Episode 120 – Words of Wisdom. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Speaker 1:

It is time for a pause in your day. Welcome to a podcast where we press the pause button on our busy lives for a few moments, and we focus on God’s word With Sharon and Nicole. We pray this is a time of refreshing for you. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is a cooperative production of Word Radio and Sweet Selah Ministries.

Nicole:

Welcome to the Sweet Selah Moments Podcast. This is episode 120 Words of Wisdom. Sharon, what are some words of wisdom from the Bible that have guided you, especially?

Sharon:

How many verses do I get to choose? There’s a lot of verses that have guided me through hard things. Well, when Ray was in the Persian Gulf War and fear and anxiety really threatened to cripple me, 1 John 4:18 kept me grounded. And that says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love”. And I just kept saying, okay, there’s no fear in love. Lord, I need your perfect love here, because I’m feeling the fear and it’s not from you and I know it’s not healthy. So that really, really helped me then. And then we’ve talked about this when the girls were teenagers and I was having a hard time losing control as a parent.

Nicole: Yes.

Sharon:
I really liked it best when they thought everything I said was true.

Nicole:
I know that’s a fun time.

Sharon:

Teach me mom, and I was so willing to do it. And then they noted that maybe I wasn’t quite as perfect as I first thought I was and life went downhill. So anyways, I didn’t know how always to deal with their sassiness. And I, looking back, Nicole, I don’t think they were sassy as often as I thought they were sassy. You know, I think they were just trying to relate to me more as an adult. And I was not ready for them to do that. So anyways, I literally trained myself to recite Proverbs 15:1 before I let myself speak “A gentle answer turneth away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”.

Nicole:
That’s a good one.

Sharon:
Oh, I had to, I made a deal with myself, you have to say that in your head before you respond.

Nicole:
That’s so smart.

Sharon:
It super helped. I recommend it ’cause you’re coming into those years, my friend.

Nicole: Yes.

Sharon:

Yeah. So, and then when I was the main caregiver for Dad Gamble, and the days were long and hard at times, I just loved Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:9, this is what it says. “But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me”. And I would just remind God of that verse. I’m feeling really weak. I need your power. I do. And you know what? God gave it. He gave it. Oh my goodness. So how about you, Nicole? What words of wisdom from the Bible are guiding you these days?

Nicole:
Oh, I know there’s so many.

Sharon:
Or in the past.

Nicole:

So let’s see, one of my all time favorites, because I have anxiety and at times it’s better and worse, but I’ll have panic attacks. And it’s just so crippling to have them. And you feel out of control and you feel a little crazy sometimes when they come up. And it’s not always circumstantial that you have a panic attack. It’s just a physical response. And the verse that has always been my lifeline, beginning during middle of those, uh, moments, is 1 Timothy 1:7, “for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of a sound mind”. And I would just say to myself like, this is not from God. He’s given me power and love and a sound mind. I have a sound mind. So when I was feeling completely out of control, my body was betraying me and telling me to run there’s a bear, and all these horrible things, and there wasn’t. God’s word was just that lifeline I clung to.

Sharon: Yes. Yes.

Nicole:
But that’s a very special verse to me.

Sharon: Absolutely.

Nicole:

And then for parenting and life in general, Galatians 6:9 is huge for me, I have this all through my house. “Let us not grow weary of doing good for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.” And I don’t

wanna give up on, you know, the daily things and my kiddos and my husband and myself, but do not grow weary of doing good. ’cause sometimes good is weary.

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:
It’s just, it’s hard work. Especially those teenagers, those toddlers and

Sharon: Every age.

Nicole:

Yes. Every age. And then I also have a verse about being slow to anger and, James 1:19. “You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”

Sharon:
That is such a good verse.

Nicole:

I had that in my car on a little card, on my, you know, my dashboard that I would look at when the kids were all fighting and go, listen, first.

Sharon: Yes. Yes.

Nicole:
Don’t be angry. Don’t spout off. It’s so easy to do that first, but.

Sharon:

It is. Yeah. And when we don’t listen first, oh my goodness I have an example of that. Yesterday I went to a new Hannaford’s to try to get no salt tomato sauce.

Nicole: Okay.

Sharon:
‘Cause they didn’t have it in our Hannaford’s.

Nicole: Right.

