WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: In quietness before God, remember those people who passed the message of Jesus on to you. Thank the Lord for speaking through them to you.

Facing opposition
The unbelieving Thessalonian Jews went to extraordinary lengths to stop Paul from spreading the gospel (Acts 17:5–15). Paul’s robust defence of his ministry (vs 1–10) suggests that these unbelievers had also mounted a vicious propaganda campaign to discredit Paul and destabilise the new Christians.

The smear campaign insinuated that Paul had duped and dumped the believers (vs 3–5). As Christians we should not be surprised if insidious rumours arise that aim to discredit us or our leaders.

High standards
According to Paul (and Peter – 1 Peter 2:11,12) we fight character assassination by living holy, blameless lives (v 10). The standards demanded of Christian leaders are very high (vs 2–12), that’s why our leaders need our prayers.
Only with the help of the Holy Spirit will they remain focused on pleasing God first and foremost (v 4). Only with God’s power will they be able to work sacrificially (v 9), modelling Christ’s selfless love, gentleness and compassion (vs 7,8) as Paul did.

We shouldn’t be discouraged by opposition. Paul saw it as confirmation that God’s word was at work (vs 13–15). And Jesus told us to rejoice in the face of persecution because it is a sign that we truly belong to God’s kingdom (Matthew 5:10–12).

Respond: Pray for Christians everywhere to live holy lives and to dare to share God’s good news even when people don’t want to hear it (v 2).

http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-10-23