1 Thessalonians 1:8-10

1 Thessalonians 1:8-10

For the Word of the Lord sounded forth from you all not only in Macedonia and Achaia but also in every place your faithfulness to God has gone out so much so that we do not have any need to say anything.  For they themselves report about the welcome we had from you all and how you all turned to God from the idols to serve the God who lives and who is true and to wait for His Son out of heaven whom He raised out of the dead: Jesus, who rescued us out of wrath that is coming.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

How do you know that life is lived as a witness?  Your life is a witness when people can tell you your story without you telling it to them.  Your life is a witness when people can tell you your opinion without you having to say it.  One of my favorite places in the discipleship process is when someone comes to me with a question and they answer their own question with things that they’ve heard me say before.  It isn’t a favorite place for me because it is all about me.  It is a favorite place for me because it shows that the disciple has successfully learned and imitated.  They have assimilated whatever godly aspect to which they were drawn.  What that happens, that means that the disciple is approaching maturity in that area and capable of going out and making disciples of their own in that area.  That is the place of great fruit in the Lord.  That is exactly what Paul is telling the Thessalonians here.  Their life has become a true witness.  They are not just disciples of Paul who are learning about Jesus.  They are full blown mature disciples reflecting Jesus all on their own.

Where is your faith mature and reflecting into the lives of others?  What aspects of mature faith are you transmitting into the lives of others that they can repeat without you saying anything to them?

Second Thought:

In the midst of praising the witness of the Thessalonians, we get an opportunity to hear Paul talk about God.  I always find it interesting to study what other people say about God.  In this passage we hear that God is living and He is capable of raising people out of the dead.  This is profound because it speaks to the circumstance of Paul.  Everywhere that Paul goes he is persecuted, arrested, tried, threatened, and beaten.  What would a person in those circumstances focus upon?  Of course they would focus upon a God who lives eternally and who can conquer death!  What we say about God speaks volumes about where we are in our own life.

What do you say about God the most often?  How does that reflect where you are in your life and your ministry?

Third Thought:

Paul also reminds us that Jesus is able to save us from the coming wrath.  In other words, God will get the last say.  God will have the last word.  God will bring the world into judgment.  But Jesus has rescued us from that fate.  That is a past tense verb.  The rescuing is done and complete.  We are rescued.  In Christ we do not have to fear judgment.  We will certainly be held accountable, but we need not fear judgment.  We are pardoned in spite of our guilt.

When do you need to be reminded of your pardon from sin?  Why should this evoke both feelings of guilt and gratitude?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2