1 Thessalonians 1
As we begin reading 1 Thessalonians, we see that Paul is writing the church in Thessalonica. In every chapter, Paul mentions the return of the Lord. We see that Paul and the churches were aware Christ would return, and they were admonished to live a life for God, watchful of His return. We know that the timing of Christ’s return would not come in their lifetime, but we can appreciate their desire to live in a way that they would be ready for His return. We, also, are to live in such a way. If we lived as if Christ could come back today, how would we live our lives differently? Would we think about the eternal destination of the people we meet today? What about the people who have wronged us? Would it matter that much? We may put a lot of emphasis on our lifetime on the earth, but God has a better perspective of the short time we have here. When we have a good perspective of now and what’s to come, it helps us live our best life while we’re in these bodies, our earth suits. One day we’ll lay these bodies down, and the things that concern us so deeply here will not carry the same weight in the afterlife. Let’s be encouraged to live with eternity in our hearts and in our minds as we continue to walk out our purpose for today.
Isaiah 50-52
Isaiah 50:1-3 is a continuation of God’s confirmation of His faithfulness and love to Israel, carried over from chapter 49. Staring in verse 4 is a prophetic word for Christ, (he Servant) possibly also referring to a human leader in the day. In verse 6 we see the foretelling of what Jesus would endure, His back being beaten, those who would pull on His beard so hard it would remove His hair, as well as the shaming and the spitting. Think of it, all those hundreds of years before, God knew what His Son would have to endure on our behalf. It also mentions how Jesus would respond with faith that His Father would help Him. Can passages like this be tools God uses to speak to us? Absolutely. In verse 4, God says of the current leader and of the Christ, that we can hear the Lord in the morning. For me personally, the Holy Spirit brought this Scripture alive when I would wake up hearing the voice of the Lord. It is as if He waits for me to wake up, my mind is still, and I hear Him clearly and plainly in my heart. The same passage of Scripture can be used as a tool for the Lord to speak to us today, even though we know the passage has a primary purpose of revealing Christ.
There are many folds to the prophetic in these chapters. In 51 and 52, we continue to see both present day and future applications. For example, Isaiah 52:7 speaks of the feet on the mountain that brings good news. Paul quotes it in Romans 10:15, but it also speaks of their release from Babylonian captivity. This leads me to believe that what happened with Israel in their captivity was an illustration of what would be seen in Christ, His Church, and the end times.
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