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Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, ‘There is peace and security’, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then, let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)
Years ago, Nellie was teaching a Sunday school class with small children. One of the boys in her class excitedly starting yelling,, "Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! Get the classroom clean!" My wife smiled and wondered what he was looking at, and so she also looked out the second floor window of the classroom and she saw that I was coming towards the building. She relayed the story to me and we both laughed; one of the few times I have been mistaken for Jesus! But we had already noted that a lot of the children did refer to me as Jesus since I was the one usually in the robe preaching up front.
The writer of the epistle is also excited about Jesus' return. He is a firm believer in what we say every time we celebrate Holy Communion. "Christ is dead. Christ is risen. Christ will come again." And indeed, that is our faith. The writer's reminder is for us to continue strong and active in our faith. At no point can we comfortably say, "I"ve done all I can, this is as ready as I'm going to be." The right statement even on our death bed should be, "Lord, what more can I do?" The required dress for our work as believers? He says the assurance of faith as our breastplate, for indeed most of our work is warfare against the devil, and the helmet of salvation. Paul intended this to mean that our every thought should be protected by the assurance of our salvation before the Lord. With a helmet of salvation, no evil thought or temptation should enter it. We should never let our guard down, for our enemy is strong.
Notice how important encouragement is to the believer. Most think that ministry or good works done for the Lord should go unnoticed or unthanked, but the opposite is true; share a word of thanks or encouragement for those who labor among us. Have you thanked your Sunday school teacher? Your choir director? Organist/pianist? Your pastor? Your associate pastor? Your ushers? These merit a word of thanks for what they do, so they can continue doing more and doing it with joy.
PRAYER: Loving Father, for those who labor among us, thank You! May I express my encouragement to them as soon as I can. May I also be encouraged to stay strong in my battle against evil and temptation. I want my faith made stronger, and the conviction of my right standing (salvation) with You to be ever in my mind. This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Say thanks or good job to someone serving the Lord today!
Eradio Valverde
