Today's Passage - 1 Thess 2:9-12

1 Thessalonians 2:9-12   Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.  You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.  For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.   As shepherds, not only should we lead brothers and sisters with a mother's heart, but we also need to have a father's heart.  Mother's heart expresses love, and father's heart expresses truth.  As our faith grows, we not only need love, but also need to balance it with truth.  We often talk about love without truth, and it produces indulgence in love; on the other hand, when  we talk about truth without love, truth becomes a tool that binds people.  A shepherd must take care of both sides by expressing both love and truth to the brothers and sisters.  A father needs to set a good example, as Paul described "holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed."  Not only can people be witnesses for him, even God can be his witness.   A father's words and behavior can greatly impact his own children.  In the same way, a spiritual father can also impact those whom he's leading.  Jesus set the best example for us; during the last supper, no disciple was willing to wash other people's feet, because no one wants to behave like servants of others.  Without rebuking the disciples, Jesus humbly bent down and washed every disciple's feet.  Jesus always simply guided and led His disciples by example.  In 1 Timothy 4:12, we are encouraged to "set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."  When we lead others, we must lead by example.   Next, a father must also encourage his spiritual children,  Verse 11 says that "for you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory."  Our lives must be worthy of God's calling, which is a concept often mentioned in Paul's letters.  I often remind myself the same - Is my life worthy of God's calling?  We often behave our best in front of people, but when we are alone, are our thoughts and mind worthy of the Lord?  This is a good reminder - When we are teaching brothers and sisters, let us remind them that no matter what they do, we must live worthy of God who loves us and called us into His glorious kingdom.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, I thank you because you have expressed a father's love to us.  Help us to set good example in our daily life for brothers and sisters whom we are leading, and encourage us to live worthy of the Lord.  Teach us and help us to reflect on our lives so that we'll glorify you and benefit people.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!   Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow the project on Facebook ! Help us to reach our Phase I Target, and witness how God expands His Kingdom on earth!  Click here to donate online.