Category: Devotions

In standing against the false allegations Paul in essence is saying:-

“Christ has not come already. The day of the Lord has not happened. When I said you are ‘children of the day’ that wasn’t me saying Christ has already come. No. Someone will come before Christ.” 

“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” 2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ 

He will come in a season of rebellion. Those who once followed and who walked with God turn from Him.

He is lawless. He will be without morality and he will be an anarchist against all that we considered right and true. 

He will oppose God. He will stand against Christianity.

He will exalt himself over God and the worship of God. He will demand allegiance away from God to himself. 

He will set himself up on God’s temple. He will enter into the place only reserved for God that is the heart worship from mankind.

He will proclaim himself as God. He will have his own gospel and his own signs to prove his message.

He is doomed to destruction. BUT he knows nothing of salvation for he will not experience it himself nor be able to give it. He is indeed doomed.

All this will happen before Christ comes.

The speculation continued from Paul’s day till now. Who is this man? And many have suggested a name! Names have come and gone. Is it a singular man? Could it be a female? Or could it be the general state of the world? What is true is if you believe in the return of Christ then you must believe in the man of lawlessness. 

Yesterday I was privileged to lead a prayer meeting for global leaders and on the video call were many who were seeing God do amazing things but in very difficult places to share the gospel. The risks are high and they suffer right alongside the persecuted because they are right there. It was a huge privilege.

Paul has been writing to the Thessalonians basically saying you will be vindicated when Christ returns. He then leads us to see how he prays for them and how we should do too.

“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. ¹² We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1 v 11-12)

Here are the 6 prayers Paul prays:

• He prays that they will be worthy of His calling.

Isn’t this going to happen anyway? “All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering, v5” If it is going to happen then why pray? The answer is that this is the heart of the whole Bible story. Aligning with the plan of God. Look at the very last verse of the Bible in Revelation 22 v 20: “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Praying for what is going to happen anyway. It is to share in the plan and purpose of God.

• He prays that their every good desire will bear fruit.

In my prayer meeting yesterday we heard of an initiative of focused evangelism over 50 days in Sierra Leone in non-Christian communities leading to the planting of churches. We heard of Vision 300 which is the raising of 300 Gideon’s to reaching the least reached people in India with a desire to see signs, wonders and miracles upon miracles. Good desires!!

• He prays that their every faith deed will bear fruit.

I’m staying thinking about the prayer meeting but it helps to give an example of what Paul is praying for and how we should pray too. We prayed for an initiative in Myanmar as the Christmas outreaches will start soon amongst the villages who have never heard of Christ. It is risky and it takes faith.

• He prays that Jesus will be glorified in them.

A church planter in a very difficult situation told of 2 Buddhist girls who have just become saved. One because Jesus kept showing up in her dreams and the other because she got sick and needed an operation but had heard that Jesus heals and he did and she didn’t need the operation! Can you imagine these 2 girls? Can you imagine how much of the presence of Christ is currently being seen in their life. They are shining bright the power of Christ!

• He prays that they will be glorified in Jesus.

Sitting in that prayer meeting which we do every month listening to one another, iron sharpening iron, I understood what it is that we be glorified in Jesus. These Church planters and Pastors working in the suffering places of the world only have Jesus as their source. He is everything. Who they are in Jesus is all that matters. Christ is all to them.

• He prays according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no worthiness without grace; there is no goodness without grace; no successful faith steps without grace; no glory without grace.

Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians as they are going through persecution. He has said in v5 “God’s judgment is right” and continues with “God is just” v6.

Often we wonder why the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. It appears that there is a global and historical miscarriage of justice. Why God? Why is this happening to us? Paul has said during this time of suffering God is counting them worthy but now he continues.

“God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you ⁷ and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. ⁸ He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might ¹⁰ on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.” (2 Thessalonians 1 v 6-10)

Those who have suffered, been persecuted and gone through trouble with all those who are followers and believers in God will be changed by His glory in a marvellous celebration of His presence. This will happen because Christ is returning. He is coming again. Paul believed and hoped Christ would come in his lifetime (v7). This is also how we should live our lives in the light of the Second Coming of Christ.

In contrast there will be payback to those who have caused trouble to God’s people. Paul uses terrifying words, “pay back trouble, punish and punished with everlasting destruction”. There has been so much debate on whether verse 9 means conscious torment or ultimate annihilation and in a sense everyone misses the main point. Those who have caused trouble to the people of God, those who do not know God and those who have not obeyed the gospel of Jesus will be “shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” This is the main point. They will pay. They will never know His eternal glorious presence and power. When Christ comes the tables will be turned. Today the world we live in looks a mess. There is cruelty all around. We do live at a time when everyone seems to be doing whatever they want. But it is only for a time. Pay back is coming.

I don’t mean in numbers though we are always happy when God does that. But I do mean in this way:-  

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.” (2 Thessalonians 1 v 3)

Paul has a compulsion to give thanks to God for the church and for what Christ has done. Your church won’t be perfect and yet it belongs to God and I am sure there are so many wonderful things about it that you can start each day thanking God for.

Well, we know Paul had been praying for he had said so in his first letter to them. In 1 Thess 3 v 10 and 12: “Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith…. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.” He was praying for their faith and love to increase and God was answering his prayer, v3.

