The Pastor's Protectiveness Toward His People from 1 Thess. 3:5

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/30/2014 9:02 AM

My Worship Time                                    Focus:  The Pastor’s Protectiveness Toward His People

Bible Reading & Meditation                                            Reference:  1 Thessalonians 3:5

            Message of the verses:  “5 For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.”

            Paul actually repeats himself in this verse for he had written something similar in verses one and two of this chapter.  He is again saying that he could endure it no longer and has to send Timothy.  We cans see the heart that Paul has for his children in the Lord from Thessalonica.  He cared deeply for them and wanted to find out how they had endured through the persecution that had come to them from both the Jews and also from Gentiles too.  I remember something that happened in the church that I attended for 32 years of which 17 of those years we had a wonderful Pastor that I truly loved in the Lord.  There was a woman in our church who was a bit past middle age and to my knowledge had never been married.  We noticed that a man now was sitting with her and eventually they got serious and were married.  We were all happy for this lady who probably though she would never get married.  A little while later they decided to leave our church and go to a church that was not associated with ours and this actually broke the heart of our Pastor because the church they went to did not actually believe in salvation alone through Jesus Christ, but also added works.  My point in all of this is that because our Pastor had a great love for this couple as he did for all those who attended there wanted to protect this couple, but the tempter tempted them and therefore they left.

            In the fairly famous teaching of Acts chapter twenty Paul told the Ephesian elders that they would soon have people attack their church from both the inside and outside and it would fall.  Paul cared for all of the churches God allowed him to start and the Ephesian church were no acceptation. He would write to the Corinthians “Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches (2 Cor. 11:28).”  I am sure that when Paul was growing up and studying to be a Pharisee that he would have no idea how God would use him.

            John MacArthur writes the following on how Satan might have tempted this church:  “To do that, the devil uses three basic approaches.  His first assault is to prevent people from believing:  ‘The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.’  (2 Cor. 4:4).  If he cannot do that , his second assult is to destroy someone’s initial interest in the gospel:  ‘The one on whom seed was swon on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word immediately he falls away’ (Matt. 13:20-21).  Finally, if he cannot stop them from embracing the gospel, Satan strives to weaken the faith of those who do believe:  ‘but I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ’ (2 Cor. 11:3; cf. 1 Cor. 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:11; 3:14-15; James 1:12-18; 1 Peter 5:8).”

            Paul sent Timothy to the church at Thessalonica to find out if their teaching had been in vain, and this word means empty, void, pointless, or for nothing.”  As we continue to study this chapter we will see that this church did not fall to the temptations that Satan was trying to give them.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful to the Lord for leading my wife and I to a church that has a pastor who is loving and who also is protective of those he is ministering too.  Our pastor is a very emotional person who will cry much, especially when someone has just gotten saved or someone has a great testimony, and for this I am thankful to the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will give us safety in our travels as our vacation is not over and it is time to go back home.  We have seventeen hours of travel to accomplish in the next two days and the weather is not suppose to be that great as we travel home.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Her brother” (Gen. 24:29).

Today’s Bible question:  “What was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/30/2014 9:45 AM

The Pastor's compassion of his People (1 Thess. 3:2b-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/29/2014 9:42 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                Focus:  The Pastor’s Compassion for his People   

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Thessaloians 3:2b-4

            Message of the verses:  “to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, 3 so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. 4 For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know.”

            There are many things packed into this short portion of Scripture.  First of all I want to think about Timothy, for it was Timothy that Paul sent back to Thessalonica in order to strengthen the believers faith and to encourage them in the Lord.  Timothy became a believer during Paul’s second missionary trip and Paul saw something in him that he wanted to take him along on the journey.  Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith and I am sure that this was a great privilege and joy for Timothy to be part of Paul’s men who went with Paul to spread the gospel.  Dr. Wiersbe calls both Timothy and Titus Paul’s “special agents.” 

            It was Paul’s practice to go back to the churches that he began to see how they were getting along and how they were growing in the Lord, but Paul could not go back to Thessalonica because of the effort of Satan to stop him, so he sent Timothy.  We saw in the last section that Timothy was a minister, and this word comes from the root word that “deacon” comes from.  We also saw that Timothy was a person who was a worker with God, but he also was a worker with Paul also as he was a good team player.  Yes Timothy was the right person to go to the Thessalonians to strengthen their faith and also to encourage these believers.  I remember a few years back that I was listening to a series of messages from Dr. David Jeremiah on the subject of encouragement and he stated in one of those messages that when we encourage someone it is like pouring courage into them.  This was part of Timothy’s assignment that he was sent onto accomplish.  The word faith is seen five times in chapter three, (vs. 2, 5, 6, 7).  John MacArthur writes “This is not the faith (cf. Jude 3) that is the body of gospel truths, but the Thessalonians’ belief in it.”

