Great Is Thy Faithfulness

The little book of Lamentations in the Old Testament is a worthwhile read. Though the author remains nameless, there is ample evidence both within the text and from Jewish and Christian tradition to ascribe authorship to the prophet Jeremiah. Written in Hebrew, the original title was taken from the book's first word, ʾêk̠âh, translated "Alas!" or "How," which gives the impression of weeping or lamenting over some hard time or sad event (Charles H. Dyer, "Lamentations," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck [Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1985], 1207). The Septuagint and Vulgate translators named the book Lamentations to better describe the contents (Ibid).

In these five chapters we see the prophet agonizing over the Babylonian invasion of 586 BC and the destruction of Jerusalem. He is lamenting and weeping over what he witnessed firsthand. Yet right in the middle of the book, in chapter three, he speaks words of hope. He begins in this way, "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope" (Lam. 3:21). And the prophet concludes in verse 24, "'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!'"

In the midst of hard times, sad times, the prophet finds hope! The two intervening verses reveal what gave him such hope. First, in verse 22 he says, "Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not." God is a compassionate and loving God. Moses told God's people, "For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath" (Deut. 4:31, NIV). As Nahum 1:7 says, "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him." God is your stronghold. He pours out His mercies upon you every day to lead you through the hard times. Trust Him because your hope is in Him.

Verse 23 finishes the thought: "They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." God's mercies are there every moment of every day. All we have to do is rest in Him. Trust in the Lord in every circumstance. Get out of the way and let Him work. He will meet the need and bring you through it to a closer walk with Him. His faithfulness is great. It never fails. And God will never fail you. He is your hope. Trust Him. Amen.

The Lord Provides

The 23rd Psalm begins, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" (v. 1). This Scripture is intended to bring you comfort. Whenever you are down, whenever you are sad, when things just seem to go wrong and nothing is going right, look no further but to this verse and you will be comforted. You will be reassured of the Lord's presence and help. The Lord Jesus is there with you. He is in your corner.

This verse contains two phrases. The opening phrase is a simple statement of faith: "The Lord is my shepherd" (v. 1a). A shepherd watches over his flock of sheep and is always there for them. He loves them, he feeds them, and he leads them to green pastures where there is plenty of water to drink. The shepherd cares for all the needs of his sheep. He guards them and keeps them safe as he wards off all enemies. He leaves nothing to chance, but cares for their every need. He would even die for His sheep!

Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11). Jesus is our shepherd. Always remember that you are in the care of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. He cares for you. He even gave His life for you. At just the right moment, for His purposes, He provides exactly what each of us needs. Trust Him.

That is where the second phrase of this verse comes in: "I shall not want" (Psa. 23:1b). The Good Shepherd cares for your every need. Jesus truly cares for you and watches over you. He will never leave you wanting. He will give you what you need. Just look to Him in trust, rest in His arms, and you will be comforted. Amen.

God Bless You with His Grace

Paul closes his letter to the Thessalonians as he usually does, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you" (2 Thess. 3:18). "All" means just that. Paul leaves no one out. Even those he rebuked in this letter are included. He prays that all who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord be blessed with the grace of God.

Grace refers to God's undeserved goodwill toward us. It refers to the bestowing of His lovingkindness upon us, even though we do not deserve it in any way. Saving grace is a gift we received from God through our Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to salvation, grace is essential for many things, such as endurance, service, growth, and giving. By grace God enables us to live the Christian life. We experience His sanctifying grace by trusting Him, obeying His Word, enduring His chastening, doing good by His power, walking in the Spirit, and praying.

Paul desires all of this for you. That is why he includes grace in the blessings he asks God to bestow upon you. Paul wants the fullness of the Christian life to be experienced by each one of you. He knows you can only experience that by God's power and enabling. It is God who does it in and through you. No matter how much Scripture you understand, no matter how obedient you are, no matter how committed you are to living for Christ, and no matter how much effort you put into living the Christian life, it is all futile apart from the peace, strength, truth, and grace that only God can give.

Let God change you by His peace, strength, truth, and grace. Then follow Him in all you are and all you do. Amen.

God Bless You with His Truth

Paul wrote Second Thessalonians through the use of what was called an amanuensis, or a secretary who took dictation. This was common, both for Paul and others of his day. In 3:17, however, he takes the pen in his own hand and adds the final words. This is also his habit and it provides a mark of authenticity to what he wrote. Remember how he earlier told them "not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us" (2 Thess. 2:2)? Some false teachers who were seeking to deceive them went so far as to forge letters, as if from Paul, to support their false teaching. So by adding his concluding remarks in his own handwriting he set upon the letter a mark of truth. This really is from Paul! And truth is what it is all about.

"The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write" (2 Thess. 3:17). Or, as the NIV translates it, "I Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write." Paul was the agent of truth and he did not want them to ever be confused as to God's truth.

For Paul, the church had to be the "pillar and support of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15, NASB). In order for this to be so, they had to be able to distinguish between "the spirit of truth and the spirit of error" (1 John 4:6, NASB). To do so, they had to be firmly grounded in the Bible, the "word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). This is why Paul was so deeply concerned to guard and protect the Word of God, and to make certain they knew the difference between the truth of God coming through his writings and the errors of others.

God is not only the God of peace and strength, He is also the God of truth. 1 John 5:20 tells us, "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." God is truth, and Paul prays for God to bless you with His truth. Amen.

God Bless You with His Strength

Paul continues in 2 Thessalonians 3:16b, "The Lord be with you all." Not only does Paul want God to bless you with His peace, but with His strength as well. Here Paul simply requests that God fulfill in us what was previously guaranteed for us as believers—the assurance that God will never leave us nor forsake us.

