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Written by Jackie Aviles, a contemporary author, coach, and Bible teacher. This is an excerpt from the book “A Beautiful Year in the Bible.”

As we journey through life, we inevitably face seasons of challenge and uncertainty. In these moments, we often feel pushed to our limits and wonder how we will navigate the difficulties ahead. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul addresses such seasons, assuring us that God strengthens us in times of trouble. Paul reiterates to the Thessalonians that their perseverance and faith amidst persecution will lead to their ultimate glorification. Holding fast to faith in difficult times isn’t just about enduring hardships; it’s about trusting that God will bless and sustain us through it all. To be strong and perseverant means leaning on one another and depending on God. The wisdom and teachings given to us by God are our lifeline. In periods of crisis, leaning into God helps guide us safely through and encourages us to uplift each other. By embracing our faith and the support of our community, we discover the resilience needed to persevere through life’s challenges…By doingn so, we can stay the course and emerge stronger on the other side. This powerful combination of faith and community provides a steadfast anchor in the midst of turmoil, empowering us to weather any storm.

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. [2 Thessalonians 2:15]

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Written by Rachel Olsen, a contemporary writer.

In 1882 U.S. cabinet maker Peter McGuire introduced his idea for a new holiday saying, “Let us have a festive day during which a parade through the streets of the city would permit public tribute to American Industry.” A dozen years later President Cleveland signed a bill into law designating the first Monday in September “Labor Day.” For many Americans today is a day off from work, a chance to cook-out and hang-out in the lingering warm weather of summer. A day off from labor, however, was not a new concept when McGuire suggested his holiday. The concept of a day of rest was first declared by the Lord in Genesis. In illustration, God rested the seventh day after creating the world and He deemed the day of rest holy. He didn’t call it Labor Day – He called it the Sabbath. Sabbath is a not a day of tribute to workers, it’s a day of tribute to their Maker. It’s a day to rest your body while renewing your mind by making the focus of the day your Maker and your relationship with Him. In the Jewish tradition, the Sabbath is the focal point of the week – not just a day of laundry or list-making to gear back up for the week ahead. The Jewish people spent three days preparing for Sabbath, and three days reflecting on what they had learned or encountered of God during the Sabbath. They were a Sabbath-focused people, and therefore a God-focused people… May this Labor Day mark the day that you and I decide to rest and become God-focused people.

And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. [Genesis 2:3]

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Written by Ken Boa, a contemporary author and founder of Reflections Ministry.

Lord, by Your grace I want to trust in You, to delight myself in You, to commit my way to You, and to be still and wait patiently for You. Thank You that I can rest in You and in this way overcome the concerns that would make me anxious. Amen.

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. [Psalm 37:3-4]

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Written by Tamisha Tyler, a contemporary theologian and artist. This is an excerpt from the book “A Beautiful Year in the Bible.”

Amidst the bustling diversity and multiculturalism of the Roman Empire, apostles like Paul and Timothy travel far and wide sharing the good news of the Gospel. The early Christian church itself reflects this diversity, made up of Jewish and Hellenistic believers both…Noticing a tendency for believers to segregate themselves across cultural lines, Paul writes to offer guidance in what it means to be a united community following Jesus. The barriers that we erect amongst each other are dismantled by Jesus; the divides that once seemed uncrossable are made insignificant by God’s uniting love and grace. Our shared identity as children of God and our shared need for God’s mercy become the most essential part of us and therefore, we stand united…But, importantly, unity does not demand uniformity. Our shared identity in Christ serves as the foundation of our unity, yet it is our differences that enhance our community’s functionality and beauty. Much like a house is made up of different rooms, each serving a specific purpose, the Church is enriched by the diversity of its members. Each person brings their own room – their experiences, talents, and perspectives—into the larger house of God’s Kingdom…In Christ, we find the capacity to appreciate and celebrate these distinctions, knowing that it is our shared redemption and love from God that truly unites us…Let us consider our communities, meditating on the barriers we may inadvertently build and how, like Christ, we might work to tear them down, not just with our words but through our actions. May we find strength in our common faith and enrich each other by celebrating our differences, drawing closer to the unity that God envisions for us all.

Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. [Ephesians 2:14]

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Written by Theodore Parker (1810-1860), an American minister, reformer, and abolitionist.

