The Nobody Commentary

Writing Again Because I Should

2009-02-12T06:50:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Ben played a biographical sermon about David Brainard by John Piper. In the Q&A afterward, Piper encouraged everyone to write, write, write. Brainard spend much of his time doing three things: reading the bible, praying, and writing about what he was learning. What's strange is that we don't have any of his books. We just know of the impact he had on others, like Jonathan Edwards.

So, I am going to start writing again. I want to pray/write about what I'm reading in my daily reading plan. The reading is often enough to fill the time, but when there is extra time left, I'm going to write again. It will sharpen my thoughts, clarify my ideas, and hopefully inspire my life.

2008-10-01T07:24:00.002-04:00

Gospel Passage
Romans 3:21-26 - Righteousness Apart from the Law

Offerings that Cost Me Nothing

2008-08-06T06:43:00.003-04:00

from 2 Samuel 24:24

"But the king said to Araunah, No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver."

David decided in his heart that his offering to end the wrath of God against his people could not be one that cost him nothing. This is a striking moment in the story.

But what has happened so far?

Israel was continuing to sin against God, leading God to anger.
God incited David to sin by not stopping him from counting the people of Israel.
David sinned in pride and power, trying to count his people and assess his strength and majesty. He wanted to claim for himself what was rightly God's.
God punished Israel as a result of David's sin, killing 70,000 men by the plague.
Then, as David went to offer the sacrifice that would appease God's wrath, he insisted that it cost him something.

Destruction, Returning, and Flight

2008-05-24T07:28:00.003-04:00

Joshua 10
God commanded Joshua to destroy all the nations that he displaced from the land. That was one bloody time. The men, the women, even the children, dead. Would our God do such a thing? I suppose, yes, given that he is more concerned about his glory than he is about anything else.

Isaiah 14
God does not let Israel's oppressors maintain power over them forever. Eventually "Babylon" will be destroyed.

1 Timothy 6
Flee wealth. It is the source of much evil.

Ai, Exaltation

2008-05-22T07:19:00.004-04:00

Joshua 8
Once Joshua cleansed the evil from among the people of Israel, he was able to defeat the people of Ai.

Isaiah 12
Drink deep from the well of salvation.

Purification, Peace, and Work

2008-05-21T07:07:00.004-04:00

Joshua 7
God purified the Israelites from the sin in their midst. He did so violently and publicly, for the sake of his name.

Isaiah 11
I can't wait for the peace that God promises here. And in the most important way I don't have to wait. I get to experience that peace in my own heart through Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3
Avoid idleness. Work quietly and earn your own living. Pray that God would work in others like he's worked in you.

Stones and Peace

2008-05-19T20:11:00.004-04:00

Joshua 3-4
God stops the Jordan river from flowing, so that the Israelites can pass over on dry land. On the way, God commands them to pick up stones to remember their passage, to remember his miracle. I love the purpose of the stones:

For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.

Isaiah 9
The power and influence of the coming Messiah would completely overturn every exile, and his government and peace would never end.

Courage, Prophecy, and Repentance

2008-05-17T08:48:00.003-04:00

Joshua 1
When God commands Joshua to take the land, he says, "Be strong and courageous". When God reminds Joshua to obey all the commands he gave Moses, he says, "Be strong and very courageous." Might it take more courage to obey God than to conquer nations?

Isaiah 7
This includes the prophecy of the child who will be born of the virgin. How did the Jews know that this was referring to the Christ, and not only to the present time? Or did the disciples only realize this later, when it was fulfilled?

1 Thessalonians 1, 2
God's work in the lives of the Thessalonians still amazes me. They went from persecuted to world-wide example of repentance in moments.

God's Residence, Pride, and a Deaf Rome

2008-05-12T15:04:00.004-04:00

Deuteronomy 30
The commands of God are not too hard. For God's word is very near me, in my mouth and in my heart. Thanks to God, who has given us His Holy Spirit to reside in us.

Isaiah 2
"For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up--and it shall be brought low." This is a scary notion for me and my country. We are so proud. We worship the makings of our hands, the creations of our self-absorbed wealth.

