Memorise: If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Proverbs 24:10
Read: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
1 Paul, Silas[a] and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,[b] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.
4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might
10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.
12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.[c]
Bible in one year: 2 Kings 9, Acts 10:1-23
AS REVEALED BY PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE IN TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
1. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
2. Our Lord Jesus Christ never hid from us the truth concerning the Way we have been called to.
3. In the above verse and in several other passages of Scripture, He did not mince words, informing us of the trials, tribulations and persecutions we will face while walking with Him on the straight and narrow way (Mark 10:30, Matthew 24:9).
4. Because we are aware of this truth, we should therefore courageously stand firm in the face of trials of our faith and tribulations. Our memory verse says that if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. What do you do when you discover that your strength is small in proportion to the tribulations you are facing? You cry to God to increase your strength just as our Lord cried to the Father for help in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He was confronted with the great agony of carrying the weight of the sins of the whole world. The Father heard His cry, and He sent an angel to strengthen Him (Luke 22:41-44). What the Father did for Jesus, He will also do for you.
5. Let us consider some salient points from Paul’s words of encouragement in today’s Bible reading to the brethren in Thessalonica who were facing tribulations. First and foremost, he made them know that the Body of Christ understood what they were passing through and appreciated their endurance in the face of tribulations.
6. Secondly, he tried to lift their spirits by reminding them that their endurance of tribulation would earn them a place in the kingdom of God, and so they should not be weary.
7. Thirdly, he taught them that God would not allow those who were persecuting them to go unpunished. The essence of this was to discourage these brethren from seeking to avenge themselves of their persecutors, since vengeance is the Lord’s and He would definitely repay evil men.
8. Furthermore, he reassured them of the prayers of the saints for them. The heat of these prayers would keep them going irrespective of the cold winds of tribulation blowing against them.
9. We must learn from these points not to condemn brethren who are passing through tribulations or trials of faith. There is a tendency for us to always attribute the suffering of the saints to the sins they have committed and to condemn them to everlasting “self-examination”. Instead of attributing their tribulation to sin, the Church took glory in the patience of the Thessalonians in the midst of tribulation (2 Thessalonians 1:4).
10. Beloved, be encouraged that the difficult phase of life you are passing through will come to an end soon. So, don’t give up! Your Master shares in your tribulation. Be of good cheer because He has overcome the world for your sake.
SHORT REFLECTION BY THE LIGHT POINTERS
Critical question was asked in today’s devotional “ What do you do when you discover that your strength is small in proportion to the tribulations you are facing?” We should always return to the source of your strength and cry to Him for refilling. Because greater is He that lives in us. Moreover He will never leave you, all you need is to maintain a right standing with Him“ But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”Isaiah 40:31. God be praised for Pastor E.A Adeboye in Jesus name.
Prayer Point:
Father, please strengthen me further as I journey through the wilderness of the world.
Hymn
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.
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.
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.
My cross I’ll carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross I’ll carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross I’ll carry, till I see Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.
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.
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