Hello everyone

It has been good to share with you the studies in Thessalonians but for the moment they will stop as I am on holiday for the next two weeks. We will return to the study on Monday 7th July 08. Please check out the rest of the website as that is updated continually.

God bless you and keep you until we chat again.

Stay close to the Lord. Remain firm in the faith and bless others with his love.

Your friend in Christ

Bob

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Hello and welcome to Wednesday’s message.

One Sunday morning, during my first ministry, a member of the congregation led the prayer of praise. This is the prayer Joyce wrote and prayed: “we pray that we continue to be blessed with preaching and teaching which reveals to us your holiness, feeds us with your truths, opens our hearts to the extent of your love and devotes our wills to serve your purposes in the freedom which comes from the Spirit of the risen Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 2:4 ‘On the contrary we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.’

Paul, Silas and Timothy were men who were not in error or acting from impure motives, verse 3, but men who were servants of God. They were men who had been tested by God and found to be worthy of his trust. The phrase, ‘we speak’ about God, shows they preached regularly and with his guidance. They do not speak to win approval of men but of God. They do not ‘tickle’ the ears of their listeners with words they want to hear, no, they bring the gospel of Jesus that will challenge the listeners about their spiritual state in the light of God’s word.

Someone once said that ‘man is the only part of creation that blushes – or needs to.’ The light of God’s word brings to light the darkness of our sin. Any preacher will want to share the mantle of Paul’s when it comes to his honesty before God. Preaching regularly is demanding enough and the only way to stay ‘on message’ is on our knees before the throne of grace. God will use anyone to preach his word and his word will accomplish all that he sends it forth to do.

If you are preacher may God bless your preaching so that he is glorified and the fellowship is built up on his word. If you listen to people preaching may you be blessed and your faith deepened and may God be glorified as you live out his word in your life.

God bless you this day.

Bob

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Hello and welcome to Tuesday’s message.

One message the bible speaks is that God knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. He knows what we are about to say before we say it. We are, to God, an open book. How does that make you feel? …………….. Is God a spiritual CCTV camera observing each of our movements or a spy satellite dish checking us out from afar? The other possibility is that God loves us so much that he only wants the best for us? If God wants the best for us, as seen through the life of Jesus, how will you live now?

Today’s scripture reading is 1 Thessalonians 2:3 ‘For the appeal we make did not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.’
In this verse Paul is refuting the Thessalonians’ claim that their interest was in some form of profit and not in the message of God they were bringing. There are three points that Paul now makes.

1. They, Paul, Silas and Timothy, were not in error, they were not wrong. How could the message of God be wrong?

2. Their intentions were not impure. They were being accused of some form of immorality such cult prostitution.

3. The preachers were not trying to trick them by deception.

Paul knows that God sees the motives of his heart and that he wants to live his life as an open book before the God his preachers about. Paul was a man of faith and a man of integrity in bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to Thessalonica and elsewhere.

Let us learn from Paul that purity is power for God uses a clean heart to break down the walls of sin.

God be with you this day in your living and the sharing of his word.

Bob

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Hello and welcome to Monday’s message.

I hope you had a good day at church yesterday.

Please read 1 Thessalonians 2:2 ………….

Reflection: In what areas of your faith-life do you need to be strengthened? How do you deal with opposition to your Christian faith? Ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen you for today. …….

Do people at work and home know you are a Christian? Do you make a stand over calls to join in non-Christian language, action and work practices? When you do what is the reaction of those around you? Do you feel isolated, laughed at and ignored? Have you lost friends because of your Christian faith?

Being a Christian can be tough and for Paul, Silas and Timothy it was in Thessalonica and previously in Philippi. Yet, in spite of the opposition and beatings, they preached the gospel with great effect and some people took Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. They had an inner strength that came from the Holy Spirit as they lived out the purpose of God in their lives.

I have found over the years that in the places I have worked gentleness and humour helped me in communicating the gospel. When people know what you stand for, but that you are approachable, you will find that people will share their troubles with you. This gives you opportunities in which to share the gospel.

Over the years I developed a strategy. I would be punctual, smart in appearance and hard working in my jobs. I would pray for my colleagues at home in my prayer time asking God to speak to them through me. I would be careful not to join in gossip or bad language just to be ‘in’ with people. I found this strategy worked and that over the year’s people shared with me some deep hurts. I always honoured their confidences and trust.

Whether you have a job or not seek to honour the Lord in all you do and he will bless you. Take time now to ask God to fill your heart with his love for all that you have to do today.

God bless you

Bob

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Hello and welcome to Sunday’s message.

I pray that you will have a blessed time of worship today and that you will encourage the brothers and sisters in Christ in their faith.

Please read 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. We will be studying the chapter this week. …….

Our passage today is 1 Thessalonians 2:1 ‘You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.’

Paul calls the Christians in Thessalonica to witnesses to the fact that their visit was a success. He begins the sentence with the word ‘you,’ referring to the Thessalonians Christians. These Christians will testify that the work of Paul, Silas and Timothy fulfilled all expectations. Paul is confident that the Christian fellowship in Thessalonica will refute any claims that they came on a ‘jolly,’ that is, for a holiday. These three men were sent to Thessalonica by God to carry out a mission and to that end their stay ‘was not a failure.’ The word ‘failure’ here means ‘empty’ inferring an aimless pursuit, when in fact Paul and his companions had a successful mission.

How is your mission going? What do you feel you are achieving for God in the place he has set you to live at this time. Would you say you were being successful for God, moderately successful for God or after reading this you will go back to bed?

We are all set in the places will live to serve God and we should do that daily. D. Bonheoffer was prepared to lay down his life for the gospel as were Paul, Silas and Timothy. Are we prepared to do the same? Paul was facing opposition in Thessalonica but he overcame it because his life was ‘caught up’ in Christ’s. Nothing can stand against God’s will and in our day we need to learn that and live it!

Go for God today.

Bob

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