Study to be quiet & Hope in death

Th 4:11  And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
1Th 4:12  That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.


Strive, labor, study-- to be quiet.

All too often we are caught up in babbling, aren't we? Talking but really saying nothing. Sure it might seem like we are saying an awful lot and probably about a lot of things, but seriously, how often are we talking about God and God's way, about Jesus and His way, about salvation and eternal life? How often? Could someone accuse you of speaking to much about God? We go day in and day out talking to others but unless religion is our actual profession, how much of that talking is about eternal matters? We really do have a lot to say about nothing, don't we? And when I say nothing I mean nothing that is of any real consequence when it is measured to eternity.  When we spend a lot of time not being quiet, and not doing our own business but minding the business of others we have no reason to be minding then we are not doing God's work. God would have us support ourselves as much as we are able to, not relying others to support us as we meddle in their business.  Do some people make a habit, a living out of meddling and mooching? Sure, but that isn't God's way at all, that isn't walking honestly, that isn't  revealing God to those around you, it's revealing something sinister.

Christians aren't truly God's followers if they follow a corrupted path. I can claim to be a Christian, a Christ believer, a Christ follower, but I'm not really one at all if I do not live as Christ commands.  If I live in a manner that if far from Christ's, how can I say I am His? I could, but it'd be a lie.  The truth is God would have us look inward at our own faults before we ever meddle in another's.  God would have us be givers, not takers, not users.  I'm not saying there is never a need to accept the help of others, but that should be the exception to the rule.  I'm also not saying there aren't people who have to be dependent upon others because of physical or mental infirmities, but those who are fully capable of living otherwise yet choose to spend their life purposefully being bothersome, meddlesome, relying on others to provide for them are not following God's will. 

Truly we lack nothing if we strive to do our own business, quietly, humbly, working to provide for ourselves and not to be a burden on others.

1Th 4:13  But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

We aren't to be ignorant about those who sleep.  He's not talking about sleep-sleep, that much is very obvious. You don't sorrow over someone sleeping. It's another way of saying- dead. Remember Jesus telling His disciples that Lazarus was sleeping? He had to explain that He meant  dead, not sleeping as in a good night's sleep, or a healing sleep.  Paul hear is telling those in Thessalonica that he doesn't want them to be ignorant, he wants them to know the truth about death. Unlike the popular belief today that we go right to the next world-heaven or hell- upon death these people we under the belief that death was just the end, that everything ended there, you were in the grave where you rotted into dust and then were nothing, finished completely, no hope for anything further.  Most of us who have lost loved ones can't stand the thought that death truly means the end of it all- hence the misconception that we immediately switch to another plane of existence.  It's natural not to want to lose someone close to us, it's natural to want to hope for something more for them. But unless we believe there is a life after death of some sort there is absolutely no hope, right?

Listen to what Paul had to say--

1Th 4:14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

There is hope.
There is an eventual life after death.

Those who die in Jesus will God bring with Him, and those who are alive when the Lord comes again cannot stop those who have died in Jesus from living again. 

We have hope.

We all have hope, but only in Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR. We cannot wake ourselves from death's sleep and we cannot wake up anyone else from death's sleep.  Yes, back in the days of the apostles there were miracles of bring the dead back to life, but it wasn't a wide scale practice. Not everyone that died was brought back, it was at the Lord's discretion, for His purpose.

More on this tomorrow all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ!

All in HIS love!

God has called us to holiness

1Th 4:6  That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
1Th 4:7  For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

Defrauding someone.  We live in a world where defrauding people is extremely commonplace. In fact we like to pat each other on the back when we get away with cheating someone or cheating the 'system'. We think it's wonderful when we can get ahead 'creatively tweaking' the rules to do so. We've made it an art to be able to get into the system and then sneak around it. Daily you hear about such defrauding and it no longer shocks us.  So many sins no longer shock us. Defrauding someone is a sin and yet we barely flinch at it. Our own government which was originally put in place to protect the every day non-political person from tyranny and such has excused huge corporations for their fraud, they've slapped them on the wrists and sent them to the corner for awhile, but real sweeping punishment is elusive. The government itself is filled with those who defraud others. This is a sad, sad world we live in and those who would follow Christ won't defraud others and they won't approve of others doing so either.

The LORD avenges those who are defrauded, the LORD'S wrath will punish the unrepentant sinner for every sin, even those we have labeled acceptable in today's world.

We are NOT called to uncleanness.  We are not called to be impure in our lives in any way. We ARE called to holiness.

