Good morning Thursday. I’m watching the sun’s rays overcome the darkness and as the light prevails the dark, it brings joy to my heart. Another day in the Lord lies before us. The excitement of starting each day in the truth of God’s Word is a priviledge. For me starting the day with this time is imperative. The day can have a way of affecting us, not the other way around. Between negative slanted news, impure TV, constant advertising and well, just this world in general, our day can become tainted very quickly. By starting out each day with time in God’s Word it gives me the absolute best opportunity to approach the day with humility, grace, mercy, and love for those people that God knows I will encounter. It makes me think of an analogy.
The last few days my allergies have been off the chart bad. I have no idea why in December, but it feels more like Spring to my nose. I have always had active allergies and for me Claritin D, specifically the Wal-Mart knock-off, does the trick. The last several mornings within 30 minutes of rising, I have started with sneezing and a runny nose. I run grab the bottle, pop an allergy pill and I know that it will comfort me from the allergy symptoms for around 24 hours. As much as I want that pill to last me for much longer or for it to just stop the symptoms forever, it won’t. You see I have to take that pill every morning in order for it to have its FULL effect. There is no difference with God’s Word. You cannot read God Word’s on Tuesday morning and expect it to have its FULL effect on Saturday. I like to say that we are like empty pitchers every morning. We WILL get filled up with something throughout the day, what will it be? Will we be filled with what the world offers or with what God wants us to know? The funny thing here is that you don’t have quite the choice you think you have. Your pitcher WILL get filled up rather quickly and if it’s not filled up with God’s Word, guess what? Yep, it will get filled up with the things of this world. Also, think about this, your pitcher isn’t meant to store up what you have collected. It’s meant to pour right back out into to the lives of those that God puts into your path today. What will you be pouring into the lives of others today?
Well, Marge and I had our Potter family party yesterday and what a time. I strongly believe that family is a gift from God and family time can do what few other activities can do. I’m so thankful for my family and their lives. As our family gets older, it’s not so much a Christmas party as it is a Christmas event, with people sharing their talents, thoughts, feelings and thanks. We had beautiful live music, sharing of thoughts about the past year and future year, we had prayer and we had sharing of God’s Word. (Oh yeah, we also had gifts and enough great food to feed 100!) Thankfulness is a funny thing. You can feel it’s creation within you, deep down. I don’t think you could ever pinpoint where it really comes from, but when it’s there you can feel it, bubbling up and running over. It seems to coat your insides. Thankfulness is a sweet feeling indeed. I feel this thanks to God for my dear family.
Well, it seems like we just started 2 Thessalonians and yet today we find ourselves in the last chapter of this book, chapter 3. If you have missed any of the 5MC’s covering this great book you can backtrack and catch up easily using the website, The5mc.com. I have worked very hard to organize all of the daily studies by book, so you can just go to the site, scroll down to the posts and the click on the book of the Bible and then sort by chapter. I have prayed for this to be a resource for anyone that is desiring to spend time in God’s Word daily and that it can somehow offer motivation and encouragement as they get started. The website is free of course, I built it myself and funded it myself, so please feel free to share it with anyone and everyone that you feel might be able to use it.
In chapter 3 this morning Paul once again offers us a wealth of practical advice on living for God. The church at Thessalonica was a young church experiencing problems new to those walking in the faith and Paul is offering them wisdom in the Lord. The bulk of the chapter is spent on quite the unusual topic, working to earn your own living versus idleness and living off of others. Listen to what God has to say on the topic:
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” 11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.” 2 Thes 3:6-12 NIV
God has given Paul some pretty straight forward language on this topic. You see, when God called Paul to be a missionary to the world, He didn’t give him a bag of cash. He didn’t give him a sending organization that provided a salary and health insurance. He said go and Paul went. God had given Paul experience in tent making and Paul used that experience to support himself in what God had asked him to do. Paul is reminding the Thessalonians that while he was there with them, he didn’t take one bite of their food unless he paid for it. In fact, he says he “toiled night and day so that he would not be a burden to them.” We’ve talked about this at length in past 5MC’s, the fact that you are a billboard for Christ and you are sending a message today about how the principles of God works your life. Whether you want it or not, many people ARE looking closely at your life to see how you operate. Paul is saying first and foremost, I was a living example to you in these principles. There’s not much worse than a hypocrite. Someone that talks big and then does the opposite. They damage themselves and can greatly damage the furthering of God’s Word. Paul didn’t just say do this, he said do it as I did it.
