1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 & 4:1-8

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 & 4:1-8  Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you.  May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.  May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.  Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living.  Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.  For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.  It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn  and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him.  The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.  For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.  Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.  

The Thessalonians as well as the rest of the citizens of the Roman Empire were engulfed in the sexual impurity that permeated the society.  Prostitution was legal and practiced by many even in the temples to the heathen gods.  Pagan practices were so prevalent in this world that the city of Corinth was particularly know for its decadence.  The Temple of Aphrodite was said to have 1,000 prostitutes and greatly influenced the culture and morals of the city and the surrounding countryside.  Mistresses and adulterous affairs were common place, and sexual concubines were purchased by those who possessed sufficient money.  The Thessalonian church existed in this culture of sexual debauchery and filth.  When Paul encourages his Christian converts to lead sanctified lives and to avoid sexual immorality, he understands the culture of the day, and he knew exactly what he was asking of them.  He was saying they must grow up in Christ and separate themselves from the temptations of the world in which they lived.  They must stand by the power of the risen Lord, apart from the contamination of the majority culture.  He implores each of them to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God.  Paul knew sexual purity on the part of the Christians would impact this cistern of darkness greatly.  The true love of the Father expressed through the Son would reveal the lust and degradation and bring the light of God to a very dark world.  Paul fully understood the words of Jesus when He said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”  Jesus went on to explain, “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl.  Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.  Your eye is the lamp of your body.  When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness.  See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.  Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”  (Luke 11:27 & 33-36)  Those who find the Light of Christ walk in that light.  

Paul wanted the New Testament church to walk in the light of the never failing, never ending love of God.  Jesus is the only true light who came to show us the love of the Father.  We have all read the many verses concerning love.  We know Corinthians 13.  We know love does not take advantage of others and love never fails.  Jesus said, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.  If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.  Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.  Do to others as you would have them do to you.  (Luke 6:27-31)  Paul instructed believers: Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  (Romans 13:8 NKJV)  Unconditional divine love satisfies every commandment, and if we could all love with that love at all times in all situations, every law would become obsolete.  Our justice system would no longer need to function; our jails would become unnecessary.  The cardinal commandments of loving God with all your soul, spirit, and might and loving your neighbor as yourself will obliterate the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.  (1 John 2:16)  God's love is a servant's love, a love that extends beyond selfish reasons and self-satisfaction, a love that works for the betterment of others.  Divine love brings the cleansing, healing light of God into every human condition.  As God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son for us, so should we love the world in the same manner.  The Bible says, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 2:5)  Without the mind of Christ, we fall back into old patterns of selfishness where we manipulate and control people for our own purposes.   In the worst situations we even harm the innocent for our own sexual pleasure.   All over the world, young girls and boys are sold into slavery for sexual purposes.  What God planned as a beautiful gift to his sons and daughters wicked men have turned into nightmarish experiences of exploitation for countless young women and men.  Christians need to rise up in anger against this growing abuse with a cry to deliver those who are captive to the sexual immorality of our day.  When people can book "vacations" to countries that specialize in these practices, and everyone knows what is going on, something is very wrong with our world.   

Paul wrote, It is God’s will that you should be sanctified.  We must live lives that reflect God's holiness.  As we live such lives, we will not take advantage of others or stand by idly when we see others taking advantage of the helpless and the needy.  Even in our simplest daily interactions, we will watch out for the people in our lives and those God brings to our attention.  We want them to receive fair treatment and justice from us and others.  Our demeanor should show the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control).  Even when we think people take advantage of us, we should react as those who know Christ, as his servants and not with harsh words, bitterness, malice, or rage.  James says, this servant life costs us.  He tells us plainly, What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can faith save him?  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?  Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.”  Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  You believe that there is one God.  You do well.  Even the demons believe—and tremble!  But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?  (James 2:14-20)  Words in erudite books, sermons, and sage advice are easy to write or say, but actions require constant effort.  When we fail to put our faith into action, we expose our unregenerate flesh, rather than Christ in us, our hope of glory.  The culture surrounding the Thessalonian church was full of many sins including people seeking sexual gratification for selfish purposes.  Such actions go against God's very nature.  There are many selfish sins that can lead us away from the perfect will of God.  Does God tolerate us purchasing an heirloom from an old lady who does not know the value of her possession?  Shouldn't a sanctified Christian offer her a more fair price for the object she is selling?   Do we see the wickedness of a sinner buying a girl or boy for sexual gratification yet fail to see our own lack of love for our neighbors?  God is holy and just.  Yes, by faith He has allowed us to swim in the pool of his grace, but faith without works is DEAD.  Our intentions and our actions delineate how much we appreciate, value, and understand God's unmerited love towards us.  Even the devil knows there is a God, but we who are alive in Christ serve God and do his will.  God is love and light.  This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  (1 John 1:5-6)  As children of the truth rejoice in him today!  

