Kristi Burchfiel

What encourages and drives us? For Paul, it is clearly the fath and walk of those around him. In 1 Thessalonians 3:6-10, we see him sharing how he is so focused on others and how much he really is encouraged by hearing of the consistent faith of the people. Are we really focused on others? We’ll be able to tell in the way we are lifted up an encouraged by their journey with Christ. Are we focusing on lifting others up? Do we see their success as an extension of our own?

When we go through difficult times, how do we respond? In 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5 we see something very interesting. Paul was experiencing suffering, which was really not unusual. However, instead of being concerned for himself, we see Paul much more worried about the new believers in Thessalonica suffering as well. He was so concerned that he sent Timothy to them to check on them and see how they were doing. When we experience difficulty and suffering, generally we tend to think about ourselves first. We want to understand how we can lessen our suffering, or encourage ourselves. Not Paul. Paul was more concerned about how the people were going through…

In 1 Thessalonians 2:13-20 we see an interesting idea. The people accepted God for God. They didn’t see Paul and his group as the ones to be worshipped, but instead realized that the worship belonged to Christ. Do we see Christ in the things that are around us? Do we recognize and worship Christ and Him alone? We have so many wonderful and amazing things all around us and while we may not intend to, we can become distracted by these things and unintentionally give them our praise. God is the only one worthy of our praise. Will we recognize when He is at work in us and praise Him…

Looking at the next section in 1 Thessalonians, we see in chapter 2 verses 9-12 how our Behavior around others and our encouragement of others matters. Paul explains that he and his group had been in Thessalonica and had walked the talk. They lived uprightly and blamelessly in front of others, and as a result they were able to offer encouragement to those people who needed it while they were walking the Christian Life. Are we consistent in our walk? Do we walk what we say we believe and can others see it as they look at our lives? As we do that, we will be able to encourage people…

What does it mean to mentor someone? In 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 we see Paul’s definition. He explained how he poured his life into the people there. He was mindful of how he spoke to them and of how he sought to be an example to them as he walked beside them. He genuinely cared about the people and he wasn’t there for any ulterior motive. When we are mentoring people we must have that same thought in mind. It can’t be about us, it must be about the people. We must meet them where they are and seek to build a relationship with them first. Are we building the kingdom…

Boldness. Do we each have boldness in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2 we see Paul explaining how he came to them in boldness. He actually goes on to explain exactly what that boldness means. They had been persecuted where they were, then they came to Thessalonica and experienced the same hostile reaction but still shared the message of the gospel anyway. They had boldness. Do we have boldness? When we are experiencing difficulties, do we still share the message of Jesus with boldness? How can we show boldness today?

Have others ever talked about you? Most of us would say, “Yes!” very quickly and easily. The more important question is what are they saying. For the Thessalonians, they had people talking about them. As we read in 1 Thessalonians1:6-10 we quickly see that when they came to believe and trust in Jesus, they were experiencing difficult time and trials, but that word of their faith was spreading and people were talking. Do others know of our faith? Is what we believe evident enough to others that they recognize where our joy comes from in the midst of the trials? Trials are going to come, and others will be watching…

We’re moving  to the book of 1st Thessalonians. As we spend time in this book, I’m excited to see how Paul’s words to these early believers apply to our lives today. Looking today at 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, we see that Paul is reminding the people about how they brought the gospel to them. They didn’t just bring it in eord, but also in power and through the Holy Spirit. We have the most important message for all mankind, so are we just sharing it with words alone? The Holy Spirit gives power to the word of God. Without the Holy Spirit in our lives working through us, what we share…