Sharon:

And I have to have no salt because of my Meniere’s Disease.

Nicole:
Probably hard to find that too.

Sharon:
It is. And normally when I look for it, it has like a blue label.

Nicole: Oh yes.

Sharon:

That says ‘no salt’. So I looked for the blue label. So a man came up to me and said, can I help you find something? I said, you’re out of no salt tomato sauce too. I just looked here as well. I’m so discouraged. He said, well, would, could you try a Hannaford’s brand? I said, your Hannaford’s brand has salt. And he handed it to me and I pushed it back. And then I took it again and it didn’t have salt. It just didn’t have the blue band because I didn’t listen to him. And so then I had to say, sir, I owe you an apology. I am so sorry. I did not listen. I’ve been studying James 1:19 as well.

Nicole: Yes.

Sharon:

And I thought, here’s an example. I was so sure that he was wrong. ’cause I didn’t see my little blue thing.

Nicole:
Right. What we’re used to.

Sharon:

I didn’t even let him finish his sentence. And he was trying to help me. So then he looked a little odd. Like, you don’t have to apologize quite so profusely. But I did have to apologize quite so profusely. I was outta line.

Nicole:

I know. It’s so easy to be quick to anger and quick with what we think we know ’cause we know so much more than everyone else, so.

Sharon:

Oh yeah. I knew more than the man that worked at Hannaford’s. Honest to Pete Nicole. What a shameful thing of me.

Nicole:
Oh, I know. But you were quick to apologize so that’s huge.

Sharon: I was.

Nicole:
And you learned that.

Sharon:
Even if he thought it was a little odd with my apology.

Nicole:
I’m so sorry.

Sharon:

Yeah. But you know, part of it was having just studied that passage in James and going, here I am. Not listening.

Nicole: Oh, yeah.

Sharon:
So I made chili with that no salt tomato sauce. And it was delish.

Nicole: Oh, good.

Sharon:
In conclusion. Well, okay.

Nicole:
Oh, that’s great.

Sharon:

Back to the podcast. Our last section in the first letter to the Thessalonians, is full of verses like you and I just quoted back and forth to each other, little wisdom packed verses of truth and light. Honestly, Nicole, I could take one verse a week and meditate just on that one verse, trying to apply it daily and be so blessed. In fact, I really might do that in January.

Nicole:
That’s a great idea. Just so much in here.

Sharon:
Fun. Oh, because it would be fun just to have one verse a week for, Oh, I think I might do that.

Nicole:
I love that.

Sharon:
Yeah. Anyways, for now, let’s read them, shall we?

Nicole: We shall.

Sharon:

Why don’t you start with 1 Thessalonians 5:12 and we will read to the end of the chapter and the book, stopping at verse 28. Go for it.

Nicole:

All right, sounds good. So 1 Thessalonians 5, and I’m starting at verse 12. “Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.”

Sharon:

“Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work and live peacefully with each other.”

Nicole:

“Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.”

Sharon:
Just pause here. I could take a sentence, not a verse, out of these. Right?

Nicole:
I know there was like three or four things in that one part.

Sharon:

Right, right. This might take me through April. Okay. Verse 15. “See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”

Nicole:
“Always be joyful.”

Sharon:
“Never stop praying.”

Nicole:

“Be thankful in all circumstances. For this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

Sharon:
“Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.”

Nicole:
“Do not scoff at prophecies.”

Sharon:
“But test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.”

Nicole:
“Stay away from every kind of evil.”

Sharon:

“Now, may the God of peace make you holy in every way. And may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.”

Nicole:
“God will make this happen. For he who calls you is faithful.”

Sharon:
“Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us.”

Nicole:
“Greet all brothers and sisters with a sacred kiss.”

Sharon:
“I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters.”

Nicole:
“May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

Sharon:

Oh, I love that. Do you know what though? Verse 26 translated in the New Living Translation, that’s the only time it’s bothering me to see sisters. I don’t think you know, I should greet brothers because I’m a sister,

Nicole:

I know. I was gonna chat about that with you later. I’m like, oh, this is interesting. I wonder what a sacred kiss was back then.

Sharon:

Sacred Kiss. Yeah. Because in most translations it’s ‘greet the brothers with a kiss’.

Nicole: Oh.

Sharon:

New Living Translation changes it to brothers and sisters whenever they believe that it really meant people.

