Thought for the Day - Friday 7 May

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (New Living Translation) Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Today’s reading is similar to what we read on Wednesday from the final chapter in the book of Philippians because it comes from the final chapter in the book of 1st Thessalonians and offers words of encouragement to the newly converted Christians in Thessalonika.  Although this letter or epistle is found towards the end of the New Testament, it was the first letter Paul wrote to the early churches. It is worthwhile remembering that in the early days of these new churches, there was much persecution of the converts to Christianity.  Most of the places that Paul visited and wrote letters to were Roman colonies with their own sets of beliefs and the same aspect of human nature was displayed then as is displayed now when something new comes along.  They were extremely resistant to change and reacted to it by ridiculing the Christian teaching, claiming it was just a fad and that it would pass and (when this didn’t happen), criminalising those who spread the word. I think it is interesting to note that despite the persecution and mistreatment of early Christians (and no one was persecuted and mistreated more than Paul), Paul taught them ‘always to be joyful’.  Paul didn’t teach that following Jesus would be easy, he knew that from time to time there would be doubts and perhaps difficult decisions to be made but taught that we should always be joyful in knowing that Jesus ‘died for us so that we can live with Him forever, whether we are dead or alive at the time of His return’. Prayer This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Lord hear our prayers of thanksgiving for this day and all the other days of our lives.  We thank you for the beauty of springtime that we experience every year without fail.  Help us to be happy in our faith and help us to encourage others when they are struggling with worldly issues and may every good thing we do, demonstrate that You are within our hearts, our minds and our very souls.  Amen.