DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2020-08-24
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: 2 Thessalonians 3:11-13
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹¹ Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. ¹² We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. ¹³ As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

OBSERVATION: It is often said that when we find instructions repeated in the Bible, that we should pay close attention to the instructions. In Galatians 6:9 Paul warned that fellow Christians should not tire of doing good. As you can see in verse 13 above, he repeated these instructions for the Thessalonian church. Let’s carefully examine what prompted Paul to give the above instructions, and try to understand why God would have us apply these instructions today.

APPLICATION: I’m not sure how many of you walk into your churches and assume that everything is ‘honkey dorey’ (I hope that others use that terminology at times also!!!), meaning that trouble may exist in the church down the road, but you are very sure that everyone adores your pastor and leadership, and they love their brothers and sisters in your church just as if you were already in heaven! Friends, I would encourage you to pray hard that you are correct in your wishful thinking, and I would suggest that you warn your friends to stay away, because you surely don’t want anyone else coming there to disrupt that love and good order! Unfortunately I have seen disharmony in my family at times; among my friends frequently; backbiting against the pastor and also his leadership team; and members walking away from the church because of being hurt by another member. No, I have not looked for such churches, but this occurs in most places where people, like you and I, work, worship, socialize, or just hang out. And this is not new, for these verses we are studying is just a clip of the letter Paul wrote to his membership who were dealing with trouble in their midst. It is very unfortunate that after all these years we have still not learned from these things that Paul taught under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for churches are still splitting, arguing over trivial things, and even dying because of internal challenges. Paul and his missionary teams always sought to support themselves financially while working with the churches he helped to start and maintain. So his first piece of advice in these verses is that brothers and sisters should keep themselves busy in supporting themselves, as this will give them a reason to arise each morning and keep their minds busy, instead of finding it their job to meddle in the affairs of others. I believe this also goes a long ways in helping to prevent them from criticizing others for their efforts, as they will see for themselves that they can’t do the same job as well as the incumbent, so there’s no need to criticize them. I’ve heard others say repeatedly ‘I don’t envy that person for the job they are trying to do, because I’ve been there and tried to do it myself’. Furthermore, Jesus Christ demonstrated love for us even while we were unlovable and full of sin, because He was crucified so that we might seek forgiveness of our sin and live eternally in heaven. If Jesus Christ has such love for us, why don’t we, as His representatives here on earth, seek to love others and pray for the job they are trying to do for the Kingdom? I believe they will improve their on-the-job performance knowing that God is pouring out His blessings because of our prayers! But as we look at ‘doing good’ – let us pray for one another; love one another, even if the other person is unlovable; lift up one another; volunteer to help each other, for that shows your love in tangible ways. As Paul said ‘NEVER TIRE OF DOING GOOD’ my Brother and Sister in the Lord, for this will help eliminate a ton of trouble in your lives, and help you demonstrate what it is like to be a child of the King!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for ‘setting the bar’ in doing good for each of your children here on earth, in spite of whether we deserved it or not. Our aim while here is to be more like You, and to represent You well among fellow Christians, and especially when trying to show unbelievers that we care, and love them. May we always be busy about Your work, and may our lives be influenced in every way by all that You taught us personally, and through your servant, Paul. May we allow You to help us build the mindset of helping and loving others, and never tire of doing good, so that You may be glorified through Your precious children! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!