Good Morning!
Tonight is opening night the
drama Number the Stars at Habersham Community Theatre. The play is a fictional work, coming from a
book by the same name. Annemarie
Johansen and her family help her good friend, Ellen Rosen, and her family
escape from occupied Denmark to freedom in Sweden. The play is based on the actual occurrences in
Denmark from 1940 through early 1945. Danish citizens did not look upon each
other as Christian or Jew or anything other than Danes. They bonded together to
resist the Nazi desires for racial purity.
I was thinking early this
morning about our current times. In our world
today, the most persecuted people are those who are Christian. In some countries, being a Christian and
proclaiming Christ could result in arrest, imprisonment … and even death. Remembering the Holocaust is as important to
Christian believers as it is to our Jewish friends … for Scripture point us to
the time when our persecution will be as vile as it was during World War II.
Paul writes about the coming
of the end of time in his second letter to the church at Thessalonica …
2 Thessalonians 2 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
2 Brothers
and sisters, we have something to say about the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. We want to talk to you about that time when we will meet together with
him. 2 Don’t let yourselves be easily upset or worried if you hear
that the day of the Lord has already come. Someone might say that this idea
came from us—in something the Spirit told us, or in something we said, or in a
letter we wrote. 3 Don’t be fooled by anything
they might say. That day of the Lord will not come until the turning away from
God happens. And that day will not come until the Man of Evil appears, the one
who belongs to hell.[a] 4 He will stand against and
put himself above everything that people worship or think is worthy of worship.
He will even go into God’s Temple[b] and sit
there, claiming that he is God.
5 I told you before that
all these things would happen. Remember? 6 And
you know what is stopping that Man of Evil now. He is being stopped now so that
he will appear at the right time. 7 The
secret power of evil is already working in the world now. But there is one who
is stopping that secret power of evil. And he will continue to stop it until he
is taken out of the way. 8 Then that Man of
Evil will appear. But the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath that comes
from his mouth. The Lord will come in a way that everyone will see, and that
will be the end of the Man of Evil.
9 When that Man of Evil
comes, it will be the work of Satan. He will come with great power, and he will
do all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders. 10 The Man of Evil will use every kind of evil to fool those
who are lost. They are lost because they refused to love the truth and be
saved. 11 So God will send them something
powerful that leads them away from the truth and causes them to believe a lie. 12 They will all be condemned because they did not believe the
truth and because they enjoyed doing evil.
13 Brothers and sisters,
you are people the Lord loves. And we always thank God for you. That’s what we
should do, because God chose you to be some of the first people[c] to be saved. You are saved by
the Spirit making you holy and by your faith in the truth. 14 God chose you to have that salvation. He chose you by using
the Good News that we told you. You were chosen so that you can share in the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So,
brothers and sisters, stand strong and continue to believe the teachings we
gave you when we were there and by letter.
16-17 We pray that the Lord
Jesus Christ himself and God our Father will comfort you and strengthen you in
every good thing you do and say. God loved us and gave us through his grace a
wonderful hope and comfort that has no end.
Footnotes:
·
2 Thessalonians 2:3 belongs to hell Literally, “is the son of
destruction.”
·
2 Thessalonians 2:4 Temple Probably the Temple in Jerusalem. See “Temple”
in the Word List.
·
2 Thessalonians 2:13 to be … people Some Greek copies say, “from the
beginning.”
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright
© 2006 by Bible League International
Have we learned the
lessons of impact of hatred? Our sordid
history reveals the heart of humankind … and we often find that it is
vile. But Jesus has raised us to obey
His simple command to love one another. The Holy Spirit that indwells us
teaches us to love. In love, we glorify Christ Jesus … and ourselves.
John writes … “Beloved,
let us love one another.” Let us stand
firm in that love regardless of what the World may do to squash that love.
Agape’
Mr. Jim
Prayer: Remind us, dear Father, of our need to follow
Your command to love one another as Jesus loves us. Keep our eyes focused on You and our hearts
on the teaching of the Lord. In Jesus’ Name … Amen.
Scripture for today: 2 Thessalonians 2
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