WELCOME

This is the homepage for the University of Jesus.

You are invited to click on any of the LABELS on the lower left column of this page to begin a daily study of one of the Books of the New Testament.

After you click on the Book of your choice, simply repeatedly click on SHOW OLDER POSTS until you arrive at the first page of posts. Then scroll down to the bottom of that page for the first post of the Book.

More titles will be added soon.

God bless you.

PEACE

II Thessalonians 3:16-18

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.

Peace at all times? Even when bad things are happening around us and to us?

Peace in every way? No fear for the future, anxiety in the present or guilt over the past?

Such peace is possible, but only in the way Paul suggests here – The Lord of peace himself give you peace…

The Teacher promised to give His peace to those who trust Him. The peace He Himself lived every day in every circumstances.

Jesus was peaceful in the storms of life. At peace when His enemies attacked! Peaceful even on the cross!

Paul gives the key to receiving the peace of Jesus. It is living with the sense of His continual presence in our lives.

The Lord be with all of you.

When the Lord is present there is peace!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

WORK

II Thessalonians 3:6-15

We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies.

To some people, work is a bad word. They would rather live at the expense of another’s labor.

Here Paul lays down the law - If a man will not work, he shall not eat.

Paul doesn’t say if any cannot work, but rather if one can and won’t!

Apparently some in Thessalonica were expecting the immediate return of Jesus. They stopped working and became dependent on the largesse of others.

Not only were they a burden to hardworking friends, they became busybodies. Going from house to house, gossiping and generally being a nuisance.

Such people became a bad example of what it means to be a student of Jesus.

Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.

There is something noble in work. Right thinking people respect one who earns his own bread, even if in the most menial job.

Paul reminds them of his own conduct when he was living among them.

We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

Good students of Jesus do not feel entitled to the benefits of another’s labor. They do not take advantage of the bonds of love between believers. They remember the Teacher’s words – It is more blessed to give than to receive! To have something to give, one must work!

PRAY

II Thessalonians 3:1-5

Finally, brothers, pray…and pray…

Jesus’ life was filled with prayer. Another word for communication with His Heavenly Father!

He prayed often, sometimes all night. Other times He seemed to be in a constant state of communication with the Father. Interrupting his conversations with others to address God directly in the moment!

Prayer can and should be like that. Not only specific times when we stop what we are doing and take time to pray, but also a more general sense of God’s presence with us all the time!

A kind of running dialogue in our minds with the ever-present Teacher, Father and Holy Spirit!

Students of Jesus learn to be like their Teacher. They constantly talk to God for He is with them always.

It is natural to converse with those we love. One true measure of the strength of any relationship is the desire to communicate.

As with any relationship, specific circumstances are the subject of conversation. It is the same in our relationship to God. We can talk about anything all the time, but when situations arise we naturally pray specifically about them.

Here Paul reminds the believers to pray for certain things. For Paul and his fellow-workers! For the message of Jesus to be received by others! For personal safety from those who might persecute them!

Sometimes we share our problems with our friends. We do so knowing they do not have the ability to change the situation. We simply find comfort in someone who is willing to listen because they are interested in our welfare

Our Heavenly Father not only cares for us and hears our prayers; He has the power to help us, to change things!

May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.

SHARED GLORY

II Thessalonians 2:13-17

He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the hero. He comes from heaven on an unlikely rescue mission. He succeeds gloriously!

He alone lives a perfect life, overcomes every temptation!

He dies alone, paying for the sins of everyone who ever lived!

He becomes the first to defeat death, rising never to die again!

The glory is all His!

But wait!

Jesus graciously shares His glory with everyone who trusts Him. The Good News of His victory over sin and death is the message of the Gospel. Those who believe enter into all the benefits of His victory!

...Saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

Students of Jesus share in the glory of their Teacher. The honor of forgiveness of sins! An invitation to live with Him forever!

And more...we are invited to share His glory now through a changed life - So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you…

The glory of Jesus enlightens our hearts and lives. His victory gives us hope for the future and His teaching give us power for the present. His power works in us to change our hearts and win victories every day!

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

LOVE THE TRUTH

II Thessalonians 2:1-12

For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

The truth must be loved to be received. If a person does not love the truth, he is liable to believe a lie.

