Read: Jeremiah 12:1-14:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-29; Psalm 79:1-13; Proverbs 24:30-34
Jeremiah was a prophet that God had do prophetic acts to give the people living pictures of what they looked like in God’s eyes and what he was doing. Jeremiah was to get a linen belt and hide it in the rocks. When he came back days later, he dug the belt out of the rocks and it was useless. The belt represented Israel who God was saying was useless to him because they had become so filthy in sin. God was going to expose their sin and punish them for them.
Paul commends the church of the Thessalonians for their love and endurance that had been an inspiration to them and other believers. They lived in a time of great persecution and suffering for their faith. Their joy in the midst of it had become a model for the other churches. Everyone had heard of their great faith. They came from a life of idols and sin to follow Christ. Paul recounted his hardship also. When the early believers became Christians, they gave up everything to become a follower. We have it really easy today. Our persecution may be a little rejection but nothing like they faced.
Lord, help us to realize that what we have in Christ is worth dying for, even if we never have to suffer the persecution that Paul and his followers did.
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