Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 132

May 12;   2 Thessalonians 1:3;   188/260(I);   ‘Paul’s Gratitude’

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.     NIV

Nothing can warm a minister’s heart more than to know that those he or she ministers to is growing in faith.   It is joy unspeakable (I mean this seriously) when you talk to a new person who has started to attend the church and they share how much the Word of God is helping them and changing them.  The truth is that, that can be the testimony of every Christian.  That the Word is helping and changing them.  That is what the Word of God does.  It is the Word of God that grows your faith.  Strong faith is such a powerful blessing in your life as you know the Word of God and believe the Word of God to the extent that you have God’s peace in any situation, knowing the Lord will see you through.  Growing your faith by the Word of God is a decision every Christian must make.  As Paul saw the growth of the faith of the congregation in Thessalonica, how proud he must have been of them.  It is no wonder that the love of the people of this church was increasing as well.  Time in the Word, allowing the Word to build your faith and change you, opens the door for God’s love and character to manifest in your life.  Your love for the Lord Jesus grows, seeing His Example in the Gospels, the way He loved and treated everyone creates a desire in your heart to be just like Him.  Not every Christian will do this.  A minister can and should pray that everyone they minister to will become everything they were created by the Lord to be.  It may vary with every believer, but believing for and encouraging each Christian to be all they can be is a never ending desire for those who teach the Word.