1 Thessalonians 3:6

But now Timothy has returned to us from you. He has brought us the good news of your faith—and your love; he has told us that you always have good memories of us, and that you are longing to see us, just as we are to see you.

Did you know that First Thessalonians is the oldest letter written by the apostle Paul that we have?

And did you know that First Thessalonians is the first Christian writing in existence that we know of?

Pretty cool.

Paul wrote it in A.D. 51 to the church in Thessalonica (modern day Thessaloniki) about six months after he founded it.

So what was the occasion for writing the oldest Christian letter in existence?

Being overjoyed by a good report.

I like that!

Paul was forced to leave Thessalonica sooner than he desired, due to persecution. He knew it would be tough for the Thessalonians too, and was growing concerned over their spiritual lives. So he sent Timothy back to check on them and encourage them so they wouldn’t be pulled off course by their sufferings.

Timothy returned to Paul with very good news of their faith and their love, still intact.

Paul must have been ecstatic!

In response, he penned this letter, the oldest extant Christian writing, in order to further encourage them in their faith in Christ, love for each other, and giving thanks always.

It’s interesting to ponder that this first Christian letter was written to a community who was actually doing well, for the purpose of expressing joy over them, thankfulness for them, and encouragement to keep going, to stay on target.

I see from this the great need to encourage those who are faithful, who are doing good day after day, not in an obvious faith crisis or trauma, and how they need to be spurned on like anybody else.

We all need encouragement in the Lord. It’s amazing how just some notice and acknowledgment can invigorate you to keep on going. Many of you have emailed how you’ve been encouraged by one or more of these writings, and you just don’t know how uplifting that is. Yes, we perform for an audience of One, yet we also are inspired through one another as we thoughtfully bestow blessing—God’s smile—upon one another.

It’s easy to overlook those who are doing just fine.

Who can you encourage today who seems to be doing well?

Abounding in the work of the Lord is only one step removed from abandoning the work of the Lord through complacency.

~Bruce Wilkinson & Kenneth Boa

1 Thessalonians 2:4

Rather, we speak as people whom God has validated to be entrusted with the gospel; not with a view to pleasing people, but in order to please God, who validates our hearts.

Only God can really validate our hearts, knowing exactly what our motivation is.

People validate our ego, our pride–not necessarily intentionally.

Pleasing people can feel fulfilling, but a smile from God is fulfilling.

Doing everything for an audience of One is the surest remedy for the stress involved with trying to make people happy with you, like you, think you’re impressive…

All attempts to obtain significance and worth from anywhere but God are, in the end,  depressingly futile.

But resting in and operating out of  your identity in Christ and in who you are because of who God is—that is exhilaratingly empowering.

Satisfying, like nothing else.

1 Thessalonians 1:6-8

When you received the word, you had a lot to suffer, but you also had the Holy Spirit’s joy.

As a result, you became a model for all the believers in both Macedonia and Achaea

For the word of the Lord has resonated out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaea; your faith in God has gone out to people everywhere. This means that we haven’t had to say anything.

How you suffer can be the greatest witness for Christ of your entire life.

More than what you say.

Even more than what you do.

Or don’t do.

It is in rough times when what we are truly dependent on for Life can be shaken out.

This is tough stuff.

But it can be a time of immense growth. A time for the purgation of that which is not God or leading to God.

This is the stuff of the Spirit.

Colossians 4:2

Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.

This is simply some of the best advice in the history of the human race.

Take it.

It is typically best, if possible, to have a set time and place daily for devoted prayer.

To stay alert, make sure you do your best to maintain focus on God, the One with whom you’re speaking, more than on what you’re saying. That has been a huge help to me.

Gratitude should be a part of every part of your life. God designed your brain to be healthy when in gratitude. We’re just now showing this to be true scientifically….as if we needed that kind of proof.

Colossians 4:17

And tell Archippus, “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.”

I love this translation. We’ve all been given a ministry. You are in some unique position, like no one else on the planet, to minister God’s goodness to someone in your life—someone who has no other channel of Christ like the one they have in you.

Pay attention to it.

Sometimes it’s that simple. Just paying attention. So that God can accomplish a really good work…through you.

Warren Wiersbe’s pithy comments with regard to Archippus are inspiring:

Since the Lord gave him his ministry, the Lord could also help him carry it out in the right way. Ministry is not something we do for God; it is something God does in and through us.

We are able to fulfill our ministries because we have been “filled full” through Jesus Christ.

We usually don’t have to go looking around for ways to get involved in ministry; for something to do for God.

Rather we need to simply listen to what God is asking of us. This is done, at least in part, by paying close attention to what is going on right around us and saying, “OK.”

Colossians 3:2

Think about the things that are above, not the things that belong on earth.

It’s not always easy to set and keep our minds on that which we cannot see, yet which we know is real and true.

A great illustration I heard last week was to picture holding a large diamond in your hands. That jewel represents your life and things happening here day to day. It is precious, shiny, calls for our attention, has rough edges…

But what we don’t always realize is that we are able to look through that diamond and see the palms underneath, holding it. When we’re quiet, calm, and slowed, we’re able to take the time to focus, and see through our life to the One behind it all, realizing those palms belong to Jesus. This is how we can see the eternal while looking at (through) the temporal.

We realize that all of life is see-through. No matter the experience, we are able to look through it to Christ, loving us, holding us, in ultimate control, working for our good, for what is best for us even if we don’t understand it when we only stare at that diamond.