            Now Paul writes about persecution in this section also and he writes that he told them that both he and they would have persecution, and we have mentioned this subject before, but worth repeating here since Paul writes more about the subject.  Jesus also said that persecution would come upon those who believed in Him and thus it came upon those at Thessalonica.  Paul wanted to prepare them for this so that when it came they would be ready for it, and this was one of the reasons that he sent Timothy to them to see how they were doing.          MacArthur writes:  “Paul knew they faced and could be disturbed by certain afflictions (pressure, tests of faith in suffering).  The verb rendered would be disturbed (sainesthai) originally designated the wagging of a dog’s tail, but through the years it came to mean, ‘to allure, fascinate, flatter, or beguile.’  When a dog wags its tail, it often does so to draw attention to itself and gain something it wants.  Hence saino, the root verb of sainesthai, latter referred to a person who tried to flatter or beguile other people.  Paul did not want anyone to lure the Thessalonians away from the truth in that manner, because they had been made vulnerable by persecution and suffering.” 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  We have had the privilege to live in a country that has not experienced persecution up until now, but when we look on the horizon we can see that it is not too far off.  My prayer is that I will stand true to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the even this happens in my lifetime.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Be jealous for my Lord.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Judges.”

Today’s Bible question:  “What relationship was Rebekah to Laban?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/29/2014 10:38 AM

The Pastor's Sacrifice for His People (1 Thess. 3:1b-2a)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/28/2014 9:18 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  The Pastor’s Sacrifice for his People

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Thessalonians 3:1b-2a

            Message of the verses:  we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ,”

            As I was reading the commentary that Warren Wiersbe wrote on the first verse in chapter three he focused in on the word “left” and has this to say about it.  “The word translated ‘left’ in 1 Thessalonians 3:1 means ‘to leave loved ones at death.’  In 1 Thessalonians 2:17 he said that he felt ‘orphaned’ from his friends in Thessalonica, and the Greek word can also mean ‘bereaved.’  Paul was not a ‘hireling shepherd’ who abandoned the sheep when there was danger (John 10:12-13).  To leave these new believers was like an experience of bereavement.”  I mentioned in yesterday’s SD that these kinds of feelings that Paul had for these people had to be of the Lord, and this surely demonstrated how God had changed the life of Paul from when he was known as Saul of Tarsus.  When I was working at my regular job a long time ago we had to listen to a motivational speaker who said that after so many years, something like 8-10 years that a person will not be able to change.  I surely disagreed with this in my mind as I knew that I was 26 years old when the Lord saved me and that changed my life forever.  Paul’s life was surely changed by the Lord for God told Ananias “11 And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight." 13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake’ (Acts 9:11-16).”  We read about the suffering that Paul did for the Lord all throughout the book of Acts, but he also mentioned it in 1 Thessalonians and also in 2 Corinthians.  Paul truly did sacrifice many things for the people he ministered to, and he did this because of the great love that he has for his people.  John MacArthur writes “Strong affection always leads to sacrifice.  Love gives itself away for its object.  Selfless commitment to meet other’s needs is the measure of true care for others.” 

            We can see Paul’s love for the believers at Thessalonica by sending his best person to them, that being Timothy.  He could not come himself as we learned in the last chapter, but he had to know how these precious new believers were doing so he was left alone at Athens as seen in Acts chapter seventeen. 

            Paul not only called Timothy his brother in the Lord, but also “God’s fellow worker” and in some translations it is translated “minister.”  John MacArthur writes “That is a startling truth—that a man could be a fellow worker with the Holy One.  He worked with God because he, as Paul, faithfully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.”  He goes on to say that we see three times in 1 Thessalonians that we read “the Gospel of God” “because God provided it in and through Christ.” 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Being “God’s fellow worker” comes with much responsibility, but even more to be worthy of being called this is truly amazing to me.  This should be the desire of every believer, to be used of God to advance the cause of Christ.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To be called a fellow worker with God.

Memory verse for the week:  Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Josiah” (2 Kings 23:29).

Today’s Bible question:  “In which book is this statement found ‘In those days there was no king in Israel:  every man did which was right in his own eyes’?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/28/2014 10:06 AM

 

           

           

:Paul's Concern and Affection for the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 3:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/27/2014 9:58 AM

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  Paul’s Concern and Affection for Them

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Thessalonians 3:1a

            Message of the verse:  As we begin to look at the third chapter of 1 Thessalonians it is a good time take a little review of the first two chapters and then look ahead of what we will be looking at in chapter three.  Warren Wiersbe writes “The first two chapters, Paul explained how the church was born and matured.  Now he dealt with the next step in maturity:  how the church was to stand.  The key word in this chapter is established (1 Thessalonians 3:2, 13).  The key thought is expressed in 1 Thessalonians 3:8: ‘For no we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.”

