Community Compass

My friend, the manager of a grocery store, nabbed a shoplifter in the act. He was escorting the suspect to the office in the front of the store (near the cash registers), when the shoplifter broke from his grip and tried to run.

After a scuffle, my friend pinned him against the wall and looked up to see a number of surprised customers staring at him.

“Everything’s fine, Folks,” he reassured them. “This guy just tried to go through the express line with more than ten items.”

- Crosswalk.com

Link here

Please note: As always, this is not a doctrinal endorsement of all the “Christian” groups that are being persecuted. This post is to highlight the religious intolerance that believers face around the world.

This also is not an endorsement of the websites and/or ministries that feature such accounts of persecution.

Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

We American believers often take too much for granted.  It’s because we don’ t fully think about the implications of being in a spiritual war.  The Apostle Paul closed out his second letter to the Thessalonians by asking for Prayer.  As an Apostle and as a missionary,  Paul knew first-hand the difficulty and  dangers that went along wit preaching the Word.  He realized that, in order for the Gospel to go forth effectively,  God had to be the One to do it.  Notice Paul’s requests.

1.  Propagation of the Gospel – Paul wanted the gospel to spread quickly throughout the regions in which h e preached.  The Greek world for spread quickly means “to run.”   His prayer was that the Gospel would run and continue to run.  The goal of the Gospel was not only to reach the world but to save the world.

2. Prominence of the Gospel -  Paul also asked for prayer that the Gospel be glorified.  He wanted people to have a good opinion of it.  He wanted people to love it and accept it as he had loved and accepted it.  This would be accomplished through none other than an act of God.  By nature, we humans hate the light of truth and will not come to it (John 3:19-21) .  We think it is foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14).  Honoring the Gospel requires the Holy Spirit to change our darkened hearts in order for us to be made new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

3. Protection from evil – Paul asked for prayer for protection from wicked and evil men.  The word wicked  means “improper.”  It can also mean “that which is surprising”.  Some have taken this to mean “outrageous.”  Certainly Paul had dealt with outrageous and ill-principled people.   Everywhere he went was unpredictable.  He preached in the synagogues of those who abhorred him. He also preached Christ in the very epicenters of paganism.  Paul realized that it was God who would sustain him as he ventured into hostile territory for the Gospel.

***

Paul not only believed that God would protect and strengthen himself, but he encouraged the Thessalonians by reminding them of the faithfulness of God. God would, indeed  strengthen them and protect them.  It was not God’s will for them to run away, but to stand.   God would give them the strength to obey all that he wanted for them to do (4).

Paul prayed that the Lord would guide their hearts (inner man) into God’s love and perseverance.   The Thessalonians were caring for each other and encouraging one another during difficult times.  The trouble they received for believing in Christ was drawing them closer, not pulling them apart (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4).  Paul realized that this was a God’s doing and he continued to pray for their love and perseverance (5).

Christians,  let’s pray for one another. Let’s pray for the Gospel to run throughout the world. Let’s pray that the Gospel would not be hampered by wicked people, that it would be accepted and honored. Let’s pray that we continue to love one another and stay faithful to God’s Word in these last days.  We can’t afford to be divided  We need this more than ever.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word   2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

AMEN.

While my friend was working as a receptionist for an eye surgeon, a very angry woman stormed up to her desk.. “Someone stole my wig while I was having surgery yesterday,” she complained.

The doctor came out and tried to calm her down. “I assure you that no one on my staff would have done such a thing,” he said. “Why do you think it was taken here?”

“After the operation, I noticed the wig I was wearing was cheap-looking and ugly.”

“I think” explained the surgeon gently, “that means your cataract operation was a success.”

- Copied

Religious persecution is in Nigeria. Not all denominations that claim to be Christian teach the truth. I certainly believe there are false Christian teachers, but even identifying with Christ’s name can incur great pain and suffering. Those who are teaching the truth are suffering as anyone who claims to be Christian. Read here.

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.   Thessalonians 2:13-15

If you are believer in Jesus Christ and have trusted Him as your Savior…

1. You are loved by the Lord

- because God chose you to be saved — from the very beginning!

- because the Holy Spirit set you apart to be his own and enlightened you to His truth!

2. You are called

-  by the Gospel – no other means (Romans 10:17)

-  that we might share in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ!

THEREFORE

-  Keep on standing firm (15)

-   Keep loyal to the true biblical things you have been taught (15)

A distraught senior citizen phoned her doctor’s office.

“Is it true,” she wanted to know, “that the medication you prescribed has to be taken for the rest of my life?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” the doctor told her.

There was a moment of silence before the senior lady replied, “I’m wondering, then, just how serious is my condition. This prescription is marked ‘NO REFILLS’.”

Article link here.

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 2 Thessalonians 2:7

If you read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 you will find that Paul is addressing a great fear of Thessalonian believers. An impostor of Paul told them that the Lord Jesus had already come back (vs. 2). Paul, summarizes what needs to happen before the Day of the Lord.

(Read Revelation 13 and Revelation 19:11-16)

1. A rebellion occurs, the man of lawlessness (Antichrist) is revealed (vs 3)

2. The man of lawlessness opposes God openly and sets himself up in the temple (4)

3. This rebellion is contained until the “proper time.” (6)

4. Once the restraining power is removed, the lawless one will be revealed (7-8)

5. God will destroy the man of lawless with the breath of his mouth (8)

It would be greatly disconcerting to us if we were to read this passage without understanding God’s role in all of this. Right now evil powers are working to formulate a final rebellion against God. Their aim is to defeat God and overthrow His Lordship. Yet verse 7 states that God is holding it back… until He is good and ready to expose His enemy. All of Satan’s evil plans go into effect — when God is ready to let him do it.

Why would God allow all this? I believe it will be to show everyone who is the Lord. We can fret about what is going on in the news. We can worry about all of the wars and political intrigue. But why? We know that God is in control. If He loves us and is watching out for us, we have every reason to be confident as we face the most daunting future. Hasn’t He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5)? We can be confident, that in the end, God will triumph — by the way, He is triumphing NOW.

Our great future is not an excuse for us to do nothing. We must tell others about His saving grace. We should work to make a difference in our world today. We can be a blessing to society and work to change things here, but our final joy will be realized when Christ comes back and triumphs over evil.