PODCAST
Work, Labor, Endurance
March 26th, 2016
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
For 40 years, my friend Sheila faithfully mailed letters to me. In them, she encouraged me and informed me about her life. She always ended her letters–and later her emails or Facebook messages–with LYLAS (Love Ya Like A Sister).
If Paul lived today, perhaps he would use the letters BLBG (Believers Loved By God) to describe the Thessalonians. Like my friend Sheila, Paul encouraged and praised this faithful band of believers. He used the entire first chapter of his First Letter to the Thessalonians to encourage them. He told them that it was God who had chosen them. Paul called them imitators of the Lord Jesus, in spite of their severe suffering. This church welcomed with joy the message proclaimed to them in the power of the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.
This Thessalonian church became an example to other churches because of their work of faith, labor of love, and their endurance. Their message rang out and their faith in God became known everywhere. God is still looking for believers who are “inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:3)
Author: Cindy Goss Kingsbury