So why then do we fill our lives with so much that is geared towards promoting impurity in us and those around us? Why do we excuse impurity? Why do we call impurity good and harmless? Why? 

Why can't we realize we are called to holiness? Why can't this be real to us?  It's real to some people, but to the majority they wouldn't know where to begin even imagining a call to holiness, true holiness found in Christ and NOT themselves. There are a lot of people who believe they are called to egotistical greatness, and some even seem to obtain the greatness they are striving for, but it's a worldly, unclean greatness and it's far from holy.

We are called to holiness, we are called to be Christ's, to live for Christ who was pure in all things, holy in all things.

1Th 4:8  He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

When we reject the call to holiness, when we despise the truth and the goodness found in a true love for one another, a true love that would never have us defrauding one another- when we do these things we are despising GOD, we are rejecting GOD. We might think we are only behaving on a superficial level that doesn't affect our relationship with God, but the truth is, every time we hurt one another in ANY way we are hurting our God.  God who has given us His HOLY SPIRIT, that Holy Spirit is despised when we shun God's truths and sin willfully, knowingly, desiring to encourage the uncleanness in our lives.  Is it any wonder Satan has control of the majority of people? Too many refuse the truth that is found in our Savior, preferring their own brand of truths that accommodate their many, many sins.

1Th 4:9  But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
1Th 4:10  And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

We are taught of GOD to LOVE ONE ANOTHER- no one should have to teach us this because GOD has taught us. We cannot stop loving one another at the church door, at the door to the family home, we cannot stop loving one another and loving more and more every day.  We cannot ever get to a point where we can say that's enough, I've loved enough people, I can't love any more.  Maybe your resources and how you reveal that love might disappear, but taking away all material things you can still choose to love someone even if it's only by praying for them, by feeling compassion, by giving a kind word, a tiny smile, by letting your heart feel.

We can never stop loving, but rather we need our love to increase more and more. By the grace of God alone this is possible. Through the Holy Spirit alone are we able to do this. It is CHRIST'S love that we have to give and our Savior has an endless supply of love for those who desire to be loved by Him.

Please LORD, please help us as we live in this sin-sick world. Don't let us become immune to the sinfulness of sin. Don't let us ever call evil good, and good evil. Please LORD help us to love one another more and more, help us Lord to love YOU as you would have us love you in holiness and not uncleanness.

Please Lord help us, save us.

All praise, all glory, all honor unto You LORD, always!

The will of God

1Th 4:1  Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to PLEASE GOD, so ye would abound more and more.
1Th 4:2  For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
1Th 4:3  For this is the WILL OF GOD, even your SANCTIFICATION, that ye should abstain from FORNICATION...

Webster's Definition--

'Fornication
FORNICA'TION, n. [L. fornicatio.]

1. The incontinence or lewdness of unmarried persons, male or female; also, the criminal conversation of a married man with an unmarried woman.

2. Adultery. Mat 5.

3. Incest. 1 Cor 5.

4. Idolatry; a forsaking of the true God, and worshipping of idols. 2 Chr 21. Rev 19.'


1Th 4:4  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
1Th 4:5  Not in the lust of CONSUPISCENCE, even as the Gentiles which know not God

CONSUPISCENCE-

'For Christians, concupiscence refers to what they understand as the orientation, inclination or innate tendency of human beings to long for fleshly appetites, often associated with a desire to do things which are proscribed.'

Pasted from

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ABSTAIN-  meaning do NOT do.

FORNICATION'S various meanings…

Do NOT have sexual contact if you're not married.
Do NOT have sexual contact if married with someone unmarried.
Do NOT have sexual contact with someone who is married, unless you are married to them.
Do NOT have sexual contact with your relatives.
Do NOT commit idolatry.
Do NOT forsake GOD.
Do NOT worship idols- false gods.

What does sexual contact represent?  The PHYSICAL, self-serving, self-pleasure seeking desires, lusts that are very real for people. These physical desires can seem overwhelming, right? Most people have experienced them, most adults know what it means to have sexual desires.

We are told by Paul -

1Co 7:2  Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
1Co 7:3  Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
1Co 7:4  The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
1Co 7:5  Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
1Co 7:6  But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
1Co 7:7  For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
1Co 7:8  I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
1Co 7:9  But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.


To avoid fornication we are to marry.  To avoid getting caught up in  that self-serving, self-pleasure seeking we are to marry.

Why is it wrong to indulge in sexual activity outside of marriage?

Marriage is a symbol of God and His Church- the Bride and the Bridegroom. 

