Author: nickjones2011
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Christ our warrior king (Song of Sol 7-8; Ps 127; 2 Thess 2)
Whatever you are facing in life, what a comfort Christ our warrior king with us. Psalm 127 is not a psalm about us having lots of children, but of the blessing of belonging to Christ. We are told first of all that the Lord builds the house. The word ‘house’ was used in psalm 122…
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Hell is real (Song of Sol 4-6; 2 Thess 1)
I don’t like talking about hell. I don’t imagine the apostle Paul liked talking about hell either, but like his master, our Lord Jesus, he had to speak about the reality of hell. Jesus Christ is the most compassionate man who ever walked this earth, and his compassion led him to warn about hell and…
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The leader we long for (Song of Sol 1-3; Ps 72; 1 Thess 5)
Do you long for good government? Our world leaders make huge promises, but often fail to deliver. Psalm 72 is a prayer for the ultimate leader, it comes at the end of book 2 of the psalms and it’s a prayer that the king would be the king of Psalms 1&2. That he will be…
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What happens to our loved ones who die?(Proverbs 29-31; 1 Thess 4)
Losing a loved one is hard. The Christians in Thessalonica were confused, they were a young church and expectant church. Paul had taught them that Jesus would return and rightly they expected this could happen in their lifetime, but Paul had got torn away from them before having the opportunity to teach them everything. So…
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Living in the light of Christ’s return (Proverbs 26-28; 1 Thess 3)
The return of Christ is in every chapter of Paul’s short letter to the Thessalonians (1v10, 2v19, 3v13, 4v16, 5v2). The return of Christ changes how we live in the present. Paul is so thankful that the Thessalonians turned from idols to the living God, trusting in Jesus’ death on their behalf (1:9-10). He had…
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Dare to share (Proverbs 24-25; Ps 41; 1 Thess 2)
It must have been hard for the apostle Paul to keep going. Can you imagine not just having rude things said about you, but stones thrown at you! Can you imagine the pain of being lashed with a stick until you bled, being thrown in prison and more. Each time Paul opened his mouth to…
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A church to give thanks for (Proverbs 22-23; Ps 117; 1 Thess 1)
Paul had only been with the Thessalonians for a few weeks (see Acts 17), before he was torn away but he was so thankful for the way they responded to the gospel. In 1 Thessalonians 1 we read of Paul’s delight in these believers who have proved to be the real deal. Three things mark…
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Love for the church means intolerance to false doctrine (Proverbs 19-21; Ps 40; Rom 16)
What does it mean to love your church? As Paul comes to the end of this great book of Romans his love for the church and desire to see it continue leads him to warn very strongly against those who would lead the church astray. Paul tells the church in Rome to “watch out for…
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Enduring suffering with joy (Proverbs 16-18; Romans 15)
John Flavel lost 3 wives, and at least one child. He knew a thing or two about suffering. Yet as you read his writing, he is full of joy. He exemplifies the truth of one of our Proverbs for today: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs…
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Life is messy (Proverbs 14-15; Rom 14)
Life is messy. We might wish it wasn’t, we might want everything clean and tidy and orderly, but the reality is, it won’t be long until it is messy again. There is wisdom in accepting that. I find this proverb from today’s reading helpful: “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant…
Light and Momentary Troubles 