TODAY IN THE WORD
“I can't imagine a happier life than the one I have now,” says Lilya, a divorced mother of three. Given her background, this is remarkable. Born in an atheist home in Moldova during the Soviet era, Lilya had never heard about Jesus Christ. After her divorce, she ended up living with an abusive boyfriend. She left him and moved to her mother's village where she met Christians who loved her and shared God's Word with her. Now she, her mother, and her three sons attend church each week. Lilya exclaims, “I want to tell others about His boundless love! I want to tell them how God freed my heart.”

Lilya's story shows why testimonies are such powerful evangelistic tools. Faith, love, and hope can't be seen physically in the way that height, eye color, or hair style can be. Yet these three qualities are clear evidence of lives changed by the gospel. In the opening verses of 1 Thessalonians, Paul praises God for such evidence of the gospel among the Thessalonians.

Their obedient trust in Jesus Christ was manifest in their actions. Later on, we'll see that this included contributing to the relief fund for the Jerusalem church. Next, we see that their true Christian love prompted an intentional effort that Paul here describes as “labor.” Finally, the Thessalonians persevered, indicating their hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.

These three qualities—faith, hope, and love, —occur together frequently in the New Testament. Their manifestation among the Thessalonians confirmed to Paul that God had chosen and redeemed them and was working through His Spirit to develop Christlikeness. In God's sovereign purposes, believers aren't chosen and redeemed because they are better than others or have more intrinsic goodness than those people who reject the good news of God's salvation. Rather, God calls His people so that they might serve Him and bring Him glory. Today's passage also makes it clear that salvaton proceeds from God's love, not our goodness.

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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Like Lilya, the gospel came to the Thessalonians with life-changing power. The triad of faith, love, and hope is only possible with another triad—power, the Holy Spirit, and deep conviction (v. 5). It's the gospel's power working through the Holy Spirit that convicts individuals and changes lives. In preparation for our study this month, prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there are any attitudes or habits that block the expression of faith, love, and hope in your life.

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