1 Thessalonians 5

5:1-3   Echoes Christ's own teachings in Matt. 24-25, Mark 13 and Luke 21. The suddenness of Christ's coming is what is emphasized here.
5:4-6   Two-thousand years of waiting seems to have dulled our senses in this regard. We give lip service to the idea of the imminence of Christ's coming but live our lives as though it's not actually going to be anytime soon. "He could come today...but probably won't" best describes our attitudes. If we lived and thought and spoke and worked as though our King could return at any moment I dare say things would look a bit differently.
5:8   A brief version of the armor of God; Eph. 6:10-18  The hope (in other words, the full assurance and conviction) of our coming salvation figuratively protects our heads. We are liable to forget this piece of the armor and let all sorts of things get into our heads. What if our thoughts were continually drawn back to the fact that our Prince is coming to rescue us and take us away to be with Him forever?
5:11   Paul repeats his admonition from 4:18
5:12-13   Respect for pastors and teachers is urged
5:14-22   A nine-verse list of simple instructions that Paul fleshes out in more depth in other letters. It's amazing how simple the things on the list are.
5:16-18   Upcoming memory verses
5:23-24   One of my all-time favorite passages in Scripture. "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." I wish I could remember that every moment of the day.

1 Thessalonians 3-4

3:5   Kind of an odd statement to make.  Did Paul really think their efforts could have been useless, given how he talks about the outpouring of God's Spirit in 1:4?
3:12-13   Two great prayers for people that Paul dearly loved.
4:3-8   In this small section on sexual immorality, v. 6  remains a bit obscure to me: "...no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him."  In what way?  Unless "brother" in this case is used as a generic for brothers and sisters, in which case it starts to make a bit more sense.  A bit more, anyway.
4:9-10   Love one another.  Seems like we've heard that somewhere before....
4:11-12  Future memory verses.
4:13   I find the thought of unbelievers grieving with no hope to be extremely sad.  How many in Haiti grieve that way today?  How many in Louisville?
4:13-18   Some people have mocked Christianity for its belief in "pie-in-the-sky by and by."  But this passage (from which most teachings about the Rapture are drawn) makes it clear that the restoration of our lost relationships and our hope in being with Christ forever are integral to our faith.  Indeed, Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:19 that if there is no resurrection then Christians are the most pathetic people on earth.

1 Thessalonians 1-2

For some good background on 1 Thess., click here.

Paul's visit to Thessalonica is detailed in Acts 17:1-9 and took place directly after the events in Phillippi (Acts 16:11-40).  Phillippi and Thessalonica were both major cities of Macedonia (northern Greece), with Thessalonica located on the Aegean coast about 70 miles to the west of Phillippi.  Acts 16:6-10 tells us that Paul and his companions (Silas, Timothy and Luke) went to Macedonia to preach the gospel in direct response to a vision from the Lord.

1 Thess. 1:3   This is one of our memory verses down the road.  The faith, hope and love triad recalls 1 Cor. 13:13
1:4-5   There is an emphasis here on God's power and sovereignty.  Paul is saying that not only was the gospel preached, it was accompanied by an outpouring of His Spirit.  Reminds me of 1 Cor. 3:6-7, where Paul talks about planting the seed but God making it grow.
1:7   Achaia refers to southern Greece; this is where Athens and Corinth are located.
2:2   Paul refers to his and Silas' imprisonment in Phillippi.
2:3-6   I like how Paul's top goal was to please God.  His sincerity and passion for the message with which God had entrusted him are so evident.
2:8-9   Imparting spiritual blessings was apparently not enough for Paul and his companions.  They had a sincere love for the people they were ministering to and physically labored among them; it's a reminder of the work so many are doing currently in Haiti.
2:10-12   Wouldn't it be nice to be able to know with certainty that your words and actions are blameless?  So much so that you can tell someone else that and they could only agree with you?
2:18   Apparently Satan's opposition is not always ineffective.  God does allow him a short leash, but ultimately it is His purposes that will prevail.

Charles and Irene

Here's what I was talking about with the "Charles and Irene" signature to my blog posts.  Paul greets his readers with the phrase "grace and peace to you" in every letter that he wrote: Rom. 1:7, 1 Cor. 1:3, 2 Cor. 1:2, Gal. 1:3, Eph. 1:2, Phil. 1:2, Col. 1:2, 1 Thes. 1:1, 2 Thes. 1:2, 1 Tim. 1:2, 2 Tim. 1:2, Titus 1:4, and Phlm. 3.  The phrase looks like this in Greek, χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη; or, transliterated into the Latin alphabet, charis kai eirene.  The really neat thing about these words is the depth of their meaning.  At www.greekbible.com, they are defined as follows:


charis: 1. grace,  1a. that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm,  loveliness: grace of speech,  2. good will, loving-kindness, favour,  2a. of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues  3. what is due to grace  3a. the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of  divine grace  3b. the token or proof of grace, benefit  3b i. a gift of grace  3b ii. benefit, bounty  4. thanks, (for benefits, services, favours), recompense, reward


eirene: 1. a state of national tranquillity,  1a. exemption from the rage and havoc of war  2. peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord  3. security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and  harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous)  4. of the Messiah's peace  4a. the way that leads to peace (salvation),  5. of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is  6. the blessed state of devout and upright men after death


That's a lot to wish upon someone with just two simple words. So grace and peace to you, through Christ Jesus our Lord.

First Post

Just so all of you know that you've come to the right place. Back with more in a bit.