Day 206 - 1 Thessalonians Sunday (chapters 1-3)
“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Thessalonians 1:2-2 ESV)
Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica is very much a love letter, a love letter from a pastor to his people. He commends them for their faithfulness to the Lord, warns them about danger, and again celebrates their faithfulness.
This sounds very much like what God does through His faithful pastors today. What a special bond exists between the one who brings the good news of Christ and those who receive it!
Of course, what is at the heart of the relationship between God’s people and their pastor is the One he points them to, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
1. Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above.
2. Before our Father’s throne We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, Our comforts and our cares.
3. We share our mutual woes, Our mutual burdens bear,
And often for each other flows The sympathizing tear.
(Blest Be the Tie That Binds, Lutheran Service Book, CPH 2006, #649 stanzas 1-3)
May we continue to celebrate our oneness and closeness in Christ!
“Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to him, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” (Thessalonians 3:11-12 ESV) Amen.
“See” you at the Communion table this morning.
Pastor David Paape
The following link is to the 52 Week Bible Reading Plan upon which these devotions are based. http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf
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