1 Thessalonians 1:4-10 - The journey of salvation

4 We know that God loves you, dear brothers and sisters, and that he chose you to be his own people. 5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know that the way we lived among you was further proof of the truth of our message.

6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 7 As a result, you yourselves became an example to all the Christians in Greece. 8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Greece, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don't need to tell them about it, 9 for they themselves keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God. 10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.

Ever read a passage of scripture and find that a theme or concept just jumps out at you? Well today is one of those days.

Don't know how many times I've read this but it just occurred to me that this a description of the journey of salvation of the Thessalonians. There are three means listed as being possible ways of someone finding Christ:

1. With words. There's one saying I really disagree with an that's "Preach the Gospel, and where necessary use words." That's wrong. God calls us to open our mouths - with wisdom, empathy and love - and preach the Gospel, in season and out of season.
2. With power. This is something I desperately crave to have more of. How many pathetic pseudo-philosophical arguments could be put to rest if we could just demonstrate God's power. I personally need to have more boldness in praying for healing for people.
3. Being a good ambassador of Christ. Our lives should be attractive to people. The aroma of Christ in our lives should draw people to Him, just as the smell of baking bread draws people to the kitchen (apologies for the bad illustration but you get my point). This is on three levels:
   
1. v5 - Practising what we preach. Exhibiting God's love
   
2. v5 - Demonstrating God's blessings in our lives
   
3. v6 - Demonstrating perseverance in the face of opposition/persecution

The great thing about this is that the Thessalonians then went out as Christ's ambassadors and spread the Gospel. The cycle replicates itself like tree branching out. Beautiful stuff (*sheds tear*).

How do I compare to this church? Hmmm...