2 Thessalonians 3

Verse 5 "May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance."

While I was working for Chrysler I recall a frank conversation I had with one of my supervisors. He told me that loyalty in corporate America is dead and if something better comes a long to take it. Commitment is a lot more rare than it used to be.

In many things we are a society of short-term commitments. I have been glued to the television and twitter for the past couple days as NFL teams sign free agents and cut some of their players. (The idea of cutting players is something I don't really understand. Apparently when you sign a guy to play football for 5 years, you can just cut him whenever you change your mind. But if he wants to go somewhere else he can't get out of the contract... doesn't seem really fair.)

But life is like that. Our work can let us go any time. Our spouse can change their mind and disappear. (I saw an article this week about a guy who left his house for lunch in 1979 and never came back. He was pronounced dead in 1986. They just found him in Las Vegas working as a dealer at a casino.)

It makes total sense that Paul would pray for perseverance, because we all need it. I googled perseverance to get the definition and instead I was drawn to the pictures that came up. Two of the pictures had people climbing a mountain... I think that defines perseverance right there. Continuing up the mountain of life through the steep/hard times.

It is easy to run away from our problems and it is easy to quit when we don't get our way. And sometimes it is the best thing for us.

But while work is temporary, God is eternal, and it's easy to lose faith when tragedy strikes. God has made promises to us, commitments that He will not break. Having Christ's perseverance means that we understand that God's promises mean more than the broken promises of humans. And no matter what happens in this life, nobody can take those promises away from us.

We just keep climbing because we know the top is worth it.

2 Thessalonians 2

This chapter is Paul assuring the Thessalonians that Jesus has not returned yet and left them behind... apparently there were rumors going around that Jesus had swept in, grabbed a couple folks and then went back to heaven.

The rest of the chapter is a mystery to me.

Paul talks about a "Man of Lawlessness" which I assume is his way of referring to the Anti-Christ. But he says that there is some force restraining this man from coming and poisoning the world.

I had no idea what Paul was talking about, so I went to my commentarys to try and get an answer... but none of them had any idea either. Augustine didn't know and neither did Mark Allan Powell. Both of them are smarter than me, so if they don't know, then I am not afraid to admit that I have no clue what Paul means.

So there is my blog for today...

I don't know.

2 Thessalonians 1

Verse 9 "they will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might."

Paul is talking about hell and the troublemakers that he believed were headed there.

We have been talking about hell a lot lately in our book group as we read through "Love Wins" by Rob Bell. We have been trying to answer the question "If God is loving would He send anyone to hell?"

Would God put anyone through everlasting destruction? What does that even mean? How is that even possible. Destruction is a noun... wouldn't it need to be a verb? Isn't destruction a state of being? A definition for destruction is "the condition of being destroyed." If one is destroyed, then wouldn't one just cease to exist? If everlasting destruction means that for eternity one just ceases to exist, well that doesn't sound as bad as being tormented for eternity... either way, it seems a bit harsh that God would do that.

But I do believe a loving God would allow people to remain outside of His presence for eternity if that is what they choose. That is freedom at it's utmost. God gives us the freedom to choose eternal denial... and I would bet that some have taken Him up on the offer.

Then again, I'm probably wrong.

1 Thessalonians 5

Verse 18 "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

I woke up yesterday morning and could hardly walk. The very bottom of my left foot was in a lot of pain, and it felt even worse when I put weight on it. So I made an appointment and went to the doctor. I assumed it was one thing, but it wasn't. It was plantar fasciitis... which as far as I know is the only word in the world that has a double "ii". The doctor told me to stay off it, take some pills and get some better shoes... and no golf for a week or so.

Pretty rough little Monday.

Should I give thanks for this? Is this God's will for me in Christ Jesus?

I'm not at a point where I am thankful for the pain. Instead I am frustrated. And I just have a hard time believing that this is God's will for me. Instead, this pain is a result of a number of things... and it just happened.

Believing in God does not mean believing that God is responsible for every bad thing that happens to us. God is not some kind of divine menace with a magnifying glass waiting for a cloud to pass.

Then again, I might be wrong.

It has been pretty hot in Texas lately.

1 Thessalonians 4

In verse 17 Paul writes that "we who are still alive and left will be will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air."

The early christians thought Jesus was coming back very soon, like any day. And they were worried about those christians who were dying before he returned. Were they doomed if they died before he came back? Paul eases their anxiety and promises that they will be resurrected.

This letter was written very early in Paul's ministry, it may even be the first book written in the New Testament. When Paul believed Jesus was coming soon.

But Jesus didn't come. And Paul died. And all the members of the church in Thessalonica died.

And so the words that Paul wrote to them were wrong... they didn't float away and meet Jesus.

All that worry and it didn't happen.