Nicole: Everyone. Sure.

Sharon:

Right. But I’m like I don’t know about that one. But anyways, let’s examine each verse one at a time. And why don’t you start with verse 12. Let’s go back and just dig into the richness of these verses.

Nicole:

All right. So I’ll read verse 12 again. It says, “dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance”. So this is very timely. ’cause October is Pastor Appreciation month.

Sharon:
Yes. Wasn’t that amazing?

Nicole:

It’s just so special. Yeah. And you know, it’s such a hard job. They do so much for us. They are not perfect, but they are specifically attacked spiritually because of the work that they do to minister to us.

Sharon: Truth.

Nicole:
Our teachers, our pastors. And that’s a, that’s a big burden that they have to bear.

Sharon: It is.

Nicole:

And they’re always so willing to, you know, encourage us, pray for us. If I call or text a pastor, never once has one said, you know, I’m just having an off day, like, just call me tomorrow. They’ve always been there for us in times of need.

Sharon: Yes. Yes.

Nicole:
And that’s a big burden. That’s a big responsibility.

Sharon: It sure is.

Nicole:

So I love that he’s pointing that out and to honor your leaders and just, you know, remember what a hard job they have.

Sharon:
Exactly. Sometimes we forget. We just assume, well, we hired you.

Nicole:
Right? Yeah. You’re there at my beck and call for all my emotional and spiritual need.

Sharon:
Good grief, 24/7 for 500 people in our church.

Nicole:
That’s a lot of people.

Sharon:
It’s ridiculous.

Nicole: It is.

Sharon:
Yeah. Sometimes we ask too much of them really.

Nicole:
We do. Yeah, we do,

Sharon:

Well, verse 13 kind of continues it, it says ‘show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work and live peacefully with each other’. You know, this great respect. I have kind of, a pet peeve about. Sometimes I feel like some people look for fault not just with our pastors, but with Bible teachers. Oh, sure. I know we need to be careful of heresies. I know that. I know we need to be careful and not take everything everybody says as true. But I also think we need to extend grace to people that say words all the time.

Nicole:

Yes.

Sharon:

If ninety-five percent of their words are correct, it is possible that the 5% you heard that sounds a little off, is not what they meant to say.

Nicole: Oh, yeah.

Sharon: Right?

Nicole: Yeah.

Sharon:

Because I have done that. I have written something and in my head it made sense. But what came out that Jan, the editor, has to fix, she’ll say to me, I don’t think you meant that.

Nicole:
But she gave you grace.

Sharon:

And I’m like, Oh, for crying out loud. I did not mean that. Right. But she gave me grace and she also fixes it. I love you Jan. So I just think we have to be careful. We need to treat those that teach and lead with great respect. And not believe the worst about them. Not be like fault finders that are like, oh, let’s see if they, you know, are going to mess up.

Nicole:

Yes. Sitting there specifically looking and watching for fault. That’s not the same as watching for heresy. I do not believe.

Sharon:

Yeah. It’s a different category. So anyways, we’re to show them great respect. And we’re to believe the best. And wholehearted love because of their work. They’re real people with real needs and hurts and insecurities of their own. It’s not like they’re hardened to it when, you know, five people in a row tell them the one thing they didn’t like about the sermon.

Nicole: Right.

Sharon:

And don’t bother to mention all the things they did. Right? They’re still vulnerable. And we need to give them wholehearted love and remember they’re real people. <laugh>. I love that. And then that helps us live peacefully with each other. I think when we’re fault finding that’s when we stir up trouble.

Nicole: Yeah.

Sharon:
And here it says right in this verse, live peacefully as much as we can.

Nicole: Sure.

Sharon:
Let’s not try to stir up trouble. Okay?

Nicole:
No, ’cause that makes their job harder ’cause we’re all calling them saying, oh, so and so.

Sharon:
Oh my goodness.

Nicole:
And yeah, live peaceably,

Sharon:
Can we just be nice?

Nicole: Can we?

Sharon: Yeah. Okay.

Nicole:

All right. So verse 14 says, “Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid, take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone”. So this is like, almost like three different little sections in this verse.

Sharon: Yes, it is.

Nicole:

So I think it’s good he makes a clear distinction that he’s not without compassion for those in true need.

Sharon: Yeah.

