| 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5
...We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
Paul praised the church of Thessalonica here, saying that they were "worthy of the kingdom of God." Paul gave thanks to God for three things. First, in order to be worthy of the kingdom, our faith must keep on growing. When we come before God, not only should we believe in God, but we must believe that God rewards those who seek Him. Faith is not a feeling, but an action, the action to follow God's word. When you receive God's word and follow it by faith, you will see how God fulfills His promises according to His faithfulness, and your faith will start to grow. For example, in the case of tithing, it is a lesson of faith. When you offer one tenth of your income, you will find that God will provide for all your needs according to His promise, and your faith will grow accordingly. Next, we must have testimony of love. Those who follow the Lord must have testimony of love. We can't just claim that we love the Lord, because the Bible says that "...For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." Many people say they'll follow the Lord and love the Lord, but they are unwilling to forgive and accept one another at the church. We need to come before God, ask Him to help us not to just love God and follow Him by faith, but also to love brothers and sisters abundantly. When others witness the love among us, they will be convinced to follow Jesus Christ and give Him all the glory. Third, we must persevere in suffering. God does tests us; in the Old Testament, God asked Abraham to bring Isaac to Mount Moriah because He wanted to test Abraham; Israelites were in the wilderness for forty years because God wanted to test them; in the New Testament, in the miracle of five loaves and two fish, the Lord wanted to test Philip. God does allow us to go through suffering in various circumstances in order to test our faith in Him. May god let us keep our perseverance and faith, continue to depend on God, and believe that He will ultimately lead us to overcome all the hardship. May God help you and me to be "worthy of the kingdom of God" in our daily life. Finally, He is a faithful God. Because of His faithfulness, He can surely protect us, help us to accomplish holiness, grant us peace, and make us holy. God can lead us according to His promises, so we ought to let Him accomplish His work in us. Pray with Pastor Tong Liu 
Lord, I thank you for putting the church of Thessalonica before us as an example. May the Lord help us to grow our faith, have abundant love and persevere through suffering in our daily life, so that you may be greatly satisfied with our lives. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! |
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