Verse by Verse Daily Devotional

God's mystery

2012-02-21T12:48:00.000-05:00

"For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles--if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel," Ephesians 3:1-6 NKJV.

Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ, reveals to us four things about God's mystery. First of all, it is not a hidden mystery but a mystery that is revealed by God Himself. Second, this mystery is revealed to Paul and the other apostles and prophets for our sake. Third, this mystery is linked to God's grace. And fourth, Paul devoted his whole life to teaching, preaching and spreading this mystery.

And what is the mystery? The reality that through Jesus Christ we are all united into His body, to be His children forever. No other religion in the world talks about such wonderful unity, where people from every nation, kindred, tongue and people have the privilege to be united into one body. Often there is unity among people to destroy some other group. But God's unity is not to unite some people, but all people, not from some part of the world, but from every part of the world.

So let us rejoice today for the privilege to be part of God's family and also let's respect and not oppress others just because they are different from us. They may look different, dress different and act different, but that does not make them less important in God's eyes, therefore let's strive for unity today.

God's Promise for You Today

2012-02-06T09:53:00.000-05:00

"Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Matthew 13:43 NKJV.

The verse begins with the word "then," implying an event in the future. The event is the wicked being consumed and destroyed by the eternal fire. It is not the fire that will burn forever, but the results of the fire will be eternal. But the focus of the verse is not the wicked, but those that love Jesus.

"Then," after the wicked are destroyed, "the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." They will shine forth because they have spent their days on earth looking to Jesus Christ, the Son of Righteousness. And of course by taking time to behold Jesus, they become like Him.

The beautiful bright shine that the righteous will have is not from within them, but reflected from the righteousness of Jesus Christ. So behold Jesus today through His Word. Listen to the promptings and leading of the Holy Spirit. And claim today's promise for yourself. Personalize today's verse by putting in your name within the verse.

"Then [your name] will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of [his or her] Father. He who has ears to hear, let him [or her] hear!"

Asking for the Holy Spirit's Presence

2012-01-30T08:36:00.002-05:00

"Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" Luke 12:40 NKJV.

This verse reminds me of the first coming of Jesus. The people of God were singing, praying, hoping and worshipping in anticipation that the Messiah would come. And when He did show up, they rejected Him. And the question pops up, how could they sing, pray, read the Scriptures and worship in anticipation for an event and when it happens they are totally unprepared for it? At least one reason is because Jesus did not come according to their expectations.

Transfer that thought now to the Second Coming of Jesus. We sing, pray, hope, worship, write blogs and read blogs about the Second Coming of Jesus, but could it be that His coming may overtake us by surprise? I don't think that today's verse is talking about the world not being ready for His coming as much as Christianity not being ready.

Could it be that we may not be ready because last day events will happen in a different manner then what we would anticipate? Could it be that we will not be ready because we think His coming is delaying? Or that we have fallen asleep and tired of singing, waiting, praying and so we end up back in our old ways and then He would show up and surprise us?

The prescription to be ready for His coming is to stay connected to the Lord, through the Holy Spirit. We must continue hoping, praying, singing, reading Scripture and worshipping. But we must also allow the Holy Spirit to be our closest Friend, to lead us, counsel us, teach us. And He shall not mislead us, but prepare us for that great day. So ask today for the presence of the Holy Spirit, you will not be disappointed.

Stay awake, spiritually.

2012-01-29T11:52:00.000-05:00

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into" Luke 12:39 NRSV.

Jesus gives this parable in order to prepare His followers for His Second Coming. The first thing we learn from today's verse about the second coming is that we don't know when it is. Being 2012 there is a lot of talk about the world ending this year. Yet Jesus told us again and again that we have no idea when He will come. So let's stop speculating and guessing and figuring out when He would come. His coming is like a thief in the night, in that we will not know when He will come.

And the second thing we learn is to be always ready and waiting for the His return. The owner of the house in the parable is the believer. Just before Jesus comes will be the darkest hour in earth's history, with wars and rumors of war, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and all sorts of natural disasters, adding to that diseases of all sorts, pain, suffering, hunger, and so on.

In the darkest hours of earth's history, let us not sleep spiritually but be awake, waiting for the coming of Jesus. And we are awake and waiting when we immerse ourselves in Scripture, and when we get involved in the community helping the helpless. Praise God, Jesus will come again, when? We don't know, therefore let's stay awake.

A Dark Day

2012-01-26T14:14:00.000-05:00

"For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light" Isaiah 13:10 NRSV.

It is clear from the context that this verse is talking about the second coming of Jesus. This imagery is used other prophets as well in the Old Testament (see Ezekiel 32:7, 8; Joel 2:10, 30, 31; Amos 8:9).

In the New Testament this imagery reveals the events surrounding Christ's second return. "I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place" Revelation 6:12-14 NKJV. You can also read the same imagery in Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24, 25; Luke 21:25).

Why such a gloomy picture of the second coming of Jesus? Perhaps the answer to that is found at another event that took place in history. "Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.' Having said this, He breathed His last" (Luke 23:44-46 NKJV).

When Jesus gave His life for our sins, nature also grieved with God. This was because of what sin has accomplished on the earth, sin is darkness and separation from God, who is Light. So at the second coming of Jesus, it will be gloomy for those who would still cling to sin. While the event of Jesus' return brings joy to the righteous, it will be the saddest day, the darkest event for the wicked. For while the sun will be dark, the Son of Righteousness will bring light and joy to those who are waiting for His soon return.

May we look forward joyfully for the coming of Jesus.

Increase of Spiritual Knowledge

2012-01-24T16:30:00.000-05:00

"But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase" Daniel 12:4 NKJV.

If you've grown up in the Seventh-day Adventist faith tradition, then this ought to be a well known verse heard at many evangelistic meetings. Coupled with data that up to the last century or so everyone basically traveled around the way Jesus did, but within the last 100 or so years, the technology has increased and running to and fro has been greatly enhanced.

But I think this verse talks about more than just knowledge increasing in the world in the last days. First of all, notice that Daniel is told to seal the book and to "shut up the words," but not forever, only until the time of the end. Then going to Revelation 1:3, John is told the opposite, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near" NKJV.

And then later in Revelation, there is this weird experience that John goes through. "Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, 'Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.' So I went to the angel and said to him, 'Give me the little book.' And he said to me, 'Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth" Revelation 10:8, 9 NKJV.

What Old Testament little book was sealed that in John's time was to be opened, with the experience of sweetness in the mouth and bitterness in the stomach? The answer is the small book of Daniel and the experience is that of the Millerite movement of the 1800s.

So then knowledge has increased not only in the world but in spiritual matters, may we experience this increase of spiritual knowledge in our own lives. Not to be well versed Scripturally, but to be transformed by God's Word in order to reflect the character of a loving Savior to a dying world.

The Blessed Hope

2012-01-23T10:07:00.001-05:00

"looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus" Titus 2:13 NASB.

What do you hope for today? Health? Warmer weather? A reliable car for transportation? A better job? We all hope for something, and some people say they have given up all hope because it just disappoints them. So what do you really hope for today?

Paul tells us his greatest hope was to see Jesus Christ coming in the clouds of heaven, this is the hope of all hopes for the true Christian. It is known as "the blessed hope."

And how do we look for that blessed hope? The previous text tells us how to look for the coming of Jesus. By "denying ungodliness and worldly desires" and by living "sensibly, righteously, and godly."

Jesus definition of how to look for the blessed hope is found in Matthew 25. Visit the sick, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked are ways that we look for that blessed hope.

So let us look today for "the blessed hope" according to Paul's And Jesus' definition of looking. Let's deny ungodliness and worldliness and live sensibly and godly by living to help others. Help by sacrificing to serve the poor and needy, one example would be by giving food to a food pantry that helps feed the hungry. Or some way show today that you are "looking for the blessed hope."

Look to Jesus, not the trials

2012-01-22T13:21:00.000-05:00

"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come... And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" 2 Timothy 3:1, 12 NASB.

Today's Scripture brings a couple of characteristics of the last days forward. First of all, the last days will difficult to say the least. The good old King Jimmy Version says that the last days will be "perilous." The Rheims New Testament uses the word "dangerous," while the New American Bible translates the last days as being "terrifying," NIV uses the word "terrible," and the NRSV chose the word, "distressing."

So put it all together and you have the last days being difficult, perilous, dangerous, terrifying, terrible and distressing. Add to that verse 12, which reminds us of the faithful being persecuted. But that doesn't mean we have to be afraid of the last days being upon us.

Those that have a relationship with Jesus look beyond the terribly, terrifying, persecuting days to THE DAY when Jesus shall come. Both Paul and Timothy knew well from experience what it meant to be persecuted, but that did not discourage them. All Paul had in view was the fact that the crown of life is laid up in heaven for him. That he will be with Jesus one day, therefore to die was not a loss, but a gain.

So as we are nearing closer to the coming of Jesus, things will get worse in the world. But don't let that scare you, on the contrary let it thrill your heart that soon we shall see Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus not on the trials. Walk with Him today and do not let anything or anyone separate you from Christ's presence or His peace.

Tell the World You Love Jesus

2012-01-19T11:57:00.000-05:00

"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels and then he shall reward every man according to his works" Matthew 16:27 KJV.

This is one of those verses that seems to contradict Paul's teaching of salvation being a totally free gift, given by God's wonderful grace, accepted by faith by the believer. But it does not contradict the wonderful teaching of salvation by grace through faith. We are truly saved by God's grace, we cannot earn salvation at all, none of our works will help in our salvation. That ought to be very clear first and foremost.

In fact let's quote Paul's words on that to make sure that we understand it clearly; "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--not the results of works, so that no one may boast" Ephesians 2:8, 9 NRSV. So there will be no boasting in heaven by anyone saved, everyone will be there because of God's wonderful grace.

But we would also do a disservice to people if we totally throw out works. According to today's text God will judge us according to our works. This is an important theme for Matthew, for he records Jesus' words on the Sermon on the Mount as Jesus says, "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" Matt. 5:20 NRSV.

Then again also from Sermon on the Mount, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven" Matt. 7:20 NRSV. So works do have a part to play in our salvation, but not in earning our salvation. Our deeds and works are the evidence of our acceptance of God's wonderful gift of salvation. They are evidence of whether we accepted or rejected God's gift. Our works reveal whether we love God or not.

And the fact that God judges according to our works, reveals that He is a God of love. The Psalmist says it like this, "and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work" Psalm 62:12.

So go out into a dying world today and reveal through your words and actions that you love Jesus, that you serve Jesus, and that you long for Jesus to come back soon. Show compassion, mercy and forgiveness, help those in need, look for opportunities to do good, not in order to be saved, but because you have been saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

Life will be glorious with Jesus.

2012-01-13T22:18:00.001-05:00

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered,or come to mind." Isaiah 65:17 NASB.

Another amazing promise from the Old Testament gospel prophet, Isaiah. He says that when God re-creates the world "the former things will not be remembered, or come to mind."

What does he mean by that? That we will have amnesia and not remember things from the sinful world? If another being on another planet will ask how it was to live on a sinful planet, will we respond by saying, "no idea, I don't remember a thing." I really don't think that will be the case.

What Isaiah is telling us is that we won't want to think of how life was in a wicked, sinful world. Not much will we miss about this world. We will be too happy to think back to fond memories, in fact all our memories will be about dear loved ones, and about Christ, not about the food, the pleasures of the world.

When we finally make it home to heaven, we will consider all our sacrifices and trials worth it, because we shall forever be with Jesus. So will we miss living in a sinful world? Well, you think that you'll miss having headaches, backaches, hard working hours, stress, suffering, hospital rooms? No way, we agree with Isaiah, we won't want to remember the former life, because Praise God, life will be glorious with Jesus.

No more curse!

2012-01-12T13:54:00.000-05:00

"Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him."

No more curse in the holy city. What kind of curse is John speaking of? We have to go all the way back to Genesis 3, where the ground was cursed because of Adam and Eve's sin. That curse will be no more, no more thorns and weeds, no more painful labor, but joyful labor. No more headaches and backaches, I think we can get used to a life like that.

And the greatest of all is that the throne of God and of the Lamb will be here with us. Notice this is not two separate thrones, but one throne. And we shall serve and worship God.

In order to worship Him their one day, we must learn to worship Him here today. To become a servant of God is to be set free, to become a servant of sin and of selfish desires is bondage leading to death.

So let's choose life by choosing Christ as our Lord and Master. Let's begin to serve Him today, ask the Lord what you may do today in His service and enjoy the freedom that you have in Worshipping Him.

The New Jerusalem

2012-01-11T12:31:00.000-05:00

"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Revelation 21:1, 2.

What an amazing vision and promise, this event is to take place after the saints are in heaven a thousand years with the Lord (see Revelation 20:4, 5). But heaven is not our home, heaven is the place that Jesus went to in order to build the New Jerusalem.

But one day that amazing city build by our Lord will come out of heaven and settle in a world that God will re-create. No human eye witnessed that first creation, but one day all the saved will witness God's creative powers in the re-creation of the world.

What a day it will be when the gates shall open wide and we shall set our feet on a newly re-created Earth. Where peace and harmony reign, where the former things of sin and death shall be no more.

Oh may that day come soon friends is my prayer. And may we live our lives for Christ until that day.

Heaven

2012-01-10T11:55:00.001-05:00

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." Isaiah 11:6 NKJV.

