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2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
How many times have you gone back to your old ways just because it is easier to do? This verse does not teach that!
What is being said here is we should always try to do what the gospel teaches us – going back to what Jesus said we should do and not go off on our own ways.
Does it matter where we hear the gospel from? No; as long as it is the gospel and not someone else’s version of the truth. Stick to God’s Word!
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2 Thessalonians 2:4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
No matter how much people talk about predicting the day Christ will return, the fact remains, He has not told anyone when that day will come.
Now, there will be people who declare they know the date. There will be people who say God told them personally; but Christ told the disciples this would not happen until someone big and powerful declares they are God!
It may seem like we are pretty close to this, but we simply don’t know when. Stay trusting and believing and living in hope with Christ!
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2 Thessalonians 2:2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.
Words of encouragement to the church at Thessalonica at the time to try and persuade them not to give up on things when the going gets tough.
Jesus made no excuses about life being tough as a Christian: but He did promise us comfort and joy, even during those tough times.
Christ has promised us He will return. That is our hope and what we have to look forward to. Don’t allow the smaller things in life to get you down.
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John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
The disciples knew the scriptures taught that God would love and care for them; Jesus now re-iterated those same sentiments in words.
Jesus came as a human being to be amongst us and to teach us how much He loves us – He wanted us to see God in person, or at least allow the disciples to see Him in person.
But this wording shows Jesus as being subservient to God in heaven at all times – even when being made equal to God! Look and learn.
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John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Jesus’ words to the disciples were words of encouragement and hope even though He was about to face death on the cross.
He was about to undergo cruel and lasting punishment for our sakes, to take on the sins of the whole world so we could enjoy the peace He was leaving with us.
But, a word of warning too; the world will still dish out horrible things and we must face trial ourselves – but without eternal death hanging over us any more!
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John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Jesus was telling the disciples they would have a whole lot more than a man come to live with them. Although He was about to give His life on the cross, He would be able to leave behind His love and peace which would go further than just words.
The world can promise many things and can even deliver on many things, but nothing will come close to the peace we have in Jesus Christ; a peace which goes beyond our mortal understanding!
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Ezekiel 37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever.
This promise He has with us is not something we thought of after Jesus was hung on the cross, but something He promised many years before Christ even came to earth!
This is a promise which has stood the test of time and one which we can look back into history and verify!
God has many more promises which He has made and patiently waits for us to accept each and every one of them to live out our lives with Him!
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2 Corinthians 6:16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
When people prefer a ‘relationship’ with a small statue or other idol, ask them what agreement they have with the status!
God has an actual agreement with us so we can have a goal and a way forward.
We do have a God who cares and who would like a full loving two-way relationship with Him; and that comes from His mouth!
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Exodus 29:45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.
Just as God promised the people of Israel that He would come and live with them in a tent they built, so too did Jesus come and live amongst us as a Human man.
Why limit God’s power to our understanding when we have proof already He is willing and able to come down to our level and be with us – just so we can be with Him for eternity!
Learn to trust God in all His ways and He will never disappoint you – trust in your own limitations and you will always be disappointed by your lack of power in the end.
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2 Chronicles 6:18 But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!
How is God going to come down to earth? How can He, who encompasses all, come to this tiny spec in the universe and live with us?
He allowed His Son Jesus Christ to come down in human form and live amongst us as we live.
God’s love goes beyond our thinking and beyond our imaginations – don’t try to limit Him just because we cannot find a solution. He already has for the solution!
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Matthew 12:5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?
Are you more partial to religious acts or to Christ’s words? I think we would all like to say we try to do what Christ says, but in reality, we do often follow the law of the ‘church’ or ‘religion’ rather than Christ’s words.
Just as man has always got caught up in laws and stuff, we too get caught up in following the letter of the law than thinking about what Christ is teaching and then following that!
Listen closer, think more and wait on the Holy Spirit for guidance!
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John 5:18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
If Christ does not fit nicely into your world – what do you do about it?
The Scribes and Pharisees had one way of trying to deal with it – hunt down Jesus and kill Him because He dared to be the Son of God!
Too often in our lives we would rather see Christ change or have Him change the world than we make any changes! But Christ would like us to change to be more like Him.
The more people who try to be more like Christ the better – because we would then see the world change for the better… and that would please God!
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Matthew 4:19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
Have you ever been fishing? How easy did you find it? Depending on who you ask, the answers will be very different!
When I fist started as a young boy we would get bamboo sticks, a bit of line, a float made from anything that floated and a hook from someone who had one!
When Jesus started collecting the disciples He knew they would be very different people and they would all have to take a new look at life with God to move forward.
Each one of us has a very different life with God, from the amateur boy going out with a stick to the seasoned professional with all the right equipment.
Be yourself, but follow God doing it!
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Matthew 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
I find it interesting Jesus chose to start His ministry with similar words John chose – come and say you are sorry and let’s get things started.
Too often we take on the attitude we are right and everyone else is wrong, and where does it get us? We get deeper and deeper into trouble as we continue saying the wrong things!
Jesus simply wants us to admit we are wrong and move on; don’t expect God to change to suit our ways of life and don’t expect the world to change to suit our needs!
But thank goodness we have a God who does forgive and bring us back in the fold!
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Acts 17:30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
Can you remember being a child, doing something wrong, and your parent absolutely cracking up with laughter instead of shouting at you for doing wrong?
As a parent and a grandparent, I have lived through both sides and think I have the right to laugh at things now.
God may not be human, but I’m pretty sure He has laughed at many of the things we have done wrong… and yet He still loves us and continues to support us in everything we do!
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John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
It is not because your friend told you about your sin that you are guilty – we do not have the right to judge or blame each other for doing stuff against someone else, never mind God!
Jesus came to make sure we understood how the scriptures are in fact the truth. He came to show us to depend on them. He came to show us they do tell us where we go wrong!
We don’t really have the excuse of saying we were not sure anymore either. We know and the writing is plainly on the wall for us to realise our sin is sin!
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John 9:41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Imagine you were walking along and stepped in some paint; when you continued to walk, you would be spreading the paint where you walked and you would know to stop and clean up.
But, if you were blind, you may not know you have stepped in paint, and you would not know you were spreading it everywhere!
God has allowed us to hear the gospel so we can know what is right and wrong – we don’t have the excuse of “we didn’t know it” anymore!
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John 19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
Can you imagine what was going through Pilate’s mind when Jesus said this? I wonder whether he realised just how powerful Jesus could be?
Even through the false accusations, Jesus was telling Pilate he was not ultimately responsible for what was happening – showing his there were greater powers at work!
We may not agree with what happens in the world, but try and look at it from God’s point of view…
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Judges 3:12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel.
Some of the Old Testament is really depressing reading – the amount of things which went wrong and the trouble and strife the people went through just seems too much to bare!
But why did it all happen? Because they went off on their own and did things against God time and time again! When they did, God allowed the evil around them to close in on them.
But each time they turned back to God with open hearts, God was waiting patiently to turn things round again.
God loves you more than you can know!
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Judges 3:6 They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
How likely is it that you will do things wrong, get things wrong or run off and follow the wrong paths? Very likely!
Mankind has shown time and time again just how easy it is to run off and follow the path of least resistance by giving it to everything around us. And we will likely do that same one day!
But we do not have to continue doing this just because we got it wrong once – God has provided us a way out. God has forgiven us already – but we should bring it before Him by acknowledging it!