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1 Thessalonians Reading | Week 1 | Day 4
Prayer
Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. Ask God to give you His wisdom today.
Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12
Read these verses three times slowly.
Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
Reflection & Questions
The apostle Paul can sometimes get a bad rap. You can read his letters and get a feel that he was super smart, but perhaps lacked a personal touch. Today’s verses however reveal to us Paul’s method of ministry. His approach to reaching others was sharing “not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” In fact, he described his method like a “nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you” and like a “father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging.” Paul loved people. He poured his life out for them. And he shared the gospel with them.
Paul’s balance of sharing the gospel and his life is a great example to us. If with our ONE we are simply sharing the gospel, they wonder if we really care. If we are only sharing our lives and not the gospel, they wonder if the gospel really matters. Finding that balance of love and truth, care and content brings the true transformation we’re hoping and praying for.
- Who is someone who has shared their life and the truth with you in good balance? What have you learned from them?
- As you think about reaching your ONE, what can you apply from today’s reading?
Prayer
Talk to God in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
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Questions?
Ed Applegate
