Pastor's Ponderings: Monday Bible Study on Paul’s letter, 2 Thessalonians 1:7b-12 (June 2, 2025)

June 2, 2025:  Monday Bible Study on Paul’s letter, 2 Thessalonians 1:7b-12

Good morning my dear friends who are taking a few minutes today to study the text of 2 Thessalonians 1:7b-12.

Today we are giving thanks to God that our grandson Caleb and his girlfriend were not seriously injured on I-10 on Saturday afternoon when a car in front of them blew a tire causing other drivers to swerve to avoid a collision, but Kiki was unable to avoid that car and her car was totaled.  Caleb broke a finger when the air bag was deployed, and Kiki, who is quite petite, had serious bruising on her face from the air bag, but both are OK. We are so thankful that they are doing fine. Please pray for Steve who will have a lung biopsy on Thursday, and for JD, Reno, Wolf, and DJ who are homeless in our community. Let us all give thanks to God for the rain in yesterday's storm. I apologize for being late today. We have a new internet system installed in the house, and now we are busy connecting phones, computers, TVs, and more to the new system.

In our world today, as I believe it has been for thousands of years, we struggle to strike a balance between seeking justice and trying instead to get revenge. Most of the time the balance scales weigh heavily toward getting revenge, and nearly all of us struggle with this in our lives. Shortly after Melody and I and the first 4 children moved to Tucson, during a Bible Study held in the White House, and during Gem Show, Melody was rear ended while sitting stopped on 22 street. The driver of the other car checked on her, she was seriously injured in her neck and shoulders, no air bag deployment, and then the man said that he could not stay and fled the scene on foot carrying a package. He ran into the riverbed. His car was totaled, and ours, though repairable, was never the same. Back then we sued for her immediate medical expenses, thinking that the young man had car seat age children. Later we discovered He was running drugs using his car, and the outcome has been that Melody has suffered for years with her neck and back injuries from the accident. But, even at that, we tried to do what was right by our faith, and we wondered how different our lives would have been if we had the money for better care for Melody rather than paying for it ourselves. It is easy to see the problem we all face when we must deal with something like this. To do what is right is not always easy, and to do what is revenge just seems wrong when we consider our faith. This is what Paul is speaking about here. He is telling us that it is up to God who will make all these choices at the time of Christ's return. Believers will be saved, but those who are unbelievers and unrepentant sinners will not be saved. It must be that the Thessalonians were beginning to think about how they should handle their persecutors, and there were plenty of them. It is God who brings justice to all His creation. He is not getting revenge! Some translations of this second letter use the word revenge or vengeful. This is a misappropriation of who God is. We see the fullness of God's justice when we believe in Jesus. God desires the safety of all His children; not all respond to this relationship with the Creator. If we must live in a world where there is no fear of justice, and revenge was always the goal, that place would be a living hell. Through Jesus we all come to know the Grace of the Father who is just, good, merciful, and the ultimate truth. If someone chooses to live like none of the Grace of Christ matters, and they live their lives filled with lies, evil, harm, and hatred, then for the God of Grace there is no other choice when they reject His answer in Christ, than to judge them, and send them away from His presence.  The Thessalonians have understood the Christ's Grace filled message that Paul has brought. They may not be large in numbers, but they are committed to God's truth with their very lives. The Grace with which they live and offer as an example of their faith, tells the full truth of the LORD'S Son Jesus Christ. To reject this Truth will result in God's justice being wielded with fairness and a passion for all who have heard, and listened, like the new Christians in Thessalonica.

Thanks for being with me today. Sorry for the delay. In Christ's Love, Pastor Kim