Acts 28
I've been encountering a convergence of messages, ideas, and references to the Isaiah passage that says people will have ears but hear and eyes but not see. I think that is probably the defining statement about the person who dies an unbeliever. They were dead from the beginning. Thankfully, I have no idea who that is, so I should continue to share the gospel given that God may open anyone's eyes and ears if he so chooses.

Cursing, Beauty, and Roman Leaders

2008-05-10T08:42:00.005-04:00

Deuteronomy 27 - "Cursed be ...." is the refrain of this chapter. God is about to bless his people with the land, but they must understanding that in the justice of God, blessing always has it's foil: the curse. Thanks be to God for Galatians 4:13: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us."

Song of Solomon 7 - The blessing of a beautiful wife is so great that only a great God could create it and only a great Savior could redeem it from sin.

Acts 23-24 - God was so purposeful in spreading his message all over the world that he used secular leaders to send Paul all the way to Rome, to Caesar, the most powerful person in the world.

Turn, Serve, Wait

2008-04-29T07:59:00.002-04:00

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

I've been reviewing over the last few weeks the response of the Thessalonians to Paul's gospel about Jesus Christ. They responded in joy even though they experienced great affliction from their unbelieving city. It seems like the faith-inspired actions of their joyful response included three things: Turn, Serve, Wait. I want to examine each of those more carefully.

Turn

you turned to God from idols

This is faith-inspired repentance, our key response to God's saving work in our lives. The Thessalonians made an about face from the old ways of idolatry. Whether our change is from bowing down to blocks of wood or addiction to the television, the key thing is not so much from what we turn, but TO whom we turn.

Serve

to serve the living and true God

Faith is more than just a mental ascent, a turning of ideas or the mind. It requires a turning of life. What do you do? Who do you serve? Those are key questions to consider when assessing the sincerity of a profession of faith and to understanding why the Thessalonians response to the gospel became so widely and highly regarded. They didn't only make a statement of belief, they served.

Wait

and to wait for his Son

He was from heaven. He died, was raised by the power of God, and ascended back into heaven. Even though the Thessalonians never saw him, they believed he was to be their deliverer. But here was the final evidence of their faith in him: when they experienced hardship and he didn't deliver immediately, they waited. They didn't abandon; they didn't run away; they didn't stop serving God, or return to their pagan ways with Jesus as just one among many gods.

Father, may we all have such faith that leads us to turn from sin to You, to serve you wholeheartedly, and to wait for your return with confidence.

Jesus' Joy in Suffering for Us

2008-04-23T08:15:00.003-04:00

My last couple posts have been on the joy of the Thessalonians and the joy of Paul in the midst of affliction. Today, I want to look at the prime example that Paul refers to in 1 Thessalonians 1:6.

Hebrews 12:1b-2 explains Jesus' joy and the effect it should have on us...

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus' joy in suffering is a little different than Paul's joy. Paul rejoiced because of the fruit of suffering in his life. Jesus had to suffer to the point of death, enduring the cross to its very end. Jesus used heaven's joy as his motivation for suffering in our place.

Jesus saw the realities of heaven so clearly that he suffered ultimately. He saw renewed fellowship with the Father, worshipping throngs of saved men and women, the apostles throwing down their crowns at his feet. He saw the martyrs who had endured to their very death, like him, by his strength.

What realities of heaven do you remember regularly? Imagine this: you will get to see your creator and savior face to face. There will be no more suffering, sickness, sadness, pain. There will be no more sin or temptation! Oh, how I look forward to that day!

And doesn't that future perfection bring such clarity and reality to today's affliction. This suffering will come to an end, and that quickly! And forever!

Paul's Joy in Affliction

2008-04-12T10:15:00.006-04:00

1 Thessalonians 1:5b-8

As a follow-up to my last post, I want to meditate a bit more fully on the idea of joy in affliction. What motivated Paul and Christ, the examples that the Thessalonians followed, to find joy in affliction? And what can I learn from their example, so that I can find joy when affliction finds me?

For the sake of time, and in order not to get too far out of 1 Thessalonians, I'll stick to the passages I referenced earlier. For Paul, I see his motivation to endure hardship with joy in Romans 5:

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Paul's joy comes from a confidence in the odd outcome of affliction: unashamed hope. How does this work?

