1 Thessalonians 2:13, 19-20
“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.”
1 Thessalonians 2:13, 19-20 ESV
When Paul and his associates went preaching the gospel in Thessalonica and teaching from the scriptures, the people didn’t just hear the Word as its coming from the mouth of Paul or other men, they heard and accepted it as if it were the Words of God himself. And Paul says that which you believed to be the Words from God is at work in you. What an encouraging thing to say.
Their attentive ears and their attitude towards the Word of God brought the Gospel alive in their hearts and is now at work in them. In hard times like these, when we are going through a social media onslaught, where people, news channels, neighbours, office colleagues are constantly talking to us where everyone’s giving their views and opinions about the current situation and how to react to it, what is our source of truth? Where do we draw our strength from? What is at work in our heart? Brothers & sisters, it is only the Word of God that can be our source of truth, the only hope for our heart in such difficult times.The scriptures, preaching of the Word and others devotionals are how God communicates to us, giving words of instruction, rebuking us of our sin patterns, encouraging our hearts in difficult times, provoking us to live a Holy life, worthy of His calling. Verse 19 is interesting grammatically in that are no verbs in the Greek. The English translation supplies them so that it makes sense to us. This makes his concluding statement in verse 20 an emphatic answer to the questions asked. We are society in which information is constantly pumped out. The news cycle no longer even pauses nor does social media and especially so if you are carrying a smart phone and checking it whenever a message alert sounds. The result is information overload with little time for more than superficial consideration. That is even worse with audio-visual media since it is harder to go back and analyze the communication for truth and accuracy and thoughtful reflection. This is a major reason people have become so susceptible to lies and partial truths whether it is coming from advertisers, politicians, or social engineers who want you to adopt their morals. The latter’s main means of this is entertainment to infuse into you their ideas when you are relaxed and seeking amusement and not on guard against the evil they want you to accept. God chose us for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit; by trusting the Word of God, hearing the truth and believing it!!!
Father thank You for this day and we thank You that we are part of that great body of believers that were chosen before the foundation of the world because You knew that by grace through faith in Christ we would accept Your gracious offer of salvation. Lord let Your abundant blessings flow over my friend and family today. Lord thank You for all my brothers and sisters, who like me were chosen from the beginning, to be saved by faith. Lord thank You that we have all been set apart unto God, by Your Holy Spirit, simply because we believed in the truth of the glorious gospel of grace. Lord use my friend to be the touch of Your love to all today. Daddy we love you amen. Be a blessing. Love ya !!
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