In Hebrews 13:5-6, when listing the ways in which we should conduct ourselves, we have this promise: "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" Here Paul is reminding us that there is more to God's presence within us than meets the eye. Not only does He reside in us, but He gives us His strength. It is that empowering strength of God within us that Paul here prays for.

It is that strengthening presence of God in us that the Psalmist rejoiced over when he said, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1, NASB). This is the essence of Paul's prayer. He prayed that God would not only give you peace in all circumstances of life, but that He would grant you His strength in all circumstances, so that you might stand firm in Him at all times.

So Paul prays that when Satan attacks, you will have God's strength to fight. When temptation comes, you will have God's strength to resist. In the face of trials, you will have God's strength to persevere. When called upon to serve Him and evangelize for Him, you will have God's strength to do so effectively. In short, as Paul said in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." That is his prayer for you. Amen.

God Bless You with His Peace

In 2 Thessalonians 3:16a, Paul begins his benediction, "Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way." "Now" (v. 16a) marks the transition from command and exhortation to prayer. The prayer itself recognizes that only God can accomplish His desires in your life. Only He can bring about the results intended by His Word. So Paul's first request is for God's peace to permeate every area of your life. But what is peace?

The world defines peace like this: "A state of tranquility or quiet" (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, [G & C Merriam Company: Springfield, Mass., 1973], 842).  "The sense of calm… contentment, and well-being that comes when everything is going well" (MacArthur's New Testament Commentary, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, [Moody Publishing: Chicago, 2001], 312).

But that definition is quite shallow. A calm, tranquil feeling can be produced by any number of things. Such a feeling can be produced by lies, self-deception, or unexpected good fortune. In fact, simply the absence of conflict and trouble produces this feeling, as do drugs and alcohol. However, this kind of peace is only temporary and can easily be destroyed.

When any kind of conflict or trouble arrives, such peace quickly ends. Any kind of failure, doubt, or fear will also destroy such peace in your life. Bitterness, anger, pride, any kind of difficulty, guilt, regret, sorrow, or anxiety over circumstances beyond your control destroys this kind of peace. Even being disappointed or mistreated by others, or simply making bad decisions, brings the world's peace to a sudden end. If any threat is made to your security there is no longer any such peace.

God's peace, true spiritual peace, is completely different. As John MacArthur said, God's peace "is the deep, settled confidence that all is well between the soul and God because of His loving, sovereign control of one's life both in time and eternity. That calm assurance is based on the knowledge that sins are forgiven, blessing is present, good is abundant even in trouble, and heaven is ahead. The peace that God gives His beloved children as their possession and privilege has nothing to do with the circumstances of life" (Ibid, 313).

God's peace is divine. It is derived directly from "the Lord of Peace Himself" (v. 16a). "Himself" (v. 16a) is in the emphatic position in the Greek text, enforcing the fact that the God who is peace grants peace to believers. It is all of God! God is the one who gives you peace, not the circumstances of life or anything else—only God.

First and foremost, this is peace with God. Yet this peace that God gives us with Himself provides the basis for our peace with one another. Only He can make harmony among believers a reality.

"Always" (v. 16a) asks that there be no break in the flow of God's peace. "In every way" (v. 16a) asks that this peace with God continue to exist within you no matter what the outward circumstances might be in your life. With Christ in your life, no matter what you may encounter in life, there is peace. The peace of God Himself is always within you giving you comfort and strength. Amen.

Seek to Restore the Disobedient

In 2 Thessalonians 3:14, Paul reinforces his command to avoid those believers who are deliberately disobedient to the Word of God (2 Thess. 3:6): "And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed." Here Paul restated the command (v. 14a), then went on to give the purpose for following this command: "that he may be ashamed" (v. 14b).

Anyone who "does not obey" the words "in this epistle" (v. 14a), does not obey the Word of God. You are to take "note" of that person and "not keep company with him" (v. 14b). "Note" (v. 14b) refers to a sign or token. It signifies to mark or to note for oneself. Here it is "an injunction to take cautionary note of one who refuses obedience" to the Word of God (Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, [MacDonald Publishing Company: McLean, Virginia], 798). "Keep company" (v. 14b), or "associate with" (NASB), is a strong double compound verb meaning "to mix up together with" (MacArthur’s New Testament Commentary: 1 & 2 Thessalonians, [Moody Publishers: Chicago], 309). You are not to "mix it up" with such persons. As John MacArthur says, "The church individually and collectively was to withdraw fellowship from such persons and avoid them. They were probably to be denied the privilege of taking communion. Surely they were not to be allowed to participate in the love feast, since feeding them a meal would condone and perpetuate their indolent behavior. The pressure of isolation was to be brought to bear on them to produce repentance" (Ibid).

Note the purpose: "that he may be ashamed" (v. 14c), or "so that he will be put to shame" (NASB). "Be put to shame" (v. 14c, NASB) literally means "to turn in on oneself" (Ibid). The idea is that the person being avoided would do some inner reflection, recognize his sin and disobedience to the Word, and repent. Such repentance would then lead to his restoration to complete fellowship. Such is always the intent of church discipline.

That is why Paul concludes with verse 15: "Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." Paul is not talking of complete excommunication as in 1 Corinthians 5:9-11. There verse 11 says, "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. The offense here in 2 Thessalonians 3:14 does not rise to that level. The person avoided here is not to be treated as "an enemy" (v. 15a) who is cut off from all contact. Rather, he is still to be treated as a brother, and you are to admonish him as a brother to bring him to repentance. Galatians 6:1 puts it all in perspective—"Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."

Remember verse 13 and you will do well in living up to these commands: "But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good." Whether it be helping those who are truly in need, or admonishing those who are unruly and disobedient to the Scriptures, always follow Christ in helping them. The end result will be a certain harmony and unity in the church. Amen.