Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Faith, Hope, and Love
1 Thess. 1:2-9

“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”– (1:3)

In his letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, Paul begins by thanking God for all that He has done; “the Lord is faithful to His promises and loving towards all He has made.” Before the world was made, He chose us to be holy and blameless in His sight because of His love for us. It is not because of our good deeds or of anything we have to bring but because of our Salvation which was freely given through the sacrifice at Calvary. With this, our focus can shift to the essence of study, “We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

There are three distinct characteristics of Christians that Paul illustrates, their faith, hope and love. If you took those words all by themselves, you might treat faith, hope, and love as very general psychological forces that have inevitable effects on our productivity and durability. You might say, for example, that faith in yourself produces hard work, and love for family produces labor to earn food, and hope for victory produces endurance to finish the race. And, of course, that would be true. But it wouldn't be Christian. It wouldn't be of any spiritual or eternal value. It wouldn't be what Paul is talking about here.

When Paul speaks of faith giving rise to work and love giving rise to labor and hope giving rise to endurance, he has in mind some very definite Christian, spiritual transactions between us and God. We need faith, hope, and love so that we can live a life that is well pleasing to the Lord;  a life that is led by God and for God. So that in the end we can bring glory and honor to His name through our thoughts, words, and actions. This morning let us pray that our Almighty Lord uses each of us for the glory of His Kingdom.


 Prayer: Father, we pray that you enable each of us to wait patiently and keep prayer a vital component in each of our lives. Lord, we as that you enable us to live a life that is well pleasing to you so that in the end you name is praised and exalted through everything we do. We ask this in your loving and precious Son’s name. Amen.
Thought for the Day: “Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right.” ― Max Lucado

 Sean George, Hermon Mar Thoma Church, Atlanta.


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