People nowadays bring these words back to life by saying that it will be us who floats away. (It might be, but probably not)

But it seems to me like people were worried about something that didn't happen, instead of worrying about the here and now.

If Jesus came today would he want to find you waiting with your bags packed like a taxi driver picking someone up? Or would he want to find you doing something that mattered, like inviting someone to church or feeding the poor or standing up for the oppressed?

When Jesus is ready to come, he will.

Let's not worry about what we can't control. There is too much to do be done.

1 Thessalonians 3

Verse 12 "May the Lord make your love increase and over flow for each other, and for everyone else..."

Paul is giving a blessing to the Thesalonians... he is praying for them.

If he could pray for just one thing for this community of believers it is this, that there love for each other would increase. I'm not sure I have ever prayed that prayer for anyone... but how I wish I had.

This short verse tell us something that we have forgotten... love is a living organism. Love can grow like a child grows to an adult. Or maybe it would be better to compare love growing from an adult to a child. Children are better at loving than adults, they are less judgmental and more trusting. (which isn't always a good thing, but it works as an image in this case)

But love does not grow on it's own. It needs help.

It needs trust, patience, forgiveness, and sacrifice. But most of all, it needs God.

Because God is love.

My prayer for all of you this morning is that your love would increase for everyone in your life... and that your love for life itself would increase.

Thanks for the reminder Paul.

1 Thessalonians 2

Verses 11-12 "For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God..."

Paul uses tha anology of a father when writing about his relationship with the church in Thessalonica.

Father language is all over the bible. It is mostly used in reference to our relationship with God. But in recent years many scholars have suggested that we stop refering to God as father because a lot of people have had bad, abusive fathers. (At this point I need to admit that I have been blessed with a wonderful father that has always sacrificed for his children.)

I disagree with those scholars... we should not allow human failures to change the way we understand God. But we need to realize that God is more than just a father... he is bigger, much bigger than that.

But God does have the characteristics of a good father, according to Paul. Paul believes that good fathers encourage, comfort and urge their children to live Godly lives.

All 3 are possible only when a father truly loves a child. Many fathers are good at discipline but not at encouraging and comforting while many others are trying to be their children's friend, they encourage and comfort but offer no correction. Not to say that these fathers don't love their children, but there is room for growth!

That is why law and gospel must be preached together. The law corrects while the gospel comforts and encourages.

But God does not use the belt on our behinds. Instead Jesus took our punishment on the cross. He sacrificed for His children.

Because God loves His children without end.

1 Thessalonians 1

This is a letter from Paul to the church of the Thessalonians and the first chapter is Paul complimenting them on how they are doing/being church.

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the first worship for Abiding Grace Lutheran Church... it has been an unbelievable year. I think that if Paul was writing us a letter, he would start it like he did this one.

He says in verse 8 "your faith in God has become known everywhere."

I think that the greatest compliment we have received came from the member of the local Methodist church. She was in worship and her pastor used Abiding Grace as an example of what a church should be doing. The only reason we heard about it was because she is the friend of one of our members.

Why have we been successful? Our faith has produced work and our love has prompted labor.

And God has worked through us.

We could not make Abiding Grace a success, only God could.

But we could have screwed it up...and we still can.

And we will, if we stop doing what got us here.

Romans 16

I wonder if some day I will have someone to write my blogs for me, like Tertius did for Paul?

Any one from Abiding Grace want to volunteer to do that? The pay stinks but you get to spend time with me! Probably not going to happen.

In verse 17-18 Paul says "I urge you brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way... for such people are serving their own appetites."

Seminaries are interesting places filled with interesting people. Some students are really smart and earning their degrees to go on to earn a PhD and become professors. Some students are really smart and just want to be pastors or youth directors. Other students struggle through classes but make great pastors. And some students show up because they have an agenda.

My first day at seminary I met another student who had no interest in being a pastor or youth director, he just wanted to be a bishop. There was something he didn't like about the ELCA and he wanted to change it. So he went to seminary.

Some people join the church council because they want to see change. Some run for mayor or city council. Some take over the Little League or join the School Board.

And not all change is bad. Some change is necessary.

But change in the church needs to be done only when due dilligence has been done. The change must be theologically sound and meets the needs of the changing world. It has to be the decision of the community, not the decision of one.

Those who really believe the change they seek is best for Jesus' church must be patient. Because it is Jesus' church, not ours.

Otherwise, if someone pushes too hard for change, the church will divide.

And only Satan wins when the church divides.

Romans 15

Verse 20-21 "Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I amy build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written 'Those who have been told of him shall see, and those who have heard of him shall understand.'"

It's an intersting time to be the church. I don't think we really have a unified identity as the Christian Church in America... we are all over the map. Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, and non-denominational congregations all have little in common, except that they claim to be Christian. And they have all grown by adding other christians.

