LIVING TO PLEASE GOD The apostle Paul urged the Thessalonian believers to live in a way that pleased God. He followed his urging with several practical instructions on how they might live a holy life. Yet his instruction was based on the reality of their faith in Christ. For the key to living a life
THOSE WHO BEAR THE NAME REJOICE IN THE WORD! The prophet Jeremiah didn’t just hear God’s Word, he internalized it. He devoured God’s Word as a man whose soul was famished for God. In spite of those who persecuted him for believing and proclaiming God’s Word, his heart rejoiced in receiving it. The Bible is
GOD’S ENCOURAGEMENT TO DECLARE THE GOSPEL Paul and Silas had been severely mistreated and jailed in the nearby city of Philippi before coming to Thessalonica. Yet that did not cause them to be timid in sharing the Gospel. For God gave them courage to declare “His Good News” to them boldly. When we’ve been hurt
YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN British poet, William Ernest Henley, concluded his poem “Invictus” with these words: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” His words capture the essence of what sin is. For sin, at its core, is an attitude of rebellion against God’s lordship. Sin puts
DOES THE PEACE OF CHRIST RULE YOUR HEART? Paul said that we are to let the peace of Christ “rule.” The Greek word translated “rule” is “brabeuetō.” It literally means to “umpire, arbitrate, to let make the call.” When difficult circumstances come that bring anxiety, we are to let the peace of Christ act as
IT’S ABOUT RELATIONSHIP NOT RULES Paul warned the believers in Colossae that asceticism, while it gives the appearance of wisdom, offers no help in conquering evil desires. In fact, following a list of rules might cause a deeper longing for the thing denied. At the very least, it can lead to a kind of spiritual
THE GOAL OF DISCIPLESHIP IS CHRISTLIKENESS Paul’s goal for the Colossians and for everyone to whom he preached is here revealed: that he might present them to God as “perfect” (fully mature, finished, complete) in Christ. He did not stop at just introducing people to Christ. No, Paul used every faculty available to him, “warning
LIFE’S MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ANSWERED Most philosophers would say that the most important question is an existential one: “What is the meaning of existence?” More specifically, “Who am I and what is my purpose?” Or as the French would say, what is the “raison d’être?” (“reason for being”). In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, this
WHAT THOUGHTS FILL YOUR MIND TODAY? As the apostle Paul closed his letter to the Philippians, he urged them to always rejoice in the Lord. He gave them a couple of spiritual practices to help them to always experience the joy of the Lord. One practice was that they should turn their worries into prayers,
A GLORIOUS BODY FIT FOR ETERNITY This is what we believe, that the Resurrected One will return and our bodies will be transformed to be like His. Christ is the “firstborn” (Col. 1:18) from among the dead, the prototype for the glorified bodies that we will receive at His return. Those who believe will have