Nicole:

You know, however, he does warn against those who are lazy. But at the end he kinda wraps it up with ‘be patient with everyone’.

Sharon:
Even those lazy ones.

Nicole:

Even the lazy ones. Yeah. But I love how he points out, you know, encourage those who are timid and then take tender care of those who are weak. So he’s pointing out the people that probably feel overlooked or feel not as valuable. And separating them from those who are choosing to be lazy.

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:
So it’s a very complex verse there.

Sharon: It is, it is.

Nicole:

Like, talk to those who are lazy, you know, warn them like, Hey, this is not what you should be doing, but then look for the ones who truly need help and help them.

Sharon:
I love that.

Nicole:
Yeah. It’s good.

Sharon:
Nice analysis.

Nicole:
Paul’s so wise.

Sharon:

Yeah. So good. Verse 15, “See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people”. We don’t get to do revenge.

Nicole: No.

Sharon:

We just don’t. “Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord.” It’s not— all revenge does is escalate anger. I mean, the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s is the great example of you know, two hundred years later they’re still fighting and nobody even knows what the original problem was. We just don’t like Hatfields. We just don’t like McCoy’s or whatever’s. We have to be really careful with revenge. The golden rule applies to this situation. Do unto others what you would have them do to you. You know, if I’m mean to someone on an off day, I would really like them to give me grace. Right?

Nicole:
Yes. That would be nice.

Sharon:
I wouldn’t like them to escalate and pound my face.

Nicole:
Right. On the one day you have a bad day.

Sharon:
Exactly. So we don’t— Using evil to fight evil is evil.

Nicole: Right.

Sharon: There you go.

Nicole:
It’s the same source of evil. Yeah. Right. It’s not good.

Sharon:
So don’t do it.

Nicole:
All right. Instead, verse 16, “Always be joyful”.

Sharon:
Now that’s a toughie.

Nicole:

It is. So sometimes being joyful feels easier than others. But I think sometimes we get joy and happiness confused. They are very different. Happiness is circumstantial. Happiness is, oh, yay, I won something. Or Oh, yay, there’s no traffic or whatever. My jeans fit really well today. Or, happiness is circumstantial. It can be easily changed.

Sharon: True.

Nicole:

Oh, it’s raining and my new shoes, whatever. I’m picking very shallow things. But happiness can be fairly shallow and circumstantial.

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:

Joy, though, we can feel joy in sorrow and in trouble. That is a difference. So God is saying, always be joyful. Don’t always be fake. Don’t always fake happiness. And oh, it’s fine. You can be sorrowful, crying in the middle of a terrible struggle and still have joy in your heart because you have peace and comfort from God. And that is completely different.

Sharon:
Yes, it is. It’s deep down.

Nicole:
It is. And he doesn’t expect us to have an artificial happiness.

Sharon:
No. No, he doesn’t.

Nicole:
It’s the joy that he gives.

Sharon:

Yeah. I love that. Well, this next verse is “Never stop praying”. And interestingly, the day that I prepared this, I had just read Psalm 88. Which will now stick in my mind forever because it is the most depressing psalm ever. It starts out crying for help. “My life is full of troubles.” And it ends with, “You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend”.

Nicole:
Oh my goodness.

Sharon:

I know.

Nicole:
That is heavy.

Sharon:

Most psalms that start sad, they kind of talk themselves out of the sad and at the end they’re remembering the good things.

Nicole:
Yes. Ends on a good note.

Sharon:

Right. Psalm 88 has, I mean, he’s sad from the beginning to the end. Oh. But he never stops talking to God about it.

Nicole: Oh wow.

Sharon:

I’m like, oh, I actually see the purpose of Psalm 88. Even if the answer doesn’t come, this psalmist never stopped praying. He always ran to God. Even though he was clearly in a season where he couldn’t pep himself up very quickly. Right?

Nicole: Right.

Sharon:

And, we’re to never stop. We’re to talk to God when things are happy, we’re to talk to God when things are sad, and we’re to talk to God when things are sad and they stay sad.

Nicole: Yeah.

Sharon:
Which is Psalm 88. Which Is now one of my weirdly favorite Psalms.

Nicole:
This sad, depressing psalm. It’s my favorite. Aw. But I love that though.

Sharon:
Yeah. Yeah. So.

