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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Friday, May 22, 2020
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:The Faithfulness of the Church Bible Verse:1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 "We always remember you in our prayers, giving thanks to God for every one of you, and especially recalling the steadfastness of your hope in Jesus Christ and the many good works that have flowed out of your faith and love. We think of you as our brothers and sisters, called by God to a Gospel not made of words alone, but a Gospel that came to you by the power and certainty of the Holy Spirit. DP Literal Translation 2 We give thanks to god always concerning each (or all) of you remembrance making in the prayers of us without fail (or unceasingly) 3 remembering of you the work of faith and of the labor of love and the persistence of the hope of the 4 knowing, brothers being loved by God the selection of you 5 that (or because) the gospel of us not was created in you in word only but also in power and in spirit holy and in certainty much just as you know what kind we were among you for you. " Message:
What a wonderful way to start a letter! We can see, right off the bat, why Paul was so successful at bringing people to Christ. The opening verses of 1 Thess. are positive and powerful. Paul's assurance that he and the other named authors remember the Thessalonians in their prayers is not polite jargon. It is a realistic and meaningful portrayal of how both the Pauline group and the Thessalonians entered the presence of God every day, concerned with each others’ welfare, trusting that He would hear their words, and filled with certainty and hope that, if it were His will, He would respond to them.
There is a point to make from Greek grammar, so bear with us. (You can skip this and the next paragraph if language doesn't interest you!) English has an active and a passive voice, e.g. “I threw the ball” (active), and “The ball was thrown” (passive). In active voice, the subject does something; in the passive voice, something is done to the subject.
Christ preaching
Ancient Greek had a third voice, called the middle voice, halfway in-between. “Pontius Pilate washed his hands” is a perfect example of how the middle voice was used in Classical GreekThe dialect in which the Bible was written is called Koine Greek. (Koine means “common”.) It is a less refined language than Classical Greek and the middle voice was greatly corrupted in Koine. But Paul uses the middle voice here with the refined inference that it had had in its classical days, 300 years earlier.; Pilate actively washes, but at the same time, a part of him is passively washed.
In our passage today, Paul writes “we remember you” in this middle voice. The prayers to remember the Thessalonians are not only meant for God, but also for the people praying. He is saying that they themselves recall, with warmth and thanks, the great works and faith of the addressees, and implies that he considers these memories to be helpful to himself.
Some translations read “we remember without ceasing”; this comes across even stronger in 5:17, the famous words “pray without ceasing.” This must be taken as hyperbole, to some degree, and certainly as regards Paul’s remembering the Thessalonians. We cannot pray without ceasing; even a cloistered monk must sleep. So, as I think most people recognize, by “unceasing” Paul means something like “regular, heartfelt, and at some length”.
In the words “called by God,” we immediately run up against an unavoidable issue in Paul, that of predestination. There is a lot of support for the doctrine in Paul and it will come up repeatedly, for he describes the church members as “chosen” or “selected.” It is a topic that demands study, so we will reserve it for the future.
For now, just hold the thought that you don't have to be a Calvinist or “Reformed” to be a Biblical Christian. (Consider how meaningless the issue is. If you have found Christ, what does it matter whether you had any active choice? If you are looking at God rather than your own self-image, your own ego, it will become a frivolous issue.)
The good works and steadfastness of the Thessalonians are tied to the manner in which they received the Gospel. The fact that the Holy Spirit came to dwell in them, the power of the Spirit, and their ability to endure hardships are all tied together. Receiving Christ is a transformative experience, where the reborn Christian loves Christ with his full heart; they have not simply altered their behavior after coming to believe in a religion; they have been entirely changed.
Meditation : Prayer : Now, oh Lord, I pray that you may lift up the light of your countenance upon me, and give me peace; in my going out and in my coming in; in my sitting down and my rising up; in my work and in my play; in my joy and in my sorrow, in my laughter and in my tears; until that day comes which is without dawn and without dark........Amen |
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