Category: Devotions

Depending on your denomination or church network will depend on what you call them. Priest, Pastor or their personal name who has responsibility for leading the church.

I haven’t ever lived in a time when the role of the ‘pastor’ is under such scrutiny and perhaps rightly so.

In drawing his letter to a close Paul looks at the church and gives his encouragements, firstly to the Pastors and then to the members of the church.

“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you.” (1 Thessalonians 5 v 12)

What does your Pastor do all day? Have you ever thought about it?

1. They work hard.

They are probably doing all or some of this: Prayer, studying and preparing messages, visiting generally, visiting the sick in homes, hospitals and hospices, planning events for the church, sharing the gospel, looking after the church building, keeping a check on the church finances, training of leaders, group meetings from elders to alpha, representing the church in the community (schools work, community events, meeting other ministers of various churches), focusing on missions, thinking of what goes into the church bulletin, national and regional responsibilities and probably lots more. On top of this your Pastor may also be bi-vocational! Depending on the size of the church, where it is and the Pastor’s gifts and abilities will determine if some or all of these functions are done. You might be able to think of even more!

• They care for you.

People are not a commodity to be used as a statistic; or to feed ego; they are people incredibly loved by the Pastor. They know that though they strive to be a good preacher, though they desire to excel in the charismatic gifts and though they pray for more fruit in their evangelistic endeavours, the greatest and most important ability is that of caring for people.  They are concerned that people don’t suffer harm in this journey of life. They have the heart of Christ which of course we all should have but more so in the Pastor.

• They admonish you.

Not many like being told they are wrong. We are not wired to correction. Some ignore. Some raise their voices louder than the voice that is correcting. And some lash out.

What drove Bonhoeffer to return to Germany to try and topple Hitler’s extermination of the Jews? It was this famous quote (in the Cost of Discipleship) he gave: “If I sit next to a madman as he drives a car into a group of innocent bystanders, I can’t, as a Christian, simply wait for the catastrophe, then comfort the wounded and bury the dead. I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver.” 

It is a difficult aspect of the role; to admonish. They are God’s people not the Pastor’s people, so they must not be abused spiritually or manipulated for gain. It is God’s church, not the Pastors church, they are the body of Christ not just a group of people so they must not be disrespected or hurt. He bought them with His blood not the Pastors  blood. They are of high value to Him, they are precious and treasured so Pastors must handle with care and not make them bleed for He has already bled for them. And yet it is the role of the Pastor to correct where correction is needed.

Work hard, care and admonish, that is the role of the Pastor/leader of the Church. It isn’t easy. Paul says acknowledge them. Honour them. Respect them.

Recently, a Pastor who gives everything into the church God has appointed her to, told me of 2 ladies who left the church. But they did it in style! They arrived just before the service was to start and handed a whole list of reasons why the church would not grow under the Pastor’s leadership. They then walked out only after one of them handed her offering to the Pastor!

If you have to leave Church then at least do it with respect of the office that God has given to work hard for you, care for you and admonish you.

This is what the Pastor does and they need to be honoured as they serve you by serving Christ.

There are 3 qualities that define a Christian. These 3 qualities are what we should be seeing in other believers and demonstrating in our own life. I will embolden them in this next verse.

“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” (1 Thessalonians 5 v 8)

Paul using the analogy of a soldier which he did in his letter to the Ephesians (with different symbols) he wants them staying alert, awake and sober of mind and behaviour.

Here are the 3 things we must take care of whilst we wait:-

1. A breastplate (‘guarding my heart above all things’) of faith. It speaks of my walk with God. My prayer life. My worship life. My awareness of His Spirit in my life. My closeness to Jesus. My copying of Jesus. My language. My behavioural responses. My understanding of where I am at and who I have become. I clothe myself with Christ. I am not unaware of the devils schemes. Voices of accusation penetrate my ears and mind and sometimes I see them from the unlikeliest of places. But I choose not to be clothed by accusation but by my walk with God, my faith.
2. A breastplate of love. The word is Agape. The pinnacle and the foundation of everything. Without it nothing makes sense. This is not a feeling towards the person you are loving but it is a strong commitment that will not let go until that person understands, receives and prospers from the purpose of your love. It is the highest form, of sacrificial commitment love. The cross is how God demonstrated Agape to the world. It is the agape that God has for us and the expectation that we should have for each other. We love each other how God loves us. It isn’t easy. People can be difficult. However agape isn’t based on what we get back in return. We show kindness, speak kindness, respond kindly, we agape every person we come into contact with. Why? Because He first showed agape to us and it flows out of our faith in Him.
3. A helmet of hope of salvation. It is the area that becomes the playground for so many negative thoughts. When people come and say you are not what you should be remind yourself where you now stand. When the voices of doubt say you need to perform and prove yourself in order to be accepted by God then it is a complete lie. Do not listen to that lie. It is a falsehood. Ignore it. You are complete in Him; you are alive in Him; you are free and not afraid; you are a child of God and belong to Him; you are without blame within His love; you have peace with God and the peace of God in your mind; you have the Spirit of God hovering over your life and dwelling in you; you have the Spirits wisdom and understanding for every situation you face; you have the powerful strengthening enabling to be and do whatever needs to happen; you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you; you are chosen by God for this moment; you have everything you need for this life because you have Him; you are a temple of the Holy Spirit; cleansed, forgiven and set aside for a holy life; you are saved by the grace of God. You have hope!

