January 14, 2026; I Thessalonians 2

Daily Dose of Hope

January 14, 2026

 

Scripture: I Thessalonians 2

 

Prayer:  Lord, We come to you today with humble hearts.  Help us think less of ourselves and more about others.  Help us focus more on you, and less on our own wants.  It is our inclination to complain and whine.  Forgive us, Lord.  We need you.  More of you and less of me.  In Your Name, Amen.

 

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan.  We are currently on a journey through the letters of Paul, working through them in chronological order.  We are currently on Paul’s second pastoral letter, I Thessalonians.  Today, we read I Thessalonians 2.

The authors start out the chapter by discussing their motives for preaching the Gospel message.  They have pure motives and have no desire to trick people into becoming converts, which must have been an issue in the day.  Gaining converts at any cost suggests manipulation and the desire to look successful before others.  But their main concern was pleasing God, not people.  That does not mean that the Gospel message isn't pleasing to people, because it certainly is, but that wasn't their main reason for sharing it.  God had called them to this and they were being obedient.

Unfortunately, throughout the course of history, Christians haven't always had such pure motives in sharing the Gospel.  Evangelism has often occurred with a Bible in one hand and a sword in the other.  I think Paul, Timothy, and Silas, would be appalled at how far people representing the Christian faith have gone to simply gain converts, without concern for the hearts of people. 

As twenty-first century believers, we get to stand on the shoulders of those who witnessed well and those who made a terrible mess of it.  And yet, we are still called to share the Gospel with others with pure motives.  Guided by the Holy Spirit rather than our own prideful motivations, we are called to share the source of our hope.  Just as Paul and friends write in this chapter, our core motivation must be to please God.  It's great if other people are pleased as well with the message, but that isn't our primary purpose.  It's simply all about Jesus.

Paul isn’t shy.  He tells the Thessalonians that he serves an a model for faithfulness.  In all fairness, he says the Thessalonians are also to be emulated as models of faithfulness.  I want to talk about this a bit.  Paul isn’t bragging.  He is making a statement about how the Gospel of Jesus is not a set of ideas to believe but rather a way of life.  The Gospel might be seen as a set of lived commitments.  Paul is saying that believers model the Word of God in their context, they live it out, even when it is hard.  And it was very hard for the Thessalonians but they did it anyway.  Paul wants them to know he sees their sacrifice and loves them; he is willing to sacrifice alongside them as well.

 

Do you live out your faith in the way Paul is describing?  Is your faith a set a beliefs or is it a total and complete lifestyle with Jesus at the center?  What would it take for you to move toward a lifestyle in which your faith in Jesus is all-consuming?  Who do you know who models this kind of faith?  Paul certainly alludes to attributes that suggest someone is living this way: humility, honesty, sincerity, willingness to work hard on tasks that seem lowly, willingness to be vulnerable, courage to take risks for the Gospel, and a true trust in Jesus.

 

Take some time and pray about this. 

 

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki