God of mercy and peace, pour out Your joy on this dear reader today in whatever they face; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from 1 Thessalonians 1: 1 I, Paul, together here with Silas and Timothy, send greetings to the church at Thessalonica, Christians assembled by God the Father and by the Master, Jesus Christ. God's amazing grace be with you! God's robust peace! 2 Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you're in our prayers 3 as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father. 4 It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special. 5 When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn't just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions. 6 and determined to live that way yourselves. In imitating us, you imitated the Master. Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from the Holy Spirit! - taking the trouble with the joy, the joy with the trouble. 7 Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you? 8 The word has gotten around. Your lives are echoing the Master's Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place. The news of your faith in God is out. We don't even have to say anything anymore - you're the message! 9 People come up and tell us how you received us with open arms, how you deserted the dead idols of your old life so you could embrace and serve God, the true God. 10 They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom. (The Message)
This passage reminds me of Jesus' lesson on new wine in old wineskins from Mark 2:22. It's a reality of what we in the USA are encountering with our dying churches. We have been lulled to sleep by our own comfortableness, our routines, our traditions and customs - business as usual. And the result is that business as usual will result in a going out of business shutdown. The supernatural aspect of our existence and all the excitement that should accompany it, is lost on those who no longer see beyond the financial report or the weekly bulletin. Paul is thanking God for the excitement and strength he found in the lives and work of the people at Thessalonia. They caught it! They received it! They understood it and went right to work! They encountered much resistance and "trouble," but used it as part of their training and work. I love the line, "The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions." Compare that to the stop signs we sometimes put in our convictions. Paul knows the power of prayer and he is still amazed that God worked a mighty way in the life of this church. Don't get me wrong, I'm hearing of the same kind of awakening happening in some of our churches in this area. Folks are praying like never before and new and different kinds of ministries are being tried. I have been sharing with the churches during our annual meeting (Charge Conference) that God is about to do a wonderful, unexplainable work if we're willing to be made uncomfortable, outrageous, and courageous about the work that is set before us. And some folks are getting it!
What about you? What does God have to do to allow the Holy Spirit to move you outside of your comfort zone? What does God expect from you that you won't do because you think it's too outrageous? What can God do to give you the courage to be courageous? It might just be what you've been waiting for!
PRAYER: Loving God, awaken in my spirit that boldness of first century believers to do the uncomfortable, the outrageous and courageous that You need from me. Help me to reach those who need You before it's too late. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
