“The way we conceive the future sculpts the present, give contour nd tone to nearly every action and thought through the day.  If our sense of future is weak, we live listlessly.  Much emotional and mental illness and most suicides occur among men and women who feel that they ‘have no future.’ 

The Christian faith has always been characterized by a strong and focused sense of future, with belief in the Second Coming of Jesus as the most distinctive detail.  For the day Jesus ascended into heaven, his followers lived in expectancy of his return.  He told them he was coming back. They believed he was coming back. They continue to believe it.  For Christians, it is the most important thing to know and believe about the future.

The practical effect of this belief is to charge each moment of the present with hope.  For if the future is dominated by the coming again of Jesus, there is little room left on the screen for projecting our anxieties and fantasies.  It takes the clutter out of our lives.  We’re far more free to respond spontaneously to the freedom of God.

All the same, the belief can be misconceived so that it results in paralyzing fear for some, shiftless indolence in others.  Paul’s two letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, among much else, correct such debilitating misconceptions, prodding us to continue to live forward in taut and joyful expectancy for what God will do next in Jesus.” –Eugene Peterson, Introduction to Thessalonians, The Message Bible

And the beat goes on—this message given to Paul by His Master, Jesus Christ, continues because The Message cannot be stopped; it only picks up speed!  The Message never stopped and never will be stopped.  God will see to that!  Jesus IS coming back just as He promised.  We don’t know the time or place.  Jesus doesn’t know that, either.  We discover that the more mature we become spiritually by trusting in God; that knowing becomes irrelevant to living a life of Hope with joyful expectancy that He will return to claim His own.  It is more important to be known as His. 

Life is now as well as later for Life eternal begins the moment we accept Jesus as Savior and trust Him as our Lord.

1 Thessalonians 1, The Message

I, Paul, together here with Silas and Timothy, send greetings to the church at Thessalonica, Christians assembled by God the Father and by the Master, Jesus Christ. God’s amazing grace be with you! God’s robust peace!

Convictions of Steel

^2-5 Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you’re in our prayers as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father. It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special. When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn’t just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions.

^5-6 You paid careful attention to the way we lived among you, and determined to live that way yourselves. In imitating us, you imitated the Master. Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from the Holy Spirit!—taking the trouble with the joy, the joy with the trouble.

^7-10 Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you? The word has gotten around. Your lives are echoing the Master’s Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place. The news of your faith in God is out. We don’t even have to say anything anymore—you’re the message! People come up and tell us how you received us with open arms, how you deserted the dead idols of your old life so you could embrace and serve God, the true God. They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Live as if Jesus were coming today.  Prepare for His return with excitement!

To live Hope is an attitude of joy that relieves our fears and anxieties!  To live for Jesus, with the Holy Spirit’s help and guidance, comfort, and peace; is to live in joyful expectation for the Son of God whom we have believed and know that He is able to do exactly what He says He will and did do—remove all our sins and give us life eternal with Him in glory!

“You ARE the Message!”  Paul affirmed the Thessalonians of their consistent faith—

“People come up and tell us how you received us with open arms, how you deserted the dead idols of your old life so you could embrace and serve God, the true God. They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom.” 

What a reputation to have and to hold in the community! 

BE the Message today!  In Jesus Name…

Lord,

Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, fill us with Your Holy Spirit who lead us and gives the words to be the message of your saving grace.  Refresh our souls with your new mercies for today.  Continually restore us with your expectant joy of your return and the joy and peace of you at work within us until you do come back to claim us and take us home for eternity.  Hope is rising in me even as we talk and commune with each other. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen