Proclamation:
“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, who calls you into His kingdom and glory.” 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 (NIV)
Explanation:
These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the
influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at
Thessalonica. Paul offers an account of
his ministry among them and describes the nature, manner, and success of it. (1
Thessalonians 2:1-6) He also mentions
how he treated them when he was with them. (1 Thessalonians 2:7-10) He said that he encouraged them, comforted
them, and urged them to live worthy of God.
Then he said that he thanked God that they received the gospel as The
Word of God and that they also began to spread The Word. (1 Thessalonians
2:13-14) He ended the second chapter of
his letter by stating that he wanted to visit them but Satan had prevented that
from happening. (1 Thessalonians 2:18)
Applications:
As believers we should cling closely to The Lord God. We should seek comfort in, and be encouraged
by His Holy Word. We should also be
committed to live a life which would be pleasing to God. We should treat one another and speak to one
another with loving kindness. We should
build each other up and not tear each other down. When we point out errors or shortcomings, we
should do so with caring constructive corrections and it should be done out of
love for one another. We should walk
worthy and we should encourage others to also walk worthy. (Ephesians 4:1 and 1
Thessalonians 2:12) We have the power to
do so, we just need to exercise the commitment and do it. (John 1:12) We should do it willingly, joyfully, and
carefully.
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