Again Isaiah has some encouraging and comforting words for today. This verse is an all time favorite. The promise of peace and unity that the Messiah will bring to the world. Jesus has already won on the cross, the victory is assured.

We are just waiting for His second coming, and when He comes He shall make all things new. We can't comprehend the joy and peace that the redeemed will enjoy throughout eternity. No more pain, sickness, death, or sorrow.

Peace and harmony throughout the whole Universe, even among animals that we fear now, we will not fear their, in fact a little child shall lead them. Praise God for the hope that He gives. Friends, look up and be assured that one day this verse will be a reality, and may Christ be dear to you now and forever.

Blessings upon you

2012-01-09T11:06:00.000-05:00

"Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates." Revelation 22:14 NRSV.

The book of Revelation begins with a blessing in Revelation 1:3 upon those "who hear and who keep what is written in it." And a blessing upon those "who wash their robes." Both blessings will lead us into the city of God.

How do we wash our robes then? Revelation 7:14 explains to us that we may wash our robes and make them white "in the blood of the Lamb." In another words by entering into a personal, daily relationship with Jesus Christ and accepting His sacrifice, His righteousness and His leading in our life.

What a great blessing to the individual who does this. Because the result is the right to come close to the tree of life and to eat of its fruit. This was the promise in Revelation 2:7 given to the church of Ephesus and it is the promise to every person who loves Christ and lives for Him.

One day by God's grace, through Christ's sacrifice, we shall enter into the city of God. And today's text clarifies that we shall enter in through the city "by the gates." Thieves break in through windows, jump over walls, citizens enter in by the gates. We are citizens of the heavenly city, we shall not enter as strangers, but as citizens. One day we shall be home at last, and how do we determine if heaven is truly our home?

Listen to this quote by the pen of Ellen White, "He who through the word of God has lived in fellowship with heaven, will find himself at home in heaven's companionship." Education, pg. 127. Heaven begins now, in our hears, with open Bibles in our laps, communing with Christ through His Word, and when He comes, the communion will just naturally continue only in a greater level, not through the written Word, but through face to face.

So God's blessings upon you my friends as you search the Scriptures, as you wash your robes in the blood of the Lamb.

And influence for good or bad

2012-01-08T13:41:00.000-05:00

"Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life." Romans 5:18.

One man's offense results in condemnation for all and one Man's obedience resulting in justification. How is that just and fare? Well we have to be careful what kind of interpretation we give to Paul's words. There is a human principle that no man is an island. Our actions do effect those around us.

Just consider the actions of Achan in Joshua 7 effecting the whole congregation for bad. And the actions of Phinehas in Numbers 25:7-13 effecting the congregation for the good.

The actions of Adam brought in sin and woe to our world. It's not that God decided to punish the human race for Adam's sin, but that his actions influenced all his children. The Romanian translation literally puts it this way that condemnation hit the human race because of Adam's sin.

But the good news is that because of Jesus' righteousness, His death on the cross, we have the choice to receive the free gift of salvation. So one man's sin brought in sin into the world, but Jesus came into the world to save us, through His choice, we may all be saved.

So today, let us accept Christ's righteousness, allow Him to work in us His influence for good. And then also remember that your influence does effect the lives of those around you, so let's be a good influence for those we meet today.

God "so" loved us.

2012-01-07T15:56:00.000-05:00

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." John 3:16 NRSV.

This is probably the most well known verse in North America. You see it everywhere, even at football games. I'm sure that John never imagined how popular this statement would become.

And the meaning of the verse is so profound. It reveals to us a loving Father who loved us so much that He gave all He could for our salvation. Notice that the verse doesn't say that God loved the world, but that God so loved the world. The word "so" adds added emphasis.

Try it with a loved one, don't just tell them "I love you." Tell them that "I so love you." That added emphasis sure makes a difference. And the reason God so loved the world, was that He may save those who believe in Him.

So what do we learn from today's verse? God loves us immensely is one thing. Another is that salvation was not cheap, but it costed God much in order to secure salvation, for in giving His Son, He gave Himself. And last but not least, salvation is in accepting God's gift by believing in Him.

So let's thank God today for His gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. Let us appreciate His wondrous gift and respond by believing in Him.

New Clothing

2012-01-06T15:03:00.000-05:00

"and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:24 NRSV.

In today's text the life of a Christian is characterized by putting of old clothing and putting on new clothing. The old clothing represents the old life that we lived before we knew Christ and of course the new clothing is the life lived in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

If Paul would've been alive today, he might've told us that we need a blood transfusion. Away with the old blood and in need of new blood. Notice that Paul does not say to just wash your old clothes and redress in them, but to take it off and put on new clothing. The life in Christ is not some improvement on the old self, but a totally new creation. And the new creation is not accomplished by the individual, but done by the Creator Himself.

So how does this new individual look like in a practical sense? According to the context of Ephesians 4, the old person was futile in mind, alienated from God, darkened, ignorant, unclean, greedy, and corrupt. The individual who accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, is clothed with new clothing, their minds renewed, created according to God, taught in Jesus, righteous, holy, true.

Friends, may we accept God's new clothing and allow Him to create His loving image in us.

God Thinks of You

2012-01-05T12:19:00.000-05:00

"Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!" Isaiah 44:21 NKJV

Today's Morning Watch Verse comes to us from the Old Testament Gospel of Isaiah. In fact Martin Luther was asked which book of the Bible would he choose if he only had the choice of one book of the Bible to take with him and he choose Isaiah.

Isaiah is full of encouragement and hope and today's verse is no different. Remember the context of Isaiah, the nation of Israel is worshipping idols, monotheism is only an ideal that is not practiced by the majority. There is trouble on the horizon by the Assyrians taking the northern tribes into captivity and later Babylon taking the tribe of Judah into captivity.

Though captivity is a reality because of sin, so is the fact that God has not forsaken nor forgotten about His people. And remember God has not changed, which means that He has not forgotten about you and me today.

Yes we mess up and sin and do things we horribly regret. We may suffer the consequences of our actions and end up in our own captivities to sin, whether they may be drugs, alcohol or some form of destructive habit. And it is usually at the time of our greatest weakness and hardest fall that the devil discourages us by telling us that we went way too far, God has abandoned us.

The opposite is true, God has not forgotten us, in fact He has great plans for us and He is ready to forgive and to redeem us out of captivity. And Isaiah reminds us that the reason God has not forgotten us, is because He created us and He created us in His image (see Genesis 1:26).

Take courage today my friend God thinks of you today. If He'd have a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He'd carry a wallet, He'd have a photo of you in it to show to the angels and to the unfallen worlds, He really cares for you and thinks of you.

As an encouragement re-read today's verse and put your name in place of Israel's name. "Remember these, O [your name]..., for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O [your name], you will not be forgotten by me."

Created for Good Works

2012-01-04T12:55:00.000-05:00

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:10 NASB.

What an amazing text for today's Morning Watch verse. Let's begin with the first word, "For." This word "for" connects us with Ephesians 2:8, where Paul reminds us that we are saved by grace through faith. So the good works are not a means of our salvation, but a fruit of it. Genuine faith always leads to good works, and also the other side of the coin is true in that good works do not lead to genuine faith.

According to Paul salvation is not a one time event, but a process. The process begins in Ephesians 2:1 where we are reminded that we "were dead in trespasses and sins." But, praise God, He has not left us there, for in Ephesians 2:8 Paul gives the good news, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."

But this is not the end of our salvation either, for even before we were created, God had great plans for us, we were "created in Christ Jesus for good works." Just as we had nothing to do with creating the world for God did not need our help, so when God re-creates our hearts, He is able to do so because He is the Creator God. For only our Creator can be our Redeemer and our Redeemer fully restores us, so that we may live with Him forever.

Salvation then is a full restoration, not just some self-improvement gimmick. And the good works that Paul talks about is the fruit of the Spirit as recorded in Galatians 5:22, 23, "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who also enjoyed studying through the Morning Watch verses as part of his devotional routine coined the phrase cheap grace. What did he mean by that phrase? He says, "Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate." The Cost of Discipleship, p. 36.

But we are not God's puppet in all this, we are His children who are to cooperate with Him so that we may be His "workmanship." This means we are His craftsmanship, just as the potter makes a beautiful vase, or the skill of a poet in her poetry, or even a sermon by the pastor (ok, so the analogy went to far with the last one), the point is that we are God's "masterpiece" (NLT), "handiwork" (NAB), "work of art" (NJB). So let's invite God to do His "masterpiece" upon our heart so that we may glorify God in every aspect of our life.

A Clean Heart and a New Spirit

2012-01-03T12:34:00.000-05:00

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10 NKJV.

Psalm 51 is King David's song of confession from messing up royally (pun intended) with Bathsheba, who was the wife of Uriah. We can be grateful to learn from David's horrible sin that God forgives sin for "if we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9 NRSV).

So then what sins will God not forgive? The sins that we don't confess. Often the devil will tempt us to think that we went to far in sin and that there is no return. That is not true, for if we truly confess our sins, God forgives us and even more then that, He wants to cleanse us from the defilement of sin.

And that is why David's confession is genuine, because not only does he ask for forgiveness, but he longs for purity of heart and a new spirit. There are three important parts for a genuine confession and they are found here in Psalm 51 as well as in Ezekiel 36:25-27. The three parts would be to ask for cleansing, for purity of heart and a new or right spirit.

Forgiveness is not about getting of scott free so that we don't have to suffer the consequences, because many times consequences will happen anyway, just ask David. Forgiveness is actually about restoration and renewal of a broken relationship between us and God, and between us and others. And only God can cleanse, create a new heart and renew a right spirit. Remember, God is the Creator, we are not. We cannot create a pure heart, go to God, He will do so if we you just ask.

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16) NKJV.

Our Creator and Shepherd

2012-01-02T13:52:00.000-05:00

"Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." Psalm 100:3 NRSV

Why not begin the year with praise upon our lips towards God. The psalmist gives us two reasons to praise God for. First we are to praise Him for the fact that He is our Creator. We are not here by accident, but by design. Creation did not come forth because of some explosion within creation, but creation came from the hands of a loving, merciful, kind, and compassionate Creator. Praise God that we are His by Creation.

We are also His by redemption, because He is our Shepherd and as Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11 NKJV). The lot of the sheep mainly falls on the one that shepherds them. If the shepherd is wise and caring, the sheep will be happy and content. If the shepherd is lazy, self-centered and violent, the sheep will definitely suffer.

So with that perspective in mind, is it not an easy decision to choose Christ as our Shepherd? He alone will care for us, He already gave His life for us, that alone should encourage us to put our trust in Him for He always has our best in mind. Let us therefore today, choose Christ as our Shepherd and take a moment to praise Him and thank Him for all He has done for us.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T15:48:00.000-05:00

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)

As we begin a new year, we begin with the first words of Scripture. Words that are very familiar. They remind us of at least of two things.

First, before our world existed God has been always present, He has always been the Great I AM, He has always been love. This one fact ought to encourage us greatly as we face the challenges of 2012. For God never changes, His love never fails, we can fully trust Him and bank on His promises. While the promises and attitudes of people change, the only real constant Being is God, He never changes. And He created all things and rules over all.

And the second thing we are to keep in mind is that He is God, our Creator, and we are not God. As John Wesley reminds us of our duty to our Creator, he says that we are "always to keep heaven in our eye, and earth under our feet."

So as we have entered 2012, Happy New Year to all. Start the new year with courage and hope that God is still God. And let us keep our eyes on Him and our hands and feet in His service.

A holy convocation

2011-10-28T20:08:00.001-04:00

Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. Joel 2:16

In the previous verse we have a blowing of the trumpet for an assembly. In today's verse we have the information of who is to be gathered to the assembly. So who is to come? The short and simple answer is everybody. From the elderly to the nursing babies, even those who are busy preparing for their wedding.

Why are they to gather? The answer shall be found in the next verse. But what is certain is that God calls all, young and old, the busy and the not so busy, all are to gather together in a holy convocation. All are invited to come to the presence of the Lord, for the Lord will do mighty things for His people. He will cleanse them, transform His people, pour out His Spirit upon them and through them glorify His name in the world.

Therefore friends, let us not pull apart from one another, but instead come together in unity under the leadership of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us follow Him and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24, 25).

2011-10-09T09:45:00.001-04:00

Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly;
Joel 2:15.

This is the second time that the command is given to "Blow the trumpet in Zion." The first time was in Joel 2:1. There were different reasons to blow the trumpet in Israel. In the case of Joel 2:1, it was to sound the alarm, the awaken God's people. But in Joel 2:15, in today's text, it is a call to worship, to gather and assemble God's people in worshipping Him, the Creator. Kind of like the call to worship of the first angel's message in Revelation 14:6, 7.

It is time for God's people to come together in worshipping the Creator. When the magi came to worship baby Jesus, they brought their gifts with them (see Matthew 2). We cannot separate worship and giving of gifts, bringing as a thank offering to God for all His benefits. As we are nearing the holiday season, it is time to start giving to God and not to ourselves. We are not celebrating our birthdays in the holiday season (unless you really have a birthday in the holiday season, then you may have a gift), but other then that, we should be worshipping Christ and bringing gifts to Him. We could do this in many ways, by supporting local charities, ministries or ministries abroad. Either way, let us "Blow the trumpet in Zion," call the people together to worship Christ, our Lord.

