1 Thessalonians 3

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Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.

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Today we are in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. Listen to faith comes by hearing’s reading of the 13 verses of this chapter.

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1 Thessalonians 3

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Therefore, when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s co-worker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith that no one be moved by these afflictions, for you yourselves know that we are destined for this.

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For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

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But now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us as we long to see you. For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction, we have been comforted about you through your faith. For now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.

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Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

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In 1 Thessalonians, I’m using journals three years in a row, something different than I’ve done in all these other recordings for AdBible. I’m using journals from 1992, 93, and 94, when I was 37, 38, and 39 years old. It’s interesting that I read 1 and 2 Thessalonians for three years in a row. And I thought it might be interesting to see if the journal entries were all the same or if they’re slightly different. So here’s my journal entry for 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 from 1992. Destined for affliction. And I was referring to verse 3. Then I referred to verses 5 through 8. Those who stand firm give confidence to others. In 1993, I wrote, go to strengthen and encourage you in your faith. And I was referring to verse 2. On to verse 8, we live if you stand firm. And then on to verse 13, I would like my heart to be unblameable in holiness before our God and Father. Help me live to strengthen and encourage others so I can live because they stand firm. And in 1994, I wrote, Paul worried, did it stick? He couldn’t get to the Thessalonians, so he sent Timothy on. He hears back that they believe they are growing in Christ. For now, we really live if you stand firm in the Lord. So those three journal entries from three years in a row are pretty much the same, with a similar emphasis on standing firm. Let’s look at chapter 3. Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to establish and exhort you in your faith. That’s according to verse 2. As we said in the book introduction, the Thessalonians were suffering continuing persecution for their faith in Jesus. They were probably hoping that those afflictions would go away, but they had not. In verse 3, Paul wrote that “…no one be moved by these afflictions, for you yourselves know that we are destined for this.” For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction. And he relates those afflictions to the tempter. When you became a Christian, when you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, did you think your life was going to get better? Did you think you were going to be blessed? Did you think you were going to have the favor of God? Or did you understand that you might now suffer for your testimony for Christ? I don’t know about you, but I don’t give the devil a lot of credit in my life. I want to live in those verses like, greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. But I do realize that books like Thessalonians and other books in the scripture remind us that we can be and will be persecuted for our faith in Jesus. Paul may have worried about them wiltering under the afflictions, but he gets the good news from Timothy that they have not. He says in verse 8, For now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord. Who led you to Jesus? How did you come to faith in Christ? However it happened for you, if some of those around you that saw it when it happened saw you today, would they rejoice in the fact that you are standing fast, that you are standing firm in your faith in Christ? When I became a Christian at 15 years old, I was a lone ranger. I didn’t have any Christian friends. I wasn’t in a youth group. All I had was the Word of God. But when I went to college, I was asked to get in a Bible study. And I had some guys that were leading this Bible study, and I eventually nicknamed them Peter and Paul. God used them to teach me things I didn’t know. He used them to keep me accountable to my walk with Christ. I was so young and dumb in the Lord that I think they never thought I would make it. That was four decades ago now. I don’t stay in touch with Peter and Paul. I don’t see them. They live in different places. But I think if they saw my walk with Christ, they would feel like Paul. They would be excited, one, that I made it at all, and two, that I was still standing fast in the Lord. Those two guys had a huge influence in my life at that tender age of my Christian walk. Like Paul, Silas, and Timothy had on the church at Thessalonica, those two guys had that kind of influence in my life. So how about you? Are you standing fast? Are you standing firm in your walk with the Lord? By this letter to the church of Thessalonica, Paul encourages them to keep going. Let’s look at the last few verses of chapter 3. May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father. Are you increasing in your walk with the Lord? Are you abounding in love for one another and for all? Are you establishing your heart blameless and in holiness before God? Are you continuing to grow in your walk with Christ? These are questions worth pondering today. And you might ask me, how? How do I continue to grow? How do I continue to strengthen my walk with the Lord? No surprise, I would say stay in the Word of God each and every day