            John MacArthur writes:  “Anyone who serves the church as a pastor or elder realizes that the scriptural requirements for his service are high.  He also knows he must understand the important issues of what a pastor does, says, is, and feels.  In chapters 1-2 of this epistle, Paul’s words reveal the true concerns of a pastor (1:2-3, 5; 2:2-4, 5-7, 9-11,13).  As earlier noted, coming through his inspired pen are some of the pastoral attitudes Paul had for the church; he was thankful for them (1:2; 2:;13); he appreciated their testimony (1:3); he was encouraged by what he heard about them (1:9); he loved them (2:8); and he longed to be with them (2:17-20).  Here as he recorded matters related to Timothy and himself, in connection with the church, he opened his heart even more as he expressed concerns for them in a much more focused and specific way.  His forced separation from the Thessalonians seemed to intensify his pastoral concern for them.  Paul’s narrative implies seven elements of his exemplary pastor’s heart:  affection for his people, sacrifice for them, compassion for them, protectiveness toward them, delight in seeing them, gratitude for them, and intercession for them.”  Now what MacArthur writes here as far as a preview is from the first ten verses of the third chapter. 

            “1 Therefore when we could endure it no longer,”  I remember hearing a pastor early in my new found faith in the Lord Jesus Christ say “what is the therefore, therefore.”  We want to answer that question by saying a couple of things.  First of all the chapters and verses as far as where they appear in the Bible are not inspired, the text of course is, but not where the chapter breaks are of where the verse breaks are.  This being said it may have been better to have verses 17-20 appear in chapter three for that is where Paul is going back to when he uses the word therefore.  “17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while-in person, not in spirit-were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. 18 For we wanted to come to you I, Paul, more than once-and yet Satan hindered us. 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy.  1 Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, 3 so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. 4 For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.”  When you look at chapter 2:17-3:5 it seems to fit together better than seeing a chapter break in it.

            We can see the great love that Paul has for this very young (in the Lord) church.  I think that as one looks at this they can see the supernatural love that God puts into believers.  I have read that when believers go to different countries where they cannot speak the language and of the people there, and when they meet other believers there is a bond between them.  Paul never laid eyes on these people a few months before he wrote this letter to them and yet we can see how great a love he has for them.  This is supernatural as far as I am concerned.  I remember when my father was dying in 2001 I had to come to Florida to be with him and with the rest of my family and I was listening to a Christian radio station where they had a contest on and I called in the answer and it was right and I was to win a CD.  I went to the station to pick it up and was greeted with a hug from the lady who gave me the CD.  I never meet her before in my life, but this woman could feel the pain that I was going through and because we were believers we had a special bond that people who are not believes could ever understand.  Paul knew a lot about this bond, and it shows in the letter he writes to the Thessalonians.  Now of course we know that Paul was not only an evangelist, but also a Pastor, and John MacArthur writes the following on this subject:  “A man with a true and faithful pastoral heart is not concerned about his success or his reputation; nor is he preoccupied with his own trials.  Rather, he is deeply concerned with the spiritual condition of his people, for whom he will suffer and rejoice with an unflagging affection.  Paul exhibited that kind of spiritual care no matter what the response was.  He wrote to the Corinthians, ‘I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls.  If I love you more, am I to be loved less?’  (2 Cor. 12:15 cf. 2:12-13; 11:28-29).”

            We will look at the rest of this verse, God willing, in our next SD.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, (Gal. 5:22).”  But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Cor. 13:13).”  “"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).”  1Jo 3:10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. 1Jo 4:16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.  No one can love with the kind of love that God is unless he is born from above.  There are many more verses to show that goes along with this subject, but as we look at these verses we know that Paul had that agape love for the Thessalonians, and I am to have that kind of love for fellow believers too.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Love others because God first loved me.

Memory verse for the week:  Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Ai” (Joshua 7:5).

Today’s Bible question:  “What king of Judah was killed in battle by Pharaoh-Nechoh?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/27/2014 11:00 AM

More from 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/26/2014 8:56 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  More from 1 Thess. 2:19-20

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

            Message of the verses:  “19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy. 

            John MacArthur entitles this section in his commentary “Paul’s Anticipation of Christ’s Return.”  I have mentioned in earlier SD’s that the return of Christ is mentioned in every chapter of both first and second Thessalonians.  Now when Christ’s return is mentioned it does not necessarily talk always about the rapture that he explains in chapter four, but as we learned in the first chapter when His return is mentioned that that referenced His second return to earth as described in Revelations chapter nineteen.  My thought for verse 19 is that Paul is speaking about the rapture of the Church.

