“Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:12

Work matters! It really does, even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes. For Christians, God commands and dignifies every kind of honest, ethical, and moral work in the economic marketplace. In Christ, daily employment shouldn’t be locked away in a separate compartment of life from faith and making disciples. Rather, every job is an opportunity to quietly, yet publicly, live out your faith and make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Paul is clear: Christians should work hard, even as we live in anticipation of Christ’s return. Christians should always work faithfully and well as if we are working for the Lord. Work certainly shouldn’t dominate our lives or our thoughts. However, it also shouldn’t be thought of as a necessary evil or something to be avoided. So-called secular employment is every bit a part of your ongoing ministry to this fallen world.

So work hard and work well. If you find yourself between jobs, work diligently to find a new job. If your job is forcing you to compromise your faith or integrity, find a new job. In the meantime, give thanks to God for employment for it’s both His means of provision and an opportunity to come in contact with many who need to know the love of Jesus.

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” – 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10

Not everyone who appears on the scene saying and doing amazing things is on God’s team! We should absolutely expect remarkable individuals with massive followings to appear who are actually servants of Satan. We should anticipate that these individuals will borrow much of the language and appearances of faith, even of Christianity. They may sound, to the casual listener, very godly, and perhaps even very Christian. But if they don’t proclaim Jesus as Lord, as Christ come in the flesh, they are an agent of Satan, not God! If they teach a false gospel, they are of Satan, not God.

Such an individual may be a popular preacher, a wildly successful silver-tongued politician, or a transcendent social media influencer. We should anticipate much media hype surrounding them. We should expect debate within the church over whether they’re perhaps “good” because they interest people in spiritual matters. They aren’t good!!!

Such people should be expected. Many will fall for them – don’t be one of those! Be discerning. Look carefully for the fruit of the Spirit: if that individual isn’t exhibiting love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, he or she is unlikely to be from God. If he or she isn’t acting like Jesus in the everyday way of compassion, sacrifice, and love, it’s quite likely he or she is serving Satan rather than God. Expect them and be prepared!

“My life is down in the dust; give me life through your word.” – Psalm 119:25

As creatures of dust, we often find ourselves in the dust. Low. Dry. Dusty. Grimy. Discouraged. Seeing dust in every direction and unable to see anything beyond more dust.

God breathes life into us through His Word. Through His Word made flesh, Jesus the Christ, Who came, lived, died, and rose from the died to make us new creation when we believe in Him. Through Christ, God makes us righteous, forgiven, redeemed, adopted, beloved.

For those in Christ, God breathes daily grace and mercy, refreshment and renewal, life and perspective through the daily reading of and meditation on His Word, the Bible. Verse by verse, paragraph by paragraph, day by day, God raises our perspective from our dusty view to His lofty view, from our short-sighted fixation on this moment to His eternal timeline, from death to life. He reveals our sin through His Word. He reveals His glory through His Word. He transforms our hearts and minds through His Word. He transforms our life through His Word. But we must be in His Word to experience these blessings. This is the enduring theme and message of the marvelous Psalm 119.

Do you know the Word made flesh? Do you spend time each day with the Word, the revealed truth of God?

“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:8

If you’re a follower of Jesus, then you ARE a child of light, a child of the day. With that wonderful truth comes a challenging reality: you must navigate and represent Jesus in a dark world full of temptation, discouragement, opposition, and deceit. The world would like to knock you off course. It would like to condemn you or discourage you from sharing good news and hope. It would like to make you doubt yourself and your Savior. It would like to confuse you about what is good and what is evil.

This is why you must maintain your self-control and self-discipline. Protect yourself for the spiritual battle that is everyday life! In this verse, Paul specifically highlights the spiritual armor that protects your heart (the breastplate of faith and love) and your mind (the helmet of the hope of salvation).

Our minds are protected by our confidence in our eternal salvation. We protect our minds from doubt and distraction by regularly reading God’s Word and thinking often of God’s Son, the Word made flesh, Who suffered and died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead, and today reigns in heaven. We remind ourselves that in Christ there is no condemnation for us. Our guilt and shame have been washed away by the blood of Jesus. We repeat to ourselves the truths of our heavenly citizenship and our eternal inheritance in God’s presence. We eagerly look forward to God’s ultimate judgment and justice. We anticipate the renewal of creation.

Our hearts and their fickle emotions are protected when we intentionally cultivate, meditate, celebrate, and radiate faith and love. We should read and remind ourselves of God’s great works throughout history. We should walk with God and talk with Him in prayer daily. We should meditate on His wondrous attributes and marvel at His grace, mercy, kindness, and love that was poured out at the cross. Confident in our faith, we’re able to love when the world wants us to hate and to stay rooted in God’s love even when we feel utterly discouraged and defeated.

“For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8

Here Paul highlights a good news, bad news, good news situation regarding your salvation…

GOOD NEWS: In Christ, you are made clean, holy, and pure. When you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord Savior your sins are forgiven, your guilt and shame are ALL washed away, and you’re set apart for God’s love and service. You are truly holy in Christ and God sees you in that way!

BAD NEWS: Now you need to live like you’re holy. You need to dedicate your life to becoming more like Jesus. You must reject the casual sins and temptations that continue to surround and plague you. You are to live intentionally different from the mainstream of our culture and instead represent Jesus as His ambassador in the world. If you don’t care about holiness, don’t pursue holiness, or reject the idea of holiness altogether, then you are rejecting God Himself!

GOOD NEWS: God has given you the necessary power to pursue, grow in, and live out the holiness He already sees in you. God gives every follower of Jesus His Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit Who enables you to change and changes you over time to become more and like Jesus. This change doesn’t happen automatically – there is work you must do. You must battle those sins and temptations. You must pursue God through precious means like prayer, Bible study, meditation, worship, Christian community, service, and sharing the Gospel.

Embrace who you are: HOLY. Embrace what you’re called to do: PURSUE HOLINESS. Embrace the power to succeed in that pursuit: THE HOLY SPIRIT!