We begin in suffering, affliction, persecution, or another challenge. How difficult those first few days or weeks are. "What is happening, God? Why me? When will it end?" God's Spirit acts and empowers us with faith for each day, but with just enough for that day, usually. Soon, though, we learn to cope, or rather we begin to endure. A Spirit-strength is building in us that makes the length or the depth of the suffering a little less relevant. We are learning to trust God, to love God, to find joy in the midst of the pain.

Nevertheless, the suffering does not end there. The affliction continues. Why? Our learning must be solidified into character. We may not yet know how to trust God as we ought. We need more faith and it needs to be deeply embedded in our mental processes, in our lifestyle, in our decision-making, in our communication, in our very soul. This could take a long time.

Here is that beautiful moment when the afflicted begin to see light in the darkness. Here the seeds of true faith begin to grow and bear fruit. Thoughts shift from "Why is this happening?" to "What is God doing in this?" to "God's doing something good here, and I'm so glad!" The Bible's promises take shape in the heart, and hope awakens. This may be a hazy hope, where the future is not yet clear, but it is also an honest hope because the goodness of God is crystal clear.

What promise can bring that clarity in the midst of suffering? Only the promise of the gospel. See verses Romans 5:1-2. The gospel is repeated in part in vs. 5: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit." Only the hope and the promise of the gospel, applied abundantly to our lives by God Himself in the Holy Spirit, could produce a life that endures suffering.

Yet the truth is that anyone who is a Christian has that Spirit living in him and can expect his help in living out this difficult truth. Praise God for his sustaining grace!

A Response that Resounds

2008-04-01T07:34:00.004-04:00

1 Thessalonians 1:5b-8

In this passage we see the powerful ripple effects of the Thessalonians' response to Paul's gospel message. Here is the account of Paul's visit from Acts 17:1-5, 10:

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ. And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd...The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.

Imagine being one of the first believers in Thessalonica. Two men come into your city teaching the message of the Christ, that he has arrived, that he suffered according to the Scriptures, died and rose from the grave. They speak with authority, honesty, wisdom, reason, and their message is accompanied by powerful signs, God's testimony of their legitimacy.

As they speak, you have a deep sense of conviction over sin, a readiness to abandon your own righteousness (which you see now is no righteousness at all), and a faith that what they are saying about Jesus is true. You believe this good news.

However, only three weeks later, your city is in an uproar and your new friends are at the center of the rumble. You, by your followership are implicated in their crimes, too. It gets so bad that they have to leave town, leaving your new church community alone to grow in this new religion.

How would you respond to this? Would you remain a Christian under these circumstances?

How did the Thessalonians respond?

...for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit... - v.6

What was the result?

...you became an example to all the believers... - v.7

What an amazing demonstration of the grace of God! How did this happen? How could they have had joy in such affliction?

you became imitators of us and of the Lord

There was what I would call an "example handoff." The Thessalonians in three short weeks learned to follow the example of their Savior and their earthly leaders.

Hebrews 12 shows how Jesus found joy:

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Romans 5 shows how Paul and his apostolic companions found joy, as their Savior did:

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

This was a mighty work of God! God must have acted in order for the Thessalonians to so quickly place such great faith in Jesus Christ. This explains more fully Paul's confidence in the gospel's effect on them and his sincere gratefulness for them.

And it didn't only affect Paul. The faith of the Thessalonians resounded throughout the world. Paul says that their response has been talked about by everyone, to the extent that they don't even have to explain it any more. Everyone already knows.

When God empowers believers to stand firm under suffering, a great witness pours out through the church and the world.

Loved and Chosen - An Impossible Combination?

2008-03-26T10:10:00.004-04:00

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5

For the last couple days, I've been studying the gospel effect, the power and the full conviction that accompany the gospel proclamation through the Holy Spirit. Today, I want to back up a little and look more closely at what this reveals about God's relationship with his people:

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you...

When we see the gospel change our lives, we can be confident of two things: God loves us and chose us.

This is an interesting combination of aspects of God's relationship with his people. God loves us. That sounds good. It's a popular notion. But "God chose us?" If he chose me, doesn't that mean he left others out? And intentionally? Is that fair?