When man was made he was created alone without a counterpart, but then God realized it wasn't good for man to be alone. God wasn't a flesh creature and he wanted the creatures that we were to know a oneness that would truly symbolize the joy in being one with God. Man lost that ability to understand the oneness of God when sin entered the world and self became more important than God, than others. The oneness they now could experience could be pleasurable but nothing on the scale of sinless oneness.  The oneness would be perverted into self-serving, self-pleasing.

God created mankind for a reason, we are HIS, we are to WORSHIP Him, we are HIS, we belong to HIM. Without God we are not whole, we were made only to be whole in GOD.  The Bridegroom and the Bride- two becoming one.

God created man and woman symbolic of God and mankind.

This amazing symbolic oneness is so seldom seen for what it truly is, and is mostly, almost exclusively known for self-gratification- even self-gratification in being able to give pleasure to another making you feel proud of yourself for that ability. Sex became self-serving. When a person truly comprehends the sanctity of sexual contact then and only then can they begin to comprehend why succumbing to the desire for sexual contact outside of an established union made under a covenant before God is so abhorrent to God.

The oneness it symbolizes- the Bridegroom and the Bride- God and His church(His people)- is so incredibly important we can hardly understand. 

When we fornicate it symbolically represents our choosing self over God. We are choosing to separate ourselves from God when we fornicate. But how many people actually realize this? How many people even care as long as their quest for pleasure is being satisfied? So what if it's a symbol, that's all nonsense isn't it? That's all fairy tales and crazy thinking, right? It's become that because Satan doesn't want us to think there is anything more to sex than the pleasure it brings- to give and to get. And he doesn't want us to deny ourselves any pleasure, right?

Why aren't we to fornicate? Because fornicating is truly separating ourselves from God and His love.

Yes, we feel physical desires and in their proper context, in their proper union, in their proper commitment, before God, those desires are good things.

When we are drawn away of our own LUST and that LUST is conceived, the act committed to fully, we sin- we separate ourselves from God.  If we do NOT repent and find forgiveness in our Savior who alone can bridge the gap of that separation, we will only find in the end eternal death.

Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Jas 1:15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

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1Th 4:4  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
1Th 4:5  Not in the lust of CONSUPISCENCE, even as the Gentiles which know not God

We need to know how to possess ourselves in sanctification and honor- living towards the holiness of God as God has revealed to us over and over.

We must not live in the lust of trying to fulfill our flesh desires, and many, many do, day after day they live only to please themselves and their desires in the many, many forms they take.  Those who do NOT worship God, those who do not care to worship God, those who choose to live to self, those who choose to live to false gods will be caught up in the lusts of the flesh.  Don't let people confuse you either- many will seem godly when inside they are rotten to the core- God knows, God knows it all.

The men who were supposed to be the godly men of Jesus' day were told this by Jesus--

Mat 23:27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
Mat 23:28  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

They were like whited sepulchres - beautiful on the outside!

But inside they were FULL of dead men's bones!

People will often appear to be godly, but they aren't. We can't judge them though, we just have to realize that God is the judge and know that we have only ourselves to deal with and our own actions before God. The reason I even bring the fact up that there are those who appear godly but aren't is because even those who are supposedly celibate- having no sexual contact with others- could be caught up in something else deadly. It's keeping ourselves from any and all things that would take us from God, that would separate us from God no matter what it is!

Please Lord help us to comprehend, help us to understand all we need to understand. Please Lord let the Holy Spirit guide us into full knowledge of Your truths and lead us Lord, lead us in YOUR way everlasting. Keep us from our selfishness in ALL its forms! Help us to be more and more like You, all through the grace and LOVE of Your Son Jesus Christ our LORD, our SAVIOR!

The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another

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?
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.

The LORD MAKE YOU to INCREASE and ABOUND in LOVE ONE TOWARD ANOTHER--
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.

The Lord MAKE you to INCREASE and ABOUND in LOVE towards each other.

Do you think people lack love for one another? Real love? I'm not talking about the 'being in love' love, but LOVE, general love for one another, do you think people lack this? I know I think they do because I know I'm not anywhere near as loving to others as I believe I should be.

Love.

Love is God. God is Love.

Love is SELFLESS.

Are we in general selfless?  No.

Love is caring and kind.

Are we in general caring and kind? No.

