1Th 3:9 For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;
1Th 3:10 Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?
The apostle and Christ's disciples wanted to see these people in Thessalonica and yet Satan hindered them. They sent another to see them and when the person returned and brought good news to those who were hindered, they were pleased. Then this question was asked-
For what thanks can we render to God again for you? For all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our god. Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith.
Paul and the others were thanking God for those in Thessalonica. They were joyous for those in Thessalonica. Night and day they prayed exceedingly - desiring to see them again. Why? Why did they want to see them again? So that they might PERFECT that which is LACKING in their FAITH.
Faith is NOT a stagnant thing. Just as we can lose faith in each other, and just as we can gain faith in each other- the same holds true for our faith in God. Faith is the substance of things hoped for without any evidence of their existing. When I have faith in another human being I am trusting in them, I am counting on them to be what I believe them to be. When they fail to hold up to that belief I have, I lose faith in them. Now with God we have to holdfast to our faith, our belief, and we have to do so EVEN when all the things around us seem to scream that our faith is misplaced, that God isn't what we have faith in Him to be. It is SO incredibly easy to lose faith in God because Satan will stop at nothing to undermine our belief that God is holy, just, and good, faithful, and true to His every word. It is SATAN who tries to tempt us away from our faith in God. He'll do all sorts of things to chip at it, or if it meets his desired end sometimes he doesn't chip, but takes an axe to our faith and tries to destroy it in one fell swoop. Seriously, he'll do whatever works and he's not beyond chipping and hacking both if that's what it takes.
Just imagine you have a loved one who has asked you to trust them, to have faith in them and so you do. Then in comes several people each of whom give you reason after reason not to put any faith in that loved one. How easy it is once that seed of doubt is planted for it to grow. You start watching your loved one differently, you look for things that would prove the things those other people have told you. You lose that faith bit by bit because of that doubt. You know this is possible, you know how true something like this can be. How often have you been given an opinion of someone before you meet them and then you meet them and you LOOK to prove that opinion rather than form your own without bias. Situations, people, things all shape our faith in each other and we know how easy it is to lose faith in each other.
Just imagine someone whose sole purpose for existing seems to be to besmirch someone, how intense would that person be in doing so? They'd try everything and anything. Each person that had contact with that other person they'd meet and study, they'd want to know the best way to approach that person. They couldn't approach all the people in the same way but would need to take time, place, circumstances into consideration. Some people are more gullible than others, aren't they? Some are more obtuse than others. Some are hard to sway, they're very stubborn in their opinions. Each person would get a tailor made attack plan so that the person who lives to demean that other can do so each and every time, at every opportunity.
Satan lives to attack our faith in God, he hates God with a passion we can scarcely fathom. He'll do everything and anything to destroy even the smallest true bit of faith a person might have in God. So when Paul and the others desire to 'perfect the faith' other followers newer to the faith might have is it any wonder they want to them to be grounded deeply in God so that Satan can't woo them away with his seemingly endless ways of destruction.
More on this tomorrow, all by the grace of God!
In His amazing love!
1Th 3:11 Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.
1Th 3:12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
1Th 3:13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
1Th 3:10 Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?
The apostle and Christ's disciples wanted to see these people in Thessalonica and yet Satan hindered them. They sent another to see them and when the person returned and brought good news to those who were hindered, they were pleased. Then this question was asked-
For what thanks can we render to God again for you? For all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our god. Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith.
Paul and the others were thanking God for those in Thessalonica. They were joyous for those in Thessalonica. Night and day they prayed exceedingly - desiring to see them again. Why? Why did they want to see them again? So that they might PERFECT that which is LACKING in their FAITH.
Faith is NOT a stagnant thing. Just as we can lose faith in each other, and just as we can gain faith in each other- the same holds true for our faith in God. Faith is the substance of things hoped for without any evidence of their existing. When I have faith in another human being I am trusting in them, I am counting on them to be what I believe them to be. When they fail to hold up to that belief I have, I lose faith in them. Now with God we have to holdfast to our faith, our belief, and we have to do so EVEN when all the things around us seem to scream that our faith is misplaced, that God isn't what we have faith in Him to be. It is SO incredibly easy to lose faith in God because Satan will stop at nothing to undermine our belief that God is holy, just, and good, faithful, and true to His every word. It is SATAN who tries to tempt us away from our faith in God. He'll do all sorts of things to chip at it, or if it meets his desired end sometimes he doesn't chip, but takes an axe to our faith and tries to destroy it in one fell swoop. Seriously, he'll do whatever works and he's not beyond chipping and hacking both if that's what it takes.
Just imagine you have a loved one who has asked you to trust them, to have faith in them and so you do. Then in comes several people each of whom give you reason after reason not to put any faith in that loved one. How easy it is once that seed of doubt is planted for it to grow. You start watching your loved one differently, you look for things that would prove the things those other people have told you. You lose that faith bit by bit because of that doubt. You know this is possible, you know how true something like this can be. How often have you been given an opinion of someone before you meet them and then you meet them and you LOOK to prove that opinion rather than form your own without bias. Situations, people, things all shape our faith in each other and we know how easy it is to lose faith in each other.
Just imagine someone whose sole purpose for existing seems to be to besmirch someone, how intense would that person be in doing so? They'd try everything and anything. Each person that had contact with that other person they'd meet and study, they'd want to know the best way to approach that person. They couldn't approach all the people in the same way but would need to take time, place, circumstances into consideration. Some people are more gullible than others, aren't they? Some are more obtuse than others. Some are hard to sway, they're very stubborn in their opinions. Each person would get a tailor made attack plan so that the person who lives to demean that other can do so each and every time, at every opportunity.
Satan lives to attack our faith in God, he hates God with a passion we can scarcely fathom. He'll do everything and anything to destroy even the smallest true bit of faith a person might have in God. So when Paul and the others desire to 'perfect the faith' other followers newer to the faith might have is it any wonder they want to them to be grounded deeply in God so that Satan can't woo them away with his seemingly endless ways of destruction.
More on this tomorrow, all by the grace of God!
In His amazing love!
1Th 3:11 Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.
1Th 3:12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
1Th 3:13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
No comments:
Post a Comment