Tuesday, October 28, 2014, 7:20 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 2 Thessalonians 3 (ESV).
Honored and Delivered
We all need prayer, and we all need to pray for one another. I like it that Paul was a man of prayer, and that he talked much about that subject. It encourages my heart to hear his prayers, too, because they are specific, heartfelt, and thus meaningful. And, that is how I believe we should engage in prayer for one another. I think too often our prayers are either recited (routine or canned), too general, limited to just one or two subjects, or else they are too surface level.
I have been in attendance in church meetings nearly since birth (nearly 65 yrs), and so I have sat through many prayer meetings. In some churches I found the prayer meetings to mainly cover only physical or financial needs, but to not hit on people’s spiritual needs at all. And, the prayers were often “God bless so and so,” but never really asked God for anything specific to be done in people’s lives. So, we need to let down our masks, and we need to ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for our specific needs.
I would ask the same prayer for myself, and for others who are sharing the gospel, as what Paul asked for here for himself and for his fellow workers in the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ten years ago the Lord Jesus told me I was to write down what he teaches me through his word and that I was to give it to a “runner” so that the runner could “Run With It” (based off Hab. 2). In time I learned that the “runner” was the internet, and that I was to do this nearly daily. So, I would ask that you pray that what I share from my times with the Lord each day will be used for God’s intended purposes in the lives of those whom he chooses, and for the glory and honor of God. I would also ask for deliverance from wicked and evil human beings who oppose the full gospel message of Jesus Christ, for not everyone has faith. As well, pray that I will be strengthened and protected from the evil one, as well as pray this for all who are proclaiming the true message of our salvation. Although I don’t know all of you, you are in my thoughts and in my prayers.
I found great encouragement in reading this passage of scripture this morning, as it touched on what I am going through personally. I know that my Lord is faithful, and I know that he will give me strength. This morning I was talking with him specifically about a situation in my life where I need his strength, wisdom and grace in knowing how to respond to those who oppose me. So, when I read this, the Lord Jesus answered my prayer by reminding me of his faithfulness, and that he will strengthen me and protect me from the evil one. Amen! And, then he encouraged me further with these words “We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.” As well, I prayed for myself that God will direct my heart into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance, because some days it is tough to keep going, and/or to know how to respond or what to say.
Warnings
This is a difficult command for many of us to keep, I believe, either because the church does not teach or practice this, and thus we think this does not apply to us, or because we think it would be unkind to do so, and so we ignore it. Or, perhaps there are some situations which are just unavoidable, or else maybe we just don’t understand practically how this is supposed to work. Yet, this is not the only time in the New Testament that this is taught, so we should not ignore it or avoid it just because it does not make us comfortable.
So, who is this talking about? I believe this is talking about those who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, but they don’t practice what they say they believe. They don’t walk according to the Word of God but still according to their own fleshly wills, desires and appetites. As well, they are slothful (lazy) and do not work, but must be trying to live off of others, or else they would starve to death for lack of food. Or, this could apply to those who have jobs but who lack integrity on the job, i.e. they are lazy workers. I don’t believe this is saying that both husband and wife must have paying jobs, as scripture also teaches that wives should be keepers at home (See: Tit. 2:5). Yet, women should not be slothful at home, either, but must be busy at home, pure, self-controlled, kind, subject to and loving their husbands, and reverent in the way they live, teaching what is good.
If the church does not practice this command here, it may be impossible to entirely avoid those who profess faith but who walk according to the flesh, as we are to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Or, if we are married to someone who professes one thing but lives another, we cannot avoid our spouse. We cannot entirely stay away from people with whom we work or with whom we live or who are members of our own family. Yet, we can limit our participation with them in certain things so as to not give the impression of our approval. And, certainly we should pray for wisdom and understanding in each individual situation to know just how we are to respond or to act so as to make certain we are obeying our Lord in all things, and that we are living holy lives pleasing to him. I believe, in general, that this passage teaches that we should not hang out with and/or make our best friends and social companions those who profess Christ but live just like the world instead.
Not Weary
Walking in faithful obedience to our Lord can sometimes be difficult and/or complicated, i.e. sometimes scripture gives us general commands that do not cover each and every situation, so we need to pray for wisdom and discernment to know how to apply the scriptures to our specific circumstances without ignoring, denying, or excusing away these commands.
As well, when evil humans come against us, not only do we need strength and endurance to keep going, even in the face of much opposition and persecution, but we need wisdom from above to know how to respond to their evil attacks. Sometimes the attacks don’t come in forms that are all that black and white, either. What I mean is that Satan is clever, and he is manipulative, conniving, deceiving and uses trickery to try to trap us and to trip us up, so we need wisdom to discern his tricks so that we don’t fall prey to them.
When the opposing force is straight forward and obvious, we can more easily fight off the lies with the truth. Yet, when it is conniving and manipulative, this takes much more discernment to know exactly how to respond. And, so it also takes much more prayer, strength and endurance. Yet, we should never give up, no matter how hard things get, but we must keep on keeping on doing what God has called and commanded us to do, believing him to work it all out for his purposes and for his glory. Amen!