It is the truth that saves. A lie can only condemn.

Here Paul warns about a secret power of lawlessness already at work. It is the work of Satan in the world.

This is no surprise. In the very beginning it was he who led Adam and Eve into rebellion against God’s command. Lawlessness is his goal for mankind, and ultimate ruin his plan for the world.

Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden because of disobedience. Willful disobedience to God is wickedness. And wickedness leads to destruction.

Here Paul predicts the coming of the man of lawlessness!

He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Many ideas about who this person is have been proposed through the years. Some have even suggested is not one person, but a general state of lawlessness that will pervade society immediately before Jesus comes.

It is not as important to know exactly who or what Paul is talking about as it is to avoid falling into the trap of lawlessness. This is done by loving the truth of God.

There are two spirits evidently at work in the world today: lawlessness and obedience.

Nobody likes to be told what to do. There is a spirit of rebellion in every person. But anyone who has been changed by the power of God loves to be told what to do by Jesus.

HELL

II Thessalonians 1:6-12

They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power…

God’s grace only looms large in our minds when we understand what would happen to us without it! When we realize the ultimate fate awaiting those who do not receive God’s grace revealed in Jesus!

Paul says – God is just!

What does this mean?

It means His very nature is about fairness. While God is also merciful, His mercy does not make Him unfair. Every wrong must be made right!

Those who are persecuting the believers in Thessalonica will be punished. In fact, every sin will receive a fair penalty. And sin’s punishment is separation from God, hell!

But God is more than just. He is also love. His love sends Jesus to take our punishment on the cross.

Jesus’ death pays for the sins of those who trust Him. Another fate awaits those who reject God’s grace. They will pay for their own sins!

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

The thought of hell – separation from God – is a terrible thought. The idea of evil behavior going unpunished is equally troubling.

God is just and loving. Jesus takes the punishment of our sins. Now when God graciously extends the mercy of forgiveness, He is also just because the price of sin was paid by Jesus.

Why do you think Jesus spoke so often about the reality of hell?

He wanted the world to know the greatness of God’s saving grace.

GRACE AND PEACE

II Thessalonians 1:1-5

Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace! What gifts from God!

God’s grace is revealed in the coming of Jesus. His perfect life freely given up on the cross for our sins!

What does this empowering grace produce?

Faith!

Trust in Jesus is the hallmark of His students.

Grace also brings peace. Peace with God and therefore peace within. And peace in our relationships!

For Grace which produces trust and brings peace also fills our hearts with God’s love. The same love that flows out to the world in the coming of Jesus, now overflows from our hearts to others by the power of the Holy Spirit within.

Paul’s prayer is for God’s grace and peace to continue to be with them. For the results are already growing in the lives of the Christians in Thessalonica!

Your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

The Teacher says – He who is forgiven much, loves much!

Love for one another is proof of God’s grace. Love in our hearts is the evidence of our relationship with Jesus.

All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

How can students of Jesus know they are following the Teacher? A growing trust in Him and increasing love in our hearts for others!

INTRODUCTION TO II THESSALONIANS

This second letter to the church in Thessalonica is very similar to the first one.

It commends the believers’ perseverance under persecution and teaches about the Second Coming of Jesus.

Since the content is similar to the first letter, it is generally thought to have been written a short time after the first. Probably while Paul was still in Corinth about 50 A.D.

It is natural for any dynamic group of believers to have questions about many things, as well as problems. But this is especially true of a new fellowship. So it is not unusual the relatively young church in Thessalonica would have issues Paul needed to address.

This letter is filled with encouragement to continue to follow Jesus as well as correction about some false ideas.

Paul is a good student of Jesus. Remember how Jesus explained many things to His disciples when He was present with them? But no more so than in the hours before His death!

This was because He knew His departure would alter His relationship with them. He would be physically separated from them.

Here Paul is in a similar situation, having been forced to leave Thessalonica because of death threats. And like Jesus, Paul has a strong desire to communicate the truths they need to survive in his absence.

No doubt, Paul would prefer to speak face to face with them about the problems he has heard about in the church there. Unable to do so, he writes a second letter to clear up some misunderstandings that have developed.

There are four themes in the letter:

1. Commendation for the progress in faith they have made.
2. Encouragement to continue in the face of persecution.
3. Correction of certain behavior arising from false ideas about Jesus’
immediate return.
4. Instruction about the true nature and time of Jesus’ return.

