10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

This verse should give Christians great encouragement and strength. Our Lord Jesus Christ will one day as described in Rev 19:11-16 come down from Heaven and His glory will be fully realized. Persecution and suffering did not stop his saints from spreading the Gospel or from being detoured from sharing it with others. We need to be a people like the church here in Thessalonica where God’s glory was seen by everybody thru their strong faith.

Matt 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.

This letter gives us as Christian’s encouragement in the face of our own personal trials and persecution knowing that our Lord is just and will reward his holy people for their enduring faith and perseverance. Here at True North we can be used by God to be an encouragement to other believers that see His glory through our faith and are encouraged and strengthened.

2nd Thes1:4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

GET ON THE BUS REVIVAL 09

This is an awsome verse to have in mind when we are being wronged by people or are thinking of wronging someone for something that they did to us. Here we see one of the attributes of God. He is Just!! We need not take revenge on people who wrong us because we know that when the time is right God will pay them back for that.
A good cross referance for this verse is Psalm 9:8 ” 8 He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice.”
We see here that in the psalms it also states that God will judge the world and he governs the people with justice.

We need to remember that we need not to take revenge on people that wrong us. We need to let God do what He has said He is going to do and not take matters into our own hands!!

I don’t know about you, but this makes me want to tell EVERYONE about Jesus!! Think about all the people that we “love” that aren’t Christian. How are we loving them if we don’t share the gospel with them?! Let’s not keep the good news to ourselves!!

I like how Paul mentions how exited he is that the Christians of Thesolonica were loving each other more and more. We gotta be loving our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ just as the thesalonians did and altimately as Christ loved us….I feel like I just said this haha…

This verse perfectly describes the growth that should be taking place in us! As Christians we should always be growing; developing a more intimate relationship with the Lord and becoming more spiritually mature. In addition, our love for one another should also be continually increasing. We should cherish the fellowship we have with one another and always seek to encourage our fellow believers (Hebrews 10:24-25). This is my prayer tonight for True North, that our faith will be constantly increasing and our love for one another would continually be strengthened!

How awesome is that? Their love for each other was continually increasing and for Paul to comment on that, that must means he heard of it, meaning it was seen. This reminds me of the connections series and how if we love each other, it will be seen in practical ways. Love is an action and that is what we need to be doing if we have real love for one another in Christ just as He showed His love for us!

Whenever we feel like somone wronged us and want to get back on them we don’t need to beacuse the Lord will punish them for what He feels is right and He will take care of it.

Going to be the best day for all Christians!!! Maranatha!!!! We need to live our lives 150% for God for He is coming

We’re living this life to glorify God. We were CREATED to worship him!
I am so excited that Christ is coming soon! MARANATHA!

Come Lord Jesus! Maranatha!

Revenge is for the Lord and we need to keep that in mind. It’s hard not to retaliate sometimes when someone wrongs you. we need to have self-control if we are to obey God.

The coming wrath is very real!! If we truly love as Christ loved and we have a MARANATHA mindset then we will not stop telling peole about Him!!

I love how Paul chooses to pray for his fellow christians. Not only does he pray for them out of his love, but he prays for them so that God may be glorified through them! That is definitely something to meditate on as you pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ! :D

Why are the praying for the church and that they would persevere despite trial, that they would continue living worthy of the calling that was bestowed upon them?? So that the name of the Lord would be glorified in them and it is only by His grace that we can be a tool for that! How exciting it is to anticipate the return of our King and yet how terribly saddening it is to know that many will not be joyful on that day because their hope is not in the resurrection and victory of Jesus Christ…let us fulfill the great commission and share Jesus with the world, for He is coming soon…MARANATHA!!!

8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power

10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

12We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

But, we have to rember to live by the gospel each and every day. Also revival is coming so dont miss out go and up today.

MARANATHA!!!!!!! What a wonderful day it will be to see our Lord! Just thinking about it makes me excited! I not only need to be ready physically but also spiritually ready as well. I pray that we all will be ready for the day when Christ comes and that we have a desire and love to warn others who don’t know God and to tell them about the gospel.

What an awesome day this will be…Maranatha!!!