Abiding Grace, the congregation where I serve has grown very quickly since we had our first worship 11 months ago... but we have grown by adding christians from other churches. The same is true for most churches.

Why? Because we haven't been very good doing what Paul did, finding people that have never heard about Jesus and preaching the gospel to them.

Because every one in America has heard about Jesus already.

We have a new challenge. Witnessing to people who have already heard about Jesus and have not been impressed.

For whatever reason people have been turned off by the church and walked away from it and God at the same time, thinking the two are the same.

Paul didn't want to build on a foundation built by others. In many cases we need to rebuild the foundation...

It's a good time to be the church, it's a good time to be encouraged.

There is a lot of re-building to do.

Romans 14

Verse 23 "everything that does not come from faith is sin."

In chapter 14 Paul talks about different things people do out of faith. Some people abstain from eating meat and some people hold certain days to be more holy than others. For some, these rituals make very little sense, but to the person doing them they are sacred. We should not judge what others do out of faith.

And then he says "everything that does not come from faith is sin."

I have to disagree with Paul for the second day in a row.

First, the folks at the Westboro Baptist Church that like to protest at military funerals, they believe they are doing this out of faith. Should the rest of us christians just say nothing because they are doing it out of faith? Nope. We should speak up against them when they are out of line.

Second, how can everything that does not come from faith be a sin? Jesus and Moses gave us the law, we have a pretty good grasp on what is and what isn't a sin, with a few gray areas. But now Paul is taking it too far. (Are sports a sin? They don't come from faith.)

However, I think Paul is making a good point. He is encouraging the reader to make every decision based on faith. Imagine what it would look like to bring our faith into everything we do. What would our meals look like if we made food decision based on our faith? Would we eat as much when others have so little? How about our trash, would we be as wasteful?

Worth thinking about... while I eat a burger.

Romans 13

Verse 2 "whoever rebels against the authorities is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."

Let's just get this out of the way right now, I do not believe the bible is the inerrant word of God. Because if I did believe that the bible is inerrant, then I would have to believe that the whole bible is inerrant. I can't leave out any verses. Inerrant means that every word and comma was spoken by God, every story is historically accurate and the prejudices of the bible are the prejudices of God.

Instead I believe the bible is the infallible message of God. The writers got the message right but but sprinkled in their own prejudices and beliefs. Some of the bible stories may not be historically accurate, but may be a parable which teaches us truth about God. (Job, Jonah, Creation, etc.) I don't know the truth about these stories either way, but I choose to view the bible in this light because it allows to me to call BS when needed.... and this verse is BS.

Don't get me wrong, I believe that we should submit to the authorities when they are doing the job that we the people appointed them to do... but what about Hitler? He was the authority of a whole nation and he did not do the will of God. If he did the will of God then I am in the wrong business.

There is a famous quote by Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor in Germany during Hitler's reign. He said:
"First they came for the communists and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me."

We, as Christians need to speak out against any authority that is not doing what we have elected them to do.

Sorry Paul, you're wrong.

(This blog was not a partisan statement... There is a huge difference between Obama and Hitler, I can not understand how anyone can compare the two)

Romans 12

Verse 21 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

In 1967 the city of Detroit erupted in a terrible riot. Businesses were broken into, homes and buildings were set on fire and thousands of people were arrested. Detroit looked like a war zone.

Parts of Detroit still look like a war zone today. Shops that were boarded up in 1967 are still boarded up... they never re-opened.

Many people moved out of the city following the riots, you could call it a mass exodus. A city that once had over 2,000,000 residents is down to around 700,000. 1.3 million people is a lot of people. There are 10 states that have 1.3 million people or less.

The economy hasn't helped, but the problem started long before the bad economy.

People moved away because of evil. People moved away as gun shots continued to fire through the night, as more homes either burnt down or became infested by drug users, and still more moved away after the elected officials were exposed for the thieves and bullies they are. Evil had taken over and there was no one left to fight.

It's normal to flee when evil comes around. What's not normal is to stay and fight it.

Paul is telling the church at Rome to fight evil with good. Do not run from evil, but confront your enemies with love. Verse 20 says loving your enemies "will heap burning coals on their head."

You know what happens when you heap stuff on someone's head? You bury them. Love buries evil. Evil can not bury love, it can only make love scatter.

It's hard to love that which is evil. But if we don't, we've seen what can happen. But it's never too late. Love is never out of the game.

It starts now and it starts with us.

Evil doesn't just live in Detroit, it lives everywhere. But so does love, and love is stronger.

Love wins everytime.

Love won on a cross.

And it can win across our city, state, country and world.

*********************************************

Speaking of Detroit, I'm going there for a week vacation. Which means no blog next week. We will finish Romans the week after. I was going to blog during vacation but one of the members of the executive committee at my church told me not to... so I will listen to her!

Have a great 4th!