Read I Thessalonians 2:1-3:13

“You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those
churches suffered from the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus
and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God
and are hostile to all men in their effort to keep us from
speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved.”
(I Thessalonians 2:14-15)

Thoughts… Mostly likely, you and I have never suffered for our faith—really suffered. We suffer when the doughnuts don’t show up for church, or the sermon goes to long, but for the most part, we don’t really pay a heavy price for our faith.

Other believers do, however. Even as you are reading this blog, Christians are being persecuted in other parts of the world simply for believing in Jesus Christ as their Savior and for sharing the Good News. I was recently in Ethiopia, and spoke with a young man whose uncle had been recently martyred for his faith. Here is how it happen:

A preacher named Tesfy (not his real name—he is still under scrutiny and even in the remote villages of Ethiopia, Internet postings can still be read and the information used against the believers) brought the Gospel to this young man’s village, a community dominated by Islam. A Muslim man named Bekele (the young man’s uncle), Bekele’s wife and 8 children, along with several of his extended family, all joyfully received Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

The Muslim leaders of the village were angered by Bekele’s conversion. They came to his house the following week to demand that Bekele renounce his faith in Jesus and return to the mosque by week’s end. To make their point, they beat Bekele, but this new convert remained strong in his infant faith. The transformation in his life was so profound that even though he was just days old in the Lord, he began to witness to these Muslim persecutors. He told them that they, too, needed to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

Ignoring the Muslim leaders’ demands, Bekele didn’t return to the mosque as demanded, so the following evening, several men armed with clubs and knives came to his house. After beating his wife, they turned their anger on Bekele, but he remained strong. They were so enraged at his refusal to recant his faith in Jesus that they slit his throat. Bekele, less than a week old in the Christian faith, and having received very little instruction in the way of Christ, remained true to Jesus. On that day, Bekele bled to death, the first Christian martyr in this newly evangelized area.

This led to a wave of persecution in the region. Homes were burned and harvests destroyed, leaving believers with no means of support. Many churches were torched and both pastors and parishioners were beaten.

Yet in the face of such severe trial, the new converts in this area have tenaciously clung to their faith. In fact, Bekele’s nephew now pastors the church in this village, and it is growing. Some of the very people who have persecuted the Christians are now Christians themselves. Throughout this region, revival has broken out. Truly, the blood of this martyrs has become the seed of the church.

This story reminds us that just because the suffering Paul speaks of is rare in our country, it is certainly not rare for our Christian brothers and sisters around the world. In fact, I would venture to say that when you consider the panorama of church history, the believer who doesn’t suffer for Christ is the exception rather than the rule. As Paul taught in I Thessalonians 3:4, “we warned you troubles would come.” In Philippians 1:29, Paul said, “It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.”

Since the beginning of the church, Christians have suffered. They have been rejected, beaten, imprisoned, and killed. That’s what they do best. Within three hundred years of the birth of the church, beginning with only a ragtag band of twelve disciples, Christ’s church overtook the once hostile Roman Empire, converting it to Christianity. How did they do it? Not by fielding an army or gaining political power or suiing for their rights. All they did was to suffer and die. That’s what Christians seem to do best. And that’s what makes them-that’s what makes us so powerful. Tertullian, a brilliant Christian apologist, said in the third century, “The blood of the martrys is the seed of the church.”

Of course, that doesn’t negate the reality of the pain and devastation suffering brings. So could I encourage you to take a moment to pray for the persecuted church today. Perhaps you might even pray for Bekele’s nephew who is now pastoring this church full of new converts.

While you are at it, say thanks to God for the country you live in where freedom of religion is still possible. And if you are called upon to suffer today-suffer in a way that brings glory to Jesus.

Prayer… Dear Father, I pray for all the believers around the world who are undergoing persecution, hardship and suffering. Strengthen them for the battle, encourage them in spirit, give them boldness to speak for Christ, and use their hardship as the seeds of revival in their community. Lord, hold them close to your heart.

One More Thing… “When you suffer and lose, that does not mean you are being disobedient to God. In fact, it might mean you’re right in the center of His will. The path of obedience is often marked by times of suffering and loss.” —Charles Swindoll

Read I Thessalonians 1:1-10

“The news of your faith in God is out. We don’t even have to say
anything anymore—you’re the message! People come up and tell
us how you received us with open arms, how you deserted the
dead idols of your old life so you could embrace and serve
God, the true God. They marvel at how expectantly you
await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the
dead—Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom.”
(I Thessalonians 1:9-10, The Message)

Thoughts… Are you expecting? Expecting the Lord to return at any moment, that is.

The believers in the city of Thessalonica to whom Paul worte these words believed that Christ could come back at any second. They were young in their faith, only about one-year-old in the Lord, and they were already getting a reputation in the region for their action-oriented faith, their love-inspired good words, their unshakable hope in the face of persecution, and their passionate expectation of Jesus’ immanent return.

Their expectation of Christ immanent return was not some silly pie-in-the-sky sort of wishful thinking. It was not a form of escapism to ease the pain of their persecution. It was not rooted in reality avoidance so they wouldn’t have to carry out the daily responsibilities of being good Christians. This was simply an authentic belief the Jesus was going to do as he promised: return soon and take them home to be with him.

Rather than writing them off as overly emotional or shallow new believers, Paul praises them for this spirit of expectation. Because there was a fundamental sense of the Lord’s return, these guys were turning up the heat up on their Christian living: They were busy doing the Lord’s work. They were paying attention to holy living. They were not shrinking back from their Christian testimony in spite of hardship. They were passionately living out their faith. They were fully engaged in what it means to be Christian precisely because they knew the Lord would come back at any moment, and they wanted to be the kind of church that Jesus would be proud of upon his return.

You know, that’s the way believers ought to live. We should be living with a passionate expectation that Jesus could return at any moment. And out of that belief, we ought to be living fully engaged Christianity so that the Master will be proud of us upon his return.

Let me ask you this: How would you live the rest of this week if you knew Jesus was returning exactly one week from this moment? What would change about your behavior between now and then? What people would you share Christ with? What relationships would you make sure were reconciled? Would “I love you” be said more often around your house? How about “I’m sorry?” Or “how can I help you?” Would your church attendance, your tithing record, your daily devotions, and the way you relate to people improve between now and then?

The real possibility is that Jesus just might return between now and next week. We just don’t know. But what we do know is that Jesus has called us to live as if he could return at any moment. Paul teaches here in I and II Thessalonians that since Christ could come at any moment, we are to live:

• In holiness—especially in the area of sexual purity…and he says this with a sense of urgency.
• In harmony—that is the result of truly loving each other…so much that we are willing to lay down our lives for one another.
• In humility—to live in such a way that we draw the attention of others, not because of how sensational we are, but because of how honest, hard working and honorable we are.
• In hopefulness—which occurs when we allow an eternal perspective to permeate the very core of our existence and affect everything we do, say and think.
• In helpfulness—living out faith so practically that our lives are characterized by servant-heartedness and sacrificial selflessness toward one another.

When we live in the kind of readiness that Christ could return at any moment—in holiness, harmony, humility, hopefulness and helpfulness—the natural bi-product will be that contagious faith will exude from our lives in much the same as it did from these amazing Thessalonians Christians.

Are you expecting? You should be!

Prayer… My affirmation of faith, O God, is that Jesus is coming again. He is coming for all who long for his appearance, who have readied themselves for his return. I want to be counted in that number. So again today, I ready myself for that possibility and I pray in my spirit, “even so, come Lord Jesus.”

One More Thing… “God destines us for an end beyond the grasp of reason.” —Thomas Aquinas