For years I led trips to Israel for students. Often, we traveled in buses on tight schedules. It was important for the students to be in the bus on time, not to miss opportunities to see important sites by the end of the day. Each morning began with a gentle reminder that if they were too late, they might get left behind.

In his first letter to the Thessalonians Paul addressed the issue of Christians who had perished. In his second letter Paul addressed a different problem. It seems the word went around that Jesus had already returned, and they had missed Him (v. 2)! As you might imagine this was disconcerting. To make matters worse, Paul was aware that this rumor might have been backed up by people claiming to have spoken with him and maybe bearing false letters forged in his name (v. 2).

He answers by giving them prophetic insight into the future. After his conversion, Paul received direct revelation from Jesus (Gal. 1:12). Jesus revealed to Paul that certain things must come to pass before He would come back. The details were not so specific that someone could pinpoint the day when Jesus would return. However, they are specific enough to assure his readers that God had a plan. He expected his readers to be encouraged by this. They had no reason to be unsettled, because God was in control.

The events of the future would not roll out haphazardly. God’s sovereign hand was on the future! First, the “man of lawlessness” must appear (v. 3). He must set himself up in the Temple as God (v. 4). But until the time was right, he was being held in check (v. 6). The Thessalonians could stand firm in the knowledge that they would not miss Christ’s return.

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Grief is part of the human experience. It cannot be escaped, and yet people try to conceal their grief with pleasure, mask pain with substances, or avoid it with busyness. But grief will not be denied. C. S. Lewis wrote, “No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear.” He was reflecting that grief, because it is so uncontrollable, provokes in us a terror of the unknown. We cry out: What is next?

Early Christians in Thessalonica faced a grief that required special instruction. Living a few short years after Jesus ascended, they faced the difficulty of watching their loved ones die before Jesus came back. This was disconcerting. They expected to see Jesus return in their lifetime and now faced the realization that their loved ones would not be alive to see Him.

Paul answered their grief with truth: “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (v. 14). They did not need to fear or grieve as those who had no hope (v. 13). The dead in Christ are more alive than ever! Their bodies lie in the ground awaiting Christ’s return to be reunited with their souls. And anyone alive at Christ’s return will participate in the experience (v. 17)! Together we will meet the Lord and enjoy His presence forever.

Rather than conceal, mask, or avoid their grief, Paul instructs them to be encouraged that both dead and living Christians will be reunited with Christ. While we grieve now, we are not like people who don’t know God and His plan. We grieve with hopeful anticipation of Christ’s return—the joyful reality of being reunited with believers who have died and being “with the Lord forever” (v. 17).

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Home ownership is attractive. Why pay rent when you can invest your hard-earned money into an asset that may appreciate over time? However, owning a home takes effort. The lawn must be mowed, the siding must be painted, and the roof must be repaired. But even while a rental might be easier, homeownership is considered a worthy investment.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul encourages his readers to do the hard work of maintaining the faith they have attained. They need to continue to live their lives in submission to the authority of Jesus (v. 6). He uses two images to describe the hard work they need to do. First, they need to remain rooted in Christ (v. 7). Like a plant extending roots for nutrients in the soil, they need to sink their roots deep in the knowledge of their Savior.

Second, their faith needs to be built up like a firm foundation that supports a building. They are to strengthen their faith and cultivate a heart “overflowing with thankfulness” (v. 7). Paul’s advice was important because the Colossians lived in a dangerous place, awash in “hollow and deceptive philosophy” (v. 8). These teachings were not based on Christ but on cultural practices and even the demonic world. Proponents of these ideas were always on the lookout for converts to ensnare. The Colossians needed to avoid being taken captive, and Paul’s warnings also ring true for us today!

Like home ownership, living out our faith takes work. The Colossians could not assume that just because they came to faith in Christ in the past, they would not need to expend energy on a regular basis to maintain that faith against opposition. In the same way, we need to realize that the work we do now for Christ is of eternal value.

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You might not know that The Pilgrim’s Progress was written in prison. The author, John Bunyan, was imprisoned for preaching in public without a license. At the time the local authorities banned such preachers, so they put Bunyan in jail for 12 years. But if their goal was to silence him, they failed. Bunyan used the time to write The Pilgrim’s Progress, which has become one of the most printed books in the English-speaking world.

Paul wrote Philippians under similar circumstances. He was falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the Jewish Temple and this precipitated a series of events which led to his incarceration. One would expect this difficult situation to result in frustration and anger for the apostle, but he had a different perspective. He accepted this trial as from the hand of God and focused on opportunities it presented him.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul noted that during his imprisonment the gospel was being preached to people who would not normally hear it (v. 13). Paul would not have had access to the palace guard if he had not been placed in prison! In addition, as other believers watched him endure this trial with grace and a sense of mission, they became bolder (v. 14). Finally, Paul used his time in prison to write letters to Christian communities. These letters made an impact on early Christians and continue to do so today.

Paul’s example reminds us that we have options when enduring a trial. We can languish under the pain and a sense of injustice, or we can lean in and look for the opportunities it creates. Your accusers may intend to silence you, but they may be giving you a platform for the gospel.