On the day of my daughter’s wedding the greatest concern from the important people of the day was whether or not I was ready in time. There had been a lot of discussion on what I was going to be actually doing in the morning. Apparently I am well-known for getting ready at the last minute and this was a problem. I had offered the good thought that I go for my hair cut in the morning. I hadn’t realised how foolish that was in terms of time. I then suggested I go off for the morning and let the important people get on with things and I come back after I had enjoyed whatever I found to do. My suggestions were going from bad to worse. In the end I was permitted to walk 100 yards from the important people to a café for a full English breakfast. It was wonderful. On my own. Newspaper. Breakfast. And crucially, in sight of the important people. All went well. I was ready.

In the early 70’s Larry Norman sang, ‘I wish we’d all been ready’ and it is a line that has stayed with me all my life. Are you ready for Christ’s return?

“But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. ⁵ You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.” (1 Thessalonians 5 v 4-7)

Here are 7 signs that you are ready for the return of Christ.

1. You are not in darkness, v4. Israel was supposed to be the light (Isaiah 60) but their light had stopped shining and they were walking in darkness. Jesus came as the true light. Where Israel failed He succeeded.
2. You will not be surprised, v4. Though no one knows the date and time, His coming will not be a complete surprise to you, you know He is coming.
3. You are not a child of the night, v5. Venus is known as the morning star as the first to appear after the sun sets or the last to disappear before the sun rises. It heralds of course a new day, hope and a new beginning. At the moment when the night is at its darkest there is a belief that the morning will break soon and the morning star is that sign. His name is not Venus but Jesus! You are a child of the dawn, the new day, Jesus!
4. You are not a child of darkness, v5. You are not characterised by the darkness. When people see you they come to know your character. Character is so more important than your abilities. Your Father is not darkness. You are not a product of that. You are a child of God.
5. You are not like others, v6. This is you: I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, ⁷ to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.’ Isaiah 42:6.
6. You are not asleep, v7. This is a different word to the sleep of death that we have seen in chapter 4. You are alert, awakened to the world you are in. When it goes wrong it is never at the right time. It is either spoiling a positive time or it is a time where we can be the most weak. Be alert. Stand your ground. The next 24 hours starts now and you may not know what it holds but it will have no consideration to what is happening to you. You are not asleep.
7. You are not drunk, v7. You have not lost control, nor your confidence nor an awareness to the context of your life. Rather you understand what the Lord wants of you; you are edified and encouraged by Him and He is the Lord of your life as you live in this difficult world.

How much do you think about it?

A few verses before we read how Paul points to the Christian dead coming with Christ. He has already taught the Thessalonians this and he reiterates that teaching.

“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5 v 1-3)

Christ is returning and it may be in our lifetime!

Here are the 3 words that describe His return:-

1. Suddenly. There are no times and dates available. Whether you think of a thief or a woman in labour it will just happen, suddenly. The question is are you ready for the suddenly?
2. Unexpected. If you knew a thief was coming but you didn’t know when what would you do? Would you cancel your life and spend the entirety not moving out of the house, not properly sleeping, afraid to leave your possessions lest the thief comes when you are away? Is that the life you would choose to live? Or would you secure your house in readiness that the thief could come anytime? So being ready is not just sitting on top of the roof of your house with your eyes wide open waiting for the thief. It is to live your life in preparation by demonstrating you are ready by how we do life.
3. Inevitable. When mothers are expectant it shows. They eat differently, look differently and walk differently! Expectation is hard to hide. But expectation soon turns to inevitable, it is unavoidable, the baby is coming!

This morning I pray for a Christian man who barring a miracle in his body will be with the Lord soon. I pray for his wife and family. His loss will be great. I am sure you know these prayers and you probably also know what it is to experience this awful situation. Being separated is the hardest thing. The early Thessalonian churches were anxious about what happened to their loved ones. So Paul tells them to encourage one another with what he teaches them (v18).

¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4 v 15-18)

In what was most probably either a prophetic word or a passed on saying of Jesus comes clear teaching on what happens to the Christian dead.

A Christian who dies:-

1. Falls asleep but not in some forever limbo state. From earth’s point of view it is not an end of all ends. But similar when we go to sleep at night, it is only an end of that day, we rise again the next day. This is what the phrase means ‘fallen asleep’ v15.
2. Meets Jesus Christ before anyone who is still alive on earth, v15. Imagine what that has been like!
3. Takes part in the return of Christ, they come with Christ back to earth, v16.
4. Will rise in the return of Christ, v16. This is not necessarily that they are some disembodied spirit right now, or as I say in limbo, they are definitely alive and active with Christ (Paul says that elsewhere, 2 Corinthians 5:8). The resurrected Christ (recognisable to us) will be accompanied by His resurrected people (recognisable to us also). You will see them again and they will be recognisable!
5. Will experience the presence of God with those who are alive. They will be with those who are still alive on earth, in the clouds, v17. The clouds have always been seen as symbolic of the presence of God whether on Mount Sinai or the mountain of Transfiguration and everything in between. So we can safely say that we who are alive will join those who died together in the presence of God.
6. Will experience the victory of God with those who are alive. They will be with those who are still alive on earth, in the air, v17. The air has always been seen as symbolic of the place for the devil and his kingdom (see Ephesians 2:2). So we can safely say that we who are alive will join those who died together in the final victory over Satan.
7. Will along with us be with the Lord forever, v17.