Have you ever seen men and women whom some disaster drove to a great act of prayer, and by and by the disaster was forgotten, but the sweetness of religion remained and warmed their souls? So have I seen a storm in later spring; and all was black, save where the lightning tore the cloud with thundering rent. The winds blew and the rains fell, as though heaven had opened its windows. What a devastation there was! Not a spider’s web that was out of doors escaped the storm, which tore up even the strong-branched oak. But ere long the lightning had gone by, the thunder was spent and silent, the rain was over, the western wind came up with its sweet breath, the clouds were chased away, and the retreating storm threw a scarf of rainbows over her fair shoulders and resplendent neck, and looked back and smiled, and so withdrew and passed out of sight. But for weeks long the fields held up their bands full of ambrosial flowers, and all the summer through the grass was greener, the brooks were fuller, and the trees cast a more umbrageous shade, because the storm passed by–though all the rest of the earth had long ago forgotten the storm, its rainbows and its rain

In everything ye are enriched by him (1 Corinthians 1:5)

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Written by Thomas Watson (c1620-1686), an English Puritan preacher and author.

The first fruit of love is the musing of the mind upon God. He who is in love, his first thoughts are ever upon the object. He who loves God is ravished and transported with the contemplation of God… God is the treasure and where the treasure is, there is the heart. By this we may test our love to God. What are our thoughts most upon? Can we say we are ravished with delight when we think on God? Have our thoughts got wings? Are they fled aloft? Do we contemplate Christ and glory? Oh, how far are they from being lovers of God who scarcely ever think of God!.,..A sinner crowds God out of his thoughts. He never think of God unless with horror, as the prisoner thinks of the judge.

How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you. [Psalm 139:17-18]

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Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013), an American philosopher, speaker  and writer on spiritual formation. This is an excerpt from his book “Renovation of the Heart.”

Thinking is the activity of searching out what must be true, or cannot be true, in the light of given facts or assumptions…It is a powerful gift of God to be used in the service of truth…We must apply our thinking to and with the Word of God. We must thoughtfully take the Word in, dwell upon it, ponder its meaning, explore its implications—especially as it relates to our own lives…We must thoughtfully put it into practice. We must seek the Lord by devoting our powers of thinking to understanding the facts and information of the gospel. This is the primary way of focusing our mind on him, setting him before us. When we do so, we will be assisted by God’s grace in ways far beyond anything we can understand on our own; and the ideas and images that governed the life of Christ through his thought will possess us.

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. [Hebrews 2:1]

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Written by Henry Drummond (1851-1897), a Scottish evangelist, biologist, writer, and lecturer.

Two painters each painted a picture to illustrate his conception of rest. The first chose for his scene a still, lone lake among the far-off mountains. The second threw on his canvas a thundering waterfall, with a fragile birch tree bending over the foam; and at the fork of the branch, almost wet with the cataract’s spray, sat a robin on its nest. The first was only stagnation; the last was rest. Christ’s life outwardly was one of the most troubled lives that ever lived: tempest and tumult, tumult and tempest, the waves breaking over it all the time until the worn body was laid in the grave. But the inner life was a sea of glass. The great calm was always there. At any moment you might have gone to Him and found rest. And even when the human bloodhounds were dogging Him in the streets of Jerusalem, He turned to His disciples and offered them, as a last legacy, “My peace.” Rest is not a hallowed feeling that comes over us in church; it is the repose of a heart set deep in God.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage. [John 14:27]

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Written by Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), an English preacher.

Christian, take good care of your faith, for recollect that faith is the only means whereby you can obtain blessings. Prayer cannot draw down answers from God’s throne except it be the earnest prayer of the man who believes. Faith is the telegraphic wire which links earth to Heaven, on which God’s messages of love fly so fast that before we call, He answers, and while we are yet speaking He hears us. But if that telegraphic wire of faith be snapped, how can we obtain the promise? Am I in trouble? I can obtain help for trouble by faith. Am I beaten about by the enemy? My soul on her dear Refuge leans by faith. But take faith away, then in vain I call to God. There is no other road between my soul and Heaven. Blockade the road, and how can I communicate with the Great King? Faith links me with Divinity. Faith clothes me with the power of Jehovah. Faith ensures every attribute of God in my defense. It helps me to defy the hosts of hell. It makes me march triumphant over the necks of my enemies. But without faith, how can I receive anything from the Lord? Oh, then, Christian, watch well your faith.

But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. [Luke 22:32]

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Written by Arthur Lindsley, a contemporary writer and theologian.

God’s character and knowledge provide the philosophical basis for our knowledge. God is not contradictory, and His universe is knowable. Without this truth, we could not trust our reason and science. There is much that is mysterious about God, but there is not contradiction in Him. He cannot be holy and not holy, good and not good, just and not just, and so on.

If we have no faith, He will still be faithful for He cannot go against what He is. [2 Timothy 2:13]

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