Send God’s grace and peace
This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God give you grace and peace. 1 Thessalonians 1:1
As I began reading the book of Thessalonians (which is the next book after Colossians), I realized I didn’t know it was written by Paul, Silas and Timothy. I had always been under the impression that it was another letter from Paul. It occurred to me that these three men of God were sending words of encouragement to the church in Thessalonica. They begin their letter by sending God’s grace and peace. Isn’t this amazing? They are actually sending God’s grace and peace to them through the mail . . . through their letter and words of encouragement. Of course, God’s grace and peace came to them through the prayers of Paul, Silas and Timothy, but now they are letting them know that God’s grace and peace are on the way to them if they haven’ already received it.
How comforting these words must have been to those believers when they received the letter. To know that Paul, Silas and Timothy were thinking about them, praying for them and that God’s grace and peace were with them all the time.
We can do the same thing today too, and it is a lot easier for us. We can pray for friends and loved one that live far from us. We can pray for those we have shared salvation with even though we are not with them every day and we can pray for missions and ministries that we may not even know the people personally. We can send them God’s grace and peace as we pray for them. Then, we can message them. We can encourage those far from us with a text or an email to let them know we are thinking of them and praying for them. These are simple things, but sometimes we get so caught up in life that we forget that we are here to love and encourage one another. Think what a difference it would make in so many lives if each of us reached out to others every time as we thought about them . . . even if we just prayed for them, what a change it would make.
Today I want to encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to put someone on your heart to pray God’s grace and peace on and then reach out and encourage them with that grace and peace. Take time in your prayer time and ask God who is struggling today that you can pray for or who may need a voice of inspiration in their life? Then go a step further and reach out to people you know and even those you don’t know so well. You could have the only uplifting words they ever hear in their life. That is sure to make a impact!
Today’s scripture reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-7
The Daily Dose 