Meditation: Joan Boney
This morning I began reading in I Thess. starting with verse 1. (I've been daily reading passages in the New Testament)
I Thess. 1 ... Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thought of that strong desire Paul had to communicate with the church. He used parchments to write to the various churches and here he was writing to the church at Thessalonia.
And I thought of how we, today, communicate daily with the church all over the world by these Internet writings and I greatly rejoiced that we can do this.
We are in very terrible times. Sin is rampant all over the world. The violence of humans is predominate as they set about to get what they want without regard for what it will do to others. All their thoughts are of their own selves.
This is a predominate sign of the end ... as in the days of Noah so will be the coming of the Son of Man ... violence reigned in the earth.
We think of blood shed when we think of violence. But God defined violence for me as humans pursuing their own desires not caring what their acts will do to harm another person. We see this in fornication and adultery as men and women depart from their own mate and even their own children in their pursuit of their own personal lusts. We see violence in the many uncaring acts of men and women. Paul said in the last days we would see perilous times for they would be "lovers of their own selves." (II Tim. 3) This is the type of thing we see now.
As we see the approaching day of the Lord, the return of Jesus, we are told to "exhort one another" ... Heb. 3 & Heb. 10 ... I rejoice that these Internet opportunities allow us to do that. And we are told to exhort one another daily ... and even more as we see the day approaching.
It will get so bad before the end that Jesus said even the elect would not be saved "except the day be shorted" ...But the day would be shorted so the elect would be saved. Mt. 24
We often think of physical torture with this. I believe what we will see is a mental torture as sin abounds.
So each of us need these daily exhortations ... and as Paul went to churches at the beginning of the church age, we go at the end with these writings ... and we have a way to go all over the world daily!
So when I read I Thess. 1:1, I really rejoiced.