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Have you ever received something in a package you didn’t expect? Occasionally a vendor will include a gift with my purchase, maybe a sticker, coupon, or a product sample. Most of the time these free gifts aren’t something I want or need, so they land in the trash.

In the opening of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul details a list of good gifts that come along with the salvation Christ won for us. The best gift we receive when we believe the gospel is a relationship with the God of the universe. That would be enough. But because God is so gracious, so generous, he bestows a wealth of incredibly valuable extras.

We are not just saved, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing (v. 3). We are not just saved, we have been made holy and blameless (v. 4). We are not just saved, we have been adopted into a new family (v. 5). God has not left us in the dark, He has shown us what His plan is for this world (v. 10). All this, and so much more, comes to those who trust in Christ!

Christians should be aware of their inheritance in Christ because the world offers its own alternate list of “bonus gifts.” From the world, we are offered a sense of belonging, endless enjoyment, and a self-focused way of life. But none of these comes from God who lavished His love on us by sacrificing His Son for our sins. When we fully appreciate the blessings given to us by God, the gifts of the world begin to look like those stickers you didn’t ask for, thrown into the bottom of a box and sent by someone you don’t know.

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The sound of a siren is meant to evoke a strong and immediate response. The powerful wail means one thing: There is an emergency, so be ready to act. You may need to stop, you may need to pull over—pay attention!

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul sounds a warning siren for a theological emergency. He had received a report that the Galatians had begun to change their minds about the gospel. He taught them that Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient to secure their salvation (v. 1) but now they had begun to believe that this was insufficient. They wanted to earn their salvation. “Are you so foolish?” asks Paul (v. 3).

The Galatians had a stunning change of mind. Paul points out that they received the Holy Spirit at salvation by believing (v. 2). The Spirit was the sign of their salvation, and they received that as a gift. He sounds the alarm even louder by pointing out that God had been working among them, and this was not because they earned it by doing good works (v. 5). No, they had believed, and God saved them, so why would they try to earn those gifts now? Abraham serves as the perfect example. When confronted by God, he believed, and God made him righteous (v. 6).

The Galatians needed to pay attention and act. They needed to think differently about their situation. They needed to accept the grace of God’s gift and stop trying to work for it. Their very salvation was at risk. If they tried to earn it, they would surely fail. No one can be righteous enough to overcome their sin problem! Thankfully, there is One who has taken care of it for us.

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Wisdom tells us that before we judge someone we should “walk a mile in their shoes.” It is difficult to make an accurate judgment without comprehending another’s situation in some detail. Less often welcomed is the need to walk a mile in someone’s shoes before we can comfort them. Since we often avoid difficulty and suffering at all costs, the comfort we offer can seem thin or shallow. We haven’t suffered, so we can’t comfort.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul offers a different perspective on the suffering he endured. He suggested that suffering has a purpose. As an apostle and messenger of the gospel, Paul, as well his coworkers, suffered greatly. But he had learned that his sufferings enabled him to comfort others who suffer (v. 4). Amid his difficulties, Paul had enjoyed the comfort of God, and this positioned him to comfort others.

Paul’s sufferings were indeed like Christ’s. He suffered on our behalf. He endured so that we could learn how to endure. He received the comfort of God (Matt. 4:11; Luke 22:43) so he could comfort those who suffer (Matt. 11:28). The writer of Hebrews called Jesus a sympathetic High Priest, able to understand because of what He endured (Heb. 4:15). Paul understood the comfort he received came from Christ who commissioned him and had suffered like him (v. 5).

The final step in this new perspective about suffering was to recognize that his sufferings were purposeful. Paul reasoned that he had endured distress so that his readers could be comforted (v. 6). If he received comfort, it was to comfort them. Rather than suggesting that suffering was a random experience, Paul reasoned there was a purpose for difficult experiences. They gave him a new ability!

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We live in a culture enthralled with identity. It seems every group must assert its uniqueness to make themselves feel better. We take less pleasure in being part of the whole; we set ourselves apart to find purpose. Even the church can fall prey to this idea. Older folks avoid younger ones. Married couples avoid singles. We choose our favorite preacher and define ourselves by his doctrine.

The church at Corinth was just such a church. They were a divided group of believers who chose to emphasize their differences rather than celebrate what they had in common. This left them fractured, in conflict, and unable to maintain godly discipline.

Paul confronts this attitude by reminding them that they need to avoid acting in ways that are not in accordance with Scripture (v. 6). When it comes to biblical interpretation or application, what leader you identify with is immaterial. Choosing their favorite leader and identifying with him over another is a recipe for ungodly pride. The Corinthians needed to acknowledge that God created the difference. Everything they had was given by God. So, Paul reasons, if you received it, you should stop acting like you did not (v. 7).

Imagine a needy person boasting to another needy person about how good they are because they received more food from the food pantry. They both received what they have from someone else. “Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich” (v. 8)! There is no justification for boasting! The antidote to the divisiveness of an overemphasis on identity is to remember that everything we are and everything we have is from the Lord. He gets the glory for all of it!

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