And another aspect of assembling for worship also comes from the first angel's message. We are called to worship Him "who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water" (Rev. 14:7). This is a direct quote from the fourth commandment, what the world is longing for is the Sabbath rest. Just returned last then a week ago from the Innovation Conference from Dayton, OH. One of the guest speakers was Gabe Lyons and his new book is The Next Christians. Great speaker, great book, I highly recommend it. In the book he recommend that Christians need to be grounded and not distracted (chapter 8). And there are five disciplines of being grounded.

   1. "Immersed in Scripture (Instead of Entertainment) (pgs. 134-136)
   2. "Observing the Sabbath (Instead of Being Productive) (pgs. 137-138)
   3. "Fasting for Simplicity (Instead of Consuming) (pgs. 138-141)
   4. "Choosing Embodiment (Instead of Being Divided) (pgs. 141-144)
   5. "Postured by Prayer (Instead of Power) (pgs. 144-145).

Here is a gentleman who is not a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, but as a Christian recognizes the benefits of the Sabbath, observes the Sabbath from Friday 4 pm to Sabbath 4 pm and calls Christians to also see the benefits of Sabbathing (just turned Sabbath into a verb).

Therefore let us not take for granted the privilege of gathering together in worship, let us bring our gifts to our Creator. And let us rejoice in the gift of the Sabbath.

God's Blessing

2011-09-19T10:15:00.001-04:00

Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him-- A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God? Joel 2:14

Joel again goes back to the grain offering and the drink offering, signifying total devotion to God. If we turn back to Him with our whole heart, He will truly bless us.

That has been the message of Joel so far. In a nutshell, Joel is talking about unprecedented times (see Joel 1). Then he speaks of God trying to wake His children up to be fully devoted to Him (Joel 2:1). They are to wake up to march under His banner. To be unified in His service, to get along, love one another and to live the gospel message in their daily life (Joel 2:2-11).

But in order for all this to be a reality and not only a dream, God's people are to be fully devoted to God and He will bless them. Let us crave God's blessing today by recommitting our whole mind, soul and body to Him.

And my prayer is: The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26).

Rend your hearts and not your garments

2011-09-17T08:31:00.000-04:00

So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Joel 2:13.

So rend your heart, and not your garments. One of the greatest challenges that Jesus had to face were the religious leaders of His day. Who would rather rend their garments and not their hearts. This phrase talks about internalized repentance, repentance of the heart, not some outward change only.

If we concentrate on just changing the outside, it might remain only an outward change and then we might become prideful of making progress. But if we rend our hearts, repent and humble ourselves from within, it will not only produce inward change, but also outward results as well.

Jesus said it like this: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matt. 23:25-28).

So then we are to come humbly and honestly to God, rending our hearts and not our garments. And what will be the result? Forgiveness, cleansing, healing and a joyous relationship with God. Because He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.

When Moses had the privilege to meet God on top of Mount Sinai, the following was proclaimed: The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation. (Ex. 34:6, 7).

Yes friends, God is gracious, merciful, patient, kind and don't forget He is also love. Therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, rending your hearts and not your garments. Truly opening your heart up to Him and not making an outward show, and you will obtain mercy and you will find grace (Hebrews 4:16). The peace of Christ will rest on you and the joyous relationship with God shall be restored. Praise God for His abounding grace.

Returning with our whole heart

2011-09-11T10:59:00.002-04:00

"Now therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;" Joel 2:12

"Now therefore," brings us to a conclusion. And in order to grasp the meaning of the conclusion we must understand what the subject has been up until now. So far Joel has been talking about an army of believers. Those who have heard the sound of the alarm and have woken up out of their spiritual sleep to march faithfully and unitedly in the Lord's army.

This is the picture that Joel wants to become a reality. Rather a goal that God has in mind for His people. And in order for this vision to become a reality, God's people must return to the Lord with all their hearts. Not with most of our heart, but with all our heart. For the most insulting way to hurt a person is to love them half-heartedly. That is why Christ made it clear that we cannot serve two masters at the same time. "You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24).

Therefore in order to make Joel 2:1-11 a reality we must return to the Lord with our whole heart. And with fasting, weeping and mourning. What kind of fasting does the Lord desire? "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Isaiah 58:6, 7. Is this the kind of fast God has in mind? The answer is, YES!!!!

And what kind of weeping and mourning? The type that Peter experienced after he denied His Lord and Savior. Then he [Peter] began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!" Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly. Matt. 26:74, 75.

The kind of weeping and mourning that we are to experience is the one that Peter experienced, the sorrow of hurting the heart of Jesus. Deep, genuine sorrow leads to repentance. Repentance leads to a deep, genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. Which then leads to serve faithfully in the Lord's army.

May the Lord grant us His Spirit today to turn to Christ with our whole heart, with true fasting, with deep contrition of heart that may include weeping and mourning. For this alone will lead to true joy and peace.

The day of the Lord

2011-09-10T16:26:00.001-04:00

The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; He who executes His word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it? Joel 2:11.

Joel two is parallel with Revelation 6. Today's verse speaking about the day of the Lord and how great and awesome it is, is explained in more detail in Revelation 6:14-17. Notice the similarities.

The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? (Rev. 6:14-17 ESV).

The similarities are many about the greatness of Christ's coming to the fear of the wicked. But Joel 2:12 also highlights the fact that the Lord will also have a faithful army that day. The army is exceedingly great because all those that have died in Jesus will be resurrected. So just imagine the righteous of all the ages meeting Jesus in the air on the day of His coming. What an awesome camp it will be. Truly a group that we all want to be part of, to be with God's children of all the ages throughout eternity.

This is the Lord's army, those who do not jostle one another, who march together united, using their gifts in the Lord's service. Re-read Joel 2:2-9 as a reminder of their faithfulness to their Lord, Master and Commander.

They are the ones who will look up on the day of His coming and cry out, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation." Is. 25:9.

May we all live our life faithfully serving Christ, with the burning hope that one day we shall see His face and join that great camp meeting in the sky.

Maranatha!!

Time frame of Joel 2

2011-09-05T10:33:00.000-04:00

The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. Joel 2:10

Today's verse gives us some kind of an idea of when this army of God will awake to the sound of alarm and march unified to the glory of God. A time when the earth shall quake and the sun and moon grow dark and the stars diminish their brightness.

So when might that be? Revelation 6 gives us the answer. It is the chapter of the seven seals representing the time between the first century and the last generation that will be alive when Jesus comes. The seals then shows seven epochs that the church would go through and the sixth seal that includes the second coming of Christ as well as the last generations on earth speaks about the same signs that Joel 2:10 talks about.

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. Rev. 6:12-14.

We are living in the midst of these verses. For the last part did not fulfill yet, but the great Lisbon earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755 occurred. May 19, 1780 was the day that the sun refused to shine, it is known as the dark day and the stars of heaven fell to the earth November 13, 1833. So from the mid 1800s God's people have been hearing the alarm and started uniting in serving the Lord.

It is our privilege today to continue in serving the Lord, in uniting with our brothers and sisters in Christ in worshipping, learning and working together as we wait for the Lord to break through the clouds and to take us home.

The fall of Babylon.

2011-09-01T11:36:00.000-04:00

They run to and fro in the city, they run on the wall; they climb into the houses, they enter at the windows like a thief. Joel 2:9

So far in Joel two, the description of the righteous has been amazing. Something that will be accomplished by the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. God's people will all work together, march together with no jostling, no pushing or fighting in their midst. In another words no friendly fire experiences.

But now in today's verse they are also moving forward and conquering the enemy. The city that is spoken of here is Babylon. They are involved in the fall of Babylon. Now the warfare in Scripture is not physical but spiritual. As Paul said, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rules of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. And if that is the case then we must take up the whole armor of God. (Ephesians 6:12, 13).

So what weapons to God's people use in this warfare? None other then the Word of God. For within the Word of God is truth and truth is the greatest weapon against Babylon and the errors in Babylon.

But don't forget what Jesus said about truth, He said, I am the way, the truth and the life (John 17:6). Cannot have truth without Jesus. So we must turn to the Word of God to find truth, and we shall find it only in Jesus Christ.

Friends, we are to be part of God's faithful, who are used by the Holy Spirit to share the truth of Jesus Christ with those in Babylon. Let us then faithfully draw close to Christ through His Word. And the result will not only be the fall of Babylon, but also we shall have a wonderful and close relationship with Jesus Christ.

Stop jostling

2011-08-26T12:21:00.001-04:00

They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. Joel 2:8 ESV

Three things we learn about God's people in the last days. First they don't jostle one another. In another words, no fighting among them, they don't elbow each other, rough each other up, criticize one another. They are kind and loving towards one another.

And second thing is that they all march in his or her own path. Maybe that is why they don't fight among each other because they are busy minding their own business and marching in their own paths. Not worrying how others are marching in their paths.

And last the weapons of the enemy are useless against them. Paul sees God's church having on the whole armor of God so that the fiery darts of the enemy are useless against them (see Ephesians 6:10-20).

Let's make the decision today to be part of God's church, to be part of the solution. Let it begin with us that we will not jostle others, march in our own path and clothed with the armor of God.

Church, a kind of Sport!

2011-08-24T15:06:00.000-04:00

They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war; every one marches in formation, and they do not break ranks. Joel 2:7

Let's remember that Joel is still speaking about those who hear the sound of alarm and wake up to God's service. In today's verse they sound more like marines than disciples. I'm not sure if I can climb a wall like a marine, or march correctly in formation. But this is the example that Joel gives and the question is what does he mean by this example?

When one looks at the life of the church, all too often people will be busy in the lives of others while neglecting their own duty. We are so good at telling others how they ought to live their lives, what they should've done instead. And in the mean time we are neglecting what we ought to be doing.

It's kind of like a deacon trying to tell a deaconess what she should've done, while his job is being neglected. Or someone complaining about how others are serving while they are on the side line doing nothing.

Church has turned into some kind of a sport. Now I'm not talking about an animal or plant that is abnormal, I'm talking about the type that includes a ball, players and spectators. Take basketball for instance, five against five and 20,000 in the stands watching, yelling, judging, criticizing and cheering. That is what church has turned into, a sport. The pastor, elders, deacons, deaconesses serving and 50, 100, 200 showing up on Sabbath to cheer or criticize.

According to Joel everyone is marching in formation. That means everyone is using their God given gifts and capabilities, being involved. It's not five working and 50 sitting, but all 55 working together, marching together. What a beautiful picture.

So I have a new rule that we all should abide by. Unless you and I get involved and are ready to be part of the solution, we ought not to open up our mouths to criticize someone else in their work. Sounds good? May we not break rank, but serve faithfully the Lord, marching in harmony with all of God's faithful children.

"Therefore turn and live!"

2011-08-19T21:47:00.000-04:00

Before them the people writhe in pain; all faces are drained of color. Joel 2:6

Notice how Jesus described the the experience of the wicked. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 13:49, 50).

Here is another picture. Then the king said to the servants, "Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matt. 22:13.

And let's take one look at John the Revelator's explanation of the wicked when Christ comes; And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" Rev. 6:15-17.

This is exactly what Joel is talking about, the experience of the wicked when Christ comes, while the faces of the righteous will glow with joy because they will finally see Jesus. The wicked will be in torment and their faces pale because they realize that their day of reckoning has arrived.

But God does not want anyone's face to be drained of color on the day of Christ's return. "Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord God. "Therefore turn and live!"

"Therefore turn and live!"

God's faithful

2011-08-17T18:32:00.000-04:00

With a noise as of chariots they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, like a mighty people arranged for battle. Joel 2:5

What an amazing description of the faithful people of God who will benefit from the outpouring of the latter rain. Jesus gave some very encouraging words to His disciples before He gave His life on the cross.

Right there in the upper room, He said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father (John 14:12).

And sure enough the disciples did some amazing things by the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts 5:14, 15 says; all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number; to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets, and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on any of them.

Truly through the outpouring of the early rain the early church, the first century church accomplished great things. And will the closing be less dramatic than the beginning of the work of the gospel? Definitely not. God's people will go forth in the might and power of the Holy Spirit blessing many. They will be organized as an army of workers under the Master's leadership. All using their God-given gifts and talents to glorify God, so that work would close with a mighty manifestation of God's loving character.

Therefore friends, get involved in your churches, use your gifts to the glory of God. For it is no time to wait for some special manifestation of the Holy Spirit. That will never come to those who are on the sideline but only to those who are already using gifts. May the Lord lead each of us to be faithful servants in His service is my prayer.

Blessed to bless

2011-08-16T17:42:00.000-04:00

Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like swift steeds, so they run. Joel 2:4

Well some questions quickly surface when reading today's verse. First of all, who is Joel talking about and why are they likened to horses?

Joel is talking about those who hear the sound of alarm and awake out of their slumber to prepare for the coming of Jesus. He is talking about those who have the Garden of Eden before them and the desolate wilderness behind them.

And why is their appearance like that of horses? In Zechariah 10:3 horses are connected with warfare. Also in Revelation 6, the four horses are symbolic of the four stages of the militant church.

Therefore you have the awakened church going forth in the power of the Holy Spirit. The latter rain is poured out upon them, they go forth preaching, teaching, and spreading the gospel by helping the poor, needy, young and old.

