vs. 5: That is why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong. I was afraid that the tempter had gotten the best of you and that our work had been useless.Check up...follow up...accoutnability...That's what this verse yells out to me. Paul was worried about people falling away. So he sent Timothy to go and check up. I think that we really have to start checking up on people and keeping them accountable. Paul said he couldnt bear it any longer..it was his passion to see people living for Christ! Let that be our passion and let us not be lazy but reach out to our brothers and keep them accountable!
11-13 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord is the root of our love for one another. If we try to love each other out of our own strength we will surely fail for we are incapable of that kind of love. We must focus all of our love upon our God and Savior. It is then that he fills us to the point of overflowing with his love. In essence, then we are not loving those around us with our love but his love. This is what it means for the Lord to make us abound in love.
However, love is not the end. It is through an experience of the overwhelming love of God that we are established in holiness. Our holiness for His glory is the endgame.
1 Thessolonians 4:7 "For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness."
[9] For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, [10] as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?
ReplyDelete(1 Thessalonians 3:9-10 ESV)
2 things....one the great power of prayer. Paul's asking for prayer requests. Paul wants to pray for his friends specifically, but mostly he's wanting (it seems after hearing of their faith) to praise God specifically for things that have occurred in his friends' lives. We can never stop thanking God for the things He is doing in our lives as well as our friends.
Second...this prayer is also made out of a desire to see his friends face to face. "Sharing with you our very lives because you had become so dear to us."
12 "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you."
ReplyDeleteFirst thing, human love has its limits, but a love that is channeled through God in any relationship will flourish. So when Paul asks God to make love increase and overflow, it is only possible for this to happen through God. His love is limitless and ours is not. Second, since we have this limitless amount of love that we receive from God, why don't we use it to love our brothers? Isn't that what Jesus wants us to do with His love, to share it? The bottom line is that we have an infinite fountain of love that never ceases to fill up our individual cups. And since we can always come back to this fountain and fill it back up, why not bring others to drink out of our own cup so they can experience the love of God. And when they have that experience and decide to grab their own cup, we come fill ours up again and continue to spread our Lord's love. This is what Paul meant by asking the Lord to make our love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else.
12And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: 13To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
ReplyDeleteLike Will i find This passage is very cool as it is showing the desire paul has for this church to be filled with love towards one another. I hate to reiterate exactly what he said but i am struck by this verse the same way he is i guess. It is very frustrating to me when people cannot love each other, and i think the lack of that ability come strait from a lack of a relationship with Christ, he teaches us how to love and gives us love so that in turn we can share that love with other people.
2-3 We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith, and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles.
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I liked these two verses since they talked about the challenges we face in our lives. Even in a beautiful day such as today, we don't know what looms over the horizon but regardless of what it is, we can find strength and encouragement in God. We know that the Lord can get us through anything, but its always nice to find reassurance and confort in his word.
It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.
ReplyDeleteSo I volunteer for a children's ministry each Sunday. This is exactly what happens every Sunday. They are just children, but their faith is so great an they love God so much with everything they do. It's just so awesome and rejuvenating to see that every week
7 Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.
ReplyDeleteI really pray that a modern day campus minister would write something like this about Theta Xi or Georgia Tech Christians. Not because I want the fame or the glory but because its amazing how Paul is speaking about these people. We should strive to be an encouragment to others because of our faith. Not because of our works or accomplishments but how the Lord is working without our campus and fraternity. This is an extremely encouraging letter when I think about if it could apply to Gatech or Theta Xi.
All is Good in Christ
verse 10:
ReplyDelete"Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith."
I chose this verse because it demonstrates the relationship between a teacher and his students. This is what the heart of a teacher/mentor in the Lord should look like. We all need someone to fill this role for us.
7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.
ReplyDeleteI think there's two sides to this verse, and I believe we should be on both sides:
1 - When you're stressed and you are struggling, it is perfectly okay to look to your brothers and sisters who are standing strong in their faith. Be encouraged by them.
2 - When you are feeling like you're standing strong in your faith, it is your duty to go to your brothers and sisters who are distressed and be the encouragement to them.
It's definitely a give and take kind of thing. If all of the brothers here were to be an encouragement to each other at all times, this would be an extremely peaceful brotherhood.
12 "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you."
ReplyDeleteI think this verse has a powerful message in it. The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that there are already people with love overflowing for each other, implied when Paul says "as ours does for you." In addition, I think this verse hearkens back to the idea of God's overflowing love for us. As people who are actively seeking Him, we should also seek to embody this principle of love for each other regardless of circumstance. This is a principle that would go a long ways to bringing a more unified Theta Xi.
-DA
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13
ReplyDeleteMay the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
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When the Lord returns, will we really be able to say that our hearts are blameless in holiness?
That is such a bold statement. But this scripture says that the Lord works in us to empower us with love, such that our hearts may become blameless.
When are hearts are full of love, we will no longer be distracted by the trivialities of life, but rather our hearts will be set upon holy things. We will not walk, talk and think like the world, but rather we will walk in, talk about, and ruminate on love and will seek the things of God, which are the salvation of his people and the glorification of his name.
Trust the Lord, so that he may empower your heart with love. Then we can say that our hearts are holy.
7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.
ReplyDeleteOur faith not only has an effect on our lives but also the lives of others. If we are striving to be like Christ and pursuing after Him, it will show in our faith. On the other hand, if we are living life for ourselves and according to our own will, we may be inadvertently harming others who would otherwise benefit from observing our good faith to Christ.
12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
ReplyDeleteThis really underscores the fact that the most important thing we can do, besides love God with all our hearts, is to love one another. Every single human being, since they are all creations of God. While that is a difficult task to carry out, it is absolutely essential if we wish to imitate Christ.