Joshua Handford

1 Thessalonians 2:7b-12

1 Thessalonians 2:7b-12

“The expectation, once again, is that all genuine believers, those who should have confidence that they are brothers, loved and chosen by God, will be imitating the holy, righteous and blameless conduct of the apostles as the apostles themselves emulate Christ. Those who follow Christ will not only emulate the apostles and Christ himself in what they abstain from, but they will be seeking to imitate them in the sense of their service, labor and toil, and caring for the people of God as if they were their own family. They will be utilizing every opportunity to be on mission, working day and night for the Lord, integrating gospel labor with manual labor, never setting aside the ministry to which they have been called…”

1 Thessalonians 2:1-7a

1 Thessalonians 2:1-7a

“Church, we must be on guard against deception. Now you might think, ‘But Josh, our message is divine revelation, how could deception come into play?’ In many ways. When believers are not bold, they are tempted to reduce the offense of the gospel. We think it wise to only share certain things or certain aspects of the gospel with our friends and family, so as to win them over with deception. It is a temptation to deceive regarding our own activity, presenting ourselves in a finer light than is reality; presenting ourselves as more sanctified, or more knowledgeable than we really are. It is a temptation to walk in deception in order to keep the peace, to fit in with the others around us, to reduce offense. But when deceit is considered a pathway to peaceful coexistence, then disaster is around the corner

Church, the Bible classifies deception as a sin, and it is found on nearly every sin-list in the NT. For this reason the Christian preachers shunned it as a legitimate means to gain converts. The motives were not personal enrichment; the message was not tailored for mass appeal…“

1 Thessalonians 1:5b-10

1 Thessalonians 1:5b-10

“Have you ever played Mario Kart? There have been several iterations, but the original was the first to have the unique feature of being able to race against the track record, the fastest completion of whatever track you are on. An ephemeral version of the track champion (a ‘ghost’ if you will) would be projected directly in front of you so that you could learn every twist and turn of the track. And if you were to follow directly on the heels of the fastest time ever, well then you too would finish the race in record time…It was of great benefit, then, that the new Thessalonian Christians were able, even if only for a few short weeks, to observe the behavior of Paul and his associates…Christ Jesus, of course, is our exemplar. He alone ran a perfect race. I like how the NIV translates Hebrews 12:1-2: ‘And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.’ But Jesus did not merely leave the church with a WWJD bracelet. He granted the Holy Spirit. I do not have to wonder ‘what would Jesus do?’ because I am given Spirit empowered models in the church to observe.”

1 Thessalonians 1:2-5a

1 Thessalonians 1:2-5a

“Many who have grown up in the church, like me, have endured prayer meetings where the content of the petitions are expressed only as a “technique for acquiring blessings;” long incantations for the purpose of procuring God’s favor. Or, alternatively, in reaction to such demanding and boisterous prayers of past experience, one can readily fall into the ‘fatalistic’ sort of prayer, where we only ask that ‘God’s will be done’ — which sounds quite pious, but quickly becomes insipid and anemic. I must admit to having lived in both of these ditches described, until I began to learn from the content and framework of the prayers found in Scripture. The prayers of Paul, for instance, are neither fatalistic nor magical, but relational. This means that we pray according to God’s will, in line with his values, and in conformity with his own character and purpose.”

1 Thessalonians 1:1

1 Thessalonians 1:1

“As John Stott observed, “What stands out of Paul’s vision of the church is its God-centredness.”…Grasping this point will fundamentally change the way we think about church. We will think of the worship service less and less in terms of what it does for us, and more and more as an opportunity for us to glorify, praise, and worship God…We will view gathering together with other believers for worship less and less as an intrusion into our weekend, and more and more as an opportunity to declare our allegiance to the one true God.”

Hosea 14:1-9

Hosea 14:1-9

“Hosea calls us here to confess our sins, reject past objects of deceptive faith, and recognize that there is hope only in the sure character of God. Will we humbly admit our own need to receive from the only Savior?Genuine repentance is not bringing a gift in order to bribe or appease God, nor is it a feeling of sorrow or shame about getting caught for doing something wrong. It is not making a deceptive speech about turning over a new leaf when we can do nothing at all to change our own hearts. It is a genuine turning from a life of sin—a life lived for ourselves—to serve the one living and true God. Hosea’s final message to us is this: How do you read the words of this book? Do they enlighten or confound? Are they life or death?”

Hosea 13:4-16

Hosea 13:4-16

“Even in these passages of terrible judgment, we are reminded that, while God’s character is revealed in both justice and mercy, he delights in showing mercy and compassion. Eight times in the Old Testament Yahweh is announced and introduced as in Psalm 86:15: ...a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…He is not quick to wrath, quick to judgment…Instead, in Hosea we see that God is prone to sudden rashes of compassion. You never know when he will just suddenly burst out in unexpected mercy…”

Hosea 11:12-13:3

Hosea 11:12-13:3

“This passage also calls us to remember the past grace of God.  We can ensure proper relationship with God and avoid his condemnations by remembering; remembering, and not forgetting, what God has done for us. This is the purpose for many of the songs we sing, as we recall to each other, and to ourselves, the goodness of God expressed throughout the ages to his church. Our need and God’s power and goodness fit hand-in-hand. Our awareness of each grows in relation to the other. The more I am honest about the condition of my heart, the more I increasingly rely on God.  The more I am reminded of God’s goodness and mercy, the more I can afford to be honest with myself.”

Hosea 10:11-11:11

Hosea 10:11-11:11

“God’s explanation of his commitment to continue the covenant beyond the judgment is both passionate and profound: the unique holy quality of his deity. His disposition and behaviour distinguish themselves from what would be the normal human pattern. He is God, and not a man — so he has the ability to decide when and how to exact just punishment in his fierce anger.  Despite his terrible wrath, he has not lost control. If God was at the mercy of his emotions, Israel would be wiped from the face of the earth. But, thankfully, God is holy. He operates at a different level of action independent of human action and existence. And He has chosen to fulfill his sovereign plan that is guided by his love as well as justice.”

Hosea 9:10-10:10

Hosea 9:10-10:10

“Church, those who genuinely belong to God are ‘created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them’.  All genuine people of God are created to be the fruitful extension of Jesus’ life and ministry, commissioned to bear the fruit of love. Jesus is the true vine.  He is God’s promise fulfilled to Israel.  For a long time it looked like Israel was cut off from God, but Jesus is the shoot that came from what seemed like a stump. Grafted into Christ, people from every nation, tongue and tribe become the true people of God.”