ID: IMAGO DEI – A Study in the book of 1 Thessalonians Week 3: SHINE

 I remember when one of our elders, Scott, showed me the news of the shut-down of the NBA. No more basketball. Frustrating. Then no March Madness. Righteous indignation! 😊 

Then the shut down of large gatherings. My little sister, Talicia, is getting ready for her wedding on April 18. This is a big deal. 41 years old – never been married. TONS of people who love her coming to celebrate… not anymore. 

I was angry at the news that churches had to shut down. The government, I argued, can’t tell a church what to do!

Then you go out there and you see the run on essentials – and you start to wonder is this the end of the world? No toilet paper?? 😊

Here’s a question for those of you who follow Jesus: what if it IS?

No matter what the timeline of the last days are – and as we proceed through the writings of Paul to the Thessalonian church over the next several weeks, we will definitely look at how the Apostle viewed the end times – the main reason we are even told about the troubles in this world is that those who are in God’s family would respond in a much different way than how the world responds.

What are we going to do in times like these? Will we ignore it and act like everything’s ok? Does trusting God really mean that we act in a foolhardy way because somehow we believe that He has this policy of not letting anything uncomfortable or bad happen to His children? That somehow God has this gigantic Norton Anti-Virus that He shields us with?