Monday, August 9
Read II Thessalonians 2
Think About It:
- In light of all that’s been said in verses 1-12, in verse 13 Paul begins with the word but – (yet, nevertheless, even so, still – any of these words could be substituted for but) and continues to be thankful for the brethren. Why? What did God do? And how?
- What two things did Paul tell them to do in verse 15?
- Read verses 16 and 17, as if Paul were blessing you with them.
Family Time:
- What is Paul’s warning in verse 3? *Deceive means to trick someone into believing something that is not true.
- In verse 10, why does it say the people were deceived? Because they did not receive the _____ of the _____, that they might be saved!
- The people did not love the truth, but their own ways. They did the things that made them happy, even if it was against God’s laws and commands. So when the man of lawlessness came, and did all kinds of powerful signs and lying wonders, they were deceived, because they did not love God’s truth. This is a very, very serious thing to think about. Many, many people will (and are) fall away from the Lord, and will leave His truth to serve themselves. We need to be sure we truly know the Lord, and love Him and His truth more than anything else. He will keep us safe from being tricked if we stay close to Him.
- Here’s a picture to help you understand something important. People who work with money in a bank have to study the money. They look at it closely and memorize what it looks like. They are never shown fake money. They just get to know everything about the real money. That way, if a piece of fake money comes through, they will be able to spot it right away and say, “hey something doesn’t look right here”! The same is true with not being deceived. God has given us His word so that we can know Him and know His truth. If we fill our hearts and minds with His word, and with His Spirit, we will be able to see the lies clearly when they come, and not listen to them. But if we don’t know the truth, and we just fill up our minds and hearts with whatever we feel like… we can easily be tricked. So KNOW Jesus – He is the way, the TRUTH, and the Life!!! Be blessed as you seek Him!
