Scripture:
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
Sat, 29 October 2022

God’s Love and Christ’s Steadfastness

Observation:

How do you understand Paul’s prayer in verse 5?

Deeper Reflection
THE THESSALONIANS WERE ENDURING PERSECUTIONS AND afflictions with steadfastness and faith while waiting for the Lord to return in His glory (2 Thess 1). They were to counter false teachings concerning Christ’s Second Coming by standing firm in the truth (2 Thess 2). And in this discipleship context, Paul appropriately prays for them: “May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ” (v.5a).“Heart” speaks “not as the seat of emotions but of the whole person”49. We need God to “direct” – “to make straight” – our hearts, because “apart from Christ’s influence” our hearts “wander in diverse directions after things that are not always healthy and holy”; and thus, God must “‘make them straight’ such that they are directed in a single-minded, focused way toward a specific goal or purpose”50.The “love of God” is the love that both characterises God and is experienced from God.51 God loves us means He is committed to us with our best and highest interests at heart. And this does not mean all things will go smoothly in our lives. When God directs our hearts into His love, our hearts are in God’s love and we are secure in His love. Nothing can separate us from God’s love (Rom 8:38-39). The “steadfastness of Christ” is “the kind of perseverance found in Christ”52. Paul’s prayer means Christ imparts to us His own perseverance53, “the kind of perseverance He displayed in a life destined for the cross”54. When our hearts are in Christ’s perseverance as we endure trials, Christ’s perseverance is in our perseverance.
49 Gary S. Shogren, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Zondervan, 2012), 317 50 Jeffrey A. D. Weimar, 597 51 Gordon D. Fee, 322 52 Gordon D. Fee, 323 53 F. F. Bruce, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Word Biblical Commentary (Nelson, 1982), 202 5454 Gordon D. Fee, 323
Application:

What does it mean for me to have my heart directed into the love of God and
the steadfastness of Christ?

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: That God will direct their hearts into God’s love and Christ’s steadfastness
  • 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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