Their faith was growing more and more. Growing abundantly (NASB). Growing exceedingly (AMP) and I love the Message as it says their faith was growing phenomenally! Their love was increasing. Continually increasing (AMP). Grows ever greater (NASB) and developing wonderfully (Message).

Why is this even more amazing? It is because of what Paul says next.

“Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.” (2 Thessalonians 1 v 4)

Tomorrow is the day marked in the calendar when the Church intercedes for our persecuted family scattered around the world.

(You will want to check out some resources that my own denominations Missions office have created – file:///C:/Users/Paul/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/CLUOIJR3/IDOP%20Poster.pdf and also the excellent ministry of Release International: https://releaseinternational.org/idop-2024/ )

Paul says they are boasting about them because not only is their faith growing more and more and their love is increasing but it is doing so in the worst of situations. They are enduring persecutions and trials. They are suffering yet they persevere and they have faith.

It is a remarkable fact that the church that seems to be growing the most in their faith towards God and love for people are those that are in the worst of circumstances. Two thousand years later after this letter the problem has intensified across the globe. Yet the impact is the same. Paul, Silas and Timothy were moved by what they had heard and so boasted of the church’s perseverance. We do too. We boast of our brothers and sisters who hold on even during the hardest of times. Whose faith in God is growing more and more and whose love is increasing. This is indeed church growth and perhaps the most important.

Last evening I was preaching at a Ladies Conference and it opened with the leader drawing our attention to those that helped her in the planning and preparation of the event. She didn’t do it alone. Nothing much is done without others. Even the Godhead demonstrates this: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Together.

“Paul, Silasand Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:1-2)

Though perhaps several months after the first letter they are still together and perhaps word has got back to Paul that the persecution has increased so he writes the Thessalonians another letter. Again he tells them this is from the 3 of them.

Paul, Silas and Timothy.
Companions on the journey.
Sharers of the suffering.
Co-workers.
Co-authors.
Fellow missionaries.
Throughout the letter, ‘We. Us. Our”.
Chosen words.
It’s a team.
Your answer is always together.

Can you name 2 people?

If you can you’re rich.

Doing life with others is a grace. I look back over the years of those I have had the privilege to walk with. The things we did together. The journeys we took. The valleys and mountain-top experiences and I thank God for the huge privilege that it was. Yes. I can name 2 people!

Okay so that’s not in the Bible in that way is it? I mean, it’s not one of the 10 commandments.

At a time when not every church member could read and when certainly there would not be enough copies of Paul’s letter to go round, the Apostle told the church his letter had to be read within the Church setting when they were gathered.

It wasn’t his charge either. He was so convinced that he cites the Lord. He was saying there would be divine punishment if they didn’t do what he said.

“I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.” (1 Thessalonians 5 v 27)

Can you imagine your Pastor saying divine punishment will be on you this week if you don’t read the Bible?! A tad strong I agree!

But such is the importance of the Bible even as it was being formed with the use of these letters inspired by the Spirit the command is to read it.

It has withstood vicious attacks of its enemies as no other book.  Many have tried to burn it, ban it, and outlaw it from the days of Roman emperors to present-day Communist-dominated countries.’

In 1778 it was said by someone that 100 years from then Christianity would be swept from existence and passed into history.  But what has happened?  The bible continues to be in circulation and Christianity as strong today as ever. 

No other book has been so chopped, knived, sifted, scrutinized, and slandered, which other book has been subject to such a mass attack as the bible?

If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago.

Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still lives.

I guess you have read the Bible today! But encourage someone else to do so.

How do you greet people in your church? A high-five? Are you a hugger? A formal handshake? Or do you just nod your head. Here are 3 reasons why we should do something akin to a kiss in church.

“Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss.” (1 Thessalonians 5 v 26)

1. The Church should be a safe place for the power of touch. It seems Paul is wanting them to physically connect. To know the power of touch. He wanted them to have something tangible happen in their greeting. “Give each other a big hug” or if you’re a more conservative Christian, “Give each other a hearty hand-shake”. Whatever it is remember it is a holy ‘kiss’. A cursory look online at the traumatic sad stories of feral children raised with little or zero human contact and you realise the power of touch. Greet one another not only with words but make sure you all know the feeling of being loved, appreciated and wanted. The power of touch heals, restores and connects us into a wholesomeness of our well-being. Perhaps Paul was on to something which we now know is vital for our lives
2. The Church should be a place where there is no favouritism. ‘Greet all God’s people’. These are God’s people, God’s church, they are not mine and yours; they all belong to God. We must connect with them as Christ the Shepherd does. In the years to come when sheep remember the shepherds that have been responsible for their life. They will perhaps have forgotten the many words spoken and the way they were led into new things. But they will never forget they were shepherded, they were cared for, they were loved. Sheep never forget the cross. That is the justice of the Kingdom which Shepherds choose and which is Christ’s. There is no fighting just greeting. The only blood is that of Jesus.
3. The Church should demonstrate the purity of its own culture. So wherever you are reading this from in the world you might have a different way to greet one another but the point is you should keep to it. A Tibetan? You might be sticking your tongue out! An Indian? You might be kneeling and touching the feet of the other. From South East Asia? You could be touching noses. A European? Depending on the country you will be doing some air-kisses from one, two or even three times! The Apostle has a European flavour but it has to be a holy one!