Thoughts for the Day

But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.

Thoughts

Life seems very hard at present for many people. In the UK we have strikes, people choosing between 'eating or heating', and prices which seem to be soaring. For others around the world it is far worse! The writer of the second letter to the Thessalonians (there is dispute over whether this is Paul and/or Timothy) understands this, for the Christians in Thessalonica have been struggling. They are beginning to have doubts! Their faith is weak because of the evil in the world around them, but also because Jesus has not returned as he said he would. In our bible passage above however, the writer concentrates on bringing together a pattern for the Christian life.

Our life, he says, begins with God's call. Without God's love finding us we would never that thought to seek Him out. As we continue to grow as Christians, not passively sitting back waiting for God to speak, but struggling in our effort to carry out His wishes, so our relationship with God begins to develop. This growth is helped by other Christians and by God Himself, for we are never left to work alone. Slowly, slowly, as we give more of ourselves to God, He uses us for His service, and He equips us for the work ahead. He gives us the skills and gifts that we need in order to be the Christians in the communities where we live, no matter how difficult life gets.

Heavenly Father,
strengthen our faith when life becomes hard
that we may stop worrying,
and learn to put all our trust in You.
Lift our hearts from selfish desires
to see how we can help others who are
worse off than ourselves.
Increase our confidence
and strengthen us to do Your work
knowing that we are doing Your will.
Amen.