Nicole:

Because we don’t always have to be joyful and praying and telling him, sometimes we don’t see the end. And it’s hard.

Sharon:
Right. We don’t, and even in the middle of the depressing. We still come to him.

Nicole:
Oh, that’s beautiful.

Sharon:
Yeah. Yeah. So.b

Nicole:

Oh, that’s so good. I know, these three verses I feel like are very close, 16, 17, and 18. So 18 says, “Be thankful in all circumstances”. Another really hard call for hard times.

Sharon:
Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

Nicole:

But, “For this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus”. So I think that thankfulness brings that joy that was mentioned in that earlier verse. You know, how do I always be joyful? And how do I never stop praying and be thankful in all circumstances? That feels like a bit of a tall order, you know? But God wants that for us. That’s his will for us who belong to him. And we don’t have to be, I think to have that joyful, thankful heart. We have to always be praying. We have to pour out our sorrows to him.

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:
Like that Psalmist did, you know?

Sharon:
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Nicole:

And that, you know, that relationship is built with him ’cause we’re talking to Jesus, we’re telling him our sorrows, and then he gives us the joy and then we’re thankful.

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:
So it’s all together.

Sharon:

Yeah. And I do believe the Psalm 88 guy eventually, maybe by Psalm 101, right? I mean, I don’t know how many Psalms he wrote.

Nicole:

He got a little peppy toward the end. Let’s hope. I’m sure he did. If he’s talking to God. I’m sure at some point he did find that joy.

Sharon:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I always have loved that it says thankful in all circumstances. Not for.

Nicole: Yes.

Sharon:

I don’t have to be thankful for cancer. But I need to find a reason to be thankful in a cancer journey for the good God can bring through it.

Nicole:
That’s a great point.

Sharon:
I think it’s a good distinction. Those little prepositions matter.

Nicole:
Oh, they do. It can change everything, so,

Sharon: Yeah. Yeah.

Nicole: Good point.

Sharon:

So, okay. Verse 19, “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit”. You know, I think that’s easy to do. Stifle the Holy Spirit. He urges us to say something about God in a secular crowd and we freeze. We’re like, I don’t wanna say it.

Nicole: Yep.

Sharon:

He prompts us to forgive someone. We block our ears. I don’t wanna forgive them. But what we need to do is we need to act when we feel that nudge to call somebody to say, sorry, to say a word about God and not let, like you’ve talked about this, Nicole, when somebody says, oh, you’ve got such a joyful spirit. You try to point to God with it.

Nicole: Right.

Sharon:

You know, even if it’s a secular person. That’s not stifling the Holy Spirit. That’s if the Holy Spirit says, who are you gonna give the credit to?

Nicole: Right.

Sharon:

You need to do it. So I think that’s partially what that means. We get little promptings to do good. Don’t stifle him. If he’s prompting you, do it.

Nicole:
Right, ’cause then it becomes easier. That’s the walking with the Spirit.

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:

And if we’re always doing our own desires and our own sinful—, we’re gonna get used to listening to ourselves who is/are louder than the Holy Spirit.

Sharon: Yes. Yes.

Nicole:

And that’s not good. So the next one is, “Do not scoff at prophecies”. That’s interesting. So prophecies, I feel like sometimes they’re kind of warnings. And obviously they’re for telling of things to come, what’s coming down the line. So I think that we need to heed them and realize that they’re very important. If Paul or another prophet in the Bible is telling us of something to come, we should listen.

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:
Because we don’t know what’s going to happen.

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:
And they’re giving us a like an early prep for it.

Sharon: Exactly.

Nicole:
Here’s what coming. Don’t scoff at it. Like pay attention. This could be really important.

Sharon:
Exactly. Don’t blow it off.

Nicole:
Yeah. It’s worth some acknowledging that.

Sharon:

Exactly. It’s so good. But then it kind of gets balanced with verse 21. “But test everything that is said. Hold onto what is good.” So we don’t scoff, we don’t go ftsst, we listen to it. And like the Bereans in Acts, we go to the scriptures to see if what is said lines up with the scriptures, if somebody today says something.

Nicole: Right.

Sharon:

So we are to test it. Not everything that’s said is true. But everything good we should cling to. We hold onto it even if it’s hard.

