1 Thessalonians 2:13

I Thessalonians 2:13I am sure most have heard the Bible reference to pray without ceasing which is also found in I Thessalonians. Here, we read to thank God without ceasing. Our prayers should always include a thankful spirit to what the Lord has done for and given to us. In essence, it is all His anyway. We covered this a couple Sundays ago when we discussed tithing. Even if a person feels they have absolutely nothing and everything in life is chaotic, we still should have the thankfulness of forgiveness and the hope for our future, eternal communion with our Savior.The Thessalonians received the word from Paul and company as if it was from God and not the words of men. This word was truth and believed as such. This is extremely important in today’s age. We can easily look around at the world and see how our society in how it treats the word of God and see the challenge to its authority and authenticity. It is not just how people are defiant in their sin. Sin is being normalized with the Word of God as justification. There is also a clear heresy with a similar freedom to sin doctrine. This doctrine says, “that just isn’t what God is working on in my life right now.” This doctrine also tries to state the Old Testament isn’t valid any more. Again as stated with tithing, Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law and prophets but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17). A challenge back from many is “that is just your interpretation.” The Blue Letter Bible app has a good quote from Charles Spurgeon on this:That you have perceived spiritual things is true; but it is no proof that there are none to perceive. The whole case is like that of [a man] who tried to upset evidence by non-evidence. Four witnesses saw him commit a murder. He pleaded that he was not guilty, and wished to establish his innocence by producing forty persons who did not see him do it. Of what use would that have been? So, if forty people declare that there is no power of the Holy Ghost going with the word, this only proves that the forty people do not know what others do know.Unfortunately, we as Believers don’t truly know our Bible as much as we should. We also allow the liberalism view (not talking politics here, only the interpretation of scripture) of scripture to derail us from the inherent word of God Himself. We are in a time where it is imperative to know Scripture. I am speaking to myself here too. I do an ok job at studying, but I am absolutely horrible at memorizing. The Thessalonians knew the word brought them salvation which is crucial to endure suffering which is why they were thankful for the word. Knowing scripture is imperative to know the times in which we live, to understand the heresies that attack the church, to see our society in how it is rapidly exalting apostasy.MARANATHA!