Blog – Page 126 – Read Through the Bible

August 12 / II Thess. 2:1-17

II Thessalonians 2:1-17

I am intrigued by “the restrainer”. In verse 6 Paul tells the Thessalonians that they know who or what the restrainer is: And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. So evidently Paul made it clear when he was with them in person as to who or what that restrainer might be. In my comments from last year in the link below I mention that my Study Bible had suggested the restrainer’s identity as “the Roman state with its emperor, Paul’s missionary work, the Jewish state, the principle of law and government embodied in the state, the Holy Spirit or the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit through the church, or others.” As I continue to read verses 7b and 8a I convince myself that the restrainer is not the Holy Spirit: Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed… To me the Holy Spirit will never be out of the way. Jesus had said “I will be with you always,even until the end of the world.”(Matthew 28:20) Whether Jesus Himself or God the Holy Spirit, He will never be out of the way. So something or someone in Paul’s time is restraining sin and unrighteousness, but will in time fall by the wayside, thereby revealing the “lawless one”. Could it be our God-given moral standards – which seem to be collapsing in our own time? Watch today’s television and movies, where American society seems to get its guidance as to how to behave. I truly fear for our kids and grandkids and the world of their future. The coming of that “lawless one” could be soon: And then the lawless one will be revealed… (v. 8a) Come Lord Jesus, come!

August 11 / II Thess. 1:1-12

II Thessalonians 1:1-12

Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. (v. 4) As the Thessalonians read or heard the words that Paul wrote they must have enjoyed a certain amount of personal pride (which is not a bad thing) in being so highly commended by him. Paul had written of them in similar fashion in his first letter to them: …so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere… (I Thess.:7-8a) He also lauded them in another letter: We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means… (II Corinthians 8:1-3).

As I ponder these words from Paul written nearly 2,000 years ago, I connect his words to our own church. A few weeks ago we had a “supply priest” from Chattanooga come to give the homily. He had been standing by to serve us as Interim Rector when the Bishop saw a greater need in a church in Missouri and sent him there. He spoke of us as being “in transition, not in crisis” – by way of comparison to the Missouri church. Clearly the Bishop had spoken highly of us to him. Also our earlier candidate, Father Joe spoke highly of us at his “exit interview” with Brian, describing us as “rich” – referring not to money (which we have) but to spirit, to maturity, to leadership. Again, high praise…! These praises certainly make us feel good about ourselves – and that’s a good thing. The important point here, however, is to accept those words with deep humility, knowing that the Lord has been working in our midst and that we are where we are because He is the One guiding and strengthening us! GLORY!!

August 10 / I Thess. 5:1-28

I Thessalonians 5:1-28

Do not quench the Spirit. (v. 19) First David, then Michael encouraged us to become a “Three Streams” church – sacramental, scriptural, Spirit-filled. It’s not hard to buy into those first two streams; it’s easy to see that St. Andrew’s is both sacramental and scriptural. But I fear that there are too many who do not have a good sense of what it means to be Spirit-filled, do not have a good grasp of who the Holy Spirit is, what He does, how He fills us. Our Men’s Group has been looking at this third stream, first in John 14-16, then in other references to the Holy Spirt in the rest of the Gospels, then in Acts of the Apostles, and finally in the Epistles. And we have found a treasure trove of characteristics and activities in which the Spirit is engaged. We have listed 56 references to the Spirit in the book of Acts alone and next week will be our third session looking just at those references. Even something as (seemingly) simple as “being filled with the Holy Spirit” or “full of the Holy Spirit” can have different meanings or different manifestations depending on the context in which these phrases are stated. We have learned that we can’t put the Holy Spirit in a box, that we can’t know Him to be this or that – He is who He is, and He is constantly at work in and among us. Rather than quenching the Spirit we need to be asking to be filled with the Spirit each and every day – and that’s not me speaking, that’s Archbishop Beach’s challenge, his encouragement to us. Be filled with the Holy Spirit each and every day!

