Category Archives: Eternity

Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christ's Return, Comfort, Commands, Completeness, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Family, Fatherhood, Glory, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Love, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Motherhood, Obedience, Prayer, Resurrection, Sanctification, Suffering, Surrender

BAD BREATH

2 THESSALONIANS 2:8

“Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;” 

Excuse my thought process, lol. But I just could not resist when I read this verse. I am NOT insinuating that the Lord will have bad breath. But, unlike His first appearance on earth, He will be one “bad” dude when He returns. He won’t come as baby. He will come as Ruler and Judge. And this lawless one will pay the price simply by the breath of His mouth.

Now, that word “breath” is the Greek word pneuma, which can also be translated as spirit. In fact, it is the same word used in the title of “Holy Spirit.” I don’t think that is a coincidence, do you? The very breath of God, the very Spirit of God will slay the lawless one. No weapon is needed.

APPLICATION

Here is the great part of that verse. That same “breath” of the Lord is living in us as believers. We have that power coursing through us every day, if we just tap into it. Now, we aren’t going to slay someone with our breath (unless we have been eating a lot of garlic). But the Lord stands ready to defeat any enemy we face. All we have to do is mention His name, and the enemy flees.

We need to teach our children the importance on relying on the Lord to fight their battles. Surrender to Him first, allow Him to work in their lives, and He will stand ready to defend us. He will protect His children, just you do all you can to protect them as their earthly parent. The difference is you can’t be with them all the time. He can and will.

Are you in need of the “breath” of God today? Are you facing unknown forces that are trying to tear you down and destroy you? Allow Him to reign in and through you. Then step back and watch Him work. He is ready. Are you?

Your breath is sweet to me but harsh to the unbeliever. Help me share your breath with others. I want them to also experience its sweetness. 

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Advice, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christ's Return, Christianity, Comfort, Commands, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Evangelism, Glory, God's Will, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Mentoring, Obedience, Parenting, Rapture, Sanctification, Surrender

OUTLAWS

2 THESSALONIANS 2:3

“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,” 

Who is this “man of lawlessness” or this “son of destruction”? Well, you could read a dozen commentaries and probably get two dozen opinions. Some believe it referred to one of the Caesars. Others think it was the Pope. Others believe it represented a group of men through history. We won’t know Paul’s exacts thoughts through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit until we see him in glory.

Paul is telling the Thessalonians that certain things must take place before Christ returned. The same still holds true today. We shall always have lawless and destructive men around us. Some men have no other desire than to try to destroy anything holy. That is what Paul is talking about. They are outlaws of the faith. They want nothing to do with it.

APPLICATION

Warning our children of these men’s deception is critical. These types of “outlaws” don’t necessarily wear black hats. They come disguised so as to deceive and lead away unsuspecting people. Our children need to be prepared to recognize and detect these individuals. Leaving them defenseless is not smart and could cost them their very eternity.

“Wow, Carl, you are getting pretty heavy.” You think? Well, that’s the beauty of going verse by verse in the Bible. This is NOT my soapbox. It’s God’s. I didn’t write this. He did. And He still wants to warn us to be watchful and prepared. Parents for generations have taught their children the truth to protect them from evil men. We must do the same.

Let me ask you a question. Can you recognize these evil men? Are you grounded in the Word enough that you can discern when one of these “outlaws” tries to lead you astray? I pray you are. One good way to know is ask yourself if what you are being asked to do will glorify Jesus. If it won’t, then don’t go down that road. We should always be pointing others to Him.

Thank You, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit can tell me when I am wrong. Help me listen more closely to His voice. Give me the wisdom and discernment to spot evil and wicked people who desire to lead me astray.

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KEEP IT TOGETHER

2 THESSALONIANS 2:2

“that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.” 

In verse 1 of chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians Paul makes a request of the church there. This is it! Keep it together! Don’t get upset! Don’t let some spirit or message or letter get you all excited. Rumors were spreading that Jesus had already returned and they had missed Him. People were beginning to doubt the message Paul had given them concerning the return of the Lord. So, Paul was asking them to just calm down.

Have you ever planned to meet someone for an important meeting? What if you had that all planned and when you got there someone told you that you had just missed them? Would you be upset? You may have been planning this meeting for days, weeks or even months and now you missed it. It was a potential life changing meeting. That is what was happening right here in this verse.

APPLICATION

Has your child ever missed the bus or a ride home? Many children do that. In fact, it happens all the time. The next time that happens or you hear of it happening to one of their friends, pull out this verse. The Thessalonians thought they had missed their “ride home.” They were anticipating the return of Christ to carry them to heaven. Now they were “stuck” here on earth, looking like idiots for believing Paul.

The difference in your child missing a ride and us missing Jesus’ return is one is temporal and the other is eternal. If your child is a believer, there is NO WAY they can miss that ride. It’s a guaranteed trip. But if they aren’t a Christian, well… 

Do you have your ticket punched for the ride home? If you do, don’t worry or fret about when Christ is returning. He will, and when He does, He will carry all of us to Glory. Do you know some friends or family who are saved? If so, take the time today to share with them the saving knowledge of Christ so they too can be assured of that trip.