The overall thrust is to establish the church on a more firm foundation.

BLAMELESS?

I Thessalonians 5:23-28

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.

Is it possible to be thoroughly sanctified, set apart for God? Is a blameless life attainable for students of Jesus?

Paul says it is!

But how?

Here is the precise point many students of Jesus go wrong. They mistakenly think holiness depends only on their efforts. They attempt it on their own.

They fail of course. Sin often, get discouraged with themselves and sometimes give up! The exact opposite result Paul hopes for the new believers in Thessalonica!

Students of Jesus can grow in the likeness of Jesus, sin less and less, and do many good things, but they can never live completely blameless/sinless lives.

Being blameless can only come through trust in Jesus's work, not personal effort. It is not something believers can do for themselves! Note carefully what Paul wrote about this:

May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is praying for someone to keep them blameless! But who?

The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

It is God, through Jesus’ life, forgiving every sin and declaring us to be blameless. Keeping us blameless in spite of our many failings!

Students of Jesus cooperate with the leading of the Spirit. Often overcome sin and do the right thing. Fulfill their destiny, become more like the Teacher! But...

The very best student of Jesus can never be blameless in their thoughts and actions. Yet, by the grace of God the worst students are kept blameless! What an encouraging thought to close this Letter!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

BE HAPPY

I Thessalonians 5:16-22

Be joyful always…for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Always?

Is it possible to be happy all the time? Happy when you lose a job? Happy when the doctor gives you a bad report? Happy when a loved one dies?

Sorrow and pain are a part of every life. So how can one be joyful in such circumstances?

Paul is not talking about living without some negative feelings when bad things happen. He is saying that students of Jesus can maintain a joyful spirit even in the worst times.

Jesus said - In the world you will have trouble. Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world!

Our deep and lasting joy is belonging to Jesus. This joy transcends circumstances. Our most valuable possession – our relationship to Him – cannot be destroyed by any of the bad things that happen in life.

Paul continues by giving advice for being joyful always – Pray continually. By communicating our problems to God, we gain a measure of peace because we trust Him to work everything out for our ultimate good.

Paul also counsels – Give thanks in all circumstances. In every situation – good and bad – students of Jesus learn to find something for which to be thankful. They learn to look up and see beyond the temporary setback to the ultimate victory Jesus has already won for them.

You will never meet a thankful person who is not also a happy person. When we focus on what we don’t have or what is wrong with what we do have, we are caught up in ourselves. But when we thank God, our thoughts are on Him.

We can be joyful always because we know God wants us to be happy. And God is powerful to make us so. Joy…is God’s will for us!

PEACEMAKERS

I Thessalonians 5:12-15

Live in peace with each other.

Peace with God, peace within and peace between people! What is more important than peace? Every good thing is possible only in peace.

Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, because He alone can create peace in all of these areas of life.

He is our peace with God. He makes this peace by His death on the cross in our place. Paying for our sins!

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God forgives all who trust in Him. Forgiven by God we enjoy a clean conscience before Him. Inner peace!

At peace with God and peaceful in our souls, we make peace with others. If we receive the peace of Jesus, we freely give what we have been given. We do everything to live in peace with everyone else.

Paul gives some very practical advice about how to keep the peace in all our relationships.

First, he counsels respect for our spiritual leaders. If everyone is doing their own thing without regard for those God has appointed as leaders, chaos – not peace – is the result.

Paul encourages a strong work ethic. Staying busy occupies the mind and body productively and effectively removes many temptations and troubles between people.

Paul advises help and encouragement toward the weak. And patience with everyone! He also warns against the tendency to get even when someone wrongs us.

In these ways, a student of Jesus becomes more like the Teacher - a peacemaker! Making peace is how Jesus lives. Only following Him makes this kind of life possible for us!

Always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

PREPARED

I Thessalonians 5:1-11

About times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Here Paul echoes the words of Jesus. The Lord’s return will be unexpected. Like a thief in the night!

But Paul says students of Jesus who are paying attention to the Teacher will not be surprised - But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

We may not know the time of Jesus’ second coming, but we know He is coming! The logical response is to be prepared all the time. In this way, students of Jesus will be prepared whenever it happens.

