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Prepare for the day of the Lord

REFLECTION

Buiding up each other is the theme for our reflection. To build up someone means to develop or advance the person into a particular desirable kind of person. Paul encourages the Church in Thessalonica to guard against sin and to prepare for the Advent of the Jesus Christ which is also known as the Day of the Lord by building up each other.

Preparing for the day of the Lord must not necessarily be viewed by Christians as an individual affair. Preparing for the day of the Lord is not like a final exams whereby one prepares individually to pass an exams on a determinable date and time. In as much as individually we strive to do the will of God and abide by Scripture by “putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8), we must also be spiritually concious “that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2), “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up…” (Thessalonians 5:11). In others words, there are two important tasks to fulfill as we await the day of the Lord. Firstly, we must build ourselves up individually and secondly, we must build up each other as a community of faith.

It is important to build up each other because many are spiritually weak in the church although they might belong to church groups and frequent worship services on Sundays. We must build up each other because there is an unsaved population in the Church of Christ. There are many who attend church yet are addicted to ponograhy, masturbation, drunkenness, illicit drugs, slander, gossip and the likes, there are others who are grossly engaged in sexual immorality and all manner of evil and corrupt practices. My dear friends Paul reminds us that “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us…” (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

The Advent season offers us the opportunity to build up each other even as we eagerly await the Day of the Lord. We must continually pray and share the Word of God with each other and more importantly show love and mercy to those who are under the bondage of sin just so we can free them into the priceless Salvation of Christ. Shalom.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, strengthen us to embrace and build up each other even as we continue to pray and live by Your Word and will for our lives. May we influence and build up the broken hearted and those who are lost as a result of sin so that they may be counted among the faithfuls on the day of the Lord. Amen

Jean-Paul Agidi (Rev)