For Our Nation / An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
http://originalworks.info/for-our-nation/
Honored and Delivered
Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
We all need prayer, and we all need to pray for one another. I like it that Paul was a man of prayer, and that he talked much about that subject. It encourages my heart to hear his prayers, too, because they are specific, heartfelt, and thus meaningful. And, that is how I believe we should engage in prayer for one another. I think too often our prayers are either recited (routine or canned), too general, limited to just one or two subjects, or else they are too surface level.
I have been in attendance in church meetings nearly since birth (nearly 65 yrs), and so I have sat through many prayer meetings. In some churches I found the prayer meetings to mainly cover only physical or financial needs, but to not hit on people’s spiritual needs at all. And, the prayers were often “God bless so and so,” but never really asked God for anything specific to be done in people’s lives. So, we need to let down our masks, and we need to ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for our specific needs.
I would ask the same prayer for myself, and for others who are sharing the gospel, as what Paul asked for here for himself and for his fellow workers in the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ten years ago the Lord Jesus told me I was to write down what he teaches me through his word and that I was to give it to a “runner” so that the runner could “Run With It” (based off Hab. 2). In time I learned that the “runner” was the internet, and that I was to do this nearly daily. So, I would ask that you pray that what I share from my times with the Lord each day will be used for God’s intended purposes in the lives of those whom he chooses, and for the glory and honor of God. I would also ask for deliverance from wicked and evil human beings who oppose the full gospel message of Jesus Christ, for not everyone has faith. As well, pray that I will be strengthened and protected from the evil one, as well as pray this for all who are proclaiming the true message of our salvation. Although I don’t know all of you, you are in my thoughts and in my prayers.
I found great encouragement in reading this passage of scripture this morning, as it touched on what I am going through personally. I know that my Lord is faithful, and I know that he will give me strength. This morning I was talking with him specifically about a situation in my life where I need his strength, wisdom and grace in knowing how to respond to those who oppose me. So, when I read this, the Lord Jesus answered my prayer by reminding me of his faithfulness, and that he will strengthen me and protect me from the evil one. Amen! And, then he encouraged me further with these words “We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.” As well, I prayed for myself that God will direct my heart into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance, because some days it is tough to keep going, and/or to know how to respond or what to say.
Warnings
Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
This is a difficult command for many of us to keep, I believe, either because the church does not teach or practice this, and thus we think this does not apply to us, or because we think it would be unkind to do so, and so we ignore it. Or, perhaps there are some situations which are just unavoidable, or else maybe we just don’t understand practically how this is supposed to work. Yet, this is not the only time in the New Testament that this is taught, so we should not ignore it or avoid it just because it does not make us comfortable.
So, who is this talking about? I believe this is talking about those who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, but they don’t practice what they say they believe. They don’t walk according to the Word of God but still according to their own fleshly wills, desires and appetites. As well, they are slothful (lazy) and do not work, but must be trying to live off of others, or else they would starve to death for lack of food. Or, this could apply to those who have jobs but who lack integrity on the job, i.e. they are lazy workers. I don’t believe this is saying that both husband and wife must have paying jobs, as scripture also teaches that wives should be keepers at home (See: Tit. 2:5). Yet, women should not be slothful at home, either, but must be busy at home, pure, self-controlled, kind, subject to and loving their husbands, and reverent in the way they live, teaching what is good.
If the church does not practice this command here, it may be impossible to entirely avoid those who profess faith but who walk according to the flesh, as we are to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Or, if we are married to someone who professes one thing but lives another, we cannot avoid our spouse. We cannot entirely stay away from people with whom we work or with whom we live or who are members of our own family. Yet, we can limit our participation with them in certain things so as to not give the impression of our approval. And, certainly we should pray for wisdom and understanding in each individual situation to know just how we are to respond or to act so as to make certain we are obeying our Lord in all things, and that we are living holy lives pleasing to him. I believe, in general, that this passage teaches that we should not hang out with and/or make our best friends and social companions those who profess Christ but live just like the world instead.
Not Weary
As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
Walking in faithful obedience to our Lord can sometimes be difficult and/or complicated, i.e. sometimes scripture gives us general commands that do not cover each and every situation, so we need to pray for wisdom and discernment to know how to apply the scriptures to our specific circumstances without ignoring, denying, or excusing away these commands.
As well, when evil humans come against us, not only do we need strength and endurance to keep going, even in the face of much opposition and persecution, but we need wisdom from above to know how to respond to their evil attacks. Sometimes the attacks don’t come in forms that are all that black and white, either. What I mean is that Satan is clever, and he is manipulative, conniving, deceiving and uses trickery to try to trap us and to trip us up, so we need wisdom to discern his tricks so that we don’t fall prey to them.
When the opposing force is straight forward and obvious, we can more easily fight off the lies with the truth. Yet, when it is conniving and manipulative, this takes much more discernment to know exactly how to respond. And, so it also takes much more prayer, strength and endurance. Yet, we should never give up, no matter how hard things get, but we must keep on keeping on doing what God has called and commanded us to do, believing him to work it all out for his purposes and for his glory. Amen!
For Our Nation / An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
http://originalworks.info/for-our-nation/