Nicole:

Yeah. No, that was good. And then verse 22 says, “Stay away from every kind of evil”. So that’s pretty clear. But you know, I think sometimes Satan’s really good at disguising evil. Like, oh, stay away from evil. I got it. I won’t murder my neighbor. I won’t steal. But Satan’s so clever at hiding evil and something that appears to be good. So we have to be on guard. And I think that if we want to be fully aware of what is evil, it’s that studying the counterfeit bills.

Sharon: Yes. Yes,

Nicole:

So if you need to just determine what the counterfeit or what the real one is, study the real one. And so for us as Christians, to avoid evil, that’s disguised, we need to be in the scriptures. We need to know

God’s word. We need to know the truth so well that when evil sneaks up clothed in good. We go, oh, no, no. That’s not true.

Sharon:

Exactly. Exactly. Oh, that’s good. I love verse 23 because it’s a blessing and I love blessings. “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way. And may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.” What a lovely thing to pray for someone.

Nicole:
That is beautiful.

Sharon:
What a blessing for your children.

Nicole: I know.

Sharon:
Or my grandchildren, just Paul is so good at blessing the people he loves.

Nicole:
He really was and kind of stopping in the middle of a lot of heavy, hard,

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:
Like, spurring on things. I can’t think of the word for that. Like,

Sharon: Exhortations.

Nicole:
Exhortations. Yes. Like, hey, this is hard, but just here’s a little blessing in between.

Sharon:
Yes. Yeah. I love it.

Nicole:

He’s so good. And then he continues, verse 24, “God will make this happen for he who calls you is faithful”. Wow. I love this. There’s a lot in these verses. You know, and it’s not this unachievable to-do list that he’s giving us. Like, you need to do this. You need to pray and be faithful and, and be loving. He’s saying God will make this happen.

Sharon:
Yes. Isn’t that a relief?

Nicole:
God makes it. Yes. For he is faithful to make this happen. Oh, I just love that, we can rest in that.

Sharon:

It’s beautiful. Yeah. Then verse 25, “Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us”, back to prayer. Paul knew prayer mattered. He wouldn’t be asking for prayer if prayer didn’t do something.

Nicole:

Yeah. He’d seen the effects of it. And then I get the kissing one, “Greet all brothers and sisters with a sacred kiss”. And I was gonna look up and see like, what was the sacred kiss? But what was the sacred kiss back then? How did Jewish people greet each other? It must be different than walking up and like, you know, giving someone a big old kiss on the lips. I’m assuming that’s not it.

Sharon: Yeah.

Nicole:

But I was thinking that if you’re going close enough to someone to give him a kiss on the cheek or whatever, there’s a real true warm affection. .

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:

It’s like a family tie. Where I think he had said earlier in this book, like, don’t pretend to love, truly love others. And if you’re walking up to, you know, your fellow sister in Christ and giving her a big old squeeze and a kiss on the cheek, she’s gonna know you really love her.

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:
You don’t kiss people you don’t like.

Sharon:

Exactly. Exactly. I love that. Verse 27, “I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters”. Whoa. This letter needs to be read out loud. It’s that important. And Peter said in 2 Peter 3:16, don’t twist Paul’s words as ignorant people twist the other scriptures. So the Apostle Peter basically lumped Paul’s letters with other scriptures.

Nicole:

Wow.

Sharon:

So even in the day that Paul’s letters were written the Christians were starting to realize the Holy Spirit was speaking through these chosen apostles. So it’s gotta be read out loud, because these are God’s words through Paul to them.

Nicole: That’s huge.

Sharon: It is.

Nicole:
That must have been a big revelation for them to realize that. Like this is—,

Sharon:
Yeah. This is more than just a normal letter.

Nicole:

Right, ’cause we have the Bible in its entirety and it’s just the Bible, we know it’s all good. They didn’t have all of that collected together. They were starting to piece together. That would’ve been very interesting.

Sharon:
But Peter named Paul’s letters as scripture..

Nicole:
He did. Wow. That’s super cool.

Sharon: Yeah.

Nicole:

And then verse 28, “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” Oh, I love it. He starts with grace and he ends with grace, you know?

Sharon: That’s Paul.

Nicole:

It’s the truth, and he points back to Jesus Christ, the true grace of Jesus Christ. Like what better place to get it from than him?

