Read the NT in 10 Weeks - Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 5:8-10
⁸But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Paul was more encouraged by the Thessalonians than some of the churches in his previous letters like the Galatians.

1 Thess 1:5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance

I found it interesting how Paul addressed matters of the Second Coming of Jesus more than other letters. In 1 Thess Paul has a reminding tone about his writing "5:2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night."

And then in 2nd Thess, Paul has to use a more corrective tone. In 2 Thess 2:3 "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first". And again in 2:5 "Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?"

Writing an outline of the events and message is redundant because Paul was already summarizing. It just needs to be read (2 Th 2:1-12 and 1Th 5:1-11)

These verses did stick out to me while reading though.
1 Thess 5:8-10
But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Read the NT in 10 Weeks - Colossians

Colossians 3:17
¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

This is another great book to explain some basic doctrine of who Christ is.

• Christ is the creator of all things (1:16)
• We are reconciled to the Father by Christ (1:20)
• Christ is who should be preached (1:28)
• Christ is more important than philosophy which can be deceptive (2:8)
• "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (2:9)
• Christ is the way, not rules or being good enough (2:11-23)
• Avoid false humility, follow Christ (2:18)
• Be holy and follow Christ, do not be filled with lust and evil desire (3:1-10)

After discussing who Christ is there is also some instruction on how to live among other believers. "Therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering...."(3:12).

Christ is for us all.

Read the NT in 10 Weeks - Philippians

Philippians 4:12-13
¹² I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.

This verse doesn't really sum up Philippians to me, but it stood out, and seemed like a good reminder to trust in God and not myself.

In Philippians I can really see Paul being thankful for a church that has followed Christ. The people of Philipi were truly a comfort to their pastor. They shared in spreading the gospel (1:5), they were faithful even while persecuted (1:29), and they supported Paul as he ministered to others (4:10-18). Paul even tells the Philippians that they are his encouragement to live in a way (1:24-26).

Can we be as encouraging to our pastor's? and as faithful to Jesus Christ our savior?

Read the NT in 10 week - Ephesians

Ephesians 2:8-10
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

I like these verses every time I read it so I made it one of my memory verses. Today it is an encouragement to think of my salvation. Other days it might be my reminder to be humble, or of the enormity of God's love for us, or of how Jesus gives us significance.

Regarding Ephesians in general. This time while reading this group of Paul's letters I was interested in who he was writing them to and what he had to tell them. Ephesians seem more of a general letter that explains the Christian doctrine. Paul is not addressing specific items like he did in his letters to the Corinthians and the Galatians. He doesn't have to do as much correcting of bad practices or doctrine.

Also, I have to admit that I find Paul's long sentences awkward at times and it seems he uses them more in Ephesians. Reading it out loud helps when my concentration isn't high enough to keep up. And while reading out loud, I can really notice how this was a spoken letter. It starts making more sense.

I got curious of the other historical details of these letters and did a bit of google searching and found this site informative Historical Background To Paul's Prison Epistles.

As always, Paul is an inspiration to take the time to be a minister for Christ. I think about how he could see the purpose in sharing the Gospel even while he was in prison.

Thank you Jesus for your grace. Amen.