Suddenly, we are wrapped up in the deep mysteries of God's sovereign love. We must affirm God's love for everyone, "chosen" or not.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. - John 3:16

We must also confirm that God will not finally save everyone. Some are chosen and some are not. Here's a difficult passage from Romans 9:22-24:

What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory--even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Paul seems to be implying that God's purpose in choosing some but not others is to amplify his mercy in the mind of those he does choose. Indeed, what would grace be without just punishment to compare it to?

But is it fair? If all are the same before him, why would he only choose some?

I have found one explanation very helpful. Sidenote: I cannot find the attribution for this illustration, though I've heard it referenced several times in sermons. It did not originate with me, and if anyone knows the original source, I'd be glad to rightly attribute it appropriately. I think it's from Spurgeon.

Here's the explanation, based on two ways to see the world.

The first way to see the world imagines all people clamoring at the gates of the heaven, equally unfit to enter but desirous to be under God's rule. God is there "choosing" some to enter.

The second way to see the world imagines all people "running headlong to hell" and God choosing to reach out and pluck this one and that one and this one and that one off the path to destruction.

Which worldview is more true? Romans 3:9-18 is a scathing accusation against humankind and shows that worldview 1 above is not reality.

For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Thankfully, that is not the end of Romans 3.

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. - Romans 3:22b-25

The question that remains for me is this: of all those running headlong to hell, why did God choose me?

The Gospel Effect

2008-03-21T21:23:00.005-04:00

1 Thesallonians 1:4-5a

The gospel is words. "Jesus died for sinners." That is the good news. But words can't change sinners. Only Jesus, the Word made flesh, can change them. What happens when the Word of the gospel really comes to change lives? Two things accompany the effective gospel proclamation: power and full conviction through the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the source of all effect of the gospel proclamation. When the gospel is proclaimed, and God comes in the Spirit, lives change. He both empowers the person speaking the gospel and convicts the listener by the gospel.

Power
When the Holy Spirit is working through the gospel, the person sharing it is filled with power. That power will not always manifest itself in the same way. Sometimes it is a power for bold witness, like in Acts 1:8:

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Sometimes it is the power to do signs and wonders, as in Romans 15:

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience--by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God--so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ.

But always it is a power that brings impact and authority to the words of the gospel.

One caution in relation to judging the effectiveness of a gospel proclamation: the signs of power should not be confused for the power itself. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 1:17:

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Eloquence, or the sign of empowered witness, does not make the gospel effective. Also, we see in Exodus 7:11, when Moses was doing miraculous signs to prove his message was from God,

Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts.

Even the signs of miraculous power can come from outside the power of God.

So how can you tell most accurately that the true Word has empowered the words of gospel proclamation?

Full Conviction
The second evidence of the effective gospel proclamation is the one that confirms the first. When the Holy Spirit works in the heart, there is full conviction. I would specify this as a three-part conviction:

There is conviction of sin. The gospel-affected person knows and agrees that he is a sinner and confesses specific sins.
There is conviction of inadequacy. The gospel-affected person knows and agrees that he is such a sinner that he will never be able to make himself right before God on his own.
There is conviction of Jesus' adequacy. The gospel-affected person knows, agrees, and trusts that Jesus' death and resurrection fully satisfy the wrath of God for his sin. He turns from sin and self-adequacy to faith in Jesus.

Praise God for his powerful, effective work in the hearts of sinners!

Dave's Application of 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

2008-03-20T07:10:00.000-04:00

Do I pray? How could I make my prayer life more consistent and frequent?

I do pray. And I would say I pray consistently and frequently. But my prayers are short, and they are driven by habit rather than by a sense of need. This is one evidence of the abounding self-sufficiency in my life.

I rarely am driven by thankfulness to pray to God. I almost never believe I am helpless apart from God, so I almost never even think to thank God for all he does for me each day. Sure, when I lay down at night I express my gratefulness for the highlights. But why don't I overflow with gratefulness throughout the day? Most likely it's because I am thinking primarily about myself, thinking that my people and I have everything under control.

Do I thank God for specific things he's done in other people's lives?

