1THESSALONIANS Chapter 5

1THESSALONIANS Chapter 5: The period immediately before the second coming of our Lord Jesus will be associated with lot of catastrophes everywhere. Jesus had prophesized that the troubles at that time will be more terrible than anything that has ever occurred in the past or till today. There will be many wars, famines and earth quakes causing worldwide destruction and agony. Then there will be celestial catastrophes. The sun and moon will not give out light and celestial bodies will fall on the earth. All these things are taking place one by one as we hear them every day. Then our Lord Jesus will appear like a lightening which flashes across the whole sky. But the timing or the season when He will come is known only to God the Father. Apostle Paul compares and says that the Lord will come like how a thief would come at night. No one, not even the angels or the Lord Jesus himself knows the time or hour of His coming. But to be saved from destruction Apostle Paul advices us to be watchful and sober. As people who have accepted Christ as Savior, we belong to the day not to the night. As we belong to the day and are awake and watchful, His second coming will not take us by surprise .We should not be caught sleeping in the night. We should be strong in our faith, love and hope to receive Him at any time. This will save us from destruction during those times and we will be able to live eternally with our Lord Jesus as promised by God the Father.
Next Apostle Paul challenges us to put the promises and prophesies to test by faith. We should believe these promises and see what happens. If we think we are inspired by the Holy Spirit to mark on any endeavour which will be helpful for the ministry, we should not hesitate to proceed. The Lord who has called us is ever faithful. He will strengthen our body, spirit and soul to go ahead with the job entrusted. We should pray to God at all times because it is our powerful weapon. We should also be joyful and thankful at all circumstances because our lives are in union with Christ. And He is our helper, advocate, friend, guide, provider and protector.
Regarding evangelist, preachers, prophets, pastors, and leaders of church Apostle Paul advices us to treat them with utmost respect and love because their job is the most sacred and fruitful one. But they too are accountable to the Lord and their actions will be judged by Him only. He also advises not to repay evil for evil but to do good at all times. When we follow all these advices one by one, we are preparing for the second coming of our Lord Jesus. We have very less time in our hands so we all need to take things seriously and live a holy and God fearing life.

1 THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 4

1 THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 4: At the beginning of this chapter, Apostle Paul says that it is the will of God that we should live a righteous and a holy life. God has chosen us for His purpose and it pleases Him more when we live that way. Our Christian living should not be in a plateau or in a stationary state. It should grow day by day. This process is called sanctification. If we sincerely yearn for this purification and ask Lord Jesus to help us then He will send us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will work in our heart and mind to cleanse us of all the impurities and bad thoughts. The most despicable thing God hates is lust, adultery and coveting. Our body is the temple of God. If we want the Holy Spirit to dwell in us then there are certain rules and regulations which we must abide. So one should take care to control his physical urges and not give way to temptations. Anyone who rejects this commandment from God also rejects the Holy Spirit which he has sent .This is a heinous and unpardonable crime in front of God.
Secondly, Apostle Paul tells us how to be a witness for Christ. This is possible only when we mend our ways and start behaving more Christ-like. It is our behavior that should reflect the Holy Spirit in us. We should live a quiet life minding our own business. We should work hard for our living and earn our daily living honestly. Lord Jesus commands us to love one another. The way of expressing this love is to help those in need by giving charity. We should be compassionate to the people around us and to console those people who are lonely and depressed. Also we should pray for them ceaselessly. Lord Jesus practically showed what true love is by sacrificing His life for friends and enemies alike.
Thirdly, Apostle Paul tells us not to grieve for our beloved ones who have left this world. He says that there is hope that we will surely meet all of them again. As Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day, in a similar way He will raise all the dead who believed in Him to be with Him. During His second coming, Lord Jesus will descend from heavens in great glory with the shout of archangel and the sound of trumpet. Then all the dead who believed in Him will arise from their grave to join Him. After that the believers who are still alive will be lifted up to join Him and to live with Him forever. This is a hope to all the people who are mourning the death of their loved ones, kith and kin. Be strong and of good courage.

THESSOLANIANS CHAPTER 3: In this chapter Apostle Paul is worried about the faith of Thessalonians. They were like babies in faith who needed constant spiritual nourishment.After Apostle Paul had laid the foundation of gospel in this city he went to preach in other places. But where ever he went, he faced severe persecution. He was worried that the Thessalonians would fall away from faith due to fear when they hear about his tribulation. So he sends Timothy to them to know about their depth of faith and to encourage them. But he is very happy to know from Timothy that the Thessalonians were very strong in their faith. He is happy that the devil could not tempt and make them fall away from their Christian living. In spite of his pain and suffering he feels joy in his heart after hearing about their steadfast faith in Jesus. He thanks the Lord for strengthening them and prays continually that they will be stronger in future. It gives more determination to Apostle Paul to spread the gospel to other places.
Even when we accept Christ as our savior, our faith has to be strengthened and nurtured. At the early stages we should not to be carried away into worldly living or fall into temptations. A seed when it is sown into the ground has to withstand many obstacles before getting rooted and becoming a big tree. The sun might scorch it, the birds can eat it and the soil may not allow it to grow. Thus the seed has to be carefully sown and nurtured. In a similar our faith (seed) has to be constantly nourished by reading the word of God and praying to Him. We should believe every word of God and the promises attached. As we grow stronger in faith our eternal gardener will nourish and strengthen our faith. Then our faith will grow like a big tree deep-rooted, bearing fruits and also providing shelter to many.

