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When you’re reading the Bible are you tempted to skip Isaiah? Some of the book may sound like “doom and gloom,” but the words of this prophet also teach us how to pray for revival in our day.

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Today’s readings come from Psalm 45:1-9, Luke 15:1-32, Deuteronomy 19 and 20

2 Thessalonians 3:11-13

We hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

There were people in the church in Thessalonica who thought they were so spiritual that they should spend their days waiting for the return of Jesus and not going to work. Because they didn’t work, they became a burden on the other believers who they thought of as less spiritual. Worse than that, instead of being busy workers, they became busybodies. They spent their time interfering in other people’s lives and causing grief. As CH Spurgeon, the Victorian preacher, said: “Some temptations come to the industrious, but all temptations attack the idle.”

Paul responded to these lazy people by pointing to his own example. He had worked hard day and night in order not to be a burden to others. He was convinced that everyone should work hard and never grow tired of doing good.

The problem that Paul faced in Thessalonica isn’t one that I’ve encountered, but his teaching does help us to reflect on the issue of work. Work is often spoken of as if it is a great evil which needs to be avoided. The good times are weekends and holidays, and the objective is to get to retirement as quickly as we can. However, God looks to us to be busy and to use the gifts and abilities that He has given us to bless other people.

1 Corinthians chapter 15 takes us to the heart of Paul’s teaching about the resurrection. Having praised God for the victory that He has won over sin and death, he challenged his readers to work hard for God. He wrote: “Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Life changes for all of us but whoever we are and however old we are, God calls us to be busy workers for Him – and never busybodies.

Question

What is the work that God has called you to do?

Prayer

Loving God, thank You for the work that You have asked me to do. Help me to do it with enthusiasm and determination. Amen

2 Thessalonians 3:1

Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honoured wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.

As Paul brings this letter to a close, we see into his heart. He asks the Thessalonians to pray for him. He could go into some detail about his specific needs, but he doesn’t. He immediately invites prayer that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly. A literal translation of the Greek would be “that the word of the Lord may run”. Because Paul so often used athletic imagery, he was almost certainly trying to convey his desire that the good news should be spread quickly and effectively. He longed for the message to be respected and accepted by as many people as possible. That’s what had happened when he’d visited Thessalonica, and he was eager that it should happen in the same way in the much tougher context of Corinth, from which he was writing this letter.

I believe that we need to be praying today with a new urgency “that the word of the Lord may run”. It’s all too easy for us to accept our multi-religious society and to lose our passion for sharing the good news of Jesus. We are called to show grace and generosity to people of other religions. It is good that we get to know them, befriend them and embrace opportunities for working alongside them. However, we are also called out of our love for them to be faithful to our Lord who came to die on a cross that they might experience His forgiveness and new life.

When we pray for one another, we should keep the focus on the spreading of the good news. Let’s pray that we will all become more urgent in our evangelism and increasingly eager to see word of the Lord run throughout our society.

Question

What do you find the biggest challenges to sharing your faith with others?

Prayer

Lord God, I ask You to give me a renewed determination to share Your good news with those I meet each day. Amen

Today’s readings come from Psalm 44:13-26, Luke 14:15-35, Deuteronomy 16:21-18:22

1) Can you discuss the topic of the interpretation of Scripture?2) Why do we use the expression "ask Jesus in your heart"?3) If Deuteronomy 23:3 bars Moabites from the assembly of the Lord, what about Ruth?4) Why does Ezekiel 42:20 refer to a profane place in the temple?5) What does the Bible teach on capital punishment?6) What does Scripture teach on the age of accountability?

Some may think of the Lord as a powerful being who rules from afar. But the Bible reveals an intimate God who knows each of us, even better than we know ourselves. Join us on Truth For Life as Alistair Begg begins a series titled The God Who Knows Me.

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This listener-funded program features the clear, relevant Bible teaching of Alistair Begg. Today’s program and nearly 3,000 messages can be streamed and shared for free at tfl.org thanks to the generous giving from monthly donors called Truthpartners. Learn more about this Gospel-sharing team or become one today. Thanks for listening to Truth For Life!