Week 49: Philippians to 2 Timothy

The last 2 days of week 48 and all of our current week 49, we will read one of Paul's letters each day:

* Weekend: Philippians
* Monday: Colossians
* Tuesday: 1 Thessalonians
* Wednesday: 2 Thessalonians
* Thursday: 1 Timothy
* Friday: 2 Timothy

Reading an entire bible book in one day is a great opportunity to really understand some of the issues discussed in that book at a deeper level. It gives you a higher-level understanding of the issues that the writer addresses and tried to convey to his readers.

If you've been following our weekly series "Living to die & dying to live" at Woodhaven Community Church, you should know a lot about the book of Philippians by now. If you've missed it, you can always go on-line to listen to sermons on this letter:

http://sc.fhview.com/sc_customplayer/seriesitems/1/119313

The letter to the Colossian church is addressed to mostly non-Jewish believers. The church is commended and thanked for its solid faith. However, Paul does warn against false teachers and he calls the church to not be misguided by them, but remain steady in the faith the way it was taught. Paul emphasizes the message of God's grace, received in Jesus Christ.

Thessalonica was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia, the northern part of present-day Greece. Paul likely wrote this letter during his stay in Corinth. This letter is dated around 50 A.D. and is assumed to be the oldest document in the New Testament. Again, Paul thanks this church for its faith and their good reputation. He also calls them to remain faithful in times of persecution. The first and second letter to the Thessalonians contain a lot of valuable information regarding the end-times, the so-called anti-christ, and the corresponding second return of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the last verses of each chapter in 1 Thessalonians contain some information about this subject, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 into Chapter 5 contain a revelation that Paul received through the Holy Spirit.

The second chapter in 2 Thessalonians talks all about the person of the anti-christ. The reason Paul is writing this, is because the church believed that Jesus Christ could return any day now, and therefore they had quit working and neglecting their daily responsibilities. This is a good warning for us as well. We need to be ready for Christ's return at any time, however, we can't use that as an excuse to neglect our daily responsibilities.

Finally, the two letters of Paul to Timothy are personal letters from Paul to his beloved 'son in the faith' and partner in ministry, Timothy. These two letters, together with Paul's letter to Titus, are called the 'pastoral' letters, because like a pastor, Paul instructs, exhorts, and encourages, two of his key partners in the ministry. These letters have instructions for how church leaders should conduct themselves, which still are used as guidelines for appointing elders/leaders in today's church.

These instructions and letters have stood the test of time, and will continue to do so until Jesus will come back to take his bride with him. We encourage you to be ready for his return, by staying true to Him, and by faithfully staying in His word that brings life.

In Him,

Dick