            When we began to look at verses 17-20 we learned that John MacArthur broke up these verses into different ways in which we learn of Paul’s relationship with the Thessalonian believers.  Today’s SD deals with the third of Paul’s relationship with the believers that are the anticipation of Christ’s return.  This is a great motivation for his ministering and it is also for us as believers today.  Just think how wonderful it will be when we get to heaven and see people there that we have had the privilege to lead to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Paul says that this was his glory and crown, and we spoke about crowns in yesterday’s SD.  If one thinks about Paul’s question here when he asks “who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation one may think that the answer to that question would be the Lord Jesus Christ, but that is not how Paul answers this rhetorical question.  Rhetorical questions are not usually answered in the Scriptures, but perhaps it is because one would think of a different answer than Paul gives here that is why he answered it. 

            Next I will write a quote from John MacArthur about something that I did not understand before reading this quote as he compares the believers hope with a parable that Jesus gave in Luke 16, the parable of the unjust steward.  “The believer’s hope of such reward is in part what Jesus in His parable of the unjust steward alluded to:  ‘Make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwelling’ (Luke 16:19).  Even as the unbelieving steward or manager used his master’s resources to purchase earthly friends, Christ said believers should use the resources their Master provides to bring people to salvation. Whether or not believers know those people now as friends they will know them in glory as friends forever and as sources of eternal joy.”  That parable has always been somewhat of a mystery to me.

            One more quote from MacArthur and we will be done with this section:  “Coming is the important New Testament word parousia, ‘presence,’ which in the majority of its occurrences has an eschatological meaning (1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thess. 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 1:8-9; James 5:7-8; 2 Peter 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28).  Sometimes it refers to the time after the Tribulation when Christ returns to establish His millennial kingdom (Matt. 24:3, 27, 37, and 39).  However in 1 Thessalonians parousia refers more specifically to the Rapture  because Paul was writing to believers whom he knew were already waiting for Jesus to return from heaven (1 Thess. 1:10).  In addition to the present verse, this epistle uses parousia three other times to denote the Rapture (3:13; 4:15, 5:23).”  Earlier in this SD I mentioned that in 1:10 that it was referring to the second coming of Christ, and I have to admit that was in error. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Again we see the importance of being a witness for our Lord in telling others how they can receive eternal life.  I did make an acquaintance with while playing golf and prayed that the Holy Spirit would give me an opportunity to talk to him about the Lord, however nothing happened and this was a great disappointment to me.  Perhaps today He will give me a divine appointment.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will give me more divine appointments, perhaps even today.

Memory verse for the week:  Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jesus.”  (Luke 18:16)

Today’s Bible question:  “Where did Israel suffer defeat because of Achan’s sin?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/26/2014 9:56 AM

Paul Talks about Believer's Rewards from 1 Thess. 2:19-20

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/25/2014 9:00 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Paul talks about Believer’s Rewards

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 Thess. 2:19-20

             Message of the verses:  As I began to read the two different commentaries on this section, one from John MacArthur, and one from Warren Wiersbe I decided to make two different Spiritual Diaries on these two verses.  I will quote from Warren Wiersbe’s commentary in this Spiritual Diary and then look at the verses through the eyes of John MacArthur in our next Spiritual Diary.  I left for Cape Canaveral Florida on the last day of March and my wife flew down the next day so that we could get away from the cold weather in Ohio for a while.  I intended to bring my commentary on the book of Jeremiah with me but forgot it and that is one reason why I have taken most of this month looking at 1 Thessalonians chapter two.  Our month in the sun is almost over and so when we get back to Ohio I will then, Lord willing, go back to looking at the book of Jeremiah along with looking at the third chapter of 1 Thessalonians.  I am glad for the break of just looking at the Old Testament, as I have been studying it since December 30, 2005.  I felt very strongly that God wanted me to study 1 Thessalonians as a secondary study that I have been doing since first looking at the book of Mark in December of 2011.  After that my secondary book was the book of Daniel, and now I am looking at 1 Thessalonians to be followed by 2 Thessalonians.  Whether or not I get through a chapter each month is very doubtful as this study is more intense than that of Mark and Daniel.  We will see how it works out, but for now we will continue to look at the second chapter and then move into the third chapter until I get home and then pick up Jeremiah again. 

            “19  For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? 20  For you are our glory and joy.”