We are indifferent and self-serving. We exist and think that our goals whatever they may be- going to the store, going to work, going to school, going for a walk, whatever it is we might do we do it with the intention of being able to without any hassle, without any bother. We get it in our heads how things are supposed to be and then when things don't turn out that way- you get a flat tire, you wake up sick to your stomach, you get extra homework, you find construction being done on a sidewalk- things happen and we take it as a personal affront, it's so easy to do. When others call us to help them we might do so, but is it truly with happiness or simply out of a sense of obligation. When you say the words- 'Happy to help.' Are you really happy to be helping? When someone asks you to do things that interfere with your ability to do the things that you have planned- whatever they are, even if they are just relaxing- do you resent their asking? Why are we like this? Why are we so indifferent and self-serving?

We believe we exist to please ourselves. We believe we exist to make our lives as easy and unencumbered as possible. We lack love, we lack REAL love, the selfless love.

Is it any wonder that the Apostle told this in Thessalonica that it was His desire that the Lord MAKE you to INCREASE and ABOUND in love towards one another?

We NEED to increase and abound in love towards one another, we need this so desperately. We need the LORD to MAKE us increase and abound in love toward one another.  We need this from the Lord because the natural man, the flesh that seems to rule us, rebels against such love. We need to love and to do so with God's love- a selfless love, a true love.

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.

We need our hearts established.
We need our hearts to be unblameable.
We need our hearts to be in holiness.

We need our hearts to be made new, to be made clean so that we may stand before God at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. 

Psa 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

1Pe 1:22  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently

We need our Lord Jesus Christ in us, we need HIS righteousness, we need HIS love, we need the Holy Spirit to be with us as we seek our Savior and to live as He would have us live-  loving one another.

All by the grace of God and only by the grace of God is this possible!

Please Lord, make us to love one another, establish our hearts unblameable in holiness before God the Father at Your coming with all Your saints!


All in You LORD, all in YOU!

Perfect that which is lacking in your faith

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.

Sent to know your faith

1Th 3:3  That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.
1Th 3:4  For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.
1Th 3:5  For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.

We are appointed to afflictions.
We will suffer tribulations.

These are facts. The followers of Christ do NOT walk an easy path and if they think they should they haven't read their Bibles. 

Men get it in their head that things ought to be peaceful and wonderful, everyone should get along here and now on earth but our LORD even says this--

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

How do those who cry out for peace explain that verse and the following?

Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

We are NOT going to have it easy, yet many of us do, don't we? Many of us live peaceful lives for the most part and aren't experiencing tribulations.  But we are only a small minority in a huge world and in that huge world there are many countries where being a follower of Christ is very dangerous and anything but peaceful.  Because we aren't personally touched by this we live in a bubble that keeps us from realizing fully that the words of Christ then are still relevant to us today.

When Paul was writing to those who had heard the gospel and had become followers of Christ, born again unto our Savior, He wanted them to know that things wouldn't be easy, and they weren't.

1Th 3:3  That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.
1Th 3:4  For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.
1Th 3:5  For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.

He was worried that Satan would sneak in and steal away those who wanted to be Christ's. The tempter- tempting you.  That's what He does best. Satan will tempt us with all sorts of things, in fact anything he can tempt us with in order to steal our faith away. We have to help others who face the tempter, and pray for help for ourselves, because we aren't immune to the trials and tribulations, the temptations that will come and have come to man since sin entered the world.

By the grace of God may we keep our FAITH.  Please LORD, help us, save us, keep us!

Satan hindered us

1Th 2:17  But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.
1Th 2:18  Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.
1Th 2:19  For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
1Th 2:20  For ye are our glory and joy.

But SATAN hindered us.

Was Satan real to the Apostles? Undoubtedly.

Did Satan personally reveal himself to the Apostles and stand in their way, preventing them from getting to those in Thessalonica? I doubt it. But Satan manipulates circumstances using those who are His- both human and fallen angel.  There is a being, an angelic being, albeit fallen, that exists and he is not a fairy tale baddie.   He is real and he confronted Jesus face to face upon earth in the wilderness. Remember?

Mat 4:1  Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Mat 4:2  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Mat 4:3  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Mat 4:5  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
Mat 4:6  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Mat 4:7  Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Mat 4:10  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Mat 4:11  Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Does this sound like a fake figment of someone's imagination? If you believe that then you obviously cannot believe in God or Jesus. 

Satan is real.  Jesus was REALLY tempted. He was SPOKEN to by the tempter, He was TAKEN by the devil- physically taken and SET on a pinnacle of the temple. He was then TAKEN physically by devil to an EXCEEDING HIGH MOUNTAIN and then given a VISION by the devil.

This was real and Satan is real. Jesus believed this, He knew Satan from the beginning when Lucifer the son of the morning was created an angel and He knew when Lucifer's heart was lifted up.