August 9 / I Thessalonians 4:1-18

I Thessalonians 4:1-18

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven … And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (vv. 16-17) We Christians have hope, we have confidence that when we die we will be with the Lord. Paul makes it clear here that our hope is well-founded. Look at all of what he says: The Lord will descend from heaven; the dead in Christ will rise; those who are alive will join the dead in Christ to meet the Lord; and we will always be with the Lord. What hope, what glory! We often talk about seeing those loved ones who have died when we ourselves die. Again, Paul makes it clear – both those believers who have died and those believers who are living will join together to meet Jesus. We will see them: Mary Ann Duddy, Millie Rodes, our friends and family members. Because Jesus died and rose, we too will die and rise. We are eternal beings. Let’s live in the reality of that eternity!!

August 8 / I Thessalonians 3:1-13

I Thessalonians 3:1-13

Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone… (v. 1). “left behind” and “alone”… In our Men’s Group discussion this past Tuesday someone said that the Christian life is meant to be lived in community, not alone. And there’s great truth in that, as Paul affirms in today’s reading. For him it was one thing to be “left behind”, but it was quite another to be left “alone”. Paul’s aloneness was in Athens. The Lord had blessed him with a few converts there, but I imagine that Paul was not particularly comfortable in this city of philosophers – I can see them wanting to argue and discuss gospel fine points and details rather than simply accepting with faith and believing on the truth of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Paul had better things to do! So in his aloneness he moved on to Corinth where he met a fellow tentmaker and was possibly somewhat more comforted.

I spoke with someone yesterday who was feeling lonely. He is a single man, 70’ish, never married, living 300+ miles from us, and now is looking at his life from here on. He is not in good health and may end up in a nursing home, again with only his siblings and a few friends who would drop by for occasional visits. But the saddest part of all is that this man is not a Christian and has rejected our encouragement, our witnessing to move him to Jesus. What to do…? Carol and I know another man age 55 or so whose wife wants out of their 15-year marriage. He, too is feeling quite alone. And I’m sure there are dozens of other people I/we know who are also feeling lonely.

But then I also think of widows and widowers and never-marrieds in our church who surely feel that same aloneness, but you certainly can’t see that on Sunday morning. They have something more in their lives – Jesus and the rest of us! Just as Paul needed to be reassured that the Thessalonians were thinking of him, all these “alone” people need to know that we are thinking and praying for them. Add some lonely people to your prayer list…!

August 7 / I Thessalonians 2:1-20

I Thessalonians 2:1-20

A correction… In the second paragraph from my second set of comments in the links below I wrote that “Jews from Philippi had come to Thessalonica to create havoc for Paul, driving him out of town…”. I don’t know where I got that information; I looked back and forth in Scripture and could not find support for that statement. It was true that in Galatia Jews from one town (Antioch) had followed Paul to other towns (Lystra, Derbe) and created havoc, but I don’t see that in Thessalonica. Acts 17:5 says that “…the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob…”. Nothing about Jews from Philippi. Sorry to have misinformed you!

But since we were torn away from you, brothers … we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you … again and again—but Satan hindered us. (vv. 17-18) Many Bible scholars agree that Paul wrote this letter from Corinth where he lived for 18 months. Since they agree that he also wrote II Thessalonians from Corinth it must have been sometime in that first half of his stay that he wrote this first letter. That is, his time in Thessalonica was fresh in his mind – his three Sabbaths of preaching, then being run out of town. He left there with unfinished work and wanted to complete that work, but Satan hindered us. It sounds to me like Paul was making plans to return, but something came up one time, something else a second time, something else a third time… In the end he ascribed these failed trip plans to Satan – and that very possibly could have been the case. Why did God not defeat Satan’s interventions? We don’t know. What we do know is that Paul left Corinth with Priscilla and Aquila and sailed to Ephesus, leaving them behind, where they were much needed as we saw at the end of Acts 18.

There have been times when I have made plans in my life – specifically academic appointments at the University of Tennessee and the University of Delaware where I went in as the favored candidate and did not get the job. But with it all we end up in Richmond/Versailles. How does the saying go – “Man proposes, but God disposes.” Still we use our “wisdom” to make plans, but we also seek the Lord and His wisdom – “…not my will, but your will be done…”.

August 6 / I Thess.1:1-10

I Thessalonians 1:1-10

Our second of Paul’s epistles, this one to his converts from Thessalonica. Presumably Paul wrote this letter and a second (II Thessalonians) while he was in Corinth. Just yesterday we were reading in Acts 18 about Paul’s 18-month stay in Corinth. Very likely, through Silas and Timothy Paul stayed in communication with this new church. One item about this letter – you may recall that Paul was “run out of town” by the Jews and Gentiles so that he could escape a possible charge of treason against the Roman Empire. So while Paul is writing these letters he is also likely remembering his abrupt departure and thanking God for his safety.