Just as the gospel spread quickly in the early rain of the book of Acts, so will God's people run swiftly with the gospel message, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Now that is a group I want to be part of. Join me to be part of God's awakened servants, spreading the gospel message to a dying world.

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what your gifts are to be used in sharing the gospel message. And if you are already using your gifts, isn't it a blessing and a joy to know that the Holy Spirit is working through you in order to bless a world struggling with sin? Truly it is a great blessing to be a blessing.

The Garden of Eden

2011-08-15T15:48:00.001-04:00

Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them. Joel 2:3

Who is Joel talking about in this verse? He is talking about those who have the hope of living in the garden of Eden one day, for it is before them. Joel is talking about those who have heard the sound of alarm and are awake and ready for the coming of the Lord.

Therefore the event spoken of in this verse is the return of Jesus. Paul said it like this, This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering... and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. (2 Thess. 1:5, 7-10).

Yes, our hope is definitely the beautiful garden of Eden that was taken up into heaven when Adam and Eve sinned. I can just imagine the day when we shall all gather in the kingdom and again Adam sees the garden of Eden. How thankful he will be for Christ's sacrifice to give him the opportunity again to live in the garden. And of course how thankful we all will be to also enjoy the beautiful garden of Eden.

What are you looking forward to in life? If your future is only in the things of this world, then I would invite you lift your eyes higher, and make your plans to live in the garden of Eden. A decision like that ought to affect our life and the way we will live our life from now on. May all that we do and say be with the purpose of glorifying God and one day of living with God is my prayer.

Arise and shine

2011-08-14T13:24:00.001-04:00

A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. Joel 2:2 ESV

Why a day of darkness? Isaiah chimes in just about now with the answer in Isaiah 60:1, 2.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.

Darkness then is a misunderstanding of God's character. Darkness is not knowing God. Light would be the opposite of knowing God, understanding His wondrous love. The church is to be light in a dark world. The reason darkness covers the earth is because they don't know who God really is. God is misrepresented by the devil and many are falling for his deceptive, lying, misrepresentative words about God.

Jesus once healed a blind man who lived in darkness and because of the healing touch of Jesus he could see. The Pharisees were disturbed and mostly jealous about this miracle. They asked Jesus, "Are we also blind?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains." (Jn. 9:40, 41).

It's one thing to be in darkness, but to be in darkness and think that you are living in the light is really sad. The reality is that many don't want to be in the light. "The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil" (Jn. 3:19).

Friends, now is the time for us to arise and shine. Now is the time to let our light shine in a dark world. Let us live today in a way that glorifies God.

The Sound of Alarm

2011-08-12T17:06:00.000-04:00

Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand: Joel 2:1

The second chapter of Joel is one of the most amazing chapters in all of Scripture. It is amazing because of its depth, its insights and because of its amazing prophetic details. In chapter one Joel set up the destructive times that will be before Christ comes. Now in verse one of chapter two we have a sound of alarm.

Joel 2:15 repeats the call to "blow the trumpet in Zion," but while in verse 15 it is a sound of assembly, in verse one it is a sound of alarm. The sound of alarm is to wake up someone and the sound of assembly is to direct one to worship. You cannot hear the call to worship if you are sleeping.

So the first thing that Joel tries to do is to wake us up to the fact that Jesus is coming back. It is time to start living with Christ's coming in mind and stop living as if He will never come back. And where is the sound of alarm to go forth? It is to go forth on God's holy mountain.

So the sound of alarm is to go forth in the midst of God's people. For it is God's people that are asleep. Kind of reminds us of the parable Jesus told of the 10 virgins, they all fell asleep, all ten of them.

And why would the inhabitants of the land tremble? Because they are in fear of all that is going on in the world. In fact Jesus speaking of the signs of the time of the end said, And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men's heart failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken (Lk. 21:25, 26). There is fear in the hearts of people today and there will be great fear as we get closer to the end.

So friend, let us wake up and hear the sound of alarm from Joel 2:1. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Rom. 13:11-14).

For the sake of our furry little friends

2011-08-08T10:33:00.000-04:00

The beasts of the field also cry out to You, for the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the open pastures. Joel 1:20.

In yesterday's verse Joel cried out to the Lord, people cried out to the Lord because of all the devastation in the land. In today's text creation cries out to the Lord. Often when catastrophe strikes we think of the death toll of humans but we don't have a count of the death toll of animals.

Now of course I am not being critical here of trying to save human lives. We ought to do all to save humans in a disaster and try to come to their aid as quickly as possible. But today's verse reminds us that we are not the only ones crying out to God. We are not the only ones hoping and waiting and longing for God's re-creation.

Even the animals are tired of sin and rightfully so. They have been part of the experiment of sin and they also conclude that it was and is a bad idea. They want the experiment to end just as much as we do.

But again, let's turn to Scripture's good news, And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the three were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him (Rev. 22:1-3).

While the water brooks of this world dry up, God's pure river of life will always flow, will always remain pure, will always bring blessings to the inhabitants of the new earth. So for the sake of our furry friends, let's pray more fervently for Christ's return. They are tired and we are tired of sin. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote once to his friend Gerhard Leibholz, "one feels such a tremendous longing for real peace, in which all the misery and injustice, the lying and cowardice will come to an end." That also is the hope of not only humans but of all creation.

Cry Out to the Lord

2011-08-07T11:46:00.001-04:00

O Lord, to You I cry out; for fire has devoured the open pastures, and a flame has burned all the trees of the field. Joel 1:19.

Where do you turn for help when it seems the whole world around you is collapsing? Who do you cry out to? Joel cried out to God. When everything in the world is collapsing and falling apart, just as we see it happening right before our eyes, I hope that we have learned to cry out to the Lord. He alone is able to help, no one else is able to deliver us.

Just like when the great multitude that was following Jesus forsook Him, Jesus turned to His disciples and asked, “Do you also want to go away?” To which Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn. 6:67, 68).

Peter realized that if they left Jesus who else would they follow? There are really two options in life, trying to find happiness in a relationship with God or without God. Those are our two options, and when we do choose God, the devil will try to make our life miserable in order to turn away from Him.

But the reality is that the words of eternal life, lasting happiness will only be found in Christ, everything else is just soap bubbles. Real pretty to look at, shiny, but once you touch it, it pops and inside is nothing, emptiness.

Are you going through some struggle, grief, pain or suffering today? Remember my friend, the Lord is not only able to help us and deliver us, but He is also willing to come to our aid. So let us not hesitate to come to the Lord, in fact let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16).

Creation's suffering

2011-08-06T10:36:00.001-04:00

How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are restless, because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment. Joel 1:18

I'm sure we've all heard the statement "No man is an island entire of itself." In another words our actions affect others, but not only humans, all of creation. Paul himself said, For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now (Rom. 8:22).

Yes, because of humanity's choice all nature suffers, leaves fall, flowers fade, animals eat each other, all this because of sin. But it is not all bad news, there is great news to the bad news. First of all, John says that God will destroy those who destroy the earth (Rev. 11:18). I say "Amen" to that. Just have to make sure we are not the ones who are destroying the earth by our habits and actions.

And the second piece of good news is given throughout the whole Bible but we'll just look at Paul and John. Paul says that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rom. 8:21).

And John puts it this way, Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away... there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away (Rev. 21:1, 4).

Great news to the bad news isn't it? May we anticipate and look forward to the time when the animals will no longer groan, when the pasture will be eternally green, and the sheep do not suffer any longer. A time and place where the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain (Is. 11:6-9).

But until that day, may we do our part to take care of the earth and all that live within it.

A Good Harvest

2011-08-04T14:09:00.000-04:00

The seed shrivels under the clods, storehouses are in shambles; barns are broken down, for the grain has withered. Joel 1:17.

What is the result when the seed of the Word of God is neglected? No spiritual harvest for the individual. That is exactly what today's text talks about. The subject is the lack of a harvest.

Jesus once told a parable about a sower sowing seed. You can read about it in Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23. As the seed was sown, it fell on four types of ground. It fell by the wayside, by stony places, among thorns and on good ground.

Only the seed sown on good ground produced a good harvest that would be gathered and placed in storehouses. The other grounds represent hearts that one way or another do not receive the Word of God.

The one by the wayside represents those who receive the Word of God but since it is on a beaten path, the seed just lays on the path and the enemy of God comes and snatches it away.

The one by stony places represent hearts that receive the Word of God joyfully but they have no depth to it and when hard times come they turn away from God and His Word.

And the one among thorns represents those who heard the Word of God but their priorities lay with the things of this world.

So then what type of ground is your heart and my heart? Is it good ground that produces a great harvest, or is it the type of ground where the seed never grows to produce a harvest for one reason or another. A soul whose storehouse is in shambles because the Word of God is not stored in it is a sad picture. But what a beautiful picture is the soul in whom Christ and His Word reigns.

Therefore may our prayer be, Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You (Ps. 119:11).

Hunger for God's Word

2011-08-03T11:26:00.000-04:00

Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
Joel 1:16

There is a great hunger in the land for some substantial food, but all that is being fed the people is the words and thoughts of men and not the rich, healthy, fulfilling Word of God. The food is cut off not because there aren't enough Bibles in the land, but because there is not enough time to study. Our priorities are upside down and even when we do turn to religion we turn to the books written about the Bible and not the Bible itself.

There is nothing wrong with reading widely, I love reading, but they are not to take the place of reading the Word of God. We don't need to always get God's Word second hand, after someone else has already chewed it. We have the privilege to go to God's Word ourselves. So open God's Word, read it yourself, meditate on it, take time to chew on it. Apply its principles to your life and you will find that the Bible is very practical, fulfilling and its sweeter than honey.

Now why would joy and gladness be absent from the house of God? I don't think that we are in that period yet in our country, though in other countries Christians experience persecution daily. For the absence of joy and gladness has to do with God's people being persecuted and not having the freedom to come into God's house with joy and gladness.

Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. (Matt. 9:15). Sure enough the time will come when God's faithful will be considered the scum of the earth and will be hated by all. Joy and gladness will be absent for a time, but it will be restored when they shall see Jesus.

We ought not to keep our eyes on the time when joy and gladness is gone but focus on Christ and His promises that the day will come when our joy and gladness will be restored when we shall see His face. May the hope of His return always burn strong within our hearts.

Scared of the Lamb

2011-08-02T16:30:00.003-04:00

Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
Joel 1:15.

One of the signs of Lord's coming has to do with Christians losing that wonderful first love towards Christ. Paul said it like this to Timothy, Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables (2 Tim. 4:2-4).

And could it be possible that destruction shall come from the Almighty? The picture given in Revelation 6 is like this; Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" (Rev. 6:14-17).

Can you imagine being afraid of a lamb? Today my father-in-law caught a black snake and I was googling to see if it was a venomous snake. I can see people being scared by all sorts of animals, but this is the only time that grown ups would be scared by lamb. And scared not by any lamb, but scared of The Lamb of God that came into the world and gave His life to save them. Scared of their Savior.

What a distorted picture sin gives of God, of salvation, of our Savior. May we accept the biblical picture of a loving, self-sacrificing God and may we come unto Him for salvation. While many are turning to spiritual Babylon, may we serve Jesus Christ and when He comes, we will not be afraid of the Lamb but be glad for His appearing.

True fasting

2011-08-01T00:10:00.000-04:00

Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Joel 1:14

This verse has often been misapplied. I remember one time I was speaking on the joy of salvation and someone came up to me quoting this verse, making it sound like we ought to be sad, weepy type of Christians.

There is a time to pray earnestly and there is a time to rejoice freely in the salvation God has so graciously given through His Son, Jesus Christ. Today's verse is in the context of praying earnestly and seriously for the apathy and spiritual coldness that is within Christianity. But again, there is a time to pray seriously and a time to rejoice joyfully.

Also today's verse calls us to consecrate a fast. Biblical fasting is not necessarily to stay away from food totally, but to eat the right food at the right time. In another words, many times a Biblical fast could be summed up in temperance.

I believe that is a better definition of fasting, for God's first command to Adam and Eve is to eat freely. God did not forbid eating, God forbade a certain type of food to be eaten. So fasting has to do with making wise choices in our eating habits so that we can have a clear mind to pray earnestly, to think clearly and to live abundantly.

May the Lord gather His people together to pray earnestly, worship joyfully and to live temperately is my prayer.

Gird up your loins

2011-07-29T21:44:00.000-04:00

Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; wail, you who minister before the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, you who minister to my God; for the grain offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Joel 1:13

Now we have come to the place in the chapter where the Lord gives the first piece of advice. And what is His advice in times when spiritual Babylon has been destroying the spiritual lives of God's people? For the leaders to "gird themselves." Now for us today, this phrase makes no sense whatsoever. We don't gird ourselves because of the way we dress today. But Jesus spoke about the faithful servants who gird themselves, who are faithfully watching for the return of their Master (see Luke 12:37).

Peter also gives counsel about girding, Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:13). Since we don't gird our loins today, we can gird our minds so that it is resting on Jesus, hoping on Jesus, keeping the grace of Christ always before us. To gird the mind is to fill it with Christ as He is revealed in Scripture.

The word "loins" is interesting also, because we are told that Levi was in the loins of Abraham when Abraham gave his tithes and offerings to Melchizedec (see Hebrews 7:9, 10). So when we speak of "loins" we speak of the plans we have five, ten years from now. When we think of our future plans, God ought to be part of those plans, create plans that are pleasing to Him.

