Scripture:
2 Thessalonians 3:16
Thu, 17 November 2022

From the Lord of Peace (1)

Observation:

What significant observations can you make about Paul’s prayer in
verse 16a?

Deeper Reflection
IN 2 THESSALONIANS, PAUL CONCLUDES WITH “A THREEFOLD blessing”33: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way” (v.16a), “The Lord be with you all” (v.16b) and “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all” (2 Thess 3:18). What prayers that we can pray daily for ourselves and for the church! Note the centrality of the “the Lord” in these three prayers. We cannot assume when we pray – just because prayer is to God – that our prayer is Godcentred. God-centredness is a deliberate consciousness.Paul’s first prayer – prayer for “peace” (v.16a) – is made in both the immediate and larger context of the letter. The immediate context is his call for church discipline for those who persisted in disobeying his apostolic command to work and not living in idleness (2 Thess 3:6-15). The persistent disobedience and the exercising of church discipline would be a “chaotic situation” in the church, which “certainly involved personal conflict, pain, confrontation” and “a lack of peace”34. And there will be a lack of peace if the persistent disobedience is left unchecked and undealt with. However, when the church discipline results in the sinners’ repentance, there will be peace: between the sinners and God, and between the sinners and the rest of the church.35 But our hope for relational peace among God’s people lies on “the Lord of peace” (Paul’s emphasis), who “He Himself is our peace” (Eph 2:14), and it is He “Himself ” (another emphasis) who gives the peace. The emphases underline the Lord’s commitment to give us His peace.
33 John R. W. Stott, Thessalonians, 197 34 G. K. Beale, 1-2 Thessalonians, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (IVP Academic, 2003), 264 35 G. K. Beale, 265
Application:

What does it mean for me to know the Lord as the Lord of peace?

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 Outreach/Missions/New Life leaders: To know the Lord of peace in their discipleship journey
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self

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Daily Devo
Daily Devotional Journal
Scripture:
Daniel 10:11-12, 14-19
Tue, 26 September 2023

A Man of High Esteem

Observation:

What significant observations can you make about Daniel being called “man of high esteem” (vv.11, 19)?

Deeper Reflection
One of the heavenly beings called Daniel “man of high esteem” (v.11). This honour was bestowed on Daniel emphatically, in that it was repeated twice (v.19). This “high esteem” did not come from man, but from God Himself. God gave this honour to Daniel toward the end of his life when God called him to “enter into rest” (Dan 12:13). As a youth, Daniel “made up his mind not to defile himself with the king’s choice food” (Dan 1:8), and as an old man, he was faithful to God in spending time with Him in his “three times a day” devotion, even if it means to be thrown into the lions’ den (Dan 6:10). Daniel was finishing well in his life with “humbling yourself before your God” (v.12). When we think of finishing well in terms of successful accomplishments, we must be careful that we are not exalting ourselves.It is not for us to see ourselves in any way as a person of high esteem before God. It is for God to say that to us (2 Cor 10:17-18). Daniel never saw himself as a “man of high esteem”. A key emphasis in Daniel 10 is Daniel being greatly overwhelmed by the holiness and glory of God represented by the heavenly being with an awesome appearance (Dan 10:5-10, 15-18). And it was in this encounter with God when he was called “man of high esteem” that Daniel said, “How can such a servant of my Lord talk with such as my Lord?”50 (v.17). The man highly esteemed by God saw his unworthiness before God.
50 I have theologically translated “my lord” to “my Lord”, since the heavenly being is a representation of God.
Application:

What does being highly esteemed by God mean to me?

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 pastors and staff: To be able to see oneself as God sees
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self

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