hotcoffee
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1 Thessalonians 1:2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
I stumbled onto a new commentary.
When Paul and his friends pray, they remember three things about these Christians. These are their *faith, their love and their hope. What they believed had an effect on how they lived. They did good things because they loved other people. They were strong because they had a hope in the *Lord Jesus.
When Paul and his friends spoke about the good news of Jesus, these Thessalonians accepted it as true. They gave themselves to God and trusted him for their lives. The result of this was that they changed the way that they lived. All the people could see that they had changed. They were different from what they had been before. This change was sure evidence of the *faith that they had in God.
They loved God for what he, in his love, had done for them by the *Lord Jesus. Their love for God showed itself in love for other people. Because of this, they wanted to share the love of God with them. So they worked hard. They spread the good news about Jesus. And they did all that they could to help those in need. All that they did was evidence of their love both for God and for other people.
We often use the word ‘hope’ where there is a doubt. We do not know whether what we hope for will happen. The Christian hope is not like that. Christian hope is to be certain about something. God has said that something will happen. And we are certain that it will happen. He has promised that Jesus Christ will come again to this earth. The Christian hope looks forward to that time. This hope gives them strength, courage and patience to live while they wait for Christ to come.
Those who did not believe in the *Lord Jesus attacked these Christians. But they overcame in all the troubles because their hope in the *Lord was firm.
They loved God for what he, in his love, had done for them by the *Lord Jesus. Their love for God showed itself in love for other people. Because of this, they wanted to share the love of God with them. So they worked hard. They spread the good news about Jesus. And they did all that they could to help those in need. All that they did was evidence of their love both for God and for other people.
We often use the word ‘hope’ where there is a doubt. We do not know whether what we hope for will happen. The Christian hope is not like that. Christian hope is to be certain about something. God has said that something will happen. And we are certain that it will happen. He has promised that Jesus Christ will come again to this earth. The Christian hope looks forward to that time. This hope gives them strength, courage and patience to live while they wait for Christ to come.
Those who did not believe in the *Lord Jesus attacked these Christians. But they overcame in all the troubles because their hope in the *Lord was firm.
There's something different about Christians. Other Christians can recognize them. It's in everything they do or say. It's in the way they look at other people. Think about it....
Back in these times, being a Christian brought more persecution that we go through now. Instead of being ridiculed on line for believing The Word and standing fast for our Faith, Christians had been pulled out of our homes and beat in the streets until dead. It was for the good of the Jewish tradition. Those Pharisees and Sadducees of the Temple saw those who believed that Jesus is the Messiah as the terrorists of the day. Paul had been one of those soldiers who murdered Christians. Silas and Timothy had seen it up close and personal. I'm sure they had experienced a near miss of their own.
Throughout the history of the Jewish tribes, the prophets told about the coming of a Messiah. This Messiah would be born in a specific place. This Messiah would say and do certain things. Right down to riding a young donkey on a specific day on a specific road.... every single prophetic verse had been fulfilled right in front of the eyes of these people or their family.
The prophecies had been fulfilled. God is good for His word. Christians saw that and they believed on solid eyewitness accounts. Now there is a new prophecy, a new promise, that Christ will return. The Christians of Thessalonica didn't hope the prophecy would come true, they knew it would come true. It changed them.
So when Paul, Silas, and Timothy thought about the Christians in Thessalonica, no doubt they felt it in their heart.
I'm sure it must have been like knowing that a child you taught Bible Verses to, years ago, is praying for you.
