be stoic and Joyful. Our time is coming soon. The Lord is with us, and he will triumph again.
May God's love prevail in the hearts of those for whom we strive.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
Chuck Swindoll
Do not let us speak of darker days. These are not dark days; these are great days! The greatest our country has ever lived! And we must all thank God that we have been allowed - each of us according to our station - to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race.
Winston Churchill, October 1941
This blurb is for all believers, but most especially those of the older generations who mourn in quiet frustration and despair over the current state of things. Bear with me:
For years I nursed a quiet contempt for Paul's Letters. Something about his style repelled me. I liked his theology, but the way he presented it was like nails on a chalkboard. I have read them under protest, but I largely avoided his work when I could.
Praise God, he has lately led me out of this maze of foolish obstinacy and I have finally embraced these crucial writings with open arms.
And God wasted no time.
I have been studying 1 and 2 Thessalonians. I specifically chose these Letters because even by my standard with Paul, I had scarcely read them at all. I’ve spent some substantial time in 1 Corinthians and Philippians, but never Thessalonians. And this morning God used these blessed texts to shine beautiful revelation into my heart.
When Paul and his tiny band of freedom fighters first went to Thessalonica, they went to a pagan land of heathen gods, surrounded on all sides by gentile strangers who knew nothing of monotheism, let alone the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thessalonica was a barren spiritual wasteland. Paul had no idea whether his trip there might not just be a failure, but might even cost him his life.
It is within this context that I find 1Thessalonians, most especially the first chapter, to be of crucial importance to believers today. Through these thunderous words, God is straining to reach our 21st century ears with a message of tremendous hope.
Within the context in which I have described Paul's first arrival in godless Thessalonica, consider verses like these:
We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
v. 2-3
So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.
v. 6
And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.
v. 8-9
Brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord always, and again, in the here and now, I say REJOICE!!
We are indeed at one of the great low points in the history of faith in our nations. A post-Christian western world, where the young are being taught to glut their starving spirits on drugs and sex and consumerism and perverted science.
But should that unavoidable fact let us spiral into despair? Should we bow our heads in defeat, sending mournful prayers to God as we lie paralyzed in fear and helplessness?
I don't think Paul would have thought so.
My fellow Christ-followers, how honoured we must feel, and I do emphasize must! For here in the 21st century we have arrived at the docks of the Thessalonica of our time. A great invasion of the Holy Spirit is about to unfold. The Pauls and Silas’ and Timothys of our time are nearing the shores of enemy-held territory, and truly we are they. An entire generation of young people are tired of their prison food and, though they do not yet even know it, are crying out for the spiritual feasts of the Lord.
Why are we so unhappy? What reason could we possibly have to be unhappy?! We are Pauls, brothers and sisters! We are privileged beyond measure. We have been chosen to take part in one of the greatest mass-revivals of all time, landing on the beaches of the enemy and waging war against the evils which have our families in chains.
We get to cause trouble, and it's gonna be good.
As usual, as I write I am like Dr. Jones in The Last Crusade, in his search for the Holy Grail: I know everything except where to begin. I am just one guy with no money or clout; the proverbial beggar whose only problem with riding is that he has no horse. But I am absolutely certain that he is ready to unite his scattered people, wounded and demoralized in the wake of a lost battle, and shout through them to the powers of this world that the war is far from over.
So prepare. Pray. Be stoic and Joyful. Our time is coming soon. The Lord is with us, and he will triumph again.
May God's love prevail in the hearts of those for whom we strive.