Persistence

James 5, 1 Thessalonians 1-4, 2 Thessalonians 1-2

I thought reading a few chapters a day and commenting on them would be interesting summer reading to help our congregation stay more "up" on their Bible reading. It has been a real challenge for me because I have felt I needed to set the pace and keep up. I didn't realize how difficult that it was to just get the reading done, much less come up with comments that would hopefully result in some dialogue.

It is amazing to me how little Christians know about the Bible. I think if they understood it more, their faith would be stronger and people would be kinder to each other. We would be more accepting of our differences of opinion and we would focus on what breaks the heart of God.

James 5 has a lot to say about arrogance and solidarity. We need to be careful about accumulating possessions that will rot and rust. And here's an interesting verse, James 5:9, "Do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged". Verse 11 encourages endurance. Ah - that would be wonderful if we prayed for healing of situations instead of grumbling about them.

1 and 2 Thessalonians are letters written by Paul to a church where he was only able to stay a very short time. After only 3 Sabbaths of preaching, there is a lot of grumbling going on by some of the Jews (Act 17:5) because people like what Paul has to say, so these jealous Jews gather people from the marketplace to start a riot in the city. These Jews apparently told "the mob" that Paul and and his friends "are defying Caesar's decrees, saying there is another king, one called Jesus".

After such a brief start, these new converts were having some problems so Paul addresses some of their concerns. I particularly like James 4:11 "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands". Some felt since the second coming was near, they could just quit working. Others were worried about those who died before the Lord's return. Paul assures them that the dead in Christ will rise first (4:16).

2 Thessalonians compliments 1 Thessalonians. Basically Paul is encouraging the converts and thanking them for "hanging in there". He also encourages them again not to be idle while they wait for the second coming. He says in verse 3:11 "They are not busy, they are busybodies" (oops - getting ahead on the readings!).

I have learned so much from this discipline of reading and this blogging has definitely kept me busy. The other books I want to read are stacking up. Also, I did not purchase even one book for myself at Leadership Summit, although I do want to get a copy of Jack Welch's book called "Winning" since Bill Hybels reads it again every 6 months. Must be a pretty good book.

Love to hear your comments. Going to an Emmaus closing this afternoon. Keep reading.