1 Thessalonians 3:6-10

1 Thessalonians 3:6-10  But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love.  He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.  Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.  For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.  How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?  Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. 

Often in our little church we have visitors who come to us with some sort of request.  Usually these people are asking for financial help in some way.  Most of them have similar stories to tell: They need money to get back home or to pay their rent or to put food on the table.  A minority of them have somewhere in their lives made a commitment to the Lord in some nominal way, but the majority of them have not ever made a sustaining commitment to God or even a religion.  Their primary reason for coming to us is not for spiritual help but for money.  Most of the time they want to wait outside to speak to the pastor rather than coming into the service. Therefore, when the money or the help they desire does not keep coming, they disappear over the horizon, never to be seen again.  Their pretensions about changing their destructive behaviors or dedicating their lives to God never materialize for their basic intentions were to use God's people for their selfish purposes, not to serve God.  I am sure as with every church, the Thessalonian congregation had people like the above initially attached to it for their own fleshly reasons, but they soon departed when persecution exploded upon the fledgling church.  Paul was able to say to this church that he was thankful for the good news about their faith and love.  Paul was not looking to see them again to give them material gifts or money but to increase their faith in Christ, for he says he prays most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.  When Paul was prevented from seeing the Christians in Rome, he wrote to them, I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.  He fully understood the importance of growing in faith and in casting aside worldly encumbrances.  He told the Romans: I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.  For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”  (Romans 1:11-12 & 16-17)  

We have also seen, Christians moving from church to church based on their own whims, using the church of God to satisfy their emotional, psychological, and physical needs.  These people are not like the people in the early church under persecution and struggling to survive.  They have been firmly attached to a body of believers, given responsibilities as an integral part of a body.  But as their minds stray to thinking about themselves, they develop an uneasy feeling that their lives are not being satisfied by the local body of believers, so they either jump to another church or do not attend at all.  We wonder how these Christians would function if they faced real persecution such as rejection from their families and friends because they follow Christ, something more potent and serious than not being satisfied with the way a church is functioning or not meeting their needs.  If Thessalonica was the only place they could serve God, would they be there serving God boldly despite the trials and tribulations, growing in their faith in Christ and leading others to the Lord?  The obvious answer for dedicated, sold-out Christians is we don't serve God where WE want to serve, but where He sends us to serve.  Earlier, we spoke of those who come to church for selfish purposes: to get a meal, housing, transportation or just to get money for their destructive habits.  Of course their commitment to God is nominal at best, but there is hope for them to find Christ.  The church helps as seems appropriate and prays for them, sharing the gospel message with them.  But for those who name Christ as their personal Savior who are identified with a body of believers and know they are to love their fellow Christians as they love themselves, which is the second cardinal rule, to walk away from a community of believers is detrimental and dangerous.  Paul said, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)  As children of God, we are no longer our own.  We are not free to pick and choose.  We bloom where God plants us and serve gladly where He calls us.  Church is not about us.  We are there to minister, not to be ministered to.  Every time someone leaves our little church, it leaves a huge hole, especially when that person was a mentor, a leader, a doer.  People ask us, "Where did he/she go?  I looked up to him/her so much.  He/she was such an encouragement to me."  We do not know what to say because the answers we have seem so insufficient as we look at the faces of the hurting and the needy.  Paul told the Galatians, Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.  (Galatians 6:2)  This command stands true today.

In our scripture from 1 Thessalonians, we see Paul rejoicing over Timothy's report about the good fruit coming from this body of believers.  These Thessalonians were in the midst of a fiery furnance of persecution and harassment, yet they were staying true to the faith and their work for the Lord.  They were not retreating nor abandoning ship.  They were all in for Jesus, new creatures IN CHRIST.  What a joy it was for Paul to hear Timothy's good news of the firm stand and dedication of the Christians in Thessalonica.  Now he knew his beloved Thessalonians children were authentic and trustworthy fellow servants of the Lord.  They had staked their faith steadfastly upon Christ, portraying the love of Christ to a heathen community regardless of the difficulties they were experiencing.   He knew now he could truly call himself their spiritual father, for they would not turn back and would faithfully exist eternally IN CHRIST.  How wonderful it is for any pastor who shepherds a congregation to know that his body of believers will survive regardless of the trials or failures the sheep face.  He knows the sheep are in the sheepfold of the Great Shepherd Christ Jesus, and nothing will separate them from God, for they have chosen to go all the way to the grave in faith.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:35-39)  As children of the Most High God we are called to serve, called to love, called to bring the Good News to hungry people.  We have the Bread of Life!  Lord, show us where you want us to go today and every day.  

