Reading Time: 4 minutes
Paul made two prayer requests. He asked the Thessalonians to pray that the gospel would spread rapidly and be honored. Paul also asked God to deliver him and his team from wicked and evil people who have no faith.
Study
July 24 | Be Strong Through Trials
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Paul gave the Thessalonians inspired advice about how to be strong through trials. It had to do with growing in faith and love, recognizing God’s judgment, and constantly praying.
July 17 | Be Alert for Christ’s Return
Reading Time: 4 minutes
This section on the return of Christ (beginning in 1 Thessalonians 4:13) is one of the longest in the New Testament. Evidently some of the believers felt as if those who had died before the return of Jesus would miss out on his second coming. Paul was writing to correct that fallacious thinking.
July 10 | Endurance Inspired by Faith
Reading Time: 3 minutes
It’s been said that the Christian life is not a sprint but a marathon. . . . One thing hindering the Thessalonian believers from enduring the race was confusion about the end times and return of Christ. Confusion about the future caused them uncertainty in the present.
July 3 | Labor Prompted by Love
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Christianity is not for the lazy. . . . The apostle Paul did not labor to achieve salvation; he labored because he had salvation.
June 26 | Be Ready for the Day of the Lord
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Joel and Obadiah each had something to say about the day of the Lord. For Joel it was the signal that God was turning a new page in history. . . . For Obadiah it was that all nations should take a cue from the defeat of Edom for how they treated God’s people.
June 19 | Experience My Compassion
Reading Time: 4 minutes
The picture of God in both Jonah and Joel is one of compassion, which the Lord so wants us to experience.
June 12 | Return to Me
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Jonah was on the run. In chapter 1 he ran “from” God. In chapter 2 he ran “to” God. In chapter 3 he ran “with” God. And in chapter 4 he ran “counter” to God. God always desires for us to run to him in full repentance. . . .
June 5 | Where Have You Run?
Reading Time: 4 minutes
The book of Jonah is a narrative prophetic book. There is no question it is a story. But what kind of story is it? Historical story? Story “based” in history? Fictional story (similar to a parable)? . . .