They prepare by staying alert and self-controlled. Watchful and expectant! Restraining behavior contrary to the desires of the Teacher!

In fact, Paul here repeats the caution to be self-controlled, because giving in to temptations leads to an unprepared heart and life. Surprised by the Lord’s sudden arrival!

Paul also encourages them to live in faith, love and hope. These three work together to create a prepared heart and life.

Faith in Jesus leads to choices pleasing to Him. Love proves and sustains our relationship with Him. And hope produces constancy and endurance.

Those who do not trust Jesus, love Him, and hope for His return will not be prepared when it happens. Paul says such people are in the darkness.

On the other hand, students of Jesus are in the light. They understand. And together, they support one another in staying prepared.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

FOREVER

I Thessalonians 4:13-18

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

Apparently some in Thessalonica think only those who are alive when Jesus returns will be saved. They mistakenly believe they will be forever separated from their loved ones who happen to die before Jesus comes.

Not so! Paul tells them the dead will actually the first to be with Jesus!

According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive...will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep…For the Lord himself will come down from heaven…and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Here is the order: Jesus returns. The dead rise to meet the Lord. The living join them.

This is what the resurrection of Jesus means to His students. Death is not the end of the relationships they hold so dear in this life. There is no final Goodbye at the grave.

This is the great hope of the resurrection of Jesus. It means Jesus is alive and those who follow Him will be with Him. And it also means they will also be re-united with all other students of Jesus, even those who are in the grave!

We do not want our closest relationships to end. We want them to continue forever! The resurrection of Jesus answers this great desire of our hearts.

When Jesus returns what a reunion it will be! How long will it last? Paul says – forever!

And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

ANY TIME NOW

I Thessalonians 4:11,12

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you…

God supernaturally intervened in human history. God came down to earth…Jesus came! His birth, death and resurrection! Amazing things!

Jesus also ascended into heaven, promising an even more spectacular return to claim those who believe in Him.

Those who lived at the time of these incredible events naturally expected Jesus to return any day. Imagine the temptation to interrupt the daily routine of work and all the essential chores of life. Why bother if it will all end soon?

Simply stop and wait expectantly for Jesus to come back and rescue from all of life’s struggles. Run around excitedly, talking of nothing else!

It is this temptation Paul addresses here. Since nobody knows when Jesus will return, he reminds the Thessalonians of his prior instructions about this. Settle down, mind your own business and keep your job!

As students of Jesus, they have an obligation to be good employees and good citizens. They should be concerned about their influence with those who do not yet share their enthusiasm for Jesus.

…so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

If they become idle, shiftless and dependent on others, it won’t be long before students of Jesus will be the object of scorn by hard-working, conscientious people. The very people they should be influencing to become students of Jesus also!

Today, with nearly 2,000 years between us and the mind-boggling events of Jesus’ life on earth, students of Jesus better understand this truth. Life goes on, and so must we…even if we expect Him to return any time now.

MORE AND MORE

I Thessalonians 4:1-10

Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living.

Paul reveals an amazing truth here. It is possible to live in such a way that God is pleased!

Paul doesn’t say the believers could live perfect lives. If such were possible then Jesus’ death on the cross would make no sense, since He died for the sins of the world!

But Paul does say our lives can be pleasing to God. Not sinless, but sinning less by becoming more like Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit within.

Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

With the help of the Holy Spirit within, becoming more like the Teacher is a growing, developing life-process - Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.

As students of Jesus learn to think and act more like Him, God is more and more pleased!

This is an awesome thought! What we think about, what we say and what we do is of interest to our Creator. And we have it within our power to please Him!

Pleasing God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is on the mind of these students of the Teacher. Though Paul reminds them who they are following - For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

Twice Paul uses the phrase, more and more, to describe his expectation for the believers in Thessalonica. Becoming more and more like Jesus is the destiny of every student of the Teacher!

COMMUNICATING?

I Thessalonians 3:1-13

Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again...

Why does Paul write? He is in relationship with these new Christians and desires to communicate with them any way he can! If he can’t be with them in person, he writes a letter!

Communication is the essence of relationship. Proof of love, care and concern! Without it, there is no living connection.

Sometimes people speak of a personal relationship with Jesus, but few can explain what this these words actually mean.