Within my brief prayers, I do thank God for specific things he's done in other's lives. This is especially true of my daughter. I thank God regularly for the way he works in my two-year-old Meg's heart. But I'll bet my regularity here is primarily because of my feeling of absolute helplessness. I have no idea how to be a parent. If only I understood how truly helpless I am in the rest of my life also, I think I might see improvement in this.

How has my gratefulness been misdirected? When have I thanked others but forgotten to thank God?

As I think about this question, I realize that I am frequently thanking people. I work with many volunteers each weekend, and I thank them. I depend heavily on my wife to raise our children, and I thank her (though definitely not enough). But what would happen, I ask myself, if I thanked God each and every time I thanked a person? That would revolutionize my relationship with God. I would talk to him a lot more.

What would happen if I thank God for the every person who sends me an email or calls me on the phone? For the most part, these people are doing works of faith, labors of love. Regardless of how I feel about the content of the email or phone call, I have reason to thank God for these people. This is another opportunity for me to really dig into my relationship with God, and remember to include him in my day-to-day life.

How can I express gratefulness more frequently in my prayers?

While I am very weak in the whole area of prayer, I would say that gratefulness during prayer is a relative strength. Once I actually start to pray, I often express gratefulness. I think where I need to grow most of all is in frequency and having a heart that spontaneously overflows with thankfulness.

Do I pray with thankfulness for everyone, even those who oppose or tempt me?

I don't pray for my "enemies." I don't think that is out of specific ire, but out of lack of compassion. I just don't think about them when I pray. Am I any different than a non-Christian in this? Matthew 5:44-48 says,

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

What do I most often notice about others? Does my view of others lead me to complain or to give thanks?

I have had the wonderful honor of knowing people who excel at noticing what God is doing in others and expressing gratefulness to them and to God. This is something I'd definitely want to grow in. I want to have eyes to see the best in others, the ways in which God is changing them, the things they are doing for the glory of God. And may I give thanks to God for them!

Do I look for the things Paul highlights here: works of faith, labors of love, steadfastness of hope?

As I wrote above, the looking itself is an area where I really can grow. But I appreciate these categories as specific things to consider as I look.

What is one way I could grow in grateful prayer?

Wow, to narrow this down to one is hard. I think probably the single most effective way I could grow in this is to adopt a pray for every email approach. Thank God for the message and ask God for help in responding appropriately.

Application from Paul's Example of Grateful Prayer

2008-03-14T07:40:00.002-04:00

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

Questions for Personal Application:

Do I pray? How could I make my prayer life more consistent and frequent?
Do I thank God for specific things he's done in other people's lives?
How has my gratefulness been misdirected, when I have thanked others but forgotten to thank God?
How can I express gratefulness more frequently in my prayers?
Do I pray with thankfulness for everyone, even those who oppose or tempt me?
What do I most often notice about others? Does my view of others lead me to complain or to give thanks?
Do I look for the things Paul highlights here: works of faith, labors of love, steadfastness of hope?
What is one way I could grow in grateful prayer?

The Content of Grateful Prayer

2008-03-13T19:42:00.002-04:00

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

In verse three of this short passage on grateful prayer, Paul shares with us the content of grateful prayer.

Work of Faith | Whenever someone acts out of faith in God, God should be thanked and that person encouraged. Imagine situations similar to what Gordon Stueber mentions in this comment: trial, hardship, sacrifice, uncertainty, persecution. Believing God is hard enough without trials but even harder in the midst of suffering. The Thessalonians believed in God's goodness so much that they acted out of their faith. Whenever that happens, God has done something in that person's life.

Labor of Love | If believing God is hard, loving God is even harder. It's one thing to believe that God will do you good through hardship. It is another thing to love God and love others in the midst of that hardship. Hardship can make us self-centered. Hardship can sap love for God and make our obedience motivated out of duty. But God was so strongly empowering the Thessalonians that they loved him and others in the midst of their own trials.

Steadfastness of Hope | Proverbs 13:12 says,

"A hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life."

