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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.Eph 2:9 |
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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. Thursday, June 11, 2020
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:The Behavior of God’s Emissaries Bible Verse:1 Thessalonians 2:6-9 "Nor were we seeking glory, from you or anyone else. We were commissioned by God Himself to act as His apostles, but did we strut around full of our own importance? You remember how we acted: as innocent as children, and as full of warmth and comfort as a mother towards her own family, because our affection for you was genuine. And you remember how we labored night and day, disregarding hardship, so that we wouldn’t be a burden to anyone. We gladly gave you not only God’s holy Word, but our own bodies and souls. Literal 6 nor seeking from men glory, neither from you nor from others, 7 being empowered in importance to be as of Christ apostles, but we were children [a]Alt. gentle. in midst of you. As if wet-nurse [b]Poss. mother with the sense of nursing mother. might comfort [c]Most lit. warm. the of herself children 8 so longing of you we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of god but also the of ourselves lives, because beloved by us you became. 9 For you remember, brothers, the labor of us and the hardship; of night and of day working towards not to burden anyone of you we proclaimed into you the gospel of god. Footnotes: v.7 - [a] Alt. gentle. [b] Poss. mother with the sense of nursing mother. [c] Most lit. warm. DP Parallel Bible (3-Column) - 1 Thess. 2" Message:
We have been discussing “implied hortatory” — that is, Paul describing his own behavior in a way that implies that the reader should imitate him. When he says that he did not seek personal glory while teaching the gospel in Thessalonica, he implicitly teaches that one should not seek personal glory when teaching the gospel. The technique is common in modern English. When Merle Haggard sang, “We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee,” we knew what he meant!
monkey playing a pipe organ, from an illuminated Bible
Moreover, Paul did not seek glory from either “you or others”, that is, from either inside or outside the church. The practical wisdom of his words is easily seen. Today, we do not have the sort of celebrity preachers that once existed, both because of increasing skepticism of Christian speakers in general, and specifically, the exposure of the outrageous hypocrisy of several televangelists in the late 20th century. But personal glorification of oneself is sadly all-too-common among popular preachers and teachers; in fact, to at least a small degree, it is nearly universal. (Some Amish communities, seeking to avoid the problem, select their preachers by casting lots.)
In the raw, direct evangelism of the 1st century, we can see a powerful direct response to Christ's teachings. In this particular case, we see Christ's disdain of human honors. “I do not receive honor from men. . . . How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” (John 5:41, 44)
The other qualities that Paul, in this passage, indirectly suggests for evangelism are: 1) gentleness; 2) a lack of pridefulness or self-importance; 3) giving not simply one's words, but one's life, to those being taught; 4) supporting oneself by manual labor. We are not going to discuss these at length, or we will be stuck on this chapter for a month; but the last one merits mention.
Paul's did not teach that preachers were forbidden from earning a living by their preaching. His attitude was much like his attitude towards marriage; he would not take money, and thought it preferable that evangelists support themselves, but he did not prohibit others from being supported by their church. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 9, he will argue vociferously that those who preach and teach the Gospel are not wrong to get paid, even though he himself continued to earn his living with his hands.
Also, when Christ sent the disciples out to proselytize, He told them not to take money, which is read (correctly) in two senses. They did not take money from people along the way; however, they also did not take money with them to pay for their needs, expecting that they would receive direct support in the form of food, shelter, and clothing from the “worthy.” (Matt. 10:5-11)
Meditation : Prayer : O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, I pray,......Amen |
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