Endurance Inspired by Hope in our Lord Jesus Christ

1 Thessalonians 1:3 - this verse ends with the wonderful reminder of what we hope in.  We hope in the certaintly of God's promise of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain..." (Hebrews 6:19)

How do you build confidence in the hope that is within you?  The Holy Spirit gives us this confidence.  The Christian has the Holy Spirit to guide and teach them, and through hope to inspire us to endurance in this life until that day when we go home to be with our Heavenly Father.   "And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." (Romans 5:5)

We must do our part and invite the Holy Spirit's presence into our daily life, and we must seek wisdom in the word of truth.  Colossians 1:5-6 says that "the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you..."  The more you read and immerse yourself in the word of truth, the Bible, God's word, the more you will understand the gospel and prepare the way for the Holy Spirit to guide and teach you.

As for endurance - the power and strength that you have to endure your life's challenges will come if you have the hope in our Lord Jesus Christ to inspire it.  With endurance comes the ability to impact and influence the outcome in those challenges as well.  "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6)

Grace and peace to you...

-atg-

Labor prompted by Love

It's easy to justify laboring for those you love.  In practice, it's those we love who sometimes get the leftovers.  Ask yourself what you labor for.  Labor is usually associated with work, and if you have a demanding job or career then you may find that your labor is balanced more towards that rather than directly towards those you love.  Labor is good and God blesses us through it.  But ask yourself now: "is my labor prompted by love?"

In 2 Thessalonians 1:3, the letter draws a connection between a growing faith and an increasing love for one another within the community...  "We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing."  As your faith grows, does your love for your Christian brothers and sisters increase?  It should.  Also, the love you have and show for your family members - your spouse, your parents, your sons and daughters - may need to increase as well.  These are the relationships that are often the most strained.  Ask God to help you realize and see that need for growing in faith and the resulting increase in love for them.

Back to the original question about labor prompted by love: ask the Lord to help you to better understand the relationship between love and your labor.  Remember that labor (at home, at work, at church, in your family, in the mission field, throughout your day) always has some result.  If it is prompted by love, hopefully the result will be an increasing love for others... as you grow in faith.

"Grace and peace to you..."

-atg-

Work Produced by Faith

1 Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 3 refers to "work produced by faith."  Let's explore the concept of work, and what it has to do with faith.  First, by "faith", I refer to a faith in God... that kind of faith that produces action.  Hebrews chapter 11 sums this up very powerfully:

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  Hebrews 11:1

So what does work have to do with this?  Real faith produces action, and action is almost always manifest in some kind of work.  An obvious example is the type of work we do to keep ourselves and our loved ones healthy, happy, and safe.  If we don't do this, we have faith that we will probably see some sort of trouble in the future (perhaps starvation or illness, for example).  ... but looking beyond this, what does God's word say about work?

1. Work is a blessing from God.  Genesis 1:28 "God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”  This is God blessing his creation, Adam and Eve by giving them the work of tending to the earth, ruling over nature.
2. God commands us to work.  See Deuteronomy 5:13 and Psalm 104:23.  There are many other examples as well.
3. Laziness is disgraceful and leads to poverty, while work is wise and diligence in work brings wealth.  Proverbs is full of examples and wisdom on this; from the example of the ant in Proverbs 6:6-11 to what appears to be good management and accounting advice in Proverbs 27:23.  Proverbs 10:4-5 and v. 14:23 are blunt and clear about this: "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."
4. Work brings credit to God.  1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 "...and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."  In this, Paul is instructing the Christians in Thessalonica to work for a living, to support themselves even as they serve God and their community, so that they would not have to rely on handouts or the support of others, especially those outside of their Christian community.

Ask yourself today: "is my work produced by faith?  What can I do to acknowledge the four Biblical truths listed above in my daily life?  Is my faith producing a good work ethic in me?"  Consider your responses and pray about it.  Ask God to give you wisdom and guidance in how you manage yourself in work from day to day... ultimately this is God's work for those who live by faith in Him.

God bless your work!

-atg-

What do FAITH, HOPE, & LOVE have to do with WORK, LABOR, & ENDURANCE?

In the letter called "1 Thessalonians", the apostle Paul writes encouraging words, thanking God for the Thessalonians' faith, mentioning them in prayers. He goes on to say that he remembers their "work produced by faith", their "labor prompted by love", and their "endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3).

Let's think about what we are reading here for a minute...  Most of us have heard the wonderful things about "faith, hope, and love".  They make us feel good just to hear those words.  It may remind us of a song we like, our families, a great insprirational calendar page, or piece of art, or perhaps for some they even remind us of God and His great provision for us and the promise of eternal life. 

We don't often (if ever), think or say those words "faith, hope, and love" and also think about "work, labor, and endurance"... do we?  So, why is this letter linking them together?  Consider these facts:

1.  The Bible often shows us the great work that is produced by those who are faithful to God.  They are often very productive in work done for the kingdom.  They do not sit by and watch... they are people of action because of their faith.  In fact, we also read "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (James 2:17)

2. When it comes to those that you love, aren't they often the ones that you willfully labor to help and serve?  What about those that you don't even know?... what motivates you to feed the hungry, help the homeless, volunteer at the school, or whatever?  Isn't it love?  Is your labor one of love?

3.  When we read about amazing feats of endurance and perseverance, they are often of people who have faith in God.  However, beyond this human level of endurance, there is a special kind of spiritual endurance which is inspired by the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.  The Bible says that "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16).  Well, if that fact isn't enough to give you endurance for whatever is it you must endure, then what will?

May God grant you wisdom and understanding of this great blessing: that you will be remembered in loved ones' prayers for your "work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

Blessings...

-Andy G.