SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/9/2014
10:21 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The
Incentive of Harmony
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2
Thessalonians 3:11-13
Message of the
verses: “11 For we hear that some
among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons
we command and exhort in
the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. 13
But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.”
Paul has spent a lot of time trying to teach the
Thessalonians that all who are able to work should be doing so. It is not told to us how Paul got the message
that there are still some who are not willing to work. We know from the first letter that Paul got
his information from Timothy who had visited this church, but perhaps Paul was
sent a letter about this situation or someone traveled from Thessalonica to
Corinth to tell him about this situation.
The phrase “doing no work at all, but action like
busybodies” is a play on works in the Greek language according to John
MacArthur who writes “Paul says they were not ergazomenous, but periergazomenous;
‘not busy, but busybodies.’ Not content
with refusing to work productively, they used their unoccupied time to wander
around interfering in the lives of other in the church (1 Tim. 5:13). The nonworkers were an irritant, creating
disunity and discord by being a burden on those who did work. That was beginning to affect the loving
harmony and effective witness of the assembly of faith.”
These nonworkers were being strongly commanded in the
name of Jesus Christ, and also gently exhorted to work so that they could lead
productive lives and not be a burden to others who were in the church. Paul tells them “to work in quiet fashion and
eat their own bread.” The message puts
it this way for verse 12: “This must not
be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately—no excuses, no
arguments—and earn their own keep.”
Paul encourages the rest of the church to not be
discouraged, or grow weary of doing good.
No Paul knows that this could happen because they had to feed the ones
who were not working and also they may have been bragging about the fact that
they did not have to work and were being fed from those who were working. I have seen this actually happen from people
on welfare in country, and this is one of the things that is bringing our
country down and into bankruptcy. Paul
did not want discord to happen in the church so he encourages those who were
doing right to continue to do right. Now
remember those who are unable to work must be taken care of by those who are
able to work. We see a picture of this
in the early church from the book of Acts and David writes in Psalm 37:21 “The
righteous is gracious and gives… All day long he is gracious and lends.” The following is a quote from our Lord as
seen in Luke 14:12-14 “12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited
Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or
your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also
invite you in return and that will be your repayment. 13 "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, the blind, 14 and you
will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous."”
In one of the sermons I listened on this section by John
MacArthur he stated that in today’s world that more than 90% of the people who
are out on the street begging for food are not really poor but actually making
a good living at begging. This is what
it is hard for me to give to people like this.
We all have to be wise in our helping the poor for even organizations
who are collecting money to help the poor are not all legitimate for some of
the keep much of the money to pay themselves while others keep very little or
none at all of what is collected.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: Be wise in helping the poor, but do help them.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God
is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Memory verses for the
week: 1 Peter 1:1-4.
1 Simon Peter, a
bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of
the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus
Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied
to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine
power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through
the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His
precious and magnificent promise, so that by them you may become partakers of
the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Not grudgingly, or of
necessity, but cheerfully.”
Today’s Bible
question: “What do the words Calvary and
Golgotha mean?
Answer in our next SD.
12/9/2014 11:02 AM
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