of your life. Why? Because that’s where we hear from the Lord. Secondly, I would say pray to the Lord each and every day. Those two things, reading the Bible and praying, give you an intimacy with God that’s unmatched in anything else you can do on a daily basis. Thirdly, get yourself in a Bible-believing church. where you can be challenged, where you can grow in your faith in Christ. Fourth, surround yourself with some Christian friends. Maybe it’s a home group. Maybe it’s a Bible study. Keep yourself connected to the body of Christ. I believe those were the things that the church in Thessalonica was doing. Those are the things we can do today. Let’s pray. Father, some who are listening today might be suffering affliction. They may be suffering persecution for their faith in you. If so, we pray that they would be strengthened by this passage and that they would stand firm, hold fast for you this day. Beyond just standing, Lord, I hope that we continue to walk, walk toward you. I pray, Lord, that all of us would spend time each and every day in a portion of your word so that we could hear from you, that we would also lay our petitions at your feet so you can hear from us and we can have an intimacy with you. Also, Lord, I pray for our churches, that you strengthen our pastors, that you would strengthen the preaching that they’re preaching, that it would be truly of the word and that we could grow thereby. And lastly, Lord, surround us with some Christian friends, people who can hold us accountable, people that can help us grow in you. Keep us connected to you and the body of Christ. And by doing so, we will grow in our walk with you. And that will be pleasing in your sight. So let it be written. So let it be done. In the name of Jesus. Amen. According to a recent Barna research study entitled Bible Reading, A New Year’s Resolution, most Americans are not satisfied with their current level of Scripture reading. A majority express a desire to read the Bible more than they currently do. Born-again and practicing Christians are the most likely to desire more Bible reading in their day-to-day lives. It should not come as a surprise that the majority of Americans wish they read Scripture more than they do, says Roxanne Stone, editor-in-chief of Barna Group. After all, two-thirds of Americans agree that the Bible contains everything you need to know to live a meaningful life. Why wouldn’t you want to read such a book more often? The study continues. However, like other New Year’s resolutions, such as exercising more and eating healthier, Scripture reading is often an aspirational goal. It’s the goal that for most people probably doesn’t feel necessary to survive and so can easily get swamped by the day-to-day demands of a busy life. Scripture reading takes time and focus, two things that feel like scarcities in today’s fast-paced and on-demand culture. Like exercise, like dieting, regular Bible reading does not offer instant payoff. It’s a discipline whose rewards are reaped over the long haul. And the study continues, when people go from feeling they should read the Bible more to needing to read the Bible more, they find the time. Access to the Bible is not the issue in the USA, is it? We all have Bibles. According to another study done a few years ago, 88% of Americans own a Bible. We have 3.5 Bibles in our homes. And this is amazing. 59% of people who have no faith or are atheists even own a Bible, probably just in case. So if you have a smartphone, you have access to the Word of God. My Gideon Bible app has over 2,100 languages. Access to the Bible is not the issue. The issue is changing our beliefs about the Bible to behavior with the Bible. So where are Christians with the Bible today? Christians are well-intentioned when it comes to the Bible. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. We believe, we just don’t behave. Our belief in the Bible and our behavior with the Bible are inconsistent. The middle ground related to the Bible seems to be disappearing. The decrease of Bible-neutral and Bible-friendly people and the increase of Bible antagonists suggests that more people are picking a side. Which side are you on? Are you a Bible antagonist questioning the Bible? Are you Bible-neutral? I just don’t know. Or are you Bible-friendly? I love the Bible. Wherever you are, pick a side. Because of our neglect of God’s Word, we are becoming biblically illiterate. For example, in a private religious elementary school, kids were asked about the Old and New Testaments. Here are some funny things that they had to say. The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat that apple. Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day but a ball of fire by night. What kind of man was Boaz before he married? Ruthless. The epistles were the wives of the apostles. Christians have only one spouse. That’s called monotony. So, if we think about Bible literacy or illiteracy, we think about it this way. If God decided to come down from his throne in heaven, become an author here on earth, you’d think his book would be on the bestseller list. And the fact is, the Bible is the number one bestselling book of all time. 2.5 to 5 billion, according to research. It’s also the most read book of all time. Praise the Lord, that alone might be evidence that the Bible, not any other so-called writing, is God’s Word. According to a weekly World News report, here are a few other Bible facts. About 50 Bibles are sold every minute. The Bible is the world’s best-selling book. It’s also the world’s most shoplifted book. That’s interesting. And that doesn’t even count all the Gideon Bibles stolen out of those hotels. So I encourage you to enjoy a portion of God’s Word every day. Make it a daily spiritual habit. And so until next time, I’m Alan J. Huth, and this program is sponsored by The Ezra Project, with support from listeners like you. Visit EzraProject.net to keep AdBible, connecting God’s people to God’s Word, on the air. I know you’re going to like it and want to share it with others.