Being Busy For The Lord

Being busy for the Lord

An 80 year old lady called the police station on her cell phone and requested assistance. It seems someone had broken into her car when she was in the mall and totally destroyed the interior. They had ripped out both the steering wheel and the radio and she didn’t know how she was going to get home.

So, they sent a patrol car to the scene and the officer called the station and said, “The situation is all cleared up.” Apparently, she got in the back seat by mistake.

1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; 3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; 4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. 6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost. 7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.

8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak anything. 9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

I went to one of those restaurants where they tell you to sit at the bar until your table is ready. I think, it’s just a gimmick to get you to buy a drink or something and rather than spend any more than I intended, I decided I’d enjoy a free snack from their pretzel bowl on the counter. So, I took one and as I did a voice came from inside the bowl that said, ‘You are a very polite person.’

Well, needless to say, I was a little shaken and then I figured it had to be some kind of a promotional trick and rather than appear stupid, I just ignored it. A few minutes later, when I decided to have another pretzel I heard the voice a second time and it said, ‘You are a very kind individual.’

Well, I was so amazed I said to the guy behind the counter, ‘What’s with this pretzel bowl.” And he said, ‘Oh, it’s complimentary.’ (Some of you may have to think a while.)

In the study guide book they wanted me to remind you of the dangers involved in driving particularly for those who first get behind the wheel because most of us forget not only the power but the sheer weight of an automobile.

We have two kids, John who is now 26 and Caitlin who is 24 and when each of them were about fourteen or fifteen, I said, “Do you want to learn to drive and of course they both said, “sure.”

Back then, we lived about five or six miles from Sackville NB and we were on a road where the pavement ended and then a dirt road went up into the woods for about two miles and that’s where the kids learned to drive.

I’d let them drive as slow and then as fast as they wanted until they were comfortable with the car. And after a couple of months they took driver’s education and they got their license. And basically, what the government and I both wanted to know by both their written and driving test was, “Will they be responsible drivers.”

In this passage Paul was writing to the believers of Thessalonica to tell them they had passed the test as far as their faith was concerned because he saw a great deal of responsibility among them in terms of their being examples to everyone around them.

And there’s something you have to understand; these Thessalonians were Greek and since this book had been written long before the invention of the printing press; they really didn’t have too much to go on; except what they had heard from Paul’s visits and his two visits had only lasted two or three weeks. And keep in mind that very few had access to the Old Testament scriptures unless they attended the synagogue to hear them read or they had some of the scriptures written by hand.