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20 & 3:1-5

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20 & 3:1-5  But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.  For we wanted to come to you — certainly I, Paul, did, again and again — but Satan stopped us.  For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes?  Is it not you?  Indeed, you are our glory and joy.  So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens.  We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them.  In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted.  And it turned out that way, as you well know.  For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith.  I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

In the above passage, we see Paul as a loving and faithful spiritual father to his new converts in Thessalonica.  He expresses concern for his spiritual children's viability in the faith, just as a natural father would be concerned for his children's physical survival.   He knows the trials and persecutions the Thessalonians are experiencing might mitigate their boldness in expressing the gospel of Christ.  Therefore, he sent Timothy, his beloved fellow servant, to his precious Thessalonians to strengthen and encourage them in their faith so they would not become unsettled by these trials they were facing.  Paul could not come to the Thessalonians because the devil prevented him from doing so; therefore, he had to send Timothy as a surrogate father in the faith.  Satan's interference in Paul's plans to go back to Thessalonica to support this fledging church reveals a definite source of evil that can hinder the work of God temporarily.  Evidently, Satan had power to disrupt this apostle's work.  In the Old Testament we see Satan interfering with the answering of one of Daniel's prayers.  “Do not be afraid, Daniel.  Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.  But the prince (angel of darkness) of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.  Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.  Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”  (Daniel 10:12-14)    

Paul could not go to the Thessalonians because he was prevented by Satan.  Sometimes our plans for our children and loved ones are thwarted by the evil one himself.  Sometimes our prayers are not answered immediately, but that does not prevent God from triumphing and carrying out his perfect will if we are faithful and trust him continually.  Of course, everything falls under God's domain, his authority and ultimate control.  But sometimes God's servants have to choose an alternate plan and listen carefully for wisdom from on high.  In the above case, Paul sends Timothy to the Thessalonians when they hoped to see Paul.  Timothy was not Paul's first plan, but it was probably in the final analysis the best plan for the new converts.  Now they would see and hear another passionate, dedicated voice testify of following God even to the point of giving one's life for Christ without concern for self.  They would easily see that Timothy, Paul's substitute and spiritual son, possessed the same spirit Paul possessed and obeyed God with equal intensity and consistency.  Therefore, Timothy's similar dedication and total commitment to God were not just Paul's attributes but instead were the chief characteristics of people fully possessed by and filled with the Holy Spirit. Today's scriptures clearly confirm we should never give up believing for our children, loved ones, and friends to grow in faith and to find healing for their physical infirmities.  As we remain faithful servants of God who trust and obey the Lord and desire the best for the people He has called us to love and to serve, we will see miraculous answers to prayer in our lifetimes.  Daniel was considered highly esteemed by the Lord.  We do not have to wonder why he earned this position of favor with God: highly esteemed.  The biblical description of his life reveals a man of deep faith and obedience to God, a man who earned favor because he put God above the powers of this world.  To honor his love for God, he was willing to face the fiery furnace; he was willing to face the lions; he was willing to go against the highest earthly powers.  No matter what was set before him, he willingly laid his life on the line for his God and his Lord.  He definitely earned the title: highly esteemed.  People could look to Daniel as an example of faith.  No one had to worry the tempter would lead Daniel astray or cause him to lose faith.  

We who are IN CHRIST are also highly esteemed because of Christ's finished salvation work on the cross.  We are the children of God who call God Abba Father, a closer relationship than Daniel's walk of dependence upon God.  The Bible says: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  (1 John 3:1-2)  We who are IN CHRIST are highly esteemed in God's eyes; consequently, as all faithful, obedient children, we trust our Abba Father completely.  We persistently offer our petitions, but we go the distance in any situation regardless of the circumstances or outcomes, knowing everything is in his hands.  God finds no pleasure in those who turn back, and He promises never to leave or to forsake his own.  The Children of Israel left Egypt rejoicing but faltered in their faith, failing to believe God could defeat the giants in the land and deliver the Promised Land to them.  They did not believe God would answer their prayers and fulfill his will for them.  The people's spirits fell when Satan spoke through the mouths of the ten doubters who described the giants in the land and the heavily guarded fortresses around the cities.  They could not believe Joshua and Caleb's good report of the land flowing with milk and honey.  God's will is perfect, but Satan is also on the court of life, attempting to distract and to defeat us.  He sometimes interferes with our goals and God's plans for us on Earth.  But, my friend, even though situations seem impossible at times, even though you see giants and strong fortresses against you, continue to believe you your whole household will be saved to enter into the Promised Land.  Regardless of the temptations not to believe: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)  God leads and feeds his sheep.  His sheep listen for his voice and hear and obey him when He speaks.  He calls you by name today.  Please stop listening to the voices of interference and answer his tender call.  