One issue that we will see in both Thessalonian letters is Jesus’ second coming. My Study Bible pointed out that every chapter in this epistle ends with a reference to Jesus’ second coming. We see that today in verse 10: …and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

August 5 / Acts 18:1-28

Acts 18:1-18

And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla… (v. 2) Aquila was a traveler!! Pontus was a region along the north/northeast coast of modern-day Turkey, bordering the Black Sea to the north. To get to Italy Aquila had to travel west through all of modern-day Turkey, then beyond Greece and across the Adriatic to Italy. We don’t know at what age he did his traveling or where he met Priscilla, but while in Italy he was “run out of town” by the emperor Claudius and he arrived in Corinth. Now think back to Paul’s travels and how Jewish persecution drove him out of Macedonia (Thessalonica) down to Achaia (Athens and Corinth). How circumstantial is it that Paul and Aquila, both tentmakers, met up in Corinth. Look at all that had to happen to bring this about! What a bond they must have formed! I daresay the Lord knew all this, that He was directing from above. And this Paul-Aquila-Priscilla relationship continued to bear fruit for many years to come!

After this, Paul … set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. … And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there… (vv. 18-19a) So Paul spent a year and a half in Corinth with Aquila and Priscilla, Titius Justus, Crispus, and other followers, after which Paul sets sail for Syria (the location of Syrian Antioch), taking along Priscilla and Aquila. Travel being what it was back then his ship first crossed the Aegean Sea and docked at Ephesus. There Paul gets off the ship with his fellow travelers and goes into the synagogue to preach. He leaves Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus and goes by ship to Caesarea, then on foot to Jerusalem, eventually back to his home base at Syrian Antioch. I’m mostly intrigued by his taking Priscilla and Aquila out of Corinth along with him, then leaving them at Ephesus as he moved on. But the last few verses in today’s reading (Acts 18:24-28) show us that God had serious use for Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus. All in all, the “circumstances” in today’s reading are fascinating. Let God lead and He will take care of the details!!

August 4 / Acts 17:16-34

Acts 17:16-34

Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. (v. 21) This sentence seems to me very unlike the rest of Luke’s writing. Most often he is direct, specific, exact. Here he is speaking very generally – …all the Athenians… and …would spend their time in nothing except…. Clearly it was not “all” the Athenians. There were artisans and merchants and governing officials, so his blanket statement is over-stated. Likewise, “…nothing except…” leaves out a lot of the rest of life! Again, over-stated. However, by exaggerating Luke makes his point stronger, that Paul was speaking to an audience of philosophers, themselves the “babblers” doing the babbling that they had ascribed to Paul (Acts 17:18).

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from their midst. (vv. 32-33) It’s a good lesson from Paul – if we are sharing our faith and the conversation “goes south”, better to just walk away or change the topic than to continue with someone who just wants to mock you or challenge you. It might not be the right day and you might not be the right person!

August 3 / Acts 17:1-15

Acts 17:1-15

…they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. (v. 17b) I should have pointed out yesterday that Paul and Silas did not go to the synagogue in Philippi, but went down to the river where there was a “place of prayer”. Then upon coming to Thessalonica Paul and Silas went to the synagogue, as was Paul’s established custom. From all that we need to presume that there was no synagogue in Philippi and that, very likely, there was only a small Jewish community. And with all that, again backing up a bit, it was not the jealousy of the Jewish leaders that got Paul and Silas in trouble in Philippi – it was the owners of the slave girl who feared losing their “investment”. So we see Paul and Silas in trouble in both Philippi and in Thessalonica, in the former the fear of the loss of income and in the latter the jealousy of the Jewish leaders. Finally, in Philippi they had committed no crime, simply depriving some owners of some wealth, while in Thessalonica they may have been charged with treason against Rome. Hence their “leisure” in leaving Philippi and their haste in leaving Thessalonica. Very different scenarios!

The Thessalonian city authorities speaking (shouting!): “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also…” (v. 6b) Apparently Paul and Silas had earned quite a reputation, with non-religious city authorities acknowledging that Paul and Silas had turned the world upside down. What a strong statement by the city authorities; what a powerful witness by these two men! GLORY!!