22
Oct

Children of the Day Post 9: 2 Thessalonians 3

Children of the Day

Today marks the last Children of the Day post, but have no fear–next week Wednesdays will feature a new feature: Fast 5 Reflections! What is “Fast 5”? It’s a study on the five shortest books of the Bible: Obadiah, Philemon, 2nd John, 3rd John, and Jude. Who’s the author of this study? Yours truly. Yes, I agree–we’re in trouble now! We will look at a new book each week and “weave” this study around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. And since Christians rarely give these books their due diligence, I hope it forces all of us to find what we should appreciate about some of the briefer “elements” of the modern Bible.

Before we can focus on that, let’s conclude our study by summarizing Beth‘s next to last video and on the beginning of the last week of homework for 2nd Thessalonians. Here’s what one might have missed if they were unable to hear her discussion of 2nd Thessalonians 2:

1. God retains the right to mystery. Thus, no matter how much we study at a reputable seminary or how long we study “end time” predictions in the Bible we will never fully understand what this period of time will look like, in reality, and when end time events will occur.

2. There is a “restrainer” for the end times that is gradually withdrawing as evil increases in our world. While there are many theories as to what and who the restrainer is, many theologians would agree it’s the Holy Spirit and the work of the church restraining evil.

3. Just as God gave us glimpses of who Jesus was through some of his predecessors (such as David and Moses), there are also glimpses of who the Antichrist is. I would hazard a guess that Hitler was a glimpse of evil personified.

On to this week’s homework! I’m personally soaking up Chapter 3 of 2nd Thessalonians. It is reminding me I have some important work to do!

I decided, long ago, that I’m more talented at being a “discipler” than an “evangelist.” For those not overly familiar with those labels, a discipler is one who mentors or encourages new Christians and an evangelist is one who deftly (probably with the help of the Holy Spirit!) tells about Jesus dying for all of us so that we can be in Heaven with God forever and does that so efficiently that a new Christian or Christians are born!

While I have taken an actual course on learning how to do the latter more effectively and intelligently, the whole issue just gives me the jitters. I just don’t feel comfortable doing that! And yet 2nd Thessalonians 3  and the homework, so far, this week reminds me it’s still my duty to help with the task of taking that message to those who have not heard it yet or who have not trusted that message yet. So, how do I reconcile those two?

By adhering to the point of Homework 1–that I should wait for the Lord to give me what I need to be better at doing that. Now, I’m not saying that this means I’ll probably have to wait until I’m 80 to be better at this. What I’m saying is that when I allow nervousness and discomfort to get “the upper hand,” I’m admitting that my faith in God is weak and not trusting Him to give me what I need to do a good job at delivering such good news to so many hurting people.

I also think that when we focus on doing what is comfortable for us and then allowing God to do the rest, that’s when we are probably the most effective at evangelism. For me, that’s writing and teaching. For one member of our Bible Study that is singing with her beautiful voice. For another that is teaching busy women how to get out of the kitchen faster and still prepare wonderful meals for their families so that there is time to pray with our children at the end of the day! For another that is visiting the homebound. For another that is meeting the needs of hospital patients. For another that is being the “face” of our church when no one else can be there. For another that is giving hope to barren women. For another that is appreciating those around her for the special ministries they faithfully serve. For another that is working to prevent hunger in our community. For another that is caring for her aging mother.

We assume that God cannot use our actions to speak volumes about saving people’s eternal lives. People are learning about God from us even when we say absolutely nothing about Him. So, as we go out and work in our own, unique ways, let’s make sure that our silence, as well as our words, says volumes about what a special gift Jesus is to the entire world, particularly as we get close to the Advent season where we acknowledge God giving such a gift. And let’s share that gift with love, enthusiasm and a little help from the Holy Spirit for our jittery moments.

Friday’s Posts: The November MIP Book Club Selection Announcement and Slow Reader Friday!

You might also like: Children of the Day Post 8; Children of the Day Post 7; Children of the Day Post 6; Children of the Day Post 5; and Children of the Day Reflection # 4

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014 at 10:48 am and is filed under God stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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  1. October 22nd, 2014 | Pam Patterson says:

    Great recap of our lesson. Thanks for the clarification of discipler and evangelist!

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