Strong Hearts
1 Thessalonians 3:13
5th November 2021
As we saw last time, in the middle of his first letter to them, Paul speaks three blessings over the church in Thessalonica:
1 Thessalonians 3:11-13
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.
We looked at the first and second blessings last week. We now consider the third blessing, which is:
1 Thessalonians 3:13
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.
Paul knows that our enemy will sooner or later launch an attack on each of our hearts, seeking one way or another to draw us away from trusting and serving God. Paul's asking that God strengthens our hearts, making them like the walls of a fortress than cannot be overcome. Whatever afflictions or discouragements come, may each one of us always trust Jesus. May we always keep the faith.
May God continue the work of making our hearts resolute. May He so work in us by His holy Spirit, and through the circumstances we face, and the people we meet, and the leaders that serve us, that day-by-day we are more able to stand firm. May, as Paul wrote elsewhere:
Ephesians 4:13-15
... we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and
become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and
blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness
of men in their deceitful scheming.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him
who is the head, that is, Christ.
May we become truly secure in God's love. May we grow in understanding and character. May we live lives that glorify our Lord. May we be unshakable, from today to the day we see Jesus face to face.
Jesus is coming back. Nobody knows when. Nobody knows exactly what it'll be like. But it will be wonderful. The Bible tells us some things about it, though. And this passage tells us that when Jesus returns to planet earth, He will be accompanied by all His holy ones – His angels and His saints.
Paul will talk more about this in Chapter 4 of this letter. On the day Jesus returns, the angels will come with Him, and we'll see them in glorious array. And all the Christians who have died and gone to heaven will leave their heavenly homes and return to earth with Him, and will receive their new bodies. What a wonderful day that will be!
When this glorious day comes, and all this happens, surely you and I want to be blameless and holy as we stand in the presence of our God and Father.
May you and I keep ourselves pure. May we live lives dedicated to our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. May we continue to repent of our sins. May we seek His kingdom and look for His coming. May we love all our brothers, all our sisters and all our neighbours, with overflowing love.
May we be able to say, as Paul said:
2 Timothy 4 :7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
And may we hear Jesus say:
Matthew 25:21
... "Well done, good and faithful servant!..."
O Lord help us! O Lord forgive us our sins! O Lord change us! Amen.