Heralds Digest

"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." (1 Timothy 1:15 NKJV) Although the plan of redemption spanned numerous genealogies from the fall of man (Adam) to his salvation (Jesus Christ), the redemptive blood of Christ is ageless. The birth of Christ took place among numerous events; but the evidence of his appearance is incomparable. Without mincing words, the essence of all of human existence becomes relevant, when they are referenced from the finite genealogy, i.e., the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all." (2 Thessalonians 3:16 NKJV) Situation-driven peace is bound to give excuse for impatience in times of a great perturbation. Such is the basis of the lack of perpetual peaceful relationships and coexistence in every system and situation of life. However, spirit-driven peace is neither a function of space and time, nor a derivative of situation and circumstances. Ocean and sea may roar ceaselessly; and the storm and wind may blow continuously. When God himself becomes our peace, we will soar with enduring calmness.

"Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith." (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 NKJV) The relationship between God and man is built and maintained by faith. And living by faith, in the face of real challenges of life, requires more than a personal effort. Unfortunately, desperate search for solution to life's challenges often defy the patience of faith. Before the destruction of personal relationship with God is consummated, wickedness must have been encouraged with defamation of godly characters. Without the grace of God and a consistent prayer support, no one can endure the torment of wicked men. While persevering faith does not always make sense, it does make saints.

"...because God from the beginning chose you...to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 NKJV) Special privileges are created or permitted for special purposes, ordained by God. A good reflection on the essence of our salvation from physical, financial, emotional, and spiritual destructions will always draw the attention to God's special call. Unfortunately, the pursuit of self-glory always stand in the way of God's glory, whenever good wealth matter more than good work. In all of our daily engagements, a special call counts loss as gain as long as God's glory is appreciated.

"For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way." (2 Thessalonians 2:7 NKJV) Someone had rightly presume every human action, without the Spirit of God, as unpredictably worse than that of the devil. The sense in the statement is basically the expression of the greater danger in an indiscernible evil, compared to an unpretentious one. In any case, only the grace of God makes a distinctive sense out of human character. With the influence of God's Spirit in man, and irrespective of the mystery of lawlessness, life is bound to keep a logical path of righteousness.

"Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power." (2 Thessalonians 1:11 NKJV) When passion mixes with interest, there exist great possibilities from human desires. For example, desire for abundant life suggests the fulfillment of the promises of promotion, protection and preservation. Unfortunately, many of human desires often contradict heavenly desires, including the desires of called-out-saints, like the Thessalonian believers. However, common denominator in believers' relationship with God is the prospect of faith growing. Apart from the showing of gratitude to God for enabling faith work, apostle Paul prayed always to God for empowering faith work. It implies that when divine power mixes with human interest, there would be no impossibility to heaven's desires in life through any form of prayer.

"Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 NKJV) God's grace does not only provide man with good Spirit, it sustains man in godliness. Without the influence of the world and its worldliness, man has unlimited access to cruise from the terrestrial to the celestial. Therefore, man is daily saddled with the responsibility to response to the demand of the good Spirit and not the dictates of the flesh. Unfortunately, human sense of good is highly subjective to the interest of the flesh, even when the demand of the Spirit is clear. The rule of the thumb is that what is good for the flesh often disagrees with the tenets of godliness. And to quench the Spirit is to procrastinate the service of the Spirit in order to satisfy the interest of the flesh.