The Thessalonians may have experienced a hope deferred, but they did not let it affect them. They remained steadfast in spite of their circumstances, and this honored the Lord. It made them worthy of his recognition through Paul's gratefulness. Indeed heart sickness is the normal state of mankind when we don't get what we want. But when God is at work in a people, He extends their stamina for hope.

Grateful Prayer

2008-03-12T06:32:00.002-04:00

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

After greeting the Thessalonian church and asking God's blessing on them, Paul expresses his personal heart for them. He loves them, and he demonstrates his love by thanking God for them. True love and affection is lived out in grateful prayer.

The Practice of Grateful Prayer

I notice a few things about Paul's practice of grateful prayer. First, he does it. He prays constantly, and he prays with thanksgiving. Do I pray? Constantly? And are my prayers filled with thanksgiving?

Second, his gratefulness has a direction. He gives thanks to God. This may seem obvious, but how many times have I said "Thanks" to someone without giving thanks to God? If I fully believed that God was working in or through them, I would also give thanks to God. And when I thank God, my gratefulness to others is more complete and more sincere.

Third, his grateful prayer is regular and frequent. He prays often, remembering the Thessalonians each time, and always with thanksgiving. Can I say the same? Do I always thank God when I pray for people? Do I always stop to think about what God is already doing in their lives? And do I then give thanks to the one who is working in them?

Fourth, he prays with gratefulness for everyone. Without a doubt, there were people in Thessalonica that Paul didn't prefer to be around. They were different than him, or they got on his nerves, or he just didn't agree with them on everything. But that did not stop Paul from thanking God for them. He found the "evidences of grace" in their lives. My former senior pastor, CJ Mahaney, preached one of the defining sermons of my life, Grace and the Adventure of Leadership, on this very topic. I need to review it!

Tomorrow, I'll look at the content of grateful prayer.

Grace and Peace, Part 2

2008-03-10T19:45:00.000-04:00

1 Thessalonians 1:1

Well, it didn't happen on Saturday. And Sundays are unfortunately hard days to have personal Bible study time for me, so here's the continuation of Grace and Peace.

Peace is our right response to God's grace.

God is always graciously at work in the lives of Christians. He provides, leads, guides, corrects, directs, and blesses. Even when God isn't doing exactly what we think would be best, the fact is this: he is doing what is best.

Because God is always on our side, working for our good, we can live in peace. We trust him, so we stop being fearful of others. We believe that challenges will be transformed into blessings, so we stop worrying. We know that God's activity will produce change in us and our circumstances, so we stop striving to control the world with our own weak efforts.

Well, that's easy to say, but it isn't that easy to do. Believing the truth about God is one of the hardest things in life. We need to be actively thinking about God's truth and actively applying to each of our daily activities.

And even more importantly, we need God to give us grace to respond to him in peace. Yep, it all comes back to God. God gives us grace to be blessed and he gives us grace to respond to him rightly.

That's why Paul includes blessings for both grace and peace in the introduction to every letter. These glorify God and they are for our good.

Let's study more in 1 Thessalonians to see what grace God offers us that will to our good, our peace, and his glory.

Grace and Peace

2008-03-07T06:52:00.000-05:00

1 Thessalonians 1:1

Paul introduces his letters with blessings of grace and peace upon his readers. In fact, he does so in every letter. Regardless of the nature of his letter, whether it is complementary or corrective, he always begins by wishing the very same thing for all his churches: grace and peace.

Why is this? I think it has to do with very nature of the Christian life. Grace is how God acts in our lives. Peace is our right response to God's grace.

Grace is how God acts in our lives.

Paul wants grace poured out on the people in his churches because it represents the activity of God in their lives. When God is gracious, he forgives, he empowers, he enlightens, he transforms, he acts for the good, he blesses.

So why not simply say, "Be blessed?" I think it points to Paul's conviction that blessings do not come apart from grace and grace isn't free. Grace is God's blessing upon those who do not deserve it. It is his blessing, in fact, upon his enemies, all of us, who sinned against him. This blessing was purchased by the death of the perfect son of God, Jesus Christ, and by nothing less or more.

Paul doesn't want us to forget that no one earns God's blessings apart from Jesus Christ. From sentence one, we are reminded that our lives of all of grace.

Tomorrow I'll write some on how peace is our right response to God's grace.