And again, the verse closes with the grain offering and the drink offering, the extras brought with the offerings. God doesn't want offerings from us, He wants us, the extras represented a total, full surrender, holding nothing back. Christ wants our whole heart, mind and soul. And that is the problem with the church today, many are holding back.

So friends, don't hold back, but gird up the loins of your minds and serve Christ with your whole heart, mind and soul.

Restore Rejoicing

2011-07-28T10:05:00.000-04:00

The vine dries up, and the fig tree fails; the pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree, all the trees of the field dry up. Indeed, rejoicing dries up from the sons of men. Joel 1:12 NASB

The thought continues from verse 11 in that the devastation and the sadness of forsaking that first love, the wonderful love of Christ.

This verse is a parallel picture of Laodecia. In that there is blindness and weakness, spiritual poverty in the midst of God's people, all because they have turned towards Babylon and away from their Lord and Maker.

What perhaps is saddest of all is the fact that rejoicing has dried up. Jesus came to give us abundant joy and abundant life (see John 10:10). There is joy in serving the Lord, just ask the seventy followers of Jesus who came back from their missionary service (see Luke 10:17).

The devil wants us to think that the yoke of Christ is burdensome, heavy and joyless. When in reality life without the yoke of Christ is bondage, heavy and joyless. Therefore accept the invitation of Christ today and restore rejoicing to your life.

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light. Matt. 11:28-30.

How to keep the blessings flowing.

2011-07-26T23:08:00.000-04:00

Be ashamed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, for the wheat and the barley; because the harvest of the field has perished. Joel 1:11

Verses 11 and 12 speak about the condition of the church today. The church that turns away from God's Word and following spiritual Babylon. The whole point of today's verse is that the harvest is effected by the effort put into the land in planting and cultivating, or by the enemies that come to destroy.

So let's talk about those two things. First of all the your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). But we need nothing to worry for He [that is God] who is in your is greater than he [that is the roaring lion, Satan) who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

So the devil cannot destroy the harvest of our soul if God through Christ is in our harvest. It is when we neglect our relationship with Jesus that the wheat and barley, which are symbols for the Word of God have no positive effect in our lives.

And second of all, if we don't plant the Word of God in our lives and don't take the time to cultivate our relationship with Christ, the harvest will be pitiful indeed. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Gal. 6:8).

Therefore friends, Resist him [Satan], and remain steadfast in the faith (1 Pet. 5:9). For when you plant an apple tree you don't just get one apple, you get to enjoy lots of apples. And when you plant the Word of God in your life you don't just get one blessing, you receive numerous wonderful blessings. Keep the blessings flowing in your life by cultivating that relationship with the Lord.

Grain, oil and new wine.

2011-07-25T09:59:00.000-04:00

The field is wasted, the land mourns; for the grain is ruined, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails. Joel 1:10

The grain represents the bread of life, for you make bread out of the grain. The oil represents the work and gift of the Holy Spirit. And the new wine is the new covenant through the blood and death of Jesus Christ.

In the last days few turn to the Word of God, few accept the new covenant and few plead for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the field is wasted and land mourns because of it. The grain is not attended to, not appreciate it.

Friends, God has given us the greatest gift when He gave us the Word Jesus Christ (see John 1:1). And we get to know the Living Word through the written Word of God. With the joy of studying the Word of God, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for we cannot separate the two and partake of the new covenant offered through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

May our souls be healthy because of the grain, oil and new wine of God.

The extras

2011-07-24T12:23:00.002-04:00

The grain offering and the drink offering have been cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests mourn, who minister to the Lord.

Joel 1:9

Today’s verse leads us back to the first five chapters of the book of Leviticus. There we find five types of offerings. They are the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering and the trespass offering.

Now the question ought to be asked, why does Joel mention the grain offering and the drink offering but not the burnt offering, peace offering, sin offering, or the trespass offering?

And here is the reason, because the grain offering and drink offering were accompaniments of the burnt offering. In another words these were the extras that went along with the burnt offering.

What Joel is lamenting is that people are not attending regularly the worship services with offerings and even than they leave out the extras. They are not whole hearted in their worship because they have been influenced and spiritually affected by spiritual Babylon. They don’t know what it means to have a deeper relationship with God. Their question is what is the minimum I can do and still get by in my worship and service to God.

That is a horrible question to ask, for when you love someone you don’t ask what is the minimum you can do for them, but rather true love gives all. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deut. 6:4, 5.

Friends, let us determine that our worship of God will be whole hearted, fervent and deep out of a heart that is thankful and full of love for our God who has loved us so much.

Back to that first love

2011-07-21T22:41:00.000-04:00

Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. Joel 1:8

This symbolism of a virgin and her husband is found in many of the Old Testament prophets. For example the first three chapters of Hosea is an enlargement of this picture. Then the 16th chapter of Ezekiel reveals God's love for His people in the symbolism of a young woman and her husband. And not to forget the poetic book of Song of Solomon which is a love story that portrays again God and His people.

So then what does this verse imply? Remember the context, spiritual Babylon is destroying, consuming and intoxicating God's faithful with her wine. God is appealing to His people to remember the time when they were still faithful to Him and how God faithfully guided them, watched over them, loved them just like a loving and faithful husband loves his newly married bride.

In all these analogies found in the prophets the unfaithfulness is not on the part of the husband but the wife. Now this is not speaking against women, don't want the women to get upset because this is all symbolic between us and God. Therefore this is speaking about our unfaithfulness to God, for God is always faithful to us. So this verse is God's appeal to us because of our unfaithfulness.

God is calling us back to that first love, kind of like the message to the Ephesian church in Revelation 2. If you have fallen away from your first love, then go back to where you experienced it last. Just like Mary and Joseph left Jesus in Jerusalem when He was 12, they needed to go back to where they left Him in order to find Him. And if you find yourself in spiritual Babylon then you must turn back in your spiritual walk to the place where you were with Jesus last, where you've felt that first love.

Friends, God is calling us back to that first love that we had towards Him, perhaps when we were first baptized, when we were on fire for His Word, and faithfully serving Him. For love is not to grow colder as we get older, but stronger as the days and years go by. May our love for Christ go stronger and stronger until we see Him break through the clouds to take us home.

Follow Christ

2011-07-20T10:10:00.001-04:00

He has laid waste My vine, and ruined My fig tree; he has stripped it bare and thrown it away; its branches are made white. Joel 1:7

Isaiah 5 speaks of the Lord's vineyard and how He is disappointed with His vineyard that it doesn't produce fruit. And what does the vineyard represent? For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. Isaiah 5:7. In another words it represents God's people.

Going to the New Testament Jesus says, I am the true vine... you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:1, 5.

Then there is a story of Jesus and a fig tree in Matthew 21:18, 19. Jesus was hungry and saw a fig tree, but it had no fruit, Jesus than said to the fig tree Let no fruit grow on you ever again. Sure enough the fig tree withered away immediately.

The vine and the fig tree. The vine branches are dependent on the vine and the fig tree stands dependent. Both are to bear fruit and what happens when spiritual Babylon takes over? Devastation, that is why in Revelation God's people are called to come out of Babylon (see Revelation 14:8). In fact Revelation 14, 17, 18 describes the effects of staying in Babylon and the desolation caused by Babylon.

Again we come back to what is important, we are the vine branches, Christ is the vine, we are to be connected to Christ. Without Him we can do nothing. We are incapable and paralyzed. Therefore, turn away from any religion that is based on works, based on a human's mediation and turn to Jesus Christ who is alone our Mediator. He alone is able to save us. Enter into a relationship with Christ, trust Him, walk with Him. And attend a church that is Christ-centered and not man-centered. That follows God's Word and not the traditions of men. Follow Christ and you will not experience the devastation of spiritual Babylon.

Lion teeth

2011-07-18T23:02:00.001-04:00

For a nation has come up against My land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a fierce lion.
Joel 1:6

According to the prophecy of Daniel in Daniel 7, the lion is the first beast of four that Daniel sees representing the kingdom of Babylon. Going forward to the book of Revelation, Babylon is represented by God's enemies. Therefore, the teeth of a lion would be spiritual Babylon who comes up against God's people. And what will he do? That we shall see tomorrow.

But for today we need to understand that Joel and Revelation go hand in hand. In the book of Revelation we see two groups and two forms of worship. One worshipping God and the other worshipping God's enemy, the beast.

And what is the characteristic of God's people? And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Rev. 12:11.

That is quite a strong love that God's people have for Him, they love Christ more than they love their own lives. Friends, I invite you to continue to grow in love towards Christ, don't dwell so much on what the enemy does as much as spending time with the one you love, Jesus Christ.

God's gift through Christ.

2011-07-17T10:01:00.000-04:00

Awake, you drunkards, and weep; and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth.
Joel 1:5

Speaking of the drunkards and drinkers of wine, the same language is used in the book of Revelation.

Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Rev. 14:8.

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Rev. 17:1, 2.

So Joel is speaking of a time when the nations are drunk with the wine of spiritual Babylon. The new wine on the other hand takes us to the upper room, to the time when Jesus said to the disciples: Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. Matt. 26:27-29.

Joel is speaking of this new wine, this new covenant through the blood of Jesus being cut off to those who are drunk with the wine of spiritual Babylon. So then what does it all mean? And how do we apply this verse to our lives?

Spiritual Babylon represents humanities system of salvation, salvation by works which is of course false religion. The new wine represents salvation through Christ, through His loving sacrifice. Those who try to save themselves through their own efforts, earning it in some form will reject God's offer of the gift of grace given through Jesus Christ.

What Joel is telling us is that in the last days many will follow a system of religion that is works oriented rejecting the wonderful grace of God. But what a privilege for us to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, to accept the salvation through His shed blood. Therefore I invite you to come to Christ, get to know Him through Scripture and accept the salvation that He offers through His gift of grace.

Succession of trouble

2011-07-15T10:24:00.000-04:00

What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; and what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten. Joel 1:4

Today's text has nothing to do with locusts at all, it has to do with one trouble following another one. What one trouble leaves behind, the next one comes and destroys. And whatever survives that is in turn destroyed by the one following after it.

A good example of this was the experience of Job in Job 1:13-19, in one day he lost all his oxen and donkeys to the Sabeans, fire destroyed his sheep, the Chaldeans raided the camels and worst of all his children destroyed by a tornado or hurricane of some sort.

Put that into the unprecedented times that Joel is speaking of. Today Joel would say it something like this, "What the tornadoes did not destroy, the floods got and what the floods didn't get the earthquakes did and what the earthquakes did not destroy, the tsunami did."

Two things we learn from today's verse. The condition that Joel is introducing is unparalleled. The second, this condition consists of a succession of intensifying trouble. I wonder if we are living or rapidly advancing towards what Joel is talking about? Isn't time to wake up out of our spiritual slumber and follow the Lord with our whole heart, mind and soul?

Let's talk.

2011-07-13T23:11:00.000-04:00

Tell your children about it, let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. Joel 1:3.

So yesterday's text set the tone for the book of Joel by speaking about unprecedented times. Now what are we to do with the fact that we are facing such conditions? Today's text tells us to tell our children, getting the word to get around about the times we are living in.

When God was going to do awesome things for the Israelites by redeeming them out of slavery, God said this to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son's son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord (Ex. 10:1, 2).

So go ahead and tell you children about the things that God has done for you. Talk about it at the dinner table or driving in the car. And talk in the family about the times we are living in and the direction the world is heading. Let's start talking about the important things in life.

Unprecedented Times

2011-07-12T23:09:00.002-04:00

Hear this, O elders, give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors? Joel 1:2 NRSV

Today’s verse sets the tone for the unprecedented conditions that Joel will be going into. The question that we must ask as we will be entering the conditions that Joel is talking about is whether they have any connections with the days we are living in.

But for now, the scene-setting verse heightens the importance of the situation by asking the rhetorical question, has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors? In another words the days we are living in, does it seem like they are truly unheard of, amazing times? I dare to say that the answer is yes, yes we are definitely living in unprecedented times.

What are we to do in these unprecedented times? That will be answered tomorrow. But for today let us consider well the times we are living in and what they are trying to tell us. If Paul would be alive today and see the times we are living in, he would repeat to us what he wrote to the Roman church.

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed (Romans 13:11).

So may the times we are living in wake us up and shake us up to take seriously our relationship with Jesus Christ.

The book of Joel

2011-07-09T12:04:00.002-04:00

The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. (Joel 1:1)

Today we are beginning a new book in our verse-by-verse study. Joel is part of the minor prophets of the Old Testament. Usually when one of the prophets introduces the book, he’ll give us an idea of the time period that he lived and served. For example Hosea begins with the words, The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel (Hosea 1:1). So we know the context of Hosea’s book.

When it comes to the book of Joel, all we know is that he was the son of Pethuel and that the word of the Lord came to him. The name Joel was a pretty common name so that doesn’t help us to date his message. Therefore nobody knows who Joel was or what time period he wrote and why he wrote.

The message of the book of Joel is the day of the Lord. Therefore I recommend that the book of Joel is a mystery because his message is for all people in all time. Especially for the end-time generation waiting for the coming of the Lord.

So as we embark into our study of the book of Joel, let us remember that it was written for us, for they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1 Cor. 10:11).