6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you

I know a lot of people have commented on this verse but really, it stood out to me the most…probably because it was the one most convicting. I’m sure a lot of you peoples related to me when I say that we lack patience when it comes to our siblings annnnnd I gotta say I do sometimes wanna pay back for what they do and that’s bad! God says clearly here that it is a sin annnnd HE will take care of it when the time is right. It made me think about my faith in the Lord. I need to have faith like a mustard seed so I won’t even think about pay back! haha and Kyle, TOTALLY relate to you on that one! annnnnnnnnnnd great message today Bobby! This chapter just reminded me more of it and how we need to be evangeliz’n it up at our schools….heck everywhere we go! Lets be doers! :D

it is a very rewarding feeling to suffer for the kingdom of God, and Paul certainly is one who knows what suffering for the gospel is. today people dont want to hear about the persecution Christians face; rather it is an unpopular topic today. people would rather hear that Jesus wants us to have our best life now, when Scripture clearly teaches that in this life we will suffer for the Kingdom, but in the next life we will be richly rewarded.

The part that says “do not know God” stood out to me because everyone should know who God is and at least have that chance!! So us as christians have that responsiblity to God out and tell people about him so that no one has the excuse that they didnt get told who he was.

10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

This is the opposite of Maranatha right here…

It is scary to consider the everlasting destruction that is coming to those who do not obey the gospel call to repent and put their faith in Christ. Let’s make sure that we are warning them about this and that we have street cred as Christians in front of our non-Christian friends and family.

Praise God that he has saved us so we can be among those who believe!

I posted the Revival 09 Bus Ride video on my Facebook page if you want to watch it. Make sure you have a spot on the bus and bring your friends!

6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you

“God is just” as mentioned early in this verse because He is just, He will not let go sin unpunished. Then it says “He will pay back trouble, to those who trouble us” this means that we should not seek revenge on anyone because God will pay them back for their wrong. We need to trust in Christ, trust in God’s future grace that He will punish them back for those who wrong us. I would also like to mention if we are truly living Godly lives then we will get persecuted. 2 Timothy 3:12 “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” As a Christian it is a promise that those who live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted.

I can relate to a story today, I’m driving on the freeway and everyone was going super fast, they are behind me in my lane I’m traveling in and then they switch lanes and cut me off. My ego wanted me to just do the same thing to them, but I know that I would break the law by speeding and sin if I were to do that. So I trust in God that they will punish them back. This must have happen 15 times today, literally and no I wasn’t going slow.

7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.

Talks about Christ return, it’s amazing Christ will be revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His the powerful angels (Christians)!!!

8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

I remember a kid last night ask us, why are you evangelizing to me? This was my answer, it was this verse! The people who do not know God, the people who do not know or obey the gosple by responding in repentance and faith will be punished. That’s why I told the kid because I do not want him to be punished, without knowing the way to be found not guilty in front of Christ, when Christ will judge him for what he has done on earth.

9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power

This is scary! Talking about last verse, that’s also why we evangelized. No one wants people to be in everlasting destruction. No one wants to be denied of not being in the presence of God. This is the worst thing that could possibly happen!

We should always be thanking God for everything he does. One example is shown here. If your Faith is growing, thank God. Thank God if you brother or sister in Christ is growing.

Also, Paul is thanking God for the love they have for one another. We should love one another so much that people thank God for it.

6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.

MARANATHA!!!!

5All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

It is interseting to think that our lives as Christians prove the reality of God and His divine judgement. It is not just the Bible or preachers that say that God it is real; it is our lives too! The way we live should be a testement to God and His grace, so that when people hear what we say and see how we act they will know their is a God in heaven and that He is going to judge the world for our sin. We are the lights and we need to shine (Mt. 5:14-16)!

This is a great chapter. I am so glad that I am on God’s side when I read this verse that says He will be revaled from heaven in blazing fire, that shows me how powerful God is. The verse just reminded me that I need to fear God and not man.

Ah praise God He gave us a way out of this through His son dying on the cross for us!! Instead of facing destruction and not being able to meet the Lord, we can worship Him in His presence forever, what an awesome thing! We should definitely be sharing this with other people.

As Pastor Bobby mentioned this weekend, many people who call themselves Christians really aren’t, and they just profess it but don’t prove it. this verse just reminded me of that, and we need to be obedient and doing what God has commanded us to do. It is such a motivation for me to realize that I need to be talking to more people and to live everyday as if Jesus might return, and to be prepared whenever. We are on this earth to make disciples of Christ, and if you are not acting it out and being a doer, then what does that show about you and your relationship with God? Obedience and acceptance towards the gospel is so important, and people need to hear it!

