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For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 |
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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. Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Disorderly and Lazy People in the Church BibleVerse:2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 (DP Bible) "And we also charge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to avoid disorderly brothers who do not follow the traditions they received from us. You know yourselves how you should follow us, for we were not idle or disruptive among you nor did we eat without paying anyone, but by labor and hardship, night and day, working so as not to burden any of you, not because we did not have a right, but in order that we ourselves might be a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we taught you that anyone who doesn’t want to work, doesn’t eat. For we hear that some among you are disorderly, working at nothing, but instead meddling where they should not. We exhort and command such people, in Lord Jesus Christ, that they work in quiet and eat their own bread. DP Parallel Bible (3-Column) - 2 Thess. 3" Message:
The nascent church in Thessalonika around 50 A.D. differed from most modern churches. Clearly, the church is a tighter socio-economic unit than most modern-day churches. It is hard to tell, though, whether the church is a commune-style economy, such as we saw in Acts 4, or whether the problem addressed here is simply a case of some church members sponging off of others.
On the other hand, some things have not changed. Most modern churches certainly know what Paul means by disruptive members, “working at nothing, but instead meddling. . . .” Paul here actually means people who aren’t working at all, to the point that they have to eat other peoples’ hard-earned food. Remember, in those days it often took a full day’s labor just to get enough to eat. And we must recall Paul’s repeated admonitions in 1 Thess. such as “work with your own hands . . . that you might . . . need nothing” or “chide the undisciplined and lazy.” (1 Thess. 4:11-12, 5:14.
At the opposite extreme we have an example from Paul himself (and no doubt Silas and Timothy) of people who work at labor for their food, and the rest of their time work for the church and Christ without pay. Paul does admonish us to pay our clergy, if needed, and we see this instruction reflected here in the phrase, “not because we did not have a right.” Paul is saying he had a right to be paid, but he did not avail himself, so that he might be a model for everyone else.
Meditation : “So blind are we in this mortal life, and so unaware of what will happen, so uncertain of even how we will think tomorrow, that God could not take vengeance on a man more easily in this world than by granting his own foolish wishes.” ~ Thomas More Prayer : The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant; Make me perfect in every good work to do your will, working in me that which is well pleasing in your sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. |
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