God Directs, Man Directs?

Paul makes an interesting comment here (2 Thess 3.5). He doesn't say "Make sure to direct your hearts into the love of God," although he certainly could have. He in essence says, "May the Lord direct your hearts…"

I think there is a sense in which we make the effort to direct our heart to the love of God, and God directs our hearts to do the same thing.

Vengeance

Startling wording from Paul in 1 Thess 1.8,9. What awaits those who "know not God" and who do not "obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" is "everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power." This is not politically correct wording, with which Paul was not in the least concerned. Rather he was concerned about communicating the truth just because he understood the reality of "everlasting destruction."

That No Man...Defraud his Brother

According to BDAG the word translated "defraud" in the KJV (1 Thess 4.6) means: To take advantage of, outwit, exploit, cheat. While the context is of sexual sin, and it certainly has application to that, the broader application is to any number of things. For instance, selling your brother something that you know is worth much less than you sell it, like it is broken and you know it, but he does not. Cheating is similar, an example might be buying something from him that you know is much more valuable than what he is charging, but he doesn't know it.

We Were not Idle

Paul and those with him worked hard night and day both proclaiming the gospel and working (in Paul's case as a tentmaker) to support themselves on the road while pursuing his God-given mission of reaching the Gentiles. There is a great example here for us. We are not to aim for retirement per se; we are to aim for ceaseless labor for the cause of Christ, until he calls us home. If we are confined due to health then we can labor ceaselessly in prayer, but there is almost always something we can be doing in terms of ministry. Brothers (and sisters) let us not be idle.

Eternal Comfort; Wonderful Hope

Two results of grace listed in 2 Thess 2.16: "Now may our Lord Jesus himself and God our father, who loved us and through his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say."

Grace gives us eternal comfort through its promise of an eternal rest into which we enter. This is the hope that sustains us as we labor.