5 May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.-----------------------
This whole chapter was incredible...I really liked the them about not being lazy and making sure we are picking up our own slack when we are in the ministry...Shows that God is not a lazy God and he wants us to reflect him as a responsible/loving/caring/considerate God. This verse however stood out to me because I pray this for myself and all my brothers all the time...that God will lead our hearts into a full understand and expression of the love of God! It is this understanding that will keep us on the right path...It is important to know God, because when we know God, it becomes easy to live for him and to resist all temptation because he gives us the patient endurance that come from Christ!
3 "But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."
ReplyDeleteThis verse is pretty straight forward, but has a lot of power. Basically it comforts me knowing just a tiny bit of how much God loves us. That I don't even begin to understand the amazing love of God, but still feel this warmth and strength He gives me. And that this strength helps protect me from evil is awesome in itself! Not only as Christians do we receive the one and only awesome God as our Savior and Lord, and not only to we continuously receive His love, but we are also protected from wickedness and can use His strength as a weapon and shield to fight against it.
9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.
ReplyDeleteWe as men of God need to learn from this example. There are many things which we can do, but how often do we ask if we should do them? We are to be a "royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9), we are to be leading people into the throne room of God. As such, we must ask the hard question: will this action encourage others to follow Christ more fully? And is our life something worth imitating?
2 Thessalonians 3:5
ReplyDeleteMay the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
"Lord, I owe everything to You. Everything...my love of You, I owe to You. Any, I mean any prevailing over sin or good deed I owe to You who made it happen and gave strength and did the work. May my heart be continually with you? May I see you as holy and embrace you as the one and only always? I desire to love you more, not half-hearted. I am deeply in need of You and nothing else. I owe everything to You...worker of every good and perfect work. THE HORSE IS MADE READY FOR BATTLE BUT THE VICTORY IS FOR THE LORD."
God is sovereign over all things, even my desire to follow after Him.
Oh to grace, how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to thee. Let thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wonder Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and seel it, seel it for thy courts above.
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
ReplyDeleteAmazing, such a simple rule but if it were followed it would make the world such a better place. This whole section concerning working was very neat to me, and it makes complete sense, in the church at this time if people didnt pull their own weight it brought the whole church down. This same principal can be applied to so many things in life today.
6 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers* who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received* from us.
ReplyDeleteI feel a deep conviction of the idle life I lived before coming to Tech. I performed my duties as a Christian: church, pray at dinner; feel bad when I did bad thing, ect. Looking back on my idle life when I was not living for Christ I marvel at the waste of space I was. I pray that as we are consumed by our studies we can look back and this passage and not live an idol life worshiping success and money but rather work for the glory of God.
All is Great in Christ - Once you have beaten the Vermonster with Borsch
Paul Shackelford
15: "Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer."
ReplyDeleteWe shouldn't hate or regard those who do not follow Christ's message once preached it and claim to believe it as enemies, but rather warn them as brothers. We shouldn't take a passive role and believe they will "get it right eventually." We are called to take a stand, and warn them.
3 "But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one."
ReplyDeleteThis is such an awesome verse! It's so simple, yet with this one simple sentence, Paul shows us one of the great aspects of being in an active relationship with God....protection! As I read this verse I was reminded of Psalms 18:
"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
It's such a calming thing to know that God, the Master and Creator of the Universe, the Grand Architect, the Lord of Hosts, has got your back.
2 Thessalonians 3:7-9
ReplyDeleteFor you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.
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Paul worked his hardest so that he would not be a burden on his brothers. Even though he had the right to not work, we was willing to sacrifice his rights in order to be a blessing to others. It is a great sign of maturity to be willing to lay down your rights for the betterment of others. Only the fool insists on his own rights at the expense of others.
6 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us.
ReplyDelete--
Very strong comment from Paul's part. He says that those who are believers but don't do anything with their faith are rejecting Christ because they dont follow his tradition and teachings. He talks about being idle, and not doing work but this can be extended to being idle spiritually and not do the work that God has set us out to do; to bring his teachings to the nations. Therefore we should be actively trying to promote the teaching of God and show people what our faith means.
13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.
ReplyDeleteOur duty to God should not seem like a chore to us. We should not grumble about going to church, nor should we avoid people because we "don't feel like talking to anyone." I am of course guilty of the latter, at the very least, and while I am generally not ever reluctant to go to church, I certainly could make more of an effort to wake up and start my morning with it. It is with this verse in mind that I, and all of us, should go about our daily lives.