Scripture:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a
Mon, 26 September 2022

A Great Last Days Danger

Observation:

What significant observations can you make about the Thessalonians?

Deeper Reflection
THERE ARE TWO BATTLEFRONTS IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE: affliction and deception. Satan can be the source of affliction, “prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” by inflicting “suffering” (1 Pet 5:8-9). The target of attack in affliction is our faith. And so, we are to “resist” Satan in suffering by being “firm in your faith” (1 Pet 5:9). Satan is for sure the source of deception, “disguising himself as an angel of light” through his servants, false teachers and deceitful workers who “disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor 11:13-15). The target of attack in deception is truth. But faith and truth are interrelated. The basis of our faith is truth, and we build our faith on truth. When we are attacked through affliction, we can know it, because we can feel it. But when we are attacked through deception, we may not know it, because we do not see it. Deception is: We are deceived and we do not know that we are deceived.The Thessalonians were afflicted by persecutions (2 Thess 1:4) and attacked by false teachers, teaching that “the day of the Lord has come”, and they were “quickly shaken/easily unsettled in mind” and “alarmed” (vv.1-2). And Paul urgently warns: “Do not be deceived” (v.3). It was the Thessalonians’ “mind” that was disturbed and destabilised. Deception is more potent than persecution. “In fact, the intellectual assault on Christianity is often fiercer than the physical.”37 Do we know how to detect deception? We can discern deception only by knowing the truth and having a right heart.
37 John R. W. Stott, The Message of Thessalonians, The Bible Speaks Today (IVP, 1991), 156
Application:

How can I keep myself from being destabilised and deceived by false teachings?

Prayer:
Lord, grant me a strong desire to seek to learn and live by the truth of Your Word. And as I do so, may the Spirit of truth teach me and guide me in knowing and understanding the truth, that I may grow in wisdom and be able to detect and discern false teaching. But most of all, guard my heart and keep me from falling into self-deception.
Prayer Pointers:
  • Give thanks and praise
  • Pray for leaders
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self

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Daily Devo
Daily Devotional Journal
Scripture:
Daniel 7:13-18, 25-27; 11:29-36
Sat, 2 December 2023

The Triumph

Observation:

What characterises the triumph of God’s people in tribulations under tyrants?

Deeper Reflection
God’s people living under tyrants and suffering tribulations under them can triumph – whether we are delivered from or destroyed in tribulation. The triumph rests on a threefold confidence.We know the conclusion of evil. It is repeated in manifold ways in Daniel that evil that comes through inhuman kings – no matter how great and how long – will definitely come to an end: “he will be broken” (Dan 8:25), “he will be found no more” (Dan 11:19), “yet he will come to his end” (Dan 11:45) and “all these events will be completed” (Dan 12:7).We know God’s calling for us: To be a suffering people – to be captured, plundered, burned or killed (Dan 11:33). But in our suffering, we can be strong as “people who know their God” (Dan 11:32), knowing that God is purging and purifying us to become a sanctified (Dan 11:35; 12:10) and shining people who “shine brightly” with heavenly brightness in the hostile world (Dan 12:3). And we will be a steadfast people who “keep waiting and attain to the 1,335 days” (Dan 12:12) – until we become a sovereign people who “receive and possess the kingdom forever” from “the Ancient of Days” (vv.13-14, 18, 27).We know who is in control. The tribulations under the tyrants in Daniel 7 to 12 are all subject to and subsumed under “that which is decreed will be done” (Dan 11:36; 9:26, 27) “at the appointed time” (Dan 11:27, 29, 35).We conclude Daniel with this theological-discipleship summary statement: We can triumph in tribulations under tyrants when we trust with tenacity in the One who is on the throne.
Application:

How can I triumph in tribulations?

Prayer:
Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.
Prayer Pointers:
  • Give thanks and praise
  • Pray for Church Board: To grow in the faith and perseverance of overcomers in Christ
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self

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