It doesn’t matter that we don’t know who Joel was, what matters is that the word of the Lord came to Joel. And it came to prepare us for the day of the Lord. I believe that Jesus is coming soon and that the book of Joel is very pertinent in preparing us for His coming.

Grace from beginning to end

2011-07-08T14:21:00.002-04:00

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

1 Thess. 5:28

We have come to the conclusion of our first book of the Bible in our verse-by-verse study. Paul concludes right where he began and that is with “grace.”

Paul began with grace, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 1:1).

Why is grace so important to Paul? Because without grace there is no good news, no gospel, no hope. Because our salvation is based on God’s grace. Another well known Pauline statement says it like this, For by grace you have been saved through faith (Eph. 2:8).

Therefore, grace is God’s gift from beginning to end of our journey. We are surrounded by grace, we begin with grace, continue with grace, and end with grace. We are to be so infused by God’s grace that we begin to breath grace into every situation, every difficult, every conversation. Just as Paul began and ended with grace, therefore let us begin and end every day with grace.

Tomorrow we shall begin another book of the Bible, one from the Old Testament. But for now, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

No believer left behind

2011-07-08T14:20:00.002-04:00

I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.

1 Thess. 5:27.

A couple of things that right away stand out in today’s verse. First, most of Scripture was written to be read by one to a whole group of people. In other words, Scripture was meant to be heard.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). So why not try listening to Scripture, either by reading it out loud to yourself. Or on a CD or MP3. And listen to the Holy Spirit speak to you through the words you are hearing.

And the second thing that is wonderful about this verse is that Paul made it clear that all the believers are to hear this letter. I’m sure you’ve heard of the “no child left behind” initiative. Well Paul has the “no believer left behind” initiative. That is we are to try to include all the believers in the worship service, in the hearing of Scripture.

So friends, listen to the word of God and make sure that all the believers have the privilege of hearing Scripture.

A Holy Kiss?

2011-07-06T23:16:00.001-04:00

Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss.

1 Thess. 5:26

Apparently the holy kiss was part of the worship for the first century church. Now this holy kiss was on the cheek and in today’s world it is like a kind, warm handshake. Look at all the other churches that also practiced the holy kiss.

Greet one another with a holy kiss. Romans 16:16

All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. 1 Cor. 16:20.

Greet one another with a holy kiss. 2 Cor. 13:12.

In some cultures in the world they still give a kiss on the cheek as a form of greeting. When I visit family in Romania, we usually greet each other on the cheek with a kiss.

Imagine if someone from a cheek kissing culture comes to America and starts kissing people on their cheeks at church. Probably young men may like this form of greeting while the girls would probably protest. In fact I remember being at South Dakota and some people (young men) from another culture would go around kissing the girls on the cheek after church. The girls protested and the guys quotes this Scripture that it was Biblical.

But if we want to truly follow the Bible, we must understand what the holy kiss meant. It means that we are to greet each other as brothers and sisters and in our culture that would be more like a kind handshake.

So let’s try not to misinterpret Scripture to our likes and dislikes. But at the same time, let’s be kind and friendly at church and greet each other as brothers and sisters.

Pray for us

2011-07-05T21:48:00.000-04:00

Brethren, pray for us. 1 Thess. 5:25

Paul is not embarrassed to ask for prayer. In his travels and missionary endeavors he wants to make sure that He is serving the Lord and pleasing the Lord. He acknowledges the fact that he needs prayer.

Last Sabbath I asked the church to pray for me because I am at a camp and speaking to the Earliteens at the camp and I desperately coveted and covet the prayer of my brothers and sisters in Christ. And I know that they have been lifting me up in prayer and that is encouraging.

We are to covet the prayers of others, for we are not to be embarrassed to ask for prayer. At times we may not want to go into details, but it is enough to just ask others to lift us up in prayer. In fact if the great apostle did not consider himself to spiritually strong and above the request of prayer, we shouldn’t either. So if you sense you need prayer, go ahead and ask someone today to pray for you.

God is Faithful

2011-07-04T06:41:00.001-04:00

He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

1 Thess. 5:24

In his closing remarks Paul wants the Thessalonians to know that God is faithful. And because of His faithfulness, He will preserve their body, soul and spirit blameless until the coming of Jesus Christ. This is what Paul is telling the Thessalonians. This is what God in His faithfulness will do. Will preserve you blameless until Christ’s return.

Paul often encouraged the believers with God’s faithfulness: But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 1 Thess. 5:3.

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; Philippians 1:6.

No temptation has overtaken you except as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what yo are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Cor. 10:13.

Friends, never doubt the faithfulness of God. He is truly faithful to you in every sense of the word. Never let go of His mighty hands, trust Him for He is faithful.

The Sanctification of the Whole Person

2011-07-03T11:42:00.001-04:00

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

We have come to the concluding statements of Paul, he is drawing close to the end of the letter and begins with this benediction.

When Paul thinks of sanctification, he doesn’t think of only the soul of the person, but the whole person. For the soul or spirit is not separate from the body. In the creation narrative of Genesis two, when God created Adam, he formed him from the dust of the ground and breath into his nostrils the breath of life. Therefore the existence of Adam came about when he became a whole person with soul and body. And our sanctification then ought to be soul, spirit and body.

Paul also says that in Christ the Thessalonians are blameless and that his prayer and desire is that they preserve this blamelessness. And the only way to do so is to remain in Christ.

So dear friend, Christ wants to live and abide in your heart, that your soul, spirit and body may be preserved blameless until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Stay away from the appearance of evil

2011-07-02T23:07:00.000-04:00

Abstain from every form of evil.
1 Thess. 5:22

The King James Version of today's verse says it like this, Abstain from all appearance of evil. So Paul's counsel is to test everything and hold on to the good while abstaining not only from every form of evil, but also from the appearance of it.

That is an important point to remember. Even if it is not wrong, but has the appearance of evil, stay away from it. Why? There are a number of reasons for it, first, it may read to a wrong path. Second, it may lead someone else to a wrong path.

Therefore, let us consider our words and actions carefully. And make sure that through our example the kingdom of God is built up. And that we stay away even from the appearance of evil.

Test all things

2011-07-01T22:46:00.001-04:00

Test all things; hold fast what is good.
1 Thess. 5:21

Today's verse implies at least two things, first don't accept everything or everyone that claims to be a prophet. And second, don't reject everyone and everything claiming the gift of prophecy.

With that said there are at least four tests of a true prophet and they are the following.

1. To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isaiah 8:20).

2. As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent. (Jer. 28:9).

3. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (Matt. 7:20).

4. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (1 John 4:1, 2).

Following these four tests we should be safe to discern the false from the true and when we do find the true gift of prophecy, than hold on to it, for it is good. In other words, it is good because it builds up, doesn't divide or tear apart.

That leads to the last point of today's verse. Whenever you have a person claiming to have the prophetic gift but it leads to division is most likely not from God. For the gift of prophecy is given to unite, to bless, to cause good and not to cause a church to split into two factions with division, resulting in bad.

Therefore friends, test all things; hold fast what is good.

Don't despise prophecies

2011-06-30T22:23:00.000-04:00

Do not despise prophecies.

1 Thess. 5: 20.

Today’s verse goes with yesterday’s verse. The way we don’t despise prophecies is by no quenching the Holy Spirit. The way we would despise prophecies than is to quench the Spirit. Yes, the reality is that there are so many that claim the prophetic gift that people stay away from anything prophetic, even the prophecies of Scripture.

But the reality is that part of the prophetic gift is prophecy, the books of Daniel and Revelation are prophetic books. They are important books especially for people living at the end times.

Consider well the thought from the Old Testament given by the king Jehoshaphat, he said, Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper. 2 Chron. 20:20.

Great advice friends, the counsel is the same that Paul give only much earlier in the history of God’s people. And the counsel is just as valid today, therefore friends, quench not the Spirit by despising prophecies. But get into the books of Daniel and Revelation again and let the Holy Spirit lead you.

2011-06-29T22:49:00.001-04:00

Do not quench the Spirit.
1 Thess. 5:19

I love these two, three word verses at the end of 1 Thessalonians. They are just so short, yet so full of meaning. Like for example, this verse here, three words and yet so amazing and powerful.

How could we quench the Spirit? Well, let's remind ourselves that prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21). So we could quench the Spirit by resisting the Holy Spirit's influence as He tries to guide us through the Scriptures. We quench the Spirit when we reject Scripture, we quench the Spirit when we reject the gift of prophecy. For the way the verse is phrased it is speaking more about prophecy. So do not neglect the study of prophecy for it is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the gift of prophecy.

And there is at least one more way of quenching the Spirit. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). We could quench the Spirit by grieving the Holy Spirit through our worry and fret. We grieve the Holy Spirit by not living what we profess.

Therefore, I invite you my friends, quench not the Spirit, grieve not the Spirit, but live by the Word of God. Believe His Word, accept it, allow it to guide you. Don't shy away from the prophetic books of Scripture but allow the Holy Spirit to guide you through them.

In everything give thanks

2011-06-28T22:51:00.000-04:00

in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thess. 5:18

When I read this text, the first question that pops in my mind is why is thankfulness so important for Paul? Well the reason he gives is because this is God's will for us, that we be thankful. If we complain about things that means we really complain about God's leading in our life.

In fact according to what Paul wrote in Romans 1:21-27, unthankfulness is the root of idolatry and immorality and those things are definitely not in God's will for us.

And notice, Paul doesn't say give thanks for everything. Because the reality is that we can't give thanks for everything. But he does say that in everything give thanks. So dear friend, while the reality is that in a world filled with sin we cannot give thanks for everything. Because of Jesus Christ and because of our loving Heavenly Father, we can however in everything give thanks.

And the reason being is that, we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

Therefore, since God is in control of our lives and since He loves us dearly and has great plans for us, let us than trust Him fully and with our whole heart mind and soul love Him, praise Him and in everything give thanks.

Pray without ceasing

2011-06-27T09:39:00.002-04:00

Pray without ceasing.

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Paul truly believed in prayer and he practiced what he preached. Here is Paul’s example of praying without ceasing.

For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God which also effectively works in you who believe. 1 Thess. 2:13.

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, 1 Thess. 1:2.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18.

But how do we pray without ceasing? Does that mean that throughout the day we keep talking to God? We would not be any earthly good to anyone around us if we just spend all day long talking to God. How do we then pray without ceasing while faithfully living as a Christian within our communities.

I think the answer is found in the life of Enoch. When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah three hundred years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him. Gen. 5:21-24.

Enoch’s walk with God is one of the greatest examples of praying without ceasing, for to pray without ceasing is to live every single moment in the consciousness that I am in God’s presence. If we would live like that imagine what things we would not say, and what we would say. Imagine the things we wouldn’t do and the things we would do. Imagine the things we would watch or listen to and the things we would spend our time with.

I imagine Enoch early in the morning when he woke up inviting God to join him in all the activities of the day. There friendship grew, they would work together, walk together, talk together. Until one day God told Enoch that He was closer to His home than to Enoch’s home, not to turn back to his home but to stay with God.

We are also to live in God’s presence every moment of every day and one day God will also tell us that we are closer to His home then to our own, to just go home with Him.

Rejoice always

2011-06-26T22:39:00.002-04:00

Rejoice always,

1 Thess. 5:16

Two powerful words that if we would just live by, would change our whole outlook on life. Just two words, but packed with power. Let’s look at the first word first, “rejoice.” This was a favorite theme of Paul, notice how he talks about joy and rejoicing in other Scriptures.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Gal. 5:22

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice! Phil. 4:4. Now here is the interesting fact on this phrase written to the Philippians. Paul was in prison awaiting trial while writing to the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always. It’s one thing to write to the Thessalonians from Corinth to rejoice, but it is totally another to await your trial in prison and write to a group of believers to rejoice, rejoice.

In fact sometime earlier he wrote the following to Corinth. We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses… as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. 2 Corinthians 6:3, 4, 10.

Paul not only counseled to rejoice, but practiced rejoicing in every circumstance. In fact that brings us to the second word in the text, “always.” When are we to rejoice? When things go well? When we have health? Then too, of course, but even when everything seems to fall apart, in sorrow, pain, hurt and sickness we are to rejoice. That is what it means to rejoice always.

But how can we rejoice when all goes bad? One reason is because all in this world will pass away, no pain, sorrow, or sickness will last forever. But we shall always be with the Lord and that is great reason to rejoice. In fact it is a wonderful reason to rejoice always.

Therefore my friend, whatever you may be going through, look above the dark clouds around you and by faith see the Son of Righteousness above those angry clouds. Believe that He is watching over you, caring for you, trust in Him and rejoice always.

Seeking to do good

2011-06-25T09:23:00.001-04:00

See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. 1 Thess. 5:15 NRSV.

Paul knows that people and even church leaders may be tempted to retaliate when they or their efforts are not appreciated as they think it ought to be. So he gives good counsel both for the Thessalonian believers and for today’s Christian. Don’t take vengeance on others and always seek to do good to others.

The idea of not taking vengeance and leaving it in God’s hands is found throughout Scripture. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Lev. 19:18 ESV

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:19 NKJV

But here is the clincher, we are not only not to take vengeance but do the opposite. So if we don’t hold a grudge that means we forgive, what Paul asks of Christian believers is not only don’t repay evil for evil, but to go even further and to forgive one another.

