Devotionals: 1 Thessalonians Archives - Page 2 of 5

Words of Comfort

By Andrew YoungMarch 14, 2018Devotionals: 1 Thessalonians

“Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18) Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 It is essential to keep before us Paul’s purpose in writing these words. He is doing so to comfort those who fear that the “dead in Christ” will miss out in some way on the blessings that attend the second coming of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:18). I remember being chided by an elderly and dear friend after preaching on these verses many years ago. I had failed to draw out his favoured doctrine of the “rapture” adequately, and his words to me were, “Poor job today, […]

“We Believe…”

By Andrew YoungMarch 13, 2018Devotionals: 1 Thessalonians

“We believe… and so we believe…” (1 Thessalonians 4:14) Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 Twice within the same verse, Paul uses the expression, “We believe” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). The first time he does so is the basis for the second. “We believe that Jesus died and rose again,” he begins. The death and resurrection of Jesus is a basic article of the Christian faith. It is founded on the historical facts of his crucifixion, the empty tomb, and of the subsequent reappearances of the risen Lord. These things allow us to have strong confidence that Jesus “died and rose again.” Along […]

Sleeping in Jesus

By Andrew YoungMarch 12, 2018Devotionals: 1 Thessalonians

“…we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” (1 Thessalonians 4:14) Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 It would appear that the idea that Jesus would return a second time to earth in glory and for judgement had created anxiety in believers in Thessalonica in regard to those of their number who died before this happened. Would they miss out on this great event? Would they, in some way, be disadvantaged by the fact they had died? It is this concern that Paul deals with in the verses before us. He doesn’t want the “brothers” […]

A Quiet Life

By Andrew YoungMarch 11, 2018Devotionals: 1 Thessalonians

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life…” (1 Thessalonians 4:11) Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 The next instruction Paul has to offer for a God-pleasing life relates to the overall character of daily conduct. “Make it your ambition,” he says, “to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you” (1 Thessalonians 4:11). Paul and his readers lived in a day very different from our own. While there were merchants and others who made their wealth by trading and buying and selling, the culture overall was what we call […]

Taught by God

By Andrew YoungMarch 10, 2018Devotionals: 1 Thessalonians

“Now about brotherly love… you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another…” (1 Thessalonians 4:9) Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 From warnings to avoid sexual immorality, Paul turns to the subject of “brotherly love” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10). It should not surprise us that he does – the duty to love lies at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus (John 13:35). Here, Paul is not so much urging the Thessalonian Christians to love one another as he is praising them for already doing so – and, in fact, for loving “all the brothers throughout […]

Rejecting God

By Andrew YoungMarch 9, 2018Devotionals: 1 Thessalonians

“Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God…” (1 Thessalonians 4:8) Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:6-8 Paul reinforces his instructions about avoiding sexual immorality by repeating a warning he had given earlier. “The Lord will punish men for all such sins,” he writes, “as we have already told you and warned you” (1 Thessalonians 4:6). Sexual immorality, he wants his readers to know, is a serious matter. Underlying this is the idea that God “did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (v. 7). It was never God’s intention that the sexual urge […]

Controlling our Bodies

By Andrew YoungMarch 8, 2018Devotionals: 1 Thessalonians

“…each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honourable…” (1 Thessalonians 4:4) Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 Paul zeroes in on one area of life in which God would have us live in a special way, namely, the area of our sexuality. “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). The ancient world, just as our Western world today, was marked by widespread sexual immorality. John Stott describes the sexual urge as “the most imperious [that is demanding, clamouring, controlling] of all desires.” […]

More and More

By Andrew YoungMarch 7, 2018Devotionals: 1 Thessalonians

“Now we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1) Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 With the words, “Finally, brothers,” Paul shifts the focus of his writing from himself and his colleagues back to the Thessalonians. What follows is a series of instructions that will help them live their new life as Christians better. “We instructed you,” he writes, “how to live in order to please God” (1 Thessalonians 4:1). He, Silas and Timothy had not simply proclaimed the good news of Jesus, Messiah and Saviour, but had set before the new converts […]

A Stronger Heart

By Andrew YoungMarch 6, 2018Devotionals: 1 Thessalonians

“May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy…” (1 Thessalonians 3:13) Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:13 Paul’s third prayer-wish for the Thessalonians is that God would “strengthen their hearts” so that they would be “blameless and holy in the presence of our God when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (1 Thessalonians 3:13). It is worth noting in passing, that all five chapters of this letter end with reference to the coming of the Lord Jesus. It was – as we shall see – clearly a truth of importance to the Thessalonian believers, an […]

Love Abounding

By Andrew YoungMarch 5, 2018Devotionals: 1 Thessalonians

“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else…” (1 Thessalonians 3:12) Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 These verses contain three “prayer wishes.” They are expressions of what Paul wants God to do in regard to the Thessalonians. The first relates to him “clearing the way” for the apostle and his co-workers to visit Thessalonica, the second to the love of the believers there, and the third to their inner strength to be blameless and holy at the appearing of the Lord Jesus (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13). What they say about love is worth exploring further. […]