This past week our family was studying through 1 Thessalonians chapter three. In the first few verses, Paul shows his concern for the believers in Thessalonica. 1 Thessalonians 2 had given an account of how Paul and those with him were bold and spoke the gospel of God to the Thessalonians, as he said, "in much conflict". Acts 17 tells us about that conflict. Paul had reasoned in the synagogue several weeks - explaining and demonstrating that Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead - and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” Some of them believed - that Jesus was the Christ. However, those who chose not to, became jealous - and envious. They took some evil men from the marketplace, gathered a mob and set the city in an uproar against them.
Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 3 to encourage the Thessalonians in their faith, reminding them that he had told them that he would suffer tribulation. Paul is encouraged though, by Timothy's report - that they have continued in the faith and thus his labor among them was not in vain. He ends chapter 3 with a prayer - asking that the Lord would help them abound in love to one another and to ALL in order to establish their hearts blameless in holiness before God at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. LOVE. In a day where evil men are gathering mobs and setting cities in uproar, we too NEED LOVE, the love that only the working of the Holy Spirit can produce in our lives.
1 John 4:21 "And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also." Let's be asking God to help us reflect HIS LOVE to those around us, so that HE is seen as the light in the midst of this darkness we live in today.
Here are some other things that you can be praying about:
• Praise the Lord for the concern Paul demonstrated for the believers in Thessalonica, as well as the desire to establish and encourage them in their faith, EVEN when he was not able to be with them. Pray that the Bible training materials provided through S&E would continue to establish and encourage those around the world who use these materials as they study God's Word and in turn establish and encourage others in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Pray that God will continue to use these present circumstances of sickness and unrest for the furtherance of the gospel and that many will come to know Him and grow in Him. Pray for God to soften hearts as He desires ALL to come to repentance.
• Praise the Lord for His great love which has been demonstrated to ALL mankind. Pray that we would understand how to effectively reflect that love to others.
• Pray that our attitudes and conduct would be honorable and that we would have wisdom in interacting with those who God brings our way as we continue to navigate through various new and ever-changing regulations.
• Continue to pray for the development of the video format of the current set of email topics on "Helping Our Children Present Jesus as King" continuing through the book of Matthew. Praise the Lord for Jocelyn and Jeffrey who have been assisting in preparing these videos. If you have not had opportunity to see any of them yet, they can be viewed on our S&E YouTube channel at
http://sveq.org/videos
• On the family side of things, praise the Lord for helping us get the repairs done at our respective parents places. Pray as we continue to help out at both sets of parents in various ways.
Thanks to you for being part of this outreach. As all of us are having to deal with the current challenges, we would appreciate your prayers for God's continued strength and provision as we serve Him together.
