This is the first week of Advent. As we anticipate Jesus' coming, here are some scriptures to place our focus.

"'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

  " 'In those days and at that time
       I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line;
       he will do what is just and right in the land.

 In those days Judah will be saved
       and Jerusalem will live in safety.
       This is the name by which it will be called:
       The LORD Our Righteousness.'
Jeremiah 33:14-16

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Last Sunday's ABF Recap

What was the shortest reading of our "How To Read The Scriptures For Maximum Impact" turned out to be one of the longest when it came to Observation and taking in the bird's-eye view (step one on your orange card from Tony).

The Thessalonian church was the body and Thessalonica was the location of interest this week.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Going back to Acts we can see how it came about the church in Thessalonica was planted. Recalling our discussion of Ephasus, Paul remained there for 3 years while the church gained its footing. Paul only preached for 3 weeks in Thessalonica... three weeks, and there are two letters to them included in the New Testament.

This was a strategic plant on the part of Paul. Thessalonica was a key stop on the major east/west trade route... lots of coming and going... if a message stuck in Thessalonica, many travelers would be exposed to the message. The plant was more than just Paul's strategy, though. It was his intent to travel north and east to Asia, but acknowledging specific prompting from the LORD, he ended up going west to Thessalonica.

So what was going on in Thessalonica? First of all, Paul writes of spiritual warfare. This warfare played out in the spiritual and physical realms. Secondly, this was a letter to new Christians in a hostile environment. They were holding up pretty well, but there were a few things that Paul needed to address.

• This letter combats gossip, busy-bodies and laziness.
• The church was instructed to not get hung up on the end times.
• Laziness was a big problem. Many Christians had given up work in anticipation of Jesus' return. Further, they were vilifying those that were working hard.
• As we've seen with most of the early churches, a warning against slipping into old sinful behaviors was needed.
• The Jewish community wasn't happy about Paul's work in Thessalonica, and they actively worked to thwart him and persecute the Christians. His letter to the church combats the Jews' charges of alterior motives on the part of Paul.

The structure of our passage for the week is very important. It begins with three imperatives:

1. (You) be joyful always.
2. (You) pray continually.
3. (You) give thanks in all circumstances.

But doesn't

"You will eat those brussel sprouts and you will like it!"

this seem a bit fishy? It sounds like a parent saying to their child, "You will eat those brussel sprouts and you will like it!" What are the chances that the kid is going to enjoy the mandated eating of said brussel spourts? Back to the verse... be joyful? We're commanded to be joyful? What's that about? We spoke about how joy is both a feeling and an action. The shepherd was happy about the return of the lost sheep and the crowds were delighted with Jesus' healing of the crippled woman. These were feelings.

On the other hand, joy can be an action or a behavior. We are told to be joyful when we are persecuted because of Jesus, we are told to simply rejoice all of the time, as servants of God we are told to rejoice even in sorrowful circumstances, and we're to be joyful in times of trials. All of this might sound funny, and it might prompt the question, "How can we feel joy?" Tony said, "If we want the feeling, we need to act!" Shakespeare said, "Assume a virtue, if you have it not." And like we said last week, we get joy from the Holy Spirit. There are specific behaviors and actions that we can take that will prompt joy in our lives, and this is commanded by God.

Pray without ceasing? Paul just finished telling the Thessalonians to get off of their rear ends, stop being lazy and get to work, and then he tells them to pray without ceasing? What's that about? He's not talking about long-winded prayers, he's talking about persistent with our prayers and also living our lives consistent with that which we bring to the LORD in prayer. Said Robin, "The LORD can't drive a parked car." We cannot expect the LORD to hear and answer our prayers if immediatly after praying we act irresponsibly or in such a way that might hinder any answer He'd provide. When we behave consistenly with our prayers, this prompts us to pray further... it's a positive cycle!

We didn't have much time left to dig into the thanksgiving aspect to the depth as joy and prayer, but the message is very similar: it's not about feelings, but about action... and the action will bring about the feeling. Again, "If we want the feeling, we need to act!"

All three of these imperatives require our being close with the LORD. There's no joy without God, we pray to God and who else is worthy of our thanks but God?

And now for the, "Why?" Why should we be joyful, prayerful and thankful all of the time?

• It is God's will for us. Do we need a bigger reason?
• Practicing joy, prayer and thanksgiving puts us in the ideal position to have fellowship with God.

Enjoy your week. Send an encouraging e-mail to a friend.

RG