1 THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 2

1 THESSALONIANS chapter 2: In this chapter Apostle Paul extols the qualities that servants of God should have when they go about spreading the Good News. First is perseverance. Even though their group was ill treated in the previous city where they preached the Gospel, they spread the gospel in Thessalonica with even more vigor and responsibility. This is because they knew this job was given by God to them and they wanted to please God and not men. Second, they never had any false motives or deception. They never thought of any monetary benefits in doing this. In fact Apostle Paul says during their stay there, his group did manual hard work just like thesalonians to earn their daily living as well as preaching them the truth. They did not want to be a burden to others. They lived as role model with honesty and holiness. They never wanted personal glory for what they were doing. Thirdly, they were filled with love. The love could be compared to the love of a mother who nurses her child. She is so tender and protective. In a similar way they gently imparted the Gospel to them. They comforted them and corrected them as a father would, so that they could walk in their daily life worthy before God, who has called them to His Kingdom. Because of this the Thessalonians received the Gospel as not from men but from God. They believed in the Gospel fully and became sincere followers of Christ.
Jesus told us that we should first seek the Kingdom of God and its righteousness. We have to seek it with our whole heart. That is to follow His teaching and practically applying it to our daily life. When we do that God will shower us with all the blessings according to His riches. We should practice a true Christian living and set a standard for others. His other command was to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth for the benefit of the mankind. This we should do with a loving heart and perseverance. Our ministry should be without any false motives or for any monetary benefits. When we stick to this attitude, He will bless us abundantly in all aspects of this life and as well as in eternal life.

1 THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 1

1 THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 1: The Thessalonians were one of the first role models of true Christians. They lived as witness to Christ and set example to all the surrounding people with their faith, love, hope and endurance. They received the Gospel from Apostle Paul not superficially but through the power of the Holy Ghost. When they heard the good news about Jesus from Apostle Paul, it wasn’t the words or the manner in which he spoke that made the Thessalonians to come out of their ungodly ways but it was purely the Holy Spirit which worked in them. The Holy Spirit strengthened their faith, gave them a heart to love the people around them and to hope in the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. They were instrumental in spreading the gospel to the surrounding areas. They had their faith deep rooted and they braved all persecutions for the sake of the Gospel. They were patient and enduring. They also lived a life of love, helping each other according to Christ’s teaching. They had turned away from their previous evil ways and waited on our Lord’s second coming with hope. Apostle Paul says that all these things happened because they had been selected by God to be so. God loved them and chose them to be His people. In a similar way we also have been selected to be the followers of Christ. The ball is in our court. From our part we have to yield to the Holy Spirit to work in us to lead a successful true Christian life just as how the Thessalonians lived. God loves each one of us so much that He sent His son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is alive and he’s coming soon. That’s the Good News each of us has to spread. We have to be more like Jesus in the way we walk, talk and think

COLOSSIANS CHAPTER 4

Colossians 4th chapter- Are we treating the people who work under us justly? Are we giving them their pay correctly? We should treat them justly because we too have a master in Heaven who is judging us in a similar way. Lord Jesus told a parable in which a man in spite of his huge debt forgiven by the king did not forgive his subordinate who owed him a small debt. When the king heard of this, he got angry and put the man in prison to be tortured. Likewise if we want to be blessed by God we should treat our subordinates with respect and pay them justly according to their work. We don’t want to be punished by God’s anger but we want to be blessed by His love.
Prayer always yields positive results. Also prayer combined with thanksgiving is more powerful. Lord Jesus told a parable about an old woman constantly asking the judge to provide justice. Even though the judge did not want to help her, he finally gives in just to escape from her persistence. Likewise we should wrestle God with our constant prayer for the things we need. We should ask God anything and everything that we need with full faith. And after that we should also thank Him with full faith that we have received it. After that we should not have any doubts in our heart as to whether we will receive it or not. Because when we pray, we know that God has surely heard it. So surely He will give us whatever we ask Him with faith. We just need to believe it. We should also pray that God should give us the wisdom and put the correct words in our mouth and heart when we proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. Our speech should be graceful, sincere and complete with full confidence when we explain the mystery of Jesus Christ. In such a way it should clear any doubts. It is by prayer that we ask God to fill us with wisdom to spread the Gospel of Jesus. Thus prayer is a powerful weapon.