            Dr. Wiersbe points out that it is not a sure thing that Paul is speaking about rewards from these two verses, but it is a good time to look at the rewards that believers can obtain while in the body living on planet earth.  Perhaps the subject of rewards comes from the games that were played in the different cities during the life time of the Apostle Paul.  He uses this metaphor in several of his letters as he talks about crowns that fade away as opposed to crowns that will last.  My view on crowns is that once a person becomes a believer they are given different gifts to accomplish the things that God has called for them to accomplish.  Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  My belief from the teaching of the Scriptures is that all believers are to use the gifts that God has given them for the cause of Christ and if we yield to the Holy Spirit to have Him work through us to accomplish these works that the Father has given us to do then we will receive rewards for them and one day after the Lord returns and all believers come to the Lambs Supper in heaven we who have crowns will through them down at His feet because we realize that if it were not for Christ we would not have been able to receive these crowns.  Now with this said I believe that all believers are to be witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ telling unbelievers that Christ died for their sins and that they must accept this gift of salvation in order to be saved and to begin their eternal life and then go to heaven to be with the Lord either at the Rapture of when the Lord calls you home through death, or as Paul’s describe it as sleep.

            Dr. Wiersbe in describing the soul winners crown writes “There is a special joy and reward for the soul winner (Dan. 12:3),”  “"Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.’”

            He goes on to write:  “There is also a crown for the believer who subdues his body and keeps it controlled for the glory of God (1 Cor. 9:24-27).   Self-control s produced by the Spirit (Gal. 5:23).  Since our bodies are God’s temples, we must be careful not to defile them.  The ultimate in giving the body to God is dying for His sake; and for this there is a crown (Rev. 2:10).  Those who lovingly look for Chris’s appearing will receive the ‘crown of righteousness’ (2 Timothy 4:8).  The faithful pastor can anticipate the ‘crown of glory’ (1 Peter 5:4).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can think of nothing that can make me happier than to lead someone to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  It is with great joy that I tell others about the way of salvation.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I desire to have the opportunity to tell someone about how they can spend eternal life with Jesus Christ today:  A divine appointment.

Memory verse for the week:  Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;  and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Comfort one another with these words.”

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘Suffer little children to come unto me?’”

Answer in our next SD.

4/25/2014 10:17 AM

 

 

 

 

 

Paul Knows his Enemy (1 Thessalonians 2:18b)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/24/2014 9:40 AM

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  Paul Knows his Enemy

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 Thess. 2:18b

            Message of the verses:  “and yet Satan hindered us.”

            I am not sure how much we have looked at the activities of Satan in the SD’s that I have posted, but let just say this:  Satan is a real being who was the first being that ever sinned against God.  He is a created being that fell, and pride was his sin as we read about his fall in two places in the OT.  “13 “But you said in your heart, ’I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14 ’I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High’ (Isaiah 14:13-14).”  The prophet Ezekiel also speaks of his fall in chapter 28 and verses 1-10.  Ezekiel speaks about the leader of Tyre, but actually is speaking of Satan.

            John MacArthur begins his commentary on this section with these words: “A second reality that Paul understood well in his ministry and relationship with the Thessalonians was that he faced satanic opposition.  He had the spiritual discernment and understanding to realize that God has allowed Satan to oppose the kingdom of God in a variety of ways.  Scripture mentions many of them:  the devil tempted Christ (Matt. 4:3-10); he opposes the gospel (Matt. 13:19; 2 Cor. 4:4); he performs counterfeit miracles (Ex. 7:11; Acts 8:9-24; 13:8; cf. 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 16:14); he seeks to deceive believers (2 Cor. 11:3, 14; Eph. 6:11); he perpetrates lies and murders (1 Kings 22:22; John 8:44); he attacks individual churches (Acts 5:1-11; Rev. 2:9, 13, 24; 3:9); and he especially attacks spiritual leaders (Job 1:6-2:8; Luke 22:31-23; 2 Cor. 12:7-9; 1 Tim. 3:7).  The New Testament reports that he was present at the churches of Jerusalem (Acts 5:1-10), Corinth (2 Cor. 2:1-11), Ephesus (1 Tim. 3:6-7), Smyrna (Rev. 2:9-10), Pergamum (2:13), Thyatira (2:24), and Philadelphia (3:9).”

            Perhaps this is a good time to talk about the many books that are out on the market today that speak of people going to heaven and then returning.  I have read several of these books, and my conclusion is that perhaps these books are being used by the enemy to, at least take believers minds off of the things that they should be studying.  I have heard John MacArthur speak briefly about these books and his opinion is that they are not real, and I have to agree with this.