O God, give me the opportunity today to be a deliverer of that ticket to someone. Let me show them the way home to You.

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Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christ's Return, Christianity, Commands, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, God's Will, Heaven, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Rapture, Sanctification, Witnessing

COMING TOGETHER

2 THESSALONIANS 2:1

“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,” 

Isn’t it funny how circumstances can change how we ask people things? For instance, if you know you will never see someone ever again, you might be led to ask them something you REALLY want to know. If you are going to see them the next day, you might wait until later. Timing is everything when it comes to choosing your words.

Paul is beginning this second chapter (remember, there weren’t chapters in the original letter) by saying, “Since Jesus is coming and we will all be together, I need to ask you for something.” We’ll see what he asks for later. But in today’s verse he is setting the stage. He is sure they will be together and that Jesus is coming. So, with that in mind, he feels free to ask them anything.

APPLICATION

We need to teach our children how to be more tactful when it comes to asking people things, right? Have your children ever asked someone something that embarrassed you? Kids can do that. They don’t have a filter yet. As they get older they learn the appropriate time to ask certain things. But they also may lose some of that boldness.

For example, I have a nephew who would ask total strangers on a plane or in the airport if they were saved. I was humbled by his boldness. He wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed to ask that question. Why should he be? We shouldn’t be. In fact, since the Lord is coming back (as Paul says), shouldn’t we be bold asking our friends and neighbors that very question. 

Will you be bold today? Will you ask the question since He’s coming soon? Don’t put it off. Tomorrow may be too late. He’s on His way. And He wants all who are willing to come with Him to heaven. Don’t you?

I will ask someone today, Lord, what their eternal plan is. I want to be bold and deliberate as I talk to friends and strangers alike. Give me the courage to speak!

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Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christ's Return, Christianity, Comfort, Eternity, Family, Heaven, Inspirational, Parenting

BLOWN AWAY

2 THESSALONIANS 1:10

“when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.” 

That was the best I could come up with for a title today – Blown away. Just look at this verse. Jesus will be GLORIFIED AND MARVELED AT!!! You have to see these words. The Greek word for “glorified” is only used twice in the New Testament, here and two verses later. It means to be seen in a state or conditionof acknowledged glory because the object is recognized as glorious. In other words, HE IS GLORIOUS!

Then we see “marveled at” which means to be astonished out of your mind. You can’t believe what you are seeing. It is too exceptional to take in. Do you understand this? When He returns He will appear as He really is, not like He did before. We will literally be blown away by what we see. 

APPLICATION

Ask your children to describe something they have seen that blew them away. Johnny may describe seeing an incredible sunrise or sunset at the beach. Susie might talk about seeing her little brother when he was first born. Whatever they mention, help them put it into words and write it down.

Then take them to this verse which the Lord has given us today. Explain that sometimes even the Lord finds it hard to put into human words how something is going to look. Get your children to draw what they think this verse is describing. You may get an interesting picture, but it will be worth it. 

How do you describe the Lord in your life right now? Is He glorious? Are you marveling at Him? Don’t wait for His return to see Him like this! He is already in this condition. He wants you to see Him like this. He wants you to experience His glory and to be marveled. Take it in, like a sunset evening on a summer night. Let His beauty envelope you.

Father, I can’t begin to describe how I see You. You are far too glorious for words. I do stand in amazement and am marveled at You.

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SEPARATION

2 THESSALONIANS 1:9

“These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,”

What could be worse than eternal separation from God? No forgiveness, no redemption and, as it says here, eternal destruction. Now, you have to understand something about that word “destruction.” It does not mean that you will cease to be. It really means total ruin without extinction. Who wants that?

When I moved back to Chattanooga in 2007, I moved ahead of my family due to my daughter’s last year in high school. We didn’t want to pull her out that situation. So, we commuted back and forth to Lakeland, FL for eleven and a half months. We made it work but being separated for that amount of time on a daily basis was horrible. I can’t imagine an eternal separation.

APPLICATION

The next time you have to be away from your children draw out a countdown for them to mark off. For each day you are away they can put an “X” on that day when it is complete. This way they can see the days getting closer when you return to them. When you get home ask them how it felt to be apart for that time. Hopefully, they will tell you how much they missed you.

The Father feels the same way. He wants us home. He can’t wait until we are in His presence. He can’t make us come home, but He will do everything in His power to lead us that way. But, because He is a holy God, He can’t allow us to enter into His presence if we haven’t surrendered to His Son. We, in fact, force our own eternal destruction and separation by choosing to ignore His commands to repent.

Are you surrendered to Him? Are you headed home? I pray you are. If you aren’t, would you make that right today? If you aren’t sure, make it sure today. There is no greater peace than knowing your eternal destiny. And as you make sure of that, spread the news to others. Help them make sure too.

I know where I am headed one day, Lord. I look forward to seeing Your face. Help me spread the good news to as many as possible along the way.

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