But even that is not the full picture of a genuine Christian. They will not only sincerely forgive but they will also seek to do good towards others.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Gal. 6:10 NKJV

Paul's Quadruple Exhortation

2011-06-24T11:25:00.002-04:00

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.

1 Thess. 5:14.

Paul’s quadruple’s exhortation in one verse. Let’s take each one, one by one. First, warn those who are unruly. We usually love to read and remind each other about comfort, love, kindness and so on, but this is a hard exhortation. Especially when you add to it his next comment in the following letter. But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. 2 Thess. 3:6.

So in the first letter the Thessalonians are told to warn them, in the second letter they are told to withdraw from them. The only thing I can think of is that God never forces Himself on anyone, therefore we as followers should kindly and lovingly warn those who openly disobey the Biblical principles. But if they persist in their lifestyle to not force ourselves on them, but honor and respect their choices and their freedom to live the lifestyle they choose to live. There ought to be no malicious, unkind, rude action on the part of the Christian towards those who are difficult and unruly.

His second exhortation is to comfort the fainthearted. Literally it means those “short of breath,” that is the anxious and those with low self-confidence.

Third, uphold the weak. Writing to the Romans Paul had this to say, Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Romans 14:1 NRSV. We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not please ourselves. Romans 15:1 NRSV. Let us not quarrel, but uphold each other in Christ.

And last, be patient with all. Yes, be patient with the unruly, with the fainthearted and with the weak. Be patient with all, for God is patient with you and with me and sometimes we would like others to be patient with us as well. And remember, patience is part of the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22).

Therefore today Paul exhorts us to warn those who are willingly disobeying Scripture, but do it in the spirit of love, gentleness and kindness. Comfort the anxious, uphold the spiritually struggling ones and above all, be patient with everyone.

Salty Christians

2011-06-23T13:18:00.001-04:00

And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among youselves.

1 Thess. 5:13.

Paul in today’s verse finishes his advice on respecting and esteeming the local church leaders. He doesn’t say that they are to be respected because they deserve it, but they are to be respected because of the work and responsibility they are called to.

There may be times when we don’t like certain leaders, they may be pastors, elders, deacons, deaconesses, etc., But whether we like them or not, agree with them or not, for the sake of the responsibility that they do carry, let us respect them.

And follow it up by being at peace among ourselves. Christ chimed in on the subject of peaceful living as well. Just a couple of quotes to give you an idea of what Christ said on the subject.

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other. Mark 9:50.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matt. 5:9.

Therefore friends, let us be salty Christians who respect their leaders and breath peace into every conversation.

Respecting leaders

2011-06-22T21:01:00.000-04:00

And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,

1 Thess. 5:12

Paul is coming now to the conclusion of this letter and has some closing exhortations. And he begins with the exhortation to respect the leaders of the church. Notice he doesn’t say, the leader of the church but those who labor among you. In the early church they practiced group leadership, today we would consider them the pastor and the elders as the group leaders, and perhaps even the board members. This was also a commendation of Paul in other letters as well.

I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition. 1 Cor. 16:17, 18.

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 1 Timothy 5:17.

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith… Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Heb. 13:7, 17.

May the Lord lead us to respect the leaders that are currently serving. I think of Aaron who was given such a hard time as a leader, but when he passed away, they grieved so hard and so long for the fact that he was not around anymore. It is true that often we start appreciating leaders after they are gone. May we respect and appreciate our leaders while we have the privilege to benefit from their leadership.

Comfort and Edify

2011-06-21T22:35:00.002-04:00

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

1 Thess. 5:11

This is Paul’s conclusion to the concern of the Thessalonians for those who have passed away. Paul counsels the Thessalonian Christians to first comfort each other.

All too often as Christians we don’t know how to comfort those that are suffering. Just think of Job’s friends who instead of comforting him caused more pain and suffering. In fact I remember someone who actually sent a pastor out of his home because the pastor told him that it was maybe God’s will that his brother died and left behind a wife with two little children. It just goes to show you that often we want to give answers when people only need comfort. And sometimes when we don’t know what to say, it is best to just exercise a silent, comforting presence. For all too often the best comfort is given without any words.

And the second counsel of Paul to the Thessalonians is to edify one another, in another words build each other up. Again, how many of us have experienced brokenness, hurt and put down from other Christians. I can never forget the time when I was only about nineteen or twenty years old, asked to be a youth leader for a church. I tried to do my best and had a church leader just rip into me for doing a horrible job with not even a hint of constructive criticism. You can only imagine how discouraging that felt.

Friends, please let us comfort and build each other up. As I remind my kids at times, so I remind you now, “if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.“

What is eternal life?

2011-06-20T22:32:00.002-04:00

Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

1 Thess. 5:10

There are at least three things that we learn from today’s text. We first learn the fact that Jesus Christ died for us. Jesus told his disciples just before the crucifixion. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends (Jn. 15:13). In fact not only did Jesus died for us while we were his friends, but even when we were still his enemies He loved us so much to die for us (see Rom. 5:8).

The second thing that we learn from today’s text is that it really doesn’t matter whether we are alive or dead when Jesus comes, for the righteous dead will be resurrected and the righteous living will be caught up and meet them and the Lord in the air and all the righteous, dead and living will be with the Lord forever.

Which leads us to the last lesson from today’s text and that is eternal life is to live together with Christ forever. Eternal life is not just a mansion in a golden city with pearly gates, but a joyful, abundant eternal relationship with Jesus Christ who loved us so much that He died for us.

That is exactly why those who have already entered a personal relationship with Jesus have begun eternal life and will only continue it on a deeper and closer lever when He comes back.

Therefore, may we appreciate the privilege to know Christ personally, may we thank Him for loving us so much that He died for us. May we not fear the future, for whether we die or live, it doesn’t matter, when He comes back we shall always be with Him.

God is for us

2011-06-19T22:23:00.001-04:00

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

1 Thess. 5:9

Paul wants to make sure that the Thessalonians really understand the important fact that God is for them, has chosen them for salvation and loves to give each of them life everlasting. That is why Paul again, highlights today’s verse again in the second letter that he sent off to Thessalonica.

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 2 Thess. 2:13

What a comforting verse revealing us that our heavenly Father did not appoint us to wrath. He is not wrathful towards us, but loving, merciful, forgiving and self-sacrificing so that we may obtain salvation. The good news of the gospel is that God is for us, God is for you, therefore choose life, choose Christ.

The Trio of Paul's Directions

2011-06-18T08:08:00.003-04:00

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

1 Thess. 5:8

Paul in today’s verse completes a trio of symbolic directions. In verse six he asked the Thessalonians to be sober, or self-controlled and to be awake. And in today’s verse he asked them to be armed.

So as we get nearer to the coming of Jesus Christ, we are to be self-controlled, awake and armed. Armed with what? With our guns, cans of food and veggies on a hundred acre land off the grid?

No, actually armed with the breastplate of faith and love, and with the helmet of the hope of salvation. Paul began with faith, love and hope in verse 3 of chapter 1 and now starts winding down the letter with faith, love and hope. In fact if we want a detailed account of what it means to be ready and armed in the last days we ought to read Ephesians 6:10-17.

We are truly nearing the coming of Jesus, all signs point to that direction. Let us follow the trio directions of Paul. Let us be sober, awake and armed with faith, love and hope.

Be filled with the Holy Spirit

2011-06-17T08:53:00.001-04:00

For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

1 Thess. 5:7

The apostle Paul in today’s verse explains to us the lifestyle of those who choose darkness over the light. First they are spiritually asleep. And second they are intoxicated, drunk.

Jesus had this to say about drunkenness and the last days. But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. Luke 21:34.

In Revelation 17 and 18 we are given a glimpse of spiritual Babylon in the last days, representing all deception, error and false teaching. And the harlot of spiritual Babylon has a golden cup that is full of abominations (see Rev. 17:4). She makes all nations drunk spiritually, that is deceives them with error to turn away from worshipping God and not to be ready for the coming of Christ.

Paul longs with the followers of Jesus to be spiritually awake, to be in God’s Word, in the truth and not be caught up with the frivolity of the world. He once told the Ephesians, And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. Eph. 5:18.

A temporary high from alcohol can never compete with the wonderful, lasting rewards of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The things this world offers can never really compete with the rewards that God gives to those who follow Him. May we choose wisely between light and darkness, between drunkenness and the Holy Spirit. May we see where each road leads and by the grace of God, choose to walk in the light and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Stay Awake

2011-06-16T11:51:00.000-04:00

Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

1 Thess. 5:6

Here is the concluding statement of Paul on how to wait for the coming of Jesus Christ. He only gives two principles about the coming of Jesus.

The first principle is to stay awake. After Jesus gave the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids in Matthew 25:1-12, He concluded with the following statement, Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Matt. 25:13.

Mark also records again Jesus saying close to the end of His earthly ministry, Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake. Mark 13:35-37.

And the second principle is to stay sober. To stay sober is to have self-control. Peter said it this way in 1 Peter 5:8, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

The NRSV translates the same verse like this; Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.

The reality is that God’s enemy wants to lull us to sleep spiritually so that we may not be ready for the coming of Christ. He wants our minds diverted from God’s Word, therefore we need to have a clear and focused mind. May the Lord help each of us to be sober, self-controlled, focused and awake, so that we may not lose the crown of life.

Walking in the Light

2011-06-15T22:09:00.001-04:00

You are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

1 Thess. 5:5

What is the difference between the children of light and the children of darkness? It ought to be the same difference that we see between light and darkness. Too often there is no difference between the actions of Christians and non-Christians, yet the difference ought to be as clear as night and day.

Paul appealed with the following words to the Ephesians; For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth). Eph. 5:8, 9.

Also, Jesus spoke about the difference between those in darkness and those who love the light. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. Jn. 3:20, 21.

May we choose to live in the light of Christ, following the leading of the Holy Spirit. Be transparent in all our words and actions, so that both our words and actions reveal the fact that we are truly sons and daughters of light and of the day.

Children of Light

2011-06-14T07:56:00.001-04:00

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.

1 Thess. 5:4

But you… Paul is contrasting the Thessalonian believers with those who don’t believe in Christ. Those who don’t believe in Christ are in darkness. They fall for the propaganda of the world that there will be peace and safety. While the inevitable coming of Jesus will surprise them like a thief in the night would.

While those who believe in Jesus Christ are the children of light. They will be ready for the coming of Christ. They will not be caught unprepared. The reason Paul was called to become an apostle was to lead people from darkness into light, so that many would be ready for the coming of Jesus. Listen to his testimony: I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Acts 26:17, 18.

That is why Paul would preach and write letters with words like these: The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Rom. 13:12.

How do we become children of God who walk in the light? John answered it like this; In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it... The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. Jn. 1:4, 5, 9, 10.

Friends, may we have a daily relationship with Christ, walk in Him, for He is the only light of the world.

Like labor pains

2011-06-13T22:20:00.001-04:00

For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.

1 Thess. 5:3

Paul is building on the words of Jesus in Luke 21:34-35. Jesus said, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.” Luke 21:34, 35.

This analogy of the sudden and inevitable is likened to labor pains. Now Paul is not the first to liken the second coming to labor pains. Isaiah used the same analogy much, much earlier. Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, every man’s heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed at one another; their faces will be like flames. Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he will destroy its sinners from it. Is. 13:6-9.

Again, the idea of the second coming as labor pains is that of it coming suddenly and being inevitable. Back in Paul’s time, the Roman imperial coins had peace and security as a way to spread the Roman Empire’s propaganda. And in the last days, the governments and media will try to spread the propaganda that peace and security is coming. But the reality is that the second coming of Christ is inevitable and will come suddenly to those who look not for the coming of Jesus.

May we not fall for the propaganda of the world, but look and prepare for the coming of Jesus.

Coming Like A Thief

2011-06-12T21:46:00.001-04:00

For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

1 Thess. 5:2

What does it mean that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night? Does it mean that it will be so secret that the world will not know it and that only the righteous will just disappear? Or does it mean that the coming of Jesus is unexpected just like a thief comes at an hour or time when nobody expects him to break in?

Looking at a couple of verses in Scripture should clarify the question.

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.” Luke 21:34, 35.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 2 Pet. 3:9.

In both verses we see that the coming of Jesus is not secret, but unexpected because as 2 Peter says so well, that day the heavens will disappear. In another words, it will not be in the next day’s newspaper that the Lord came secretly the day before.

So what does that mean for us today? It means that we are to live everyday like it is our last day on earth. We are to live for Christ always, so that while the world will not be ready for His coming, we should be ready, for we have been looking forward to it, waiting for it, praying for it and singing about it. May His coming not catch us off guard, but let us be spiritually awake.

The Timing of His Coming

2011-06-11T21:11:00.001-04:00

But concerning the times and the season, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.

1 Thess. 5:1.

The central theme of the second coming is continued in the following verses. Paul goes from describing the manner of Christ’s coming to the times of His coming.

At least a couple of times the disciples of Jesus asked when He whom set up the kingdom. When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Matt. 24:3

Then the other time was after the resurrection of Jesus. So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.” Acts 1:6, 7.

The Thessalonians also wanted to know the specific time of the coming of Jesus and I suppose throughout the ages people always wanted to know the time of Jesus’ coming. Paul’s answer is right, it is not something to be concerned about. For when Jesus comes, it is the right time.