12We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

At the beginning of the chapter, Paul is praising God for the amazing work he has done in the Thessalonian’s lives, just as he had prayed for. This is something I need to work on, because it’s easy to ask God for stuff but many times we forget to give Him praise when He answers our prayers. But not only that, Paul continues to pray that the Thessalonians will live the life called to them as Christians and that the faith God has produced might result in action. And this is all so that God might be glorified. I pray that we at True North will truly take it to the next level by living in a way that others can truly see that we are Christians and that we wouldn’t just believe or agree with His word but that it will result in action. I shouldn’t just be praying that God will change me in this way, but should follow Paul’s example by praying that God will be working in this way in the lives of all my fellow Christians. It will be awesome if we start living this way, because God will be glorified more than we have ever seen before.

I love this verse. It shows that GOD is just. He is just so that every single trial we go through, we will be rewarded for. Everyone will get what they justly deserve. Jesus is the only reason that we don’t get the pain and wrath we deserve. He took the wrath for us.

7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.

I agree with what Payton was saying. God always has our back once we ask him into our hearts and i think thats amazing. We sin against him everyday, but he still doesnt turn us away. Thats so amazing and really is encouraging to do what he tells us with all our hearts. We also have nothing to worry about. So when we tell others about him and get rejected by others, its ok because God has got our backs and has given us that courage to talk to them.

Instead of concerning ourselves with “payback” and revenge on those who wrong us, we should let God handle it. Everyone wlil be judged by Him and we know he is a just God! We really don’t need to worry about judging people and getting back at them for hurting us, or punishing them for their sin. Let God do his job, that he promised. He promises to be just and faithful to those who are faithful to him. He WILL take care of those who trouble you, like this verse says. Don’t take it upon yourself, don’t let that burden be upon you and most importantly don’t let God judge YOU for judging them. Only God can change people, after all!

“Hallelujah!” shouts Paul, “The Thessalonian church grows abundantly in love and in faith!”

This extraordinary growth among the church, as many well know, is called sanctification, and should be evidently manifested through the lives of those who follow Christ.

Although Paul, from the beginning, was impressed by the radical response of the Thessalonian church, he reiterates in his second letter that they have grown! So should be our lives as the second coming of Christ nears.

Truly I am convicted by this. Thinking that prayer ten minutes a day and a mere comment on SOTD satisfies the holy God remains to be foolish thinking. My path, as well as all others who claim to be in Christ, is to obey God when he commanded: “Be Holy, because I am Holy”(1Peter 1:16). That remains to be mine and every Christians’ everlasting direction until the second coming of Christ. And speed its coming! MARANATHA!

9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power

This definitely makes me want to evangelize even more! It’s scary! Most of the people at our schools do not know God and aren’t obeying the gospel which means this will happen to them if we don’t speak up. We can’t wait… Sometimes it’s hard because we dont want to start conflict… but conflict would be better than everlasting punishment for all of those people we say are our friends..

9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power

You definitely wouldn’t want to be one of these people – would you want your friends and family to be among them? I didn’t think so. Great incentive to be sharing the Gospel like it could be our last day here! Don’t wait!

God is so amazing and when we get His back, He will get ours(alway). When we are stressed or worried or just need someone to talk to, God is always there and will comfort you in your time of need. He loves us, and nothing can change that love, ever! :]

***JESUS LOVES YOU!!!***

This verse reminds me of the verse i commented on yesterday. Yesterday’s verse said, “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” Now this verse here goes a little further than that previous verse. The first thing it says is “God is just.” Paul wrote it first because it’s important to know that He is just. God is a just God, He will give everyone what they deserve. And as sinful humans, we deserve the eternal separation from God, Hell. And also as the just God He is, He will punish those who do wrong things. Just like a judge sentances a criminal to a certain punishment, God will do the same thing to a person who sins. The next part of the verse just states it again in a new way, but makes it personal. He says, “He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you.” Now it involves you. God will punish those who do bad things to you, by having bad things happen to them. So, the reason why it’s important to follow 1Thessalonians 5:15 is because it’s not our place to punish those who do bad things to us. It’s God’s job, not ours. Just like if someone has done something to you and the go to court for it, it’s the judges job to punish, not the accuser’s job. So when people do stuff against us, let’s leave it to God to punish them, and not sin by taking matters into our own hands!

Mmmm Maranatha! This is going to be the most amazing day for christians when our Lord and savior comes back to earth to take us home! This goes perfectly with part of Bobbys message this weekend! We have to look forward to Christs return because that is the day that we are truly waiting and hoping for as christians! Maranatha!!!!

Maranatha!

Here we see a glimpse of the Maranatha mindset we talk about a lot in True North. Paul encourages the Thessalonians to endure by reminding them how Christ will make everything right when he returns! That is something to look forward to and a reason to persevere!

Excited to see everyone at True North today!