Some think they have a relationship with Jesus because they pray to Him for forgiveness. Others may think they have a personal relationship with Jesus because they go to church.

Going to church and believing Jesus is the Savior does not necessarily lead to a close personal relationship with Him.

Praying on Sunday at church is fine, but what about all the other days in the week? See you next Sunday, Jesus!

Is it possible to have a personal relationship with Jesus only one day in the week?

Students of Jesus are in close contact with the Teacher. They are developing the discipline of awareness of His presence! They seek to be in personal moment-by-moment dialogue with Him.

Each moment of every day the relationship renews as every experience is shared with the Teacher. In real-time communication! Not only in church, at meals or before sleep at night!

The more a student pays attention to the Teacher, the closer the relationship becomes as positive changes create greater desire for more communication. In this dynamic personal relationship, students are changed to become more like the Teacher.

Communicating?

RELATIONSHIPS

I Thessalonians 2:17-20

But, brothers, when we were torn away from you…out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.

We strongly desire to be with those we love. Something is missing when we are separated from them. That’s how Paul feels about the students of Jesus in Thessalonica.

When he was forced to leave the city under extreme duress, he missed them. He wanted to return to be with them, because he grew to love them.

Paul had another relationship. A personal connection with the Teacher, Jesus Christ! It changed his life!

Being a student of Jesus filled his heart with such love and joy. He wanted to share this relationship with those who didn’t have it. That’s what led him from his home in Tarsus to the city of Thessalonica in the first place.

There, he found men and women who – through his life and teaching – entered into a relationship with Jesus also.

The relationship Paul enjoyed with his new brothers and sisters was the creation of Jesus. A bond second in intensity only to his relationship with the Teacher!

It is Jesus who creates relationships. He came to earth to bring people into a relationship with God, through Him. And everyone who comes into relationship with Jesus enjoys a connection with every other believer.

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

This is the unique and amazing thing about a relationship with Jesus and those who follow Him – There is no final parting, no end!

LIKE JESUS

I Thessalonians 2:6-16

For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children...

Paul reminds the believers in Thessalonica how he treated them when he was with them. He behaved like Jesus. That’s what good students of the Teacher try to do.

Jesus not only taught His followers about love, compassion and mercy, He lived His message. He practiced what He preached. His students experienced a personal demonstration of the truths gave.

The life of Jesus reveals a Teacher who was patient with His students. They often failed to understand His teaching at first. And they were slow to change their way of thinking and living.

Time and again, Jesus gently repeated the principles of the kingdom of God, using examples from everyday life, parables and illustrations. Above all, Jesus kept living the principles in His own life.

Understanding the Teacher’s way, Paul also exhibited patience with those he hoped would become students of Jesus - we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.

Jesus was a living example of the kind of life He called everyone to live. By following Jesus, Paul also served as a model of good behavior before his hearers - You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.

Paul was a good student of the Teacher. He reminds the believers in Thessalonica how he treated them. - Encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Paul personally experienced the love of Jesus and it changed his life - We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well…

Students of Jesus become like the Teacher!

MOTIVES

I Thessalonians 2:1-6

We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.

Why do students of Jesus do what they do? Of course, it is important to try to do the right thing, but perhaps more crucial – from God’s point of view - are the motives for our actions.

Paul knows what he is talking about from personal experience. Both as a persecutor of Christians in his early life and now as an apostle in later life!

In both instances, Paul seeks to please God. He persecutes Christians when he mistakenly thinks it pleases God. Then he meets Jesus and begins to teach the Good News for the same reason!

Paul sums it up with these words - We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.

Here Paul informs the believers in Thessalonica about what motivates him to teach about Jesus. To become successful students of Jesus they too must learn to have a higher motive for following Him than seeking the approval of people.

With the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.

Knowing this is a tremendous encouragement to the new Christians because they too face opposition. Like Paul, they must learn to seek to please God even if it means the disapproval of others.

Pleasing the Teacher is the motivation for every successful student of Jesus. For to become more like Him will sometimes bring persecution from others! Why?

Sometimes because of jealousy or prejudice! Often because doing the right thing makes those who are unwilling to change their lives feel condemnation by comparison. If anyone can change for the better, then everyone could! People do what they do, but God is testing their hearts, the motives.