            We will end this portion of this SD by talking about the word hindered.  Warren Wiersbe writes “Paul made every effort possible to return to them, though Satan was ‘breaking up the road and putting up obstacles’ (literal meaning of ‘hindered’ in 1 Thess. 2:18).”  Paul does not mention how Satan was hindering him, but he knew that he was.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One of the first times that I got to speak in a church service was when my wife and I were living in Aruba.  God had given me a message a few months earlier and the message that He gave to me was on the spiritual battle that we as believers face.  My computer had a virus in it and my son-in-law came to help me with it.  As he was doing this I began to think about how we can take measures to help stop a computer of getting a virus and this I equated in a Spiritual way in our battle with our enemy, Satan.  An example having a program on your computer that will help stop a virus, an anti virus program and this would equate with putting on the spiritual armor in the morning.  There are other things we can do like to know our Bible which tells us how we are being opposed by the enemy.  One thing for sure is that Satan was tempted and attacked by Satan and so will believers.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Put on the Spiritual Armor as described in Ephesians chapter six.

Memory verse for the week:  Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Because he will be filled” (Luke 2:21).

Today’s Bible question:  “According to 1 Thessalonians 4:18 what should Christians do concerning His coming?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/24/2014 10:32 AM

Paul's Love for the Thessalonians from 1 Thess. 2:17-18a.

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/23/2014 9:26 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Paul’s Love for the Thessalonians

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:1 Thessalonians 2:17-18a

            Message of the verses:  In the two commentaries that I am following to aid me in my study of 1 Thessalonians one of them, John MacArthur’s commentary begins a new chapter for these three verses, while Warren Wiersbe’s does not.  MacArthur entitles his chapter “Out of Site, but not Out of Mind.”  As you read through these three verses you can surely understand how he came up with that title.  I want to quote a paragraph from his introductory comments on this chapter as it meant a lot to me when I read it.  “Conflict between people persists in spite of all human effort to mitigate it.  Some reports estimate that ninety percent of the people who fail in their life’s vocation do so because they cannot get along properly with other people.  Ultimately, job failure usually has little connection with ability or even performance.  Instead, such failure often stems from an inability to be unselfish and to understand and care about the concerns of others.  People may be well trained and highly skilled in a technical or professional field, but they are a liability in the workplace if they are self-centered.  Likewise, the most academically well-prepared pastor can be a liability in the church if he does not seek to sacrificially love and serve his people.”  We know from our study of 1 Thessalonians that Paul was not like that, but Paul had a great love for all of the people that he ministered too.  You can search his letters to the churches he wrote to and find out that he had a great love for all of them. 

            As we begin this short paragraph it is not too hard to understand that there were some of Paul’s enemies who were telling those in the Thessalonian church that Paul deserted them and that he had no feelings for them at all.  This surely is not the truth, for we know from the 17^th chapter of Acts why Paul and his companions had to leave.  They were run out of town. 

            John MacArthur sets up what he is going to cover in this chapter of his book by writing the following:  “In this paragraph, the apostle focuses on how deeply he cared for the Thessalonians by explaining three elements of his relationship to them:  his desire to be with them, his understanding of his spiritual enemies, and his anticipation of eternal reward.”   We will look at the first one in Today’s SD.

            “17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while-in person, not in spirit-were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. 18 For we wanted to come to you I, Paul, more than once-”

            Warren Wiersbe writes about Paul’s way of thinking as he dealt with what happened to cause him to have to leave Thessalonica.  “In times of trouble and testing, it is important that we take the long view of things.  Paul lived in the future tense, as well as in the present.  His actions were governed by what God would do in the future.  He knew that Jesus Christ would return and reward him for his faithful ministry; and on that day, the saints from Thessalonica would bring glory to God and joy to Paul’s heart.  As the familiar song says, ‘It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus.’”  This is truly a great attitude to have when facing times of trouble.

            It was because of the enemy that Paul had to leave Thessalonica and not because he desired to do so.  I want to make it clear that we truly can see the attribute of God’s sovereignty in this section for it had to be the will of God for Paul and his missionary friends to leave Thessalonica even though it was painful and it was caused by the enemy.  We will look at that more in our next SD.  This was one way that Paul could understand this and as we looked at the quote from Dr. Wiersbe we can see that Paul was indeed looking ahead even though it saddened him to have to leave this church that had been established through his work only a short time before, probably on a few months. 

            As we look at the beginning of verse 17 we see these words:  “But we brethren.”  Paul is talking about himself, Silas and Timothy who had been taken away from them.  We can contrast this with the fact that the Jews were the ones who wanted them to leave.  Paul and his companions loved this small group of believers while the Jews surely did not.  I have some friends who are ministering in a country that I will not name, but they know a person there who is a believer and who makes a living from his orchard.  His neighbor saw some different believers visit him and so he burned part of his orchard because he says he hates all Christians.  This is a similar kind of persecution that happened with Paul from the Jews who lived in Thessalonica.  I have been praying for the man who is being persecuted, and also praying for the man who burned part of his orchard because he could be like Saul of Tarsus who hated Christians until the Lord saved him. My prayer is that God will do the same for him.

