2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
“3We are obligated to thank God for you all the time,
brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your
love for one another is increasing. 4That is why we boast among God’s churches
about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and
affliction you are enduring.”
Encouraging the Body
When we read the epistles, i.e. the letters to the churches
throughout the New Testament books, not just in the book of Revelation, we are
given many instructions in how we should and should not live, in the things we
should and should not do, and in what it means biblically to be followers of
Christ. These are principles we can all apply to our lives, if we will. But
when it comes to giving words of encouragement to a specific group of people,
we must be careful that we do not take that as for us unless it applies to us. For
not everyone is maturing and loving and enduring persecution for Christ.
For example, here Paul is writing to the church of the
Thessalonians, meaning the full congregation of the saints of God throughout
the entire city. But they did not have large buildings back then for large
congregational gatherings. They most likely met in small groups in people’s
homes. But collectively all Christians throughout the city were the church in
that city. And here Paul was encouraging the Christians because their faith was
growing more and more, and their love for one another was increasing. And they
persevered in their faith in the face of persecution and much affliction.
So, is encouragement important to have? It is! But should we
be faithful to God even if we don’t have any, or very little, but we get a lot
of opposition? Yes! We must! Should we allow how other people treat us, for
good or for evil, to impact how we live? We should live for the Lord no matter
how we are treated by other humans. And we must love all people, even those who
hate us and who speak evil of us and who do evil against us. And we must keep
growing in our walks of faith to maturity in Christ no matter what our circumstances
might be. So, if you are doing that, then praise the Lord!!
2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
“5All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment.
And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are
suffering. 6After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those
who afflict you, 7and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as
well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His
mighty angels 8in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know
God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will suffer the penalty
of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory
of His might, 10on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded
with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our
testimony.”
Suffering for the Kingdom
If we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, and if we
are letting Him guide us and direct us in the ways that He would have us to go,
according to His calling and purpose for our lives, even in the face of must
persecution and rejection, then we will be counted worthy of the kingdom of
God, for which we are suffering. But this means that, by God-gifted faith in
Jesus Christ, we have denied self, we are dying to sin (putting sin to death
daily), and we are walking (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord
and to His New Covenant commands, by God’s grace and in the power of God.
While we still live on the earth, if we are truly in the
center of God’s will, doing His will and purpose for our lives, we should
expect that we will face persecution and false accusations against our
character. We may have friends and family members reject us or want nothing to
do with us because of our seriousness of faith and obedience to God’s leading
in our lives. Especially here in the USA where the majority appear to be pampering
people in their sins and where the “feel good” stuff is being preferred to the
hard truths of the Scriptures, we will face opposition if we obey God.
One day this will all be over, either when we die or when
Jesus returns to judge and to take His faithful bride to be with Him for
eternity. Sadly many people, including many who profess faith in Jesus Christ,
who did not honor God with their lives, but who chose their own selfish paths
instead, will be judged by God. And they will hear our Lord say, “Depart from
me you workers of lawlessness. I never knew you.” And they will suffer eternal
destruction. For not everyone who calls Jesus “Lord” will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but the ones DOING the will of God (see Matthew 7:21-23).
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts
26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans
8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians
5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14;
Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24;
1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation
3:1-22]
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
11To this end, we always pray for you, that our God will
count you worthy of His calling, and that He will powerfully fulfill your every
good desire and work of faith, 12so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be
glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Praying for You
As followers of Christ, we need to pray for one another. We
need to pray for those who are professing faith in Jesus Christ with their lips
but who are still living to please the flesh, still deliberately and habitually
sinning against the Lord and not obeying His commands in life practice. We need
to pray for their salvation, that they will turn from their sins and now obey
God with their lives. And we need to pray for the faithful among us who are
doing the will of God, who are sharing the gospel for the salvation of human
lives, and who are suffering persecution for speaking the truth and not the
lies.
Perseverance in The Faith
An Original Work / September 18, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Pray, Pray, Pray
Based off Various Scriptures
An Original Work / September 6, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Pray that eyes may
enlightened be,
So they may know
Christ.
Pray that they may
Him better know,
Strengthened by His
pow’r.
Pray that they may
grasp how wide and long
And high and deep is
Christ’s love.
Pray that they may
be filled
To the fullness of
God’s love.
Pray with
thanksgiving.
Pray for an open
door for me,
So I may share
Christ.
Pray when the gospel
is proclaimed –
Shared with clarity.
Pray words are given
me so
I declare the gospel
fearlessly.
I pray for you to be
active
Sharing your faith,
too.
Pray continually.
We oft not know for
what to pray,
So we ask for help.
The Spirit
intercedes for us –
Words cannot
express.
Just keep on praying
for the saints
With all kinds of
requests to God.
Pray they may have
faith to
Please their God in
ev’ry way.
Pray with
joyfulness.
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