Category: Devotionals

In the face of a terrible coming evil, and the restrained foretaste of it already lashing their lives even then, it could be tempting to give up and give in. Instead, Paul encouraged them to stand firm and to continue to hold to the teaching which Paul had given them, both when he was with…

Reading of a great apostasy immediately preceding Christ’s return can place us in the same mental place as feeling outmatched by trouble or temptation. If God will send a strong delusion that will draw unbelievers to the Antichrist, how will Christians stand? But as strong as this delusion is, this passage in 2 Thessalonians assures…

Paul’s teaching on the Man of Lawlessness, otherwise known as the Antichrist, is exactly the type of teaching where this error can occur. But Paul wrote his letter to emphasise both the future and the present reality. The mystery of lawlessness is that it is present today but restrained, will one day be loosed, but…

While time will reveal who Paul was speaking about, we are left with plenty that explains the Antichrist’s purposes. And while we might disagree about who the Antichrist will be, we can see the same devilish purposes at play in a restrained way today since many antichrists are busy today (1 John 2:18). Being forewarned…

The Thessalonian church were worried that they had been left behind in a sense as well. Except it was a far greater concern than missed parents or missed transport; it was a concern that they had missed Jesus’ return. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to calm their concerns. They had not been left behind. They…

Jesus’ return will be the final victory and glorification of Jesus by everyone, everywhere. Nobody will be able to deny Jesus that victorious moment, then and forevermore. As Christians, we look forward to that day. Paul also encourages us to see it as a shared victorious moment, when we too will share in Christ’s glory.…

We cannot shy away from what the Bible teaches, even when it makes us uneasy. Hell is a terrible reality. The eternal punishment of hell is terrible, because of its nature and its duration. It is terrible, but it is ultimately just, because it is the sentence pronounced by an infinitely holy and just God.

Read 2 Thessalonians 1:5-8 “Judge not!” may be the most popular incomplete and incorrect quotation of Scripture by modern Westerners today. Our culture does not like the idea of judgement, and emphasises love and tolerance over it. In fact, they can be very judgemental about the whole thing! The cultural concept of a god, if…

What then would Paul consider a successful church? Thankfully we have an answer in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonian Church. Paul’s idea of a church that is successful, one that he liked to boast about to other churches, is one where its members grow in faith and love. That growth equips them for God’s…

Paul’s previous sentences encouraged the Thessalonian Christians in their responsibilities toward God, by living to please God and not quench the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. His concluding remarks continue the message of the Spirit’s work by praying for God’s work in their lives.