            The phrase having been taken away from you could be phrased having been torn away from you, for that is what this means.  Paul and his missionary friends were torn away from this new little church and it pained his heart. 

            We know from Acts seventeen that Paul’s enemies had taken him away from this church physically, but they could not take away his spirit from him to continue to pray for them and to continue to love him.  We can see in these verses that Paul truly had a great love for this little church.  We see this love stated in the phrase “were all the more eager with great desire to see your face.”  John MacArthur writes “That phrase is loaded with intensity and emotion; it was as though the apostle were short of breath with eagerness and anticipation as he expressed his desire to see the Thessalonians.  Furthermore, that aspiration was no ordinary wish.  Great desire translates polle epithumia, a general expression for any kind of dominant passion or compelling, controlling desire, and which was most often used in secular Greek to denote sexual passion. Such usage here indicates how dominant and compelling Paul’s desire was to see the collective face of the Thessalonians soon again. 

            In the first part of verse 18 we see that Paul changed from the plural “we” to the singular I, Paul.  Leon Morris states that because the plural is used many more times in the two letters to the Thessalonians when Paul uses the singular it is important.  Paul is saying here that he personally wanted to come to them more than once.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Paul writes to the Galatian church about the fruit of the Spirit and begins with the word love.  Jesus speaking to Nicodemus in John 3:16 speaks of God’s love.  The word love has different meanings and when we speak of God’s love it is the Greek word Agape.  This word means, now this is my own definition of the word, God loving us in a way we do not desire or deserve.  God giving us something that we have never asked for just because He is God and can do this. 

            God gave me salvation when that was the farthest thing from my mind and He gave it to me freely, but at a great cost to Him.  This is the kind of love that Paul had for the church at Thessalonica, and this is the kind of love that I as a believer in Jesus Christ am to give to others.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Love others with God’s love.

Memory verse for the week:  Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ live in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “The box in which the stone bearing the Ten Commandments was kept.”  (There is much more to this answer than this.)  The box held other things and it had two cherubim’s on it looking down at each other.  The box was made of shitim wood and that name of this wood can be translated as carpenter and it was overlaid with gold.  This speaks of both the humanity and deity of Jesus Christ.  On the day of Atonement the high priest would come into the holy of holies where this was located and put blood on it, for himself and also for the people.  We can see the picture of both God’s love and God’s justice through the two cherubs as God looked at sin with justice and blood as payment of those sins.  This truly pictures Jesus Christ and His offering for us on the cross.

Today’s Bible question:  “Why is a person who is hungry now blessed?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/23/2014 11:19 AM     

The Jew's Punishment in Suffering from 1 Thessalonians 2 16b

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/22/2014 9:44 AM

My Worship Time                                                        Focus:  The Jew’s Punishment in Suffering

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Thessalonians 2:16b

            Message of the verses:  “with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost.”

            This is the last SD on the main section from John MacArthur’s Commentary in which he entitles it “A People to be Sad For.”  I certainly have to agree with the title that MacArthur gave to this section, for the children of Israel have certainly gone through some very difficult times in their lives.  I can’t help but to think of the movie “Fiddler on the Roof” as that move very accurately describes the events of the children of Israel since after they were kicked out of their land in 70 AD.  Daniel chapter ten speaks to this as we see from that chapter that the problems that resulted in God taking them out of their land in 586 BC would not end when they were allowed to go back to their land 70 years later, but would last all the way up to the second coming of their Messiah.  Paul writes about what will happen to the remnant during the seven year tribulation period when he addresses the church in Rome by saying that “all Israel will be saved.”  Paul was very upset with how the Jews in Thessalonica were causing trouble for him and his missionary friends but at the same time had a deep love for the Jews.  It surely was a sad situation.

            Let me at this time use some quotes from John MacArthur’s commentary on 1 Thessalonians to help us better understand what we read in this half of verse sixteen.  Before we do that let me say that what I am about to write is very difficult to write for it has to do with the wrath of God, and although the wrath of God is a part of His attributes it is not pleasant to write about.  I think of the passage in the book of Revelations where John is told by an angel to eat a little book which will be sweet in his mouth, but very bitter when it gets to his stomach.  God’s Word has sweet things in it, and it also has bitter things in it.  To know the future according to how God has written about it in His Word is both sweet and bitter and what Paul was writing about in this half of verse sixteen was as if it had already happened, that is the wrath of God on these unbelieving Jews. 