We should not be concerned with the time of His coming as with the condition of our hearts at all times. We should be more concerned with faithfully serving Christ, not with when He comes.

May the Lord help us and direct our minds away from date setting and date setters. And keep our minds focused on serving Christ loving, faithfully and always.

Comfort one another

2011-06-10T10:59:00.002-04:00

Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thess. 4:18.

Paul has come to the conclusion of explaining what happens at the second coming of Christ. He explains well the fact that the righteous dead sleep until Jesus comes and at the coming of Jesus the righteous dead awake out of their sleep and the righteous living are caught up in the air and both the righteous dead and the righteous living at that time will be with the Lord. They will be with Christ a thousand years in heaven and then Christ will re-create the earth and will be with Him forever on the earth made new.

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Rev. 20:4-6.

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Rev. 21:1, 2.

Therefore, these are the comforting words for those who have lost loved ones. First of all, Paul appeals to us to speak comforting words to each other. Both in this verse and in 1 Thess. 5:11 we are told, Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

So our words to each other should be uplifting words, encouraging words, comforting words, words of edification. May the Lord help us today to speak to everyone we meet words of comfort and edification.

Always be with the Lord

2011-06-09T21:20:00.002-04:00

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

1 Thess. 4:17

In yesterday’s verse Paul spoke about those who have fallen asleep in Jesus, in today’s verse he speaks of those who will be alive when Jesus comes. A couple of things to note in today’s verse.

First, we shall meet the Lord in the air, the Lord will not walk on earth or touch the ground. In Matthew 24, we are told that there will be many false Christs, and one of the distinguishing feature of the true Christ, is that He will be in the sky and the righteous will be caught up to meet Him in the clouds. In fact speaking of the clouds, notice what Luke says in the book of Acts about the coming of Jesus.

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9

Also John the Revelator also notes the clouds in the second coming of Jesus. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. Rev. 1:7.

And second, not only shall we meet the Lord in the air, but we shall always be with the Lord. That is what the hope is all about, to be with Jesus. This is also the will and hope of Jesus as well. For this was the promise to His disciples, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Jn. 14:2, 3.

Friends, Jesus looks forward to the day of His return, for He longs to be with us. May we also look forward to the day when we shall see Jesus, the day that ushers in eternity, when we shall forever be with the Lord. May the day come soon and may we live everyday with the hope of the return of Jesus.

The Greatest Hope

2011-06-08T20:45:00.000-04:00

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

1 Thess. 4:16.

What a wonderful promise both for the Thessalonian believers back in Paul’s day, for all the believers down through the centuries and for us today who are faced with the death of loved ones.

First of all, the Lord will appear in the sky with a shout and with the trumpet of an archangel. That does not sound like a secret coming to me. There is only one other time that the term archangel is used in the Bible and it is in Jude 9: But when the archangel Michael contended with the devil and disputed about the body of Moses, he did not dare to bring a condemnation of slander against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” In this verse, Christ comes down to resurrect Moses and apparently Satan objects to it, making the claim that Moses belongs to his kingdom. But the way Christ resurrected Moses so long ago, He shall come again with all the holy angels and not only resurrect one righteous, but all the righteous of all the ages.

Jesus also said it this way, Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matt. 24:30, 31.

The coming of Christ is our only hope, it is our only assurance. May we live for Him and anticipate His wonderful return with joy and hope.

We who are alive

2011-06-07T07:35:00.001-04:00

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

1 Thess. 4:15.

Paul begins this verse by saying that he received this information by the word of the Lord. This adds authority to the principle revealed in the verse, for this is not man’s word, but the Lord’s word.

It seems that some of the Thessalonians were concerned about those who have died in Christ, that somehow they will miss out on the second coming of Christ. So Paul encourages them with the reality that this is not true at all.

One of the interesting things that we learn from this verse is that Paul himself taught in the beginning of the ministry that he may be alive at the second coming of Christ, but as he grew spirituality and continued serving, he realized that may not be the case anymore. In fact by the last letter written, the letter to Timothy, he knows that he will die a martyr’s death.

Just as Paul grew his whole lifetime spirituality, we are also to grow in Christ daily as well. We are to continue to learn, be in God’s word and also stick to what the word of the Lord says.

God acting on our behalf

2011-06-06T09:47:00.000-04:00

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

1 Thess. 4:14.

In this verse we are given wonderful reasons for hope. First of all Paul wanted to lay the foundation of this hope and it is in the belief of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Paul wrote. In another letter he said it like this;

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. 1 Thess. 4:13, 14 NRSV

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died… But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 1 Cor. 15:20, 23. NRSV.

Since, Jesus died and rose again, God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. The question is who is in charge here? It is God. God is in control, it is God who through Jesus will bring the righteous to Him from the graves to His kingdom and He will do so at the second coming of Jesus.

If Paul would’ve believed that the righteous dead are in heaven already. He would’ve said it right here. But Paul believed just as the rest of the Scriptures taught that those who die, sleep until the resurrection. Paul uses the term to sleep for death many times in his letters (see 1 Cor. 7:39, 11:30; 15:6, 18, 51). In the Old Testament also, the term sleep for death is used often (see Gen. 47:30; Deut. 31:16, 2 Sam. 7:12; 1 King 2:10; 11:21, 43; 14:31; 15:8, 24; 16:6, 28, 35). So the Bible is clear in the fact that when someone dies, they are sleeping. In fact in the Greek the word koimamomai, means “to fall asleep.” And the word for cemetery is koimeterion, literally meaning a dormitory, a place where people are sleeping waiting for a resurrection.

Here my friends is our hope, it is in God who has acted in our behalf through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. God, who will also act again on our behalf, when He sends Jesus back to resurrect those who have died in Jesus, who are sleeping in Jesus. Praise God for His love towards us. May we respond to His loving acts that He has done through Christ by loving Him with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our strength. And may we look forward to God's future act with great anticipation, when He sends Jesus back again.

Sorrowing with hope

2011-06-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
1 Thess. 4:13

In today's verse Paul transitioned into the subject of the second coming. What brought on the topic seems to be ignorance from the Thessalonian believers about those who have died. It seems that they believed that they missed out on the joys of the second coming.

Therefore Paul writes to them, I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

A couple of things to note about our loved ones who have passed away. First they are sleeping. Death is considered a sleep in Scripture. Jesus said of Lazarus after he passed away, Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up (Jn. 11:11). People after they die, they don't go on living, they sleep until the resurrection.

And a second point that Paul wants to highlight is the fact that we are not to sorrow as those without hope. In another words, we sorrow as those who have a wonderful hope. We sorrow knowing that though we miss our loved ones, we shall see them again one day on resurrection morning, where their will be no more pain, nor sorrow, nor death.

May we praise God for His wonderful plan of salvation in giving us hope in a world of sorrow and death. And our sorrowing for our loved ones who have passed away be filled with hope, hope in the coming of Jesus Christ.

Why follow Paul's advice?

2011-06-04T08:52:00.004-04:00

That you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

1 Thess. 4:12

Paul in today’s verse explains why a Christian should lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands (1 Thess. 4:11). And Paul gives two reasons to live such a life.

First because it is a wonderful example of the Christian life. When Christians do not live a quiet life, but a disruptive one instead, it brings shame to one we serve Jesus Christ. Therefore, for the sake of uplifting Christ in a dying world, let us not be disruptive but peaceable, kind, loving, living a quiet life.

And the second reason we are to follow Paul’s example is so that we won’t be a burden upon the world. Lazy Christians bring shame to the name of Christ. If we are to follow Christ, we are to follow Him in every aspect of life.

May the Lord help us to follow Paul’s counsel so that we may be great examples in the world of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And also that we may lack nothing but more than that, we ought to work hard so that we may give to others in need.

Laziness and Disorderly Conduct

2011-06-03T11:36:00.002-04:00

that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,) 1 Thess. 4:11

It seems that the Thessalonian church had some lazy and disruptive individuals for even in the second letter, Paul mentions this same topic. In fact it looks like in the first letter he hints at the issue of laziness and disorderly conduct and they didn’t get the hint for he ended up speaking about the issue much more.

But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. 2 Thess. 3:6-12.

So friends, I pray we accept Paul’s advice today. May we aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind our own business and to not be lazy but work with our own hands.

Continue increasing in love

2011-06-02T12:10:00.002-04:00

and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more;

1 Thess. 4:10

This is the second time in the letter that Paul speaks of increasing in love for one another. He mentioned earlier in 1 Thess. 3:12, And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you.

In the time of Paul, you only showed love and respect to those who were part of your in-group, your friends and relatives. Paul lets them know that God has been working on their hearts and they are showing love to everyone, not only to a small in-group circle. Even to all who are in Macedonia, that is beyond Thessalonika. And they are to increase in that love for one another.

Jesus taught the same principle when He said, But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them… But love your enemies, do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Luke 6:32, 35.

God has called us to love everyone, even the unlovable, for God loves us and we are not always lovable. In fact, Christ died for us when we were definitely unlovable. Praise God for His wondrous unconditional love, and may we learn from Him to increase in our love for one another.

Taught by God to Love One Another

2011-06-01T11:08:00.003-04:00

But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;

1 Thess. 4:9

Paul turns to another topic in his letter. He turns to brotherly love, in the Greek it is the word Philadelphia. Brotherly love was a phrase used for love within blood relations. Scripture however took it to a higher level, to represent love among brothers and sisters in Christ. And it was Jesus Himself who took love to another level.

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” Matt. 12:46-50.

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. John 19:25-27.

We are then to love Christians deeper then those who are related to us by blood. And it is God who teaches us to love one another in a way that pleases Him. In fact the most important thing God wants to teach us is to love one another.

“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer. 31:33, 34.

Therefore, let us truly love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. In conclusion, we turn to the letter on love, 1 John. And meditate on a few verses on the appeal to love one another.

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. 1 John 2:27.

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love… Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another… If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 1 John 4:7, 8, 11, 20.

Paul's conclusion on moral purity

2011-05-31T10:55:00.001-04:00

Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you. 1 Thess. 4:8 NRSV

Paul concludes his advice on moral purity with the word “therefore,” which implies this is the conclusion on this subject. And he bases his advice on the counsel and appeal of the Holy Spirit. What Paul is saying is that moral purity is a principle, and a principle of God rejected is the same as rejecting God who gave the principle.

Jesus also made this point in one of his statements: He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me. Luke 10:16.

Coming back to Paul now with this knowledge of rejecting not only the message but with the originator of the message, our sexual practices affect not only earthly relationships with others, but also our relationship with God. With that knowledge, how seriously should we take moral purity then? We must be very serious is guarding our hearts and minds from sinful sexual practices.

May the Lord help us to realize today that by accepting God’s message, we accept God and by rejecting God’s message we reject God. Therefore may we accept God’s message fully and faithfully. May we do the things we learn from Scripture, and if we struggle, may we pray for extra strength and help to overcome. For the only way we ever overcome is through the power of the Holy Spirit. And God is more than willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. So then, ask.

The call to holiness

2011-05-30T12:24:00.000-04:00

For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. 1 Thess. 4:7

Earlier in the letter Paul wrote that he was praying for their holiness, not he develops the theme of holiness as related to moral purity. Paul made it clear to the Thessalonians that when God called them to be His faithful children, for He called them unto holiness, not to remain in uncleanness and impurity.

When we respond today to God’s appeal to become Christians, to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we are also called unto holiness. When the prodigal son returned home, he did not return home with the harlots. Though he returned a sinner, that he couldn’t change, but he returned to pursue a relationship with his father.

We cannot change ourselves, we cannot change the fact that we are sinners, but at the same time God has called us to leave impurity and uncleanness behind and pursue a relationship with Him, pursue holiness. For He alone can change us and transform us. Just as Peter stated in 1 Peter 1:14-16.

As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Pet. 1:14-16.

May the Lord impress our hearts today to the call of being a Christian, for the fact that it is a genuine pursuit of holiness and not a life lived in impurity and uncleanness.

Good Counsel

2011-05-29T05:08:00.003-04:00

that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.

1 Thess. 4:6

Paul continues on the line of moral purity and he asks the Thessalonian believers not to take advantage of sexually or defraud by adultery anyone. And the reason is that God is the avenger of all such.

Solomon way back in the Old Testament concluded Ecclesiastes with the following words. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. Eccl. 12:13, 14.

This is good counsel from Solomon and from Paul. What they want to remind us is that we are accountable to God for all our actions. Friends I pray that we consider all our actions, that we consider well all our thoughts for we will one day have to give an account to God for them all.

Live as those who know God

2011-05-28T07:50:00.000-04:00

not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

1 Thess. 4:5

The Roman culture was sexually permissive and this brought a challenge to the young Christian church in remaining morally pure. Therefore Paul would write to the churches about moral purity.

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). Col. 3:5 NRSV

Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ! Eph. 4:17-20 NRSV

Paul in today’s verse contrasts the followers of Christ and those who do not know God in practice. The culture was not morally pure, for the temptations surrounded the Christians everywhere. And if we look at our own culture today, with billboards, movies, tv, magazines and so on, all are there to tempt and entice Christ’s child to give in to the passion of lust.

Paul appeals to us today to not be like those who do not know God in practice. But may we live as those who know God personally and in practice. May we lift our eyes above the temptations around us and fix our eyes on Christ, and by beholding Him, may we become more like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.