The Message
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Chapter 4
You're God-Taught
1One final word, friends. We ask you-urge is more like it-that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. 2You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. 3God wants you to live a pure life. Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity. 4Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, 5not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God. 6Don't run roughshod over the concerns of your brothers and sisters. Their concerns are God's concerns, and he will take care of them. We've warned you about this before. 7God hasn't invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful-as beautiful on the inside as the outside. 8If you disregard this advice, you're not offending your neighbors; you're rejecting God, who is making you a gift of his Holy Spirit. 9Regarding life together and getting along with each other, you don't need me to tell you what to do. You're God-taught in these matters. Just love one another! 10You're already good at it; your friends all over the province of Macedonia are the evidence. Keep it up; get better and better at it. 11Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You've heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. 12We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders, not lying around sponging off your friends. The Master's Coming
13And regarding the question, friends, that has come up about what happens to those already dead and buried, we don't want you in the dark any longer. First off, you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word. 14Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus. 15And then this: We can tell you with complete confidence-we have the Master's word on it-that when the Master comes again to get us, those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them behind. In actual fact, they'll be ahead of us. 16The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God's trumpet blast! He'll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise-they'll go first. 17Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. 18Oh, we'll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words. Chapter 5
1I don't think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. 2You know as well as I that the day of the Master's coming can't be posted on our calendars. He won't call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. 3About the time everybody's walking around complacently, congratulating each other-“We've sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!”-suddenly everything will fall apart. It's going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman. 4But friends, you're not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? 5You're sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. 6So let's not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let's keep our eyes open and be smart. 7People sleep at night and get drunk at night. 8But not us! Since we're creatures of Day, let's act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation. 9God didn't set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. 10He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we're awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we're alive with him! 11So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it. The Way He Wants You to Live
12And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. 13Overwhelm them with appreciation and love! Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. 14Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. 15And be careful that when you get on each other's nerves you don't snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out. 16Be cheerful no matter what; 17pray all the time; 18thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 19Don't suppress the Spirit, 20and don't stifle those who have a word from the Master. 21On the other hand, don't be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what's good. 22Throw out anything tainted with evil. 23May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together-spirit, soul, and body-and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. 24The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it! 25Friends, keep up your prayers for us. 26Greet all the Christians there with a holy embrace. 27And make sure this letter gets read to all the brothers and sisters. Don't leave anyone out. 28The amazing grace of Jesus Christ be with you! 2 Thessalonians
Chapter 1
1I, Paul, together with Silas and Timothy, greet the church of the Thessalonian Christians in the name of God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ. 2Our God gives you everything you need, makes you everything you're to be. Justice Is on the Way
3You need to know, friends, that thanking God over and over for you is not only a pleasure; it's a must. We have to do it. Your faith is growing phenomenally; your love for each other is developing wonderfully. Why, it's only right that we give thanks. 4We're so proud of you; you're so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you. We tell everyone we meet in the churches all about you. 5All this trouble is a clear sign that God has decided to make you fit for the kingdom. You're suffering now, 6but justice is on the way. When the Master Jesus appears out of heaven in a blaze of fire with his strong angels, he'll even up the score by settling accounts with those who gave you such a bad time. 7His coming will be the break we've been waiting for. 8Those who refuse to know God and refuse to obey the Message will pay for what they've done. 9Eternal exile from the presence of the Master and his splendid power is their sentence. 10But on that very same day when he comes, he will be exalted by his followers and celebrated by all who believe-and all because you believed what we told you. 11Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time-pray that our God will make you fit for what he's called you to be, pray that he'll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. 12If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely.
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