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Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things Phil 4:8 |
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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. Saturday, July 19, 2025
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:God Gives Paul Courage BibleVerse:1 Thessalonians 2:1-2 (ESV) "My brothers and sisters, you know that our time with you was not spent in vain. We had been badly treated in Philippi, and our suffering might have prevented us from coming to you. But God gave us the courage to forge ahead, and we were able to deliver His message to you, even in the face of all the hostility we encountered. " Message:
Having remarked at the end of the first chapter about how the Thessalonians’ conduct was being discussed, throughout Greece and beyond, Paul now turns to the opinions of the Thessalonians themselves. He is especially eager that they recall the conduct of Paul and his retinue while they were there; in fact, this takes up half of the chapter.
Paul in Prison - Rembrandt
Paul in Prison
We accused Paul of not using topic sentences a few days ago, and now we get to eat our words. Verse 1 really sets the theme of the chapter; first, a recounting of Paul’s time in Thessalonica and the success of the trip, and second, “you know that”, which begins an appeal to the readers to remember and testify about Paul’s conduct.
Just in case someone is hoping to hear a five-dollar word today, the expression “was not spent in vain” is called a “litotes.” Paul expresses a positive thought, “Our trip to you was productive”, by denying a negative outcome. In English this might connote a smaller degree of success. If someone asks us, “Was your sandwich good,” we might say “It wasn’t bad” to indicate, well, it was okay but it wasn’t great.
But not so in Greek; negating an opposite implies a strong positive. When Paul says “not in vain,” he means “a huge success.”
When Paul says he had been badly treated and had suffered in Philippi, he isn’t kidding. They had tried to help a girl of low standing by exorcising a demon from her. As a result, he and Silvanus had been physically dragged before a magistrate, derided for being Jews, stripped, flogged, and jailed. (Acts 16:16-24) A flogging was horrendously painful and potentially crippling.
When we look back at Biblical figures, we should not diminish their stark humanity in a cloud of Biblical romanticism. Paul was just a guy. Imagine enduring a mental and physical ordeal like he did (Timothy and Silvanus, also). It would have been really hard for them to “saddle up” for another round. By understanding the magnitude of their pain, and the inevitable reluctance to repeat such a horrible experience, we are able to grasp the power that the Holy Spirit had within them.
And if we are tempted to see their courage as a personal trait, we must remember that all three of them went to Thessalonica and began preaching. Truly they had “picked up their crosses” to follow Jesus; in Paul’s case, this included martyrdom; we do not know what ultimately became of Timothy and Silvanus.
Meditation : “The only sin Jesus ever had was ours, and the only righteousness we can ever have is His.” ~ A. W. Tozer Prayer : Now to him who by his power within us is able to do far more than we ever dare to ask or imagine — to him be glory in the Church through Jesus Christ for ever and ever, Amen. |
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