1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

1 Thessalonians 2:13-16  And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.  For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out.  They displease God and are hostile to all men in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved.  In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit.  The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

Paul tells the Thessalonians he is extremely pleased with them, for he knew they were living out a strong commitment to God regardless of the opposing forces to the gospel in their community.  He realized they were maturing in their faith as they willingly endured persecution for the gospel.  As he commends them, he reminds them that they are facing the same kind of hostility to their faith as the Jewish Christians in Judea faced.  Paul also appreciates that their fervency for the word of God has changed them permanently: 180 degrees away from their former dead barbarian lives.  He knew their new lives in Christ would never be the same no matter how much persecution they faced at that time or in the future.  For the rest of their lives, the Thessalonian believers would carry the coat of arms of the cross wherever God called them in his name as his representatives and members of his royal family.  As Paul said in his testimony, May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  (Galatians 6:14)  From now on the Thessalonians' testimony would be the same as Paul's: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)   With their hearts and minds changed, their goals would no longer revolve around themselves, but they would commit to bringing others to a saving knowledge of Christ.  They would believe with Paul that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.  (2 Corinthians 5:16-21)

Is this testimony the burning desire of our hearts?  Would Paul write us a letter of commendation because he is so glad we have received the word of God  and he sees fruit from that word in our daily lives?   Do we have a testimony with the people around us of our walk with Jesus and evidence of a gospel of reconciliation, mercy, and grace?   American Christianity seems to lose sight of some important gospel distinctives.  How focused are we on the cross, the blood of Jesus shed for sins and the Good News that Christ died and rose again?  In our attempts to be user friendly and culturally relevant do we eliminate some of what makes us powerfully able and fully dedicated to saving sinners?  Are we more focused on trying to make people feel better than salvation?  Does the world hear more about our political positions than about Christ and him crucified?  Do unbelievers know that we are the light of the world and not just advocates for a particular philosophy or ideology?  Are we testifying more about our trials and the troubles of this world than we are about God's goodness and loving kindness?  The Thessalonians and Jewish Christians testified about Christ and his saving grace even though they had adversaries who persecuted them, chased them from their homes, and wanted to murder them.  Today, we have Christians who get red in the face with anger over temporal acts such as something the government has done or not done but will not expound in love on the eternal aspects of the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ when faced with the needs of the unsaved--people who are messy and in need of hope and help.  We ignore the fact that Christ loved the world while they were YET sinners, while they were yet rejecting him.  How often we have strayed from the biblical truth: CHRIST IN US THE HOPE OF GLORY.  Many of us in the church have become so worldly in our thinking that we begin to act as if a gun is better than a Bible.  Violence will never change the hearts of people, but the Word of God will.  The barbarian Thessalonians were changed permanently by the Word of God; then they went out to change others, not with swords but with the love of God.  Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  (1 John 4:7-11)

As Paul was telling the church how much he appreciated their acceptance of the gospel and the way they were putting the word they had received into practice, he said we also thank God continually because they did not discount what they received as mere teaching from Paul, but they received it as the word of God.  This body of believers rightly discerned the anointing of the Holy Spirit and had spiritual ears to hear what the Spirit said to then.  Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  (Mark 4:9)  When our children were growing up and they would have a hard time sleeping or they would wake up with bad dreams and come to Dad for comfort, if he had not gone to bed yet, they would find him in his recliner chair.  He would take them on his lap and hold them and say loving things to them.  He would things like, "You are safe.  It is going to be all right.  The Lord is with you."  Then he would say, "When you are afraid, listen to the Lord.  He is always talking to you.  Listen to his voice.  He is saying, 'I love you.  I am with you.  I will take care of you.  I will never leave you.'"  The children would relax in his arms and they were comforted.  They would sit with him for a while and rock in his loving arms or if they had come into our bed, they might fall asleep there and be safe with Mom and Dad.  They needed our reassurance but they needed more than that.  They needed to know they had a loving heavenly Father who watched over them night and day, who never lost track of them and who never went off duty.  When we sell out completely to the Lord, we must know that someone higher than ourselves is in charge.  We must know that when we let go of all that we hold dear, there is someone holding onto us.  The psalmist writes: Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.  Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.  (Psalm 127:1)  We cannot keep our house from falling; we cannot add one day to our lives.  Yet each of us know for sure, that we are safe in the arms of our Savior Christ our Lord and King.  Today we rejoice in our salvation, and we rejoice that we are his epistles, read by the world.  We ask the Lord to renew our zeal, to refresh our testimonies, and to help us to shine brightly for him everywhere we go.  We thank each of you for remaining faithful to this ministry.  May God richly bless you today and every day.