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Hello faithful followers!
Happy Holidays to you all.
We hope and pray that you all are doing well.
Thanksgiving & Snow
Life is going great out here in Montana. We are gearing up here for winter with about seven inches of snow and it is still coming. Praise God. The mountains are covered and it is cold. It doesn't get any better than this winter wonderland.
I can't believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone already. We love the holiday season. We had the great opportunity to trek out to Seattle to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Annie's family. It was a great time; full of lots of eggnog consumption, some Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade watching, and another New York Jet's Victory! What a great Thanksgiving. O how sweet life is!
Left Behind?
So I (Justin) am writing today to say thanks to everyone that prayed for me with my 1st Thessalonian's teaching in November. It went so well. God really spoke through me and moved in the lives of the students.
Last year I had the privilege of teaching the book of 2nd Thessalonians and this year, the book of 1st Thessalonians. They have turned out to be two of my favorite books in the Bible. These books were written to a discouraged and suffering church in the Roman Province of Thessalonica. I relate so well with the church in Thessalonica because of what they believed about the second coming of Christ. You see, like the church in Thessalonica who struggled with misconceptions about the second coming, I, in my own past have struggled with this.
In the book of 1st Thessalonians the church of Thessalonica is worried about their relatives who have died because they believed that if they were dead they would miss out on the 2nd coming of Christ. This was because of their Greek mindset. The 1st century Greeks did not believe in an afterlife, but that after death one was in a state of eternal "nothingness."
In the book of 2nd Thessalonians the church believed that they themselves had missed the second coming completely, because of some false teaching that was circulating. They believed that they were"left behind."
Before I did my SBS in 2007 I thought that the only book in the bible that talked about Christ's second coming was the book of Revelation. So with everything I heard about the book of Revelation and with the help of the "Left Behind" books and the "Thief in the Night" movies I used to be confused about the Second Coming and it led to fear because all I heard about the return of Christ was that is was a scary event. There were times where as a little boy, I actually believed that all the Christians I knew had been raptured and I was "left behind." This was terrifying for me as a child.
Being fearful of the Second Coming was by no means Paul's intentions when he wrote to the church of Thessalonica. If there is fear involved with Christ's Return then their is something seriously wrong with what we as followers of Jesus believe about this day. Paul wrote in both books to encourage the church of Thessalonica about Christ's return and to not have them be fearful or confused about what is going to happen on that day. In the book of 1st Thessalonians Paul encourages them that not only are their dead friends and relatives fine, but they are already in heaven and they are coming back with Jesus so there is no reason to worry about them. In the book of 2nd Thessalonians Paul writes to encourage them that they have not missed the second coming of Christ and that they already know about what is going to happen because he told them exactly what was going to happen. If only we today had heard what Paul had already told them about Christ's return. But unfortunately all we have is one side of a two way conversation. But knowing every single detail about Christ's return, or when it is going to happen is not the point! The point is, "you haven't missed it so don't worry! It won't happen until the things that I have already told you about take place." Also he encourages this suffering and horrendously persecuted people that on that day their persecutors will judged for the horrible things that they have done. Right there and then at the moment of His return those who love him, will be with him forever. Paul's message to this church was not of fear but of hope. He wants to lift up a persecuted church and encourage them with the fact that they are ok. They are not "left behind" and they will be vindicated. Their suffering will end.
This message speaks so much to me, because like I said, as a child growing up, I was terrified about the return of Christ. But after studying this book I have peace and know that it is a joyful thing. I don't have to be afraid but can be comforted at the thought of Jesus' return.
May this be an encouragement to you also. If you are someone who feels fearful at the thought of Christ's return, you can have peace. Relax and know that if you love him, and follow him, you are good to go.
It's actually amazing how well this church was doing at the time Paul wrote to them, considering he was was only in Thessalonica discipling them for about a month, maybe a little longer before he was kicked out by a riot (see Acts 17). So they only had a month with Paul the man who taught them about Jesus, before he was kicked out and their own persecution increased. To only have some confusion about the Second Coming of Christ and still standing firm in the midst of persecution in their new beliefs shows that this church is strong. These believers risked death, the safety of their families, and their ability to earn a living and function as normal members of society for Christ. Yet they risked it all and were strong in their faith.
This is a challenge to us, to keep the faith when we have hard times of our own. And to be encouraged that when he comes back, all of the suffering that we have endured will be gone in the blink of an eye. We will be with Jesus forever!
We can all chill out about figuring out when Jesus is coming. We don't know! ONLY God knows, so we can relax, follow him and trust that when it happens, we will be vindicated. We like the believers in Thessalonica will be with Christ in that blessed instant.
So that is just a tiny tiny tiny snap shot of my lecture. I would encourage you all to read these books because they are amazing. Also I would encourage you to read Acts 17 first for some good background to the church. If you have any questions about them I would love to dialog about these. You can get my contact info from the Contact tab on our blog.
Thanks for following!
Prayer Requests:
1) TEACHING: I teach the book of James on the 15th of the month. Please pray for
- God to use the book of James in our lives
- Final preparations to go smoothly
2) TRAVEL: We are heading to New York for Christmas on the 16th so please pray for
- Travel Money
- That traveling with Ella will go smoothly (i.e. crying on the plane)
- safe travel
(We return January to MT 4th)
3) A NEW CAR - the car we have has been SUCH a blessing to us, but we realized on our last road trip to Seattle that our family has outgrown it. With all of the driving that we do back and forth from Seattle, and our growing family, we think that now is an appropriate time to start saving. We are hoping to start looking for our new car in a year. Please pray for the finances to do this and that the right car would come along. If you feel led to give towards our car fund, you can see how to do so on the Partner with us tab on our blog. Just specify with a note that your donation is is for our "car fund"
4) FAMILY - Ella is sick with a nasty virus. Please pray for her quick recovery.
We love and appreciate you all so much! Thank you for being a part of our lives.
Happy Holidays!!!!
Justin, Annie & Ella