So be encouraged today, v18.

We all know bereavement eventually. When it comes it is traumatic, shocking, physically altering our very compass of life. It leaves us with questions maybe even years later like the ones in the title.

Paul writes, “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ” (1 Thessalonians 4 v 13-14)

The Thessalonians seem to have had teaching from Paul regarding the Second Coming of Christ and they have questions. One being what about those who have passed away?

1. Grieve but not without hope. If Jesus wept at the graveside of Lazarus then it is expected that we too will weep at the loss of our loved one. But we do so in the place that Christ’s resurrection has over death. It is not hopeless grief..
2. Death is temporary. They did not enter a place of unconscious state, or some limbo, far from it. Paul describes death as sleep to show that it is temporary, it is like the body is resting, but then comes the waking, the resurrection.
3. The Christian dead will come again. They will come with Jesus. Can you now begin to imagine the glorious scene of not only the return of Jesus Christ but the return of your Christian loved one?

So in answer to the 2 questions:

• They are getting ready to return with Christ. You will see them again!
• Very much so!!

We all have met one. The busybody. The meddler.

“What has this got to do with you” are the words of Christ to His closest friend when John tried to interfere with what will happen to Peter. We are all grateful for a friend who sticks by us and even for us. But we know there are times when some people just want to interfere. Paul says don’t and gives reasons for why.

“and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: you should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” (1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭12‬)

1. You have your own life to lead. In a world where the goal is to be noticed and where loud is better, Paul says strive to live quietly, peacefully, with calm and hidden even. You can’t do that when you’re meddling.
2. You should be too busy working. God wants us all to work and to get tired because of work that we need to take rest. Nothing comes easy. Success and the growth we seek doesn’t happen through laziness. 
3. Your way of life should be in such a way that you are respected. Those outside the church are watching you. When you’re not there how do they speak about you? How will they ever come to know Christ if they are not influenced by the way you contribute to their world?
4. Your aim is to lack nothing and so having to rely on others. This does not mean independence. It does mean spiritual maturity and growth as a follower of Christ. 

“We don’t have to write you about the need to love each other. God has taught you to do this, and you already have shown your love for all his people in Macedonia. But, my dear friends, we ask you to do even more.”

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭

Love.

We know He does.

We know we should.

And we do. 

We don’t need telling.

Love.

God has taught us in a variety of ways through His Word and Spirit.

We had to be taught for it doesn’t come naturally. 

But we know now.

We don’t need telling. 

Yet we all need to do it more.

There’s always more.

More Love is the Christian’s motto.

We don’t need telling.

Perhaps we do?

What world are you living in? It maybe a strange question to ask. We share some things eg greed, immorality, anger, hurt etc.  But the ‘world’ we live in with all its temptations and trials varies so much. What you have to face and what I face can be quite different. 

I’m not sure how comparable the nation and culture that you live in and that of the Thessalonians is. But for these Christians they had to live in a highly sexualised Roman world where commitment to one man one woman was difficult to see. 

So as he does in his other letters Paul writes speaking into their world. What he says to them can certainly be applied to our world.

“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honourable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no-one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4‬:‭3‬-‭8‬)

Paul’s lists are set within important truths. If the truths are not brought to the forefront as to the reason why we do or don’t do certain things then all that will happen is we become legalists. We keep rules but we don’t have the correct reason for doing so.

This is why. These are the reasons. This is the higher purpose. This is the kingdom.

1. God wants us to be different, v3. Holy and honourable, v4. Jesus took the form of a Jew, so He looked Jewish and yet the image of God the Father was seen in Him. That’s the same for us. Jesus lowered His position so that He came to serve not be served. If we think less of ourselves as Jesus did going to the cross then we move into holiness and cross is seen in us.
2. God will punish us if we do not live holy lives, v6. Jesus created a way through His shed blood for us never to be in a place of punishment. Ignore that way and the promise is punishment. We live in times when this is clearly being seen. It’s a strange title for point 2. Some will disagree. But God is not punitive. He is patient with us. However what does He do with sin that is not brought under the blood of Jesus (the above point in 1) nor prevented by being in alignment with the Spirit (in the point below)? There is a way of life (not the Christian sanctified life) that will not remain unpunished by a Holy God.
3. God gives you his Holy Spirit, v8. Our kingdom lifestyle, our sanctified life, it isn’t for man. We don’t get a medal. This is for God who pours out His Holy Spirit on our lives and who enables us to live a holy and honourable life.

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