It also reminds me of those 3D pictures that got popular twenty-some years ago. A normal, lazy glance at them revealed only a nonsensical mess of what looked kind of like television noise with lots of colors.

But if you could train your eyes by trying to look straight through the picture, as if focusing on what lies behind it, something awesome would happen. A three dimensional picture would “pop out!” I’ll never forget the first time I was able to see one, and couldn’t help to just yell out, “Oh! Whoa! Look at that! So cool!!”

Set your mind on that which transcends the things here on earth, for your real life is hidden with Christ in God in that heavenly realm, which we can see….

if we’re looking.

Colossians 2:8

Watch out that nobody uses philosophy and hollow trickery to take you captive! These are in line with human tradition, and with the “elements of the world”—not the king.  ~NTE

I like N.T. Wright’s simple warning with regard to this verse:

Whatever new idea someone comes up with, this is the acid test: does it have Jesus, the Messiah, the Lord, as its centre and focus? If not, beware….if you’ve already got Jesus the Messiah as your Lord, you don’t need to be ‘completed’ by any other system at all…

Sometimes we as Christians do not live as though we truly believe that Jesus literally embodies the one true God, God in all God’s fullness. When we live into the fullness of Jesus in us, there is nowhere to go but down as far as philosophies and traditions, because they are merely human-devised and appointed.

Sometimes we forget who is in us, and therefore, just how little we need from this world.

Again, Wright asked this thoughtful question:

What are the religious and philosophical attractions in your world that are most likely to draw new Christians away from the ‘fulfillment’ they already have in the king?

Colossians 1:29

That’s what I am working for, struggling with all his energy which is powerfully at work in me.

Paul strenuously worked for the gospel with God’s energy.

How do we operate on God’s energy?

Let’s work from the known to the unknown.

How does the human body use energy?

We measure energy in calories. Calories are the energy, or fuel, we burn while performing activities.

If you’re going to run, say, a mini-marathon, you will want to “carb up” as they say. Why? Because you want plenty of energy (fuel) to burn if you’re going for optimal performance. You want stores of energy, along with reserves. The stored energy your body burns during intense performance is called glycogen. (That’s a cool sounding word, looks good on paper, and even has both a hard “G” and a soft “g”. Love it.) And you want lots of glycogen to run 13.1 miles well. That’s the energy you want to burn for best performance.

What if you don’t have enough stored energy?

Let’s say you starve yourself for the week leading up to the race.

Well, your body will have to feed on itself. It needs energy from somewhere, so it will take it from your muscle tissue. This is what’s called a catabolic state. Your body will also burn some fat reserves which may sound good, but that is poor fuel for performance.

So how do we “carb up” spiritually?

I’m reminded of the account of Jesus praying all night long before He chose the twelve (Luke 6:12-13). He prayed up. That is how we can store divine energy. And that is the fuel we need to burn spiritually, or else we become catabolic Christians, using only our own energy, which is not optimal fuel for the spiritual realm.

You don’t want to burn yourself, you want to burn Spirit, and you must carb up on Spirit. Another way of saying it may be that praying up removes obstacles to the Spirit working.

We’re rarely taught to pray like the warriors of old—for long periods, throughout the entire day, consistently, and persistently as Jesus taught in Luke 11 and 18.

It’s amazing what I’ve seen happen when praying in this manner.

Philippians 4:6

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

~New Living Translation

This simple advice may seem trite to some.

That is sad.

For this is some of the deepest, most profound truth of the universe.

To share with God, in a conversational manner, every single experience, detail, concern, joy, the minute details of your life and thoughts, all while constantly giving thanks for everything God does everyday—this will change your life and transform it into a sacrament of praise to God.

It transforms you.

It transforms your mind into the mind of Christ.

What is more powerful?

What is more peaceful?

You can train yourself to use the beginning of every worry as a trigger to pray.

You can do this.

As soon as worry starts, go to prayer. Authentic prayer of the heart. Tell God your every concern, what you’re thinking, no matter how dark or ridiculous it may sound to you, and try it out loud. It is helpful to do this. Sometimes we need to hear ourselves talk with God.

Don’t worry about anything. Rather, in every area of life let God know what you want as you make requests, and give thanks as well. ~New Testament For Everyone

For further inspiration, you might check out Present Perfect by Greg Boyd. It covers the single most important practice of the spiritual life in my opinion. I’m currently reading it for about the seventh time.

Philippians 3:8

I calculate everything as a loss, because knowing King Jesus as my Lord is worth far more than everything else put together.

Saint Thomas Aquinas is renowned as one of the great theologians and brilliant philosophers in Western Christianity.

His towering masterwork Summa Theologica is a 3,500 page masterpiece on the main teachings of the Catholic faith, explained in philosophical terms. It is a multi-volume beast.

It’s influence not only on Catholicism but also on Western culture cannot be overestimated.

But he never finished it.

And he didn’t care.

On December 6, 1273, something extraordinary happened. While saying Mass, a routine he had performed hundreds of times before, he had an experience of encounter with the splendor of God, and was completely enraptured by God’s love that caused everything else to be put in a new perspective.

Afterward, he told his secretary that he was unable to continue his work, for compared to the mystical insight he received that morning, all his writing “seemed like straw” to him.

In a matter of seconds, he received more insight directly from God than he had in years of study and thinking.

And he never picked up the pen again.

In comparison to truly knowing Jesus as Lord, the most brilliant writing, thinking, philosophizing on earth can come to be seen as virtually worthless.