Read 1 & 2 Thessalonians
Back in the mid 1970’s there was a morning like no other! My dad was in Southern CA, fighting a Forest Fire for the US Forest Service, my older brother was gone spending the night with friends, while my younger brother was spending the week with my grandfather in Oregon. I remember very vividly waking up and I could not find my mom. I looked through every room in the house and she was nowhere to be seen. At this stage, I was in panic-mode thinking back to my Sunday School class when we talked about Jesus and the “Rapture”. I was scared, that I did not make the cut! I go out to the garage, then to the front yard and still no mom. By this time I am in a full sprint; rounding the side yard headed for the backyard and garden (Mom loved working in the garden the early summer mornings). At this point, my mind and heart were chasing each other with each step. All the while in the back of my mind, I was thinking I missed the “Rapture” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). As I took a second lap around our property, I finally saw my mom in the chicken coop gathering eggs.
As we dig into 1st & 2nd Thessalonians, we will see Paul speaking to the new believers at the Church in Thessalonica as he repeatedly points back to God’s faithfulness and lists truths from his letters regarding end times and Christ’s second coming. Imagine Paul being a Pharisee, persecuting Christians, then he meets God’s Spirit on the road to Damascus, and finally almost single handily leads the church westward and writes two/thirds of the New Testament, including our two books: 1st & 2nd Thessalonians.
One of the coolest things that we can pull away here is how Paul continually encourages the members of the Church in Thessalonica to persevere through the suffering and painful persecution going on (2 Thessalonians 1:3-12).
So…as we begin our day today, here are three things we can do:
1) Be thankful that we have a Savior in Christ Jesus.
2) Encourage one another, just as Paul encouraged the early church.
3) Remember the persecution of those in the world, who are being persecuted and offer up a prayer sometime during the day.
- Doug Miller serves as the Go! Project Coordinator at Adventure Church