Sharon:

Yes. And that also, after all the things to do, is so good to remember. Oh yeah. That’s grace. God forgives us if we don’t do all the things we’re supposed to do. So.

Nicole: Right.

Sharon:
Oh my goodness. Nicole, we have hardly any time for our last three questions ’cause this was so rich.

Nicole:
There’s so much in it.

Sharon:

So my favorite verse real quick was verse 24, “God will make this happen. For he who calls you is faithful.”

Nicole:
Yes. Amen. That’s what I picked too. I love it.

Sharon:
Well, that was nice and quick. Good.

Nicole:
It was. Perfect.

Sharon:
And it’s a wonderful verse, ’cause we really have to trust him for all these things.

Nicole: Absolutely.

Sharon:
What did you learn about God from this passage?

Nicole:
Oh, he’s faithful and he cares about our hearts. And he wants us to be joyful and thankful.

Sharon:
He does. Yeah. Yeah. That was basically me. God can make me holy and blameless. Only he can do this.

Nicole: Yes.

Sharon:
But he can do this. He’s also the God of peace and has extended grace through Jesus’ sacrifice.

Nicole:
All good things.

Sharon:
Yeah. And what did I learn about living wisely in troubled times? Oh, so much.

Nicole: So much.

Sharon:

Don’t stop praying even when the times are troubled. Don’t stop being thankful even when things aren’t great. Don’t stop being deep down joyful.

Nicole: Yes.

Sharon:

Not fake happy. Keep on living and loving no matter what, what’s going on around you. You just keep doing the good things.

Nicole: That’s good.

Sharon:

That’s what I got from this, ’cause he’s talking to people in troubled times. He’s telling them to keep doing all this stuff.

Nicole:
Yes. Keep on…

Sharon:
And their are times were troubled-er then ours are.

Nicole:
Right. I know. They had a lot of trouble going on.

Sharon: Yeah.

Nicole:

I know. So I put somewhat similar, ‘rest in God for his help and our spiritual growth. It’s not all on us. Rest in God for his help’. And then he’s so compassionate. He sees the tiny details. And the people who feel tiny, you know, the timid and the weak and the lonely.

Sharon: Yes.

Nicole:
His care and his love for us is just so amazing.

Sharon:
It really is. I’m glad you noticed that part. That’s why God’s like, watch out for those timid ones.

Nicole:
I know. And the weak ones.

Sharon: Right.

Nicole:
Like they just, they feel overlooked. He sees them and he called them out specifically.

Sharon: He does.

Nicole:
I just, I love his compassionate heart.

Sharon:
I do too. Oh man, that was beautiful.

Nicole:
So much good stuff.

Sharon:
I gotta do more with this passage, because I just, I can’t get over the richness of it. I just can’t.

Nicole: It’s great.

Sharon:

Well, let me pray for us. Oh, heavenly Father, thank you. Thank you that you love the timid and the weak. Thank you that everything Paul tells us to do here, these things are for our good. These things are

to bring us joy. We are so grateful, Lord, for your word, your living word that teaches us how to live. Father, help me remember when I’m like, what do I do? What do I do? To just go back and read this passage? Because you give so much instruction on how to live well. Help me to remember, Lord, that no matter how troubled the times are, the rules don’t change. We’re still supposed to be kind. We’re still supposed to be patient. We’re still supposed to treat our pastors with respect. Oh, Father, thank you for this passage. Thank you for the way you teach your children, and thank you for your grace, ’cause we surely do not always get it right. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Nicole:

Amen. Thank you for joining us on this journey through Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. It’s been a rich journey and we’ve learned a lot about living wisely in troubled times. Are you enjoying this series? We’d be so honored if you would take the time to leave us a review on your podcast app so that others can find this podcast, please share us with your friends. Write to us anytime by going to SweetSelah.org/podcast. You can also email us at Sharon@SweetSelah.org. We love connecting with our listeners. It’s a real encouragement to us. We start the second letter to the Thessalonians next week. Join us then for episode 121, Growing in Faith and Love. Until then, may the words of wisdom we read today stay in our hearts and enable us to live wisely in these troubled times.

Speaker 1:

We are so glad you stopped for a while with us. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is a cooperative production of Word Radio and Sweet Selah Ministries. More information about this podcast can be found @SweetSelah.org. Thank you for joining us.