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November 19 - 2 Thessalonians 3 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends. It's Sean here.
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  It's Wednesday, it's the 19th of November, and you and I have
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  reached the end of another book. That's right, Second
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  Thessalonians. It is a brief one, only three
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  chapters, and here we are in the third one.
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  And this is a really practical ending to this book when Paul
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  asks them to pray for him and encourages them to work hard as
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  they continue in their lives as Christians, surrounded by people
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  who just don't get what they are trying to do with this new
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  faith. So why don't you and I open up
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  our hearts? Holy Spirit, let us see
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  something of you in here. Let us learn from you and your
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  truth. Transform us.
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  All right, friends, let's do it. Let us read together Second
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  Thessalonians chapter 3. Finally, dear brothers and
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  sisters, we ask you to pray for us.
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  Pray that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and be
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  honoured wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.
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  Pray too that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for
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  not everyone is a believer, but the Lord is faithful.
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  He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil. 1 And we are
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  confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to
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  do the things we commanded you. May the Lord lead your hearts
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  into a full understanding and expression of the love of God
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  and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.
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  And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this
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  command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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  Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don't follow
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  the tradition they received from us.
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  For you know that you ought to imitate us.
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  We were not idle when we were with you.
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  We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it.
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  We worked hard day and night, so we would not be a burden to any
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  of you. We certainly had the right to
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  ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to
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  follow. Even while we were with you, we
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  gave you this command. Those unwilling to work will not
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  get to eat. Yet we hear that some of you are
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  living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other
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  people's business. We command such people and urge
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  them, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to settle down and
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  work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear
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  brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.
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  Take note of those who refuse to obey what we have said in this
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  letter. Stay away from them so they will
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  be ashamed. Don't think of them as enemies,
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  but warn them as you would a brother or sister.
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  Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you his peace at
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  all times and in every situation.
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  The Lord be with you all. Here is my greeting in my own
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  handwriting, Paul. I do this in all my letters to
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  prove they are from me. May the grace of our Lord Jesus
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  Christ be with you all. Our Lord, I thank you for your
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  encouragement in this chapter, this encouragement that even
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  Paul, in all of his incredible work and ministry, he needed the
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  prayer of his Christian brothers and sisters to continue to do
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  what he did. So, Lord, help us to lean into
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  and ask for the prayers of our Christian brothers and sisters
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  so that together we can encourage each other and bring
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  each other's lives and ministries before you in prayer.
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  And we also hear Paul's encouragement to work and not be
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  afraid of effort to do the good things that need doing.
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  Our Lord, thank you. Thank you for the gift of the
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  ability to work, the ability to make a difference in our
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  communities and in our spaces. May we see that as privilege.
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  And Lord, I pray that you give us the energy and levity to grab
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  hold of opportunities with both hands and prayerfully go for it.
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  Thank you, Lord, for your gifts, your blessings, the way you hold
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  us every day of our lives. So we love you and we pray all
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  of this in your name, Amen.