Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - "Perserance To Be Proud Of" – Thursday, 13 November 2014 - Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - "Perserance To Be Proud Of" – Thursday, 13 November 2014 - Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2 I, Paul, together with Silas and Timothy, greet the church of the Thessalonian Christians in the name of God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ. Our God gives you everything you need, makes you everything you’re to be.
Justice Is on the Way
3-4 You need to know, friends, that thanking God over and over for you is not only a pleasure; it’s a must. We have to do it. Your faith is growing phenomenally; your love for each other is developing wonderfully. Why, it’s only right that we give thanks. We’re so proud of you; you’re so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you. We tell everyone we meet in the churches all about you.
5-10 All this trouble is a clear sign that God has decided to make you fit for the kingdom. You’re suffering now, but justice is on the way. When the Master Jesus appears out of heaven in a blaze of fire with his strong angels, he’ll even up the score by settling accounts with those who gave you such a bad time. His coming will be the break we’ve been waiting for. Those who refuse to know God and refuse to obey the Message will pay for what they’ve done. Eternal exile from the presence of the Master and his splendid power is their sentence. But on that very same day when he comes, he will be exalted by his followers and celebrated by all who believe—and all because you believed what we told you.
11-12 Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely.
"Perserance To Be Proud Of" by David J. Felter
Joe and Nannie lived across the valley on the hillside near the little church I pastored in western Pennsylvania. I met Joe in the first service of my pastorate. As he was introduced to me, I extended my hand and greeted him. I wasn’t prepared for what happened next.
Joe was elderly, with a crown of white hair and a speech impediment that made it difficult to understand him. A lay leader in my church told me his story: born with cerebral palsy, Joe took care of his blind, deaf, invalid sister in a ramshackle house. I don’t know if the church found Joe or if Joe found the church, but he became a champion to me.
Visiting Joe and Nannie left me with an aching-yet-blessed heart. Joe had inventions everywhere, including one that enabled his blind and deaf sister to communicate her needs to him. Later I learned that Joe had been defrauded of patent rights that could have made him wealthy.
Joe’s life verse was Ps. 37:25: “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” His was a perseverance I could boast about.
Hymn for Today:

"I Have Decided To Follow Jesus" by Anonymous
1. I have decided to follow Jesus,
I have decided to follow Jesus,
I have decided to follow Jesus--
no turning back, no turning back.
2. The world behind me, the cross before me,
the world behind me, the cross before me,
the world behind me, the cross before me--
no turning back, no turning back.
3. Though none go with me, I still will follow,
though none go with me, I still will follow,
though none go with me, I still will follow,
no turning back, no turning back.
4. Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?--
no turning back, no turning back.

Thought for Today:

“Faithful perseverance through hardship is essential for Christian life and witness"(Session Truth).
Prayer Needs:
For the churches organized as a result of evangelism efforts in Mesoamerica.
____________________________
WordAction Publishing Company
Beacon Hill Press
Nazarene Publishing Company
2500 Troost Avenue
Kansas City, MO 64108 United States[
Embrace holy living…visit reflectinggod.com.
____________________________