Another very interesting principle here is how Paul admonishes those that were unwilling to work and support themselves. You see, after Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica reaffirming the 2nd coming of Christ, some in the church had taken the position of, “Well, Christ is coming again pretty soon, so we should just hang out over there by that fence and watch for Him.” They had taken the stance as why work if Jesus is coming back pretty soon, whats the point? Now guess what happens when you’ve got too much time on your hands? Usually trouble. It’s so funny, just another sign of our inherited sin nature, give somebody too much free time and they can usually stir up some kind of trouble. Whether it be gossip, division, or just meanness, these all need one thing to be created and cultivated....free time.
As far as dealing with these folks Paul is crystal clear. In fact, he uses the words “we command you”, that’s pretty clear in my Bible. Paul says to “keep away from those are walking in idleness.” Now, this is not those that are taking a day off or enjoying a day off from work with the family, it says they are ‘walking in idleness.’ They are living this way. To ‘keep away from them’ means you don’t hang out with them. You don’t spend all your time with them. As my Grandad used to tell me, “there are two kinds of people in this world, those that will pull you up and those that will pull you down.” Paul is aware of this and knows that this idle behavior could not be allowed to grow.
Here’s another tough love statement from Paul, “if anyone is unwilling to work, let him not eat.” That’s pretty tough and very straightforward. If they have made a choice to NOT work, then it should therefore result in them not being able to eat. Paul is saying their choices should not become a burden on the church or the people who do work, to feed those walking in idleness. Paul goes onto say that these people should “work quietly and earn their own living.”
Now all of this is spoken under one word that we should be careful to clarify, the twentieth word in the passage, “believer.” Paul is specifically talking about the body of Christ. The Brothers and Sisters in Christ that are part of the local body of believers, the church at Thessalonica. As followers of Christ we are all called to higher plane of living and Paul is admonishing these that are choosing the easy road, thereby causing a burden on the rest of the body. This is not talking about random homeless people or the lazy that are riding the government welfare system. I think the same should apply to all people, but note that Paul is specifically commanding believers in this passage.
It does bring up a great point though and one that I struggle with. The “down on their luck” panhandlers that I see at every street corner. Hand-written cardboard sign in hand, perfectly unkempt appearance, and begging on the mercies of the thousands of motorists that pass by one of the busiest intersections in the city. What do I do with these people? Should I give money to these people? I read an article not too long ago that busted a ring of these pan-handlers and it was quiet the operation. They had a very organized structure and the “boss” would drop off all of the “perfectly unkempt” employees at key intersections to work for the day and then pick them back up that night. They would split the day’s take and proceed the next day. If the pressure got high, they would just move onto the next town. This was naturally a very dishonest and highly profitable business venture. Now this may have been, and outlier compared to what I see on daily basis, but the question still remains, what do I do with these people? I’ll be complete honest with you…I have no idea. God’s Word talks so much about helping the poor, the widows, the blind, the lame, and the hungry, but how do you discern the truly hungry from those that are just looking to make $20 to get the day’s beer? We have a great shelter in Fort Worth that provides meals daily and our church supports it, if they were truly just hungry wouldn’t they go there and eat and not be soliciting for cash? We're told in 2 Thess 5:21 to "test everything" meaning don't be a sucker. Give or not give? This is a tough one.
I want to close with one of my favorite verses and one that I think presents one of the single biggest challenges in God’s Word concerning our daily walk.
“As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.” 2 Thess 3:13
When my day is going south, and I’m challenged with decisions to act out of my own will, I try to stop and speak this verse. When I encounter difficult people and my flesh wants to repay evil for evil, I take a breath and say this verse. When I'm just getting tired of always doing stuff for other people, I take a step back and visualize these words. Do not grow tired of doing good. Do not grow weary of doing what’s right. God’s Word gives us the knowledge of what’s right and the Holy Spirit gives us the wisdom to execute it. We hold the power to do what’s right, will we do it and do it consistently? As a sinner saved by God’s grace there is constantly a battle raging within me. My old nature versus my new nature. My flesh wants to be satiated but the Holy Spirit battles, challenging me to do good and not grow weary in it. What a challenging verse this is and the only way we can ever hope for success in it, is through the power of the Holy Spirit. I thank God for His Holy Spirit and give myself up to God so that He and He alone may allow me to really live out this verse.
Do good to all, all the time. Do not grow weary in it but instead find the Joy of God in it.
Thanks for reading along today, if you’re reading this, you are being prayed for. That prayer is that you are spending personal time in God’s Word every day and through that time, you’re being allowed a glimpse of the wisdom of Jesus Christ and that it displays itself in your life.
God bless and be good to each other.