            MacArthur writes about the phrase “always fill up the measure of their sins” literally means “They always heap up their sins to the limit.”  “There is a well-defined point at which people reach the limit of their sins.”  I have mentioned a verse in the 15^th chapter of Genesis that makes this point on several other SD’s but it surely fits in here:  “"Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.’”  God was telling Abraham that the children of Israel would come into the Promised Land after 400 years to destroy those who were now living there.  God’s wrath would be complete for these people in four hundred years.  We surely can see the “longsuffering” of God in this verse.  However His longsuffering was done with the unbelieving Jews that Paul writes about for MacArthur writes the following on the verb tense of “has come” as follows “The verb translated  has come is in the aorist tense, which affirms that Paul was so certain that divine wrath would come that he expressed the notion as if it had already occurred.  And historically, it had occurred—in the Babylonian exile (Eze. 8-11).  His expression likely includes the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, although then nearly twenty years off, and it denotes the eschatological wrath to come when Jesus returns to earth in judgment (Rev. 19).”

            MacArthur writes “Today, as in Paul’s day, the choice between God’s blessing and His cursing (cf. Deut. 28:1, 15) remains.  Those who believe and obey the Word and honor other believers by imitation their lives will persevere to eternal glory, which is good reason to be glad for them.  But those who reject the Word and hinder those who preach it will ultimately suffer eternal condemnation, which is a good reason to be sad for them.”   There is a choice to make here, and that choice is to believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and accept His forgiveness or not to believe and suffer the wrath of God.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I surely have a desire to reach as many for the Lord as He gives me the grace to reach, one soul at a time.

My Steps of Faith for Today: I pray that the Lord will bring someone onto my path today to be able to tell them about the good news of the Gospel.

Memory verse for the week:  Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; and yet it is no longer I who live, but Christ live in me; and the life which I now live I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Obadiah.”

Today’s Bible question:  “What was the Arc of the Covenant?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/22/2014 10:56 AM  

The Jews Hindrance of the Saints from 1 Thess. 2:15b-16a

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/21/2014 8:59 AM

My Worship Time                                                           Focus:  The Jews Hindrance of the Saints

Bible Reading & Meditation                                 Reference:  1 Thessalonians 2:15b-16a

            Message of the verses:  Just a reminder before we look at these verses and that is what John MacArthur wrote at the end of his introductory commentary on this section:  “Knowing that the Jews hateful attitude had not changed but rather had intensified since their original hostility in the early days at Thessalonica, Paul made a strong statement about their spiritual condition.  His statement consists of three reasons they are a people to be sad for:  they rejected God’s Word, they hindered the saints, and they faced punishment in suffering.  These three are in direct contrast to the reasons Paul was joyful over the Thessalonicans.”  We want to look at the second reason to be sad for the Jews in this Spiritual Diary.

            “They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, 16 hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved;” (1 Thessalonians 2:15b-16a).

            According to the grammar in this section we can learn that this attitude that the Jews had was habitual, and not just a onetime thing.  When we look back to the Apostle Paul before he was saved and was known by Saul of Tarsus he had this same attitude that the Jews no had, and just as His attitude was wrong in thinking that he was doing a service to God in persecuting the believers, so the Jews who were hindering the spread of the Gospel thought that they too were doing a service to the Lord.

            The statement “hostel to all men,” tell us that because the Jews hated the Gospel of Jesus Christ as they thought it was satanic and that Jesus was a counterfeit Messiah, therefore they did not want others to hear about Him.  Again they were wrong in their thinking and in their actions in not permitting the Gospel to be preached to the Thessalonians.  An example of what the Jews were doing in Thessalonica was also done in Jerusalem when we read about the Sanhedrin attempting to stop the Apostles preaching the Gospel.  (Acts 5:25-33 and then compare Acts 4:1-22; 5:17-18, 40-41)

            We will look at Acts 5:25-33:  “25 But someone came and reported to them, "The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!"  26 Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned). 27 When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us." 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must  obey God rather than men. 30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to  death by hanging Him on a cross. 31 “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him." 33 But when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and intended to kill them.”

            The Gospel of Jesus Christ truly affects people in different ways as Jesus said it would:  “33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35  "For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; 36 and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. 37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. 40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me (Matthew 10:33-40).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think back to when our country began and there was true freedom of religion, but now the tides are changing as we see our country begin to neglect the people of Israel, and we see that the Gospel cannot be spoken of in schools and that instead of believing that God created the heaves and the earth in six twenty-four days we believe that creation of the earth was on big accident.  Yes the times are changing and there is coming a day when all believes must take a stand for the Gospel as the Apostles did in the section of Acts we mentioned. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Memory verse for today:  Galatians 2:20

20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Answer to our last Bible question:  “Esau and Jacob” (Genesis 25:20-26).

Today’s Bible question:  “Name the shortest book in the Old Testament.”

Answer in our next SD.

4/21/2014 9:45 AM