Eze 28:17  Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness

Jesus knew this fallen angel, the father of sin, the created being who chose to disobey, the being who turned his back on love and let self serving begin.  Jesus knew Satan, before He - Jesus -set aside His divinity and took on human flesh becoming Emmanuel, God with us- the Son of God in human form. Jesus knew Satan because Satan was the reason for His consenting to take on humanity. Jesus had to make that ULTIMATE sacrifice because Lucifer sinned.  So, yes, the DEVIL, SATAN, SERPENT, ACCUSER, EVIL ONE, is REAL, a real being, a real entity.

Jesus could come face to face with Him because Satan couldn't trick Jesus, he couldn't deceive Jesus in any way at all. 

Why doesn't Satan appear to us? Because He knows that revealing His true self to us would drive us straight into the arms of our Savior. Satan knows that as long as he keeps up his great façade that people will fall under his deceptive spell. Remember, He didn't appear as himself in the garden of Eden when tempting Eve to sin, he took on the form of a serpent.  Do you suppose if he had confronted her in his angelic form she might have questioned right off why he was speaking contrary to God? That just seeing him would have instilled further in her the need to keep close to God, to obey God?

If Satan appeared to us in his angelic form he could transform himself into an angel of light, right? So it wouldn't be so entirely awful, but there again, it's him TRANSFORMING himself.  If he has to transform himself into something beautiful it stands to reason that he no longer possesses that beautiful form he once held in heaven as one of God's covering cherubim's.

As an angel he can appear invisibly, or take on other forms, we know this, these are facts. With these facts at our disposal why don't we live as if Satan and one-third of the heavenly angels that fell with him are real? Why? Why do we insist upon living as if all the evil in the world is simply that of man's creation and instigation? Why have we regulated Satan's activities as being man's and only man's? Why have we changed the real fact of demon possession into man's madness? Why have we taken all the soothsayers, the witches, the astrologers and  regulated them as mere human kooks? All these things that very real have been twisted into fairy tales and fantasy, and even been made to be desirable, when in truth they are evil and of Satan.  People will tell you they believe in psychics and then go on to say how wonderful they are, honest and loving. Are they telling you the truth, yes. Because we've been conditioned to believe that evil is good, all under Satan's guiding hand. If you try to call evil- evil then you are the one who ends up appearing evil. Picking on that harmless, wonderful, tender hearted, kind, giving, loving person by calling their special gift evil, why that makes you the big baddie.  Do you see how Satan has deceived people and the majority of society? He wants a lot of his minions to be loving, seemingly even God-fearing if it helps, kind, wonderful, the most caring ever, the most selfless people, because if he has them right where he wants them it keeps up the illusion that his evil is good.

When Paul wrote- 'Satan hindered us.'   he meant it! He meant that Satan literally had a hand in keeping them from going to these people. Why didn't He say, it wasn't God's will that we see you at this time? Because Paul knew that the things that were taking place to keep them from visiting were of the evil one.  We can say it still wasn't God's will or it would have happened, but it wasn't God's will that evil exist and it isn't His will that the results of evil are so horrific. We could go all the way back to the beginning if need be and talk about the power of choice being the revelation of love but most of you who have followed my blog know this already, for those of you who haven't followed my blog, well it's all in there.

It's not God's will that innocent children die.  He allows things to happen because to do otherwise is to take the power of choice from existence and that's something He cannot do. We have to trust that all the evil that affects the truly innocent will be ultimately punished in the day of God's wrath.  Do we get to comprehend everything? No, not right now. We see through a glass darkly and everyone knows that looking into a dark glass you can only see so much. But one day we'll see clearly.

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

I do know that Satan hindered Paul, as Satan hinders many, many people today- the majority in fact and he does so through masterful deception. All but God's very elect will be deceived. We must pray unceasingly that we are among His elect by HIS amazing grace, by HIS righteousness.  When Satan is hindering us from doing God's work, may our eyes be opened to the reality of the evil One and the power he possesses and wants to use against us, and in seeing this may we fix our eyes upon Jesus getting ever closer to our Savior.

1Th 2:19  For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
1Th 2:20  For ye are our glory and joy.

Our hope is to be in the presence of our LORD JESUS CHRIST at HIS coming!
Our hope is for all those we pray for and witness to, will also be in the presence of the LORD JESUS CHRIST at HIS coming as well!
It was Christ's hope, His joy, His glory, His rejoicing that we should be HIS and this is our hope that all are HIS. We can hope, we must hope, and leave the judging to the Righteous Judges- Jesus Christ, and God the Father in heaven.

All by HIS LOVE! His amazing love!