WEBVTT

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Day 339, or December the 5th. Relax and enjoy

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being a believer. Our thoughts today are rooted

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in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 5. Because

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our gospel came to you not simply with words,

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but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and

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deep conviction, you know how we lived among

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you for your sake. And now the big picture surrounding

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this verse. Paul wrote two letters to the church

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in Thessalonica. Both were quite short and were

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written to a church planted by Paul on his second

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missionary journey after leaving Turkey and arriving

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at Philippi before travelling south through Greece

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to Athens via Thessalonica. The modern -day city

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of Thessaloniki stands where the ancient city

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was established, on the main road from Rome to

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the east. The main emphasis in his first letter

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is to stay focused whilst waiting for the return

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of the Lord Jesus. It appears that believers

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were idly waiting around rather than living vibrant,

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effective Christian lives. And now today's action

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step. We can so easily get into all sorts of

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problems when it comes to spreading the gospel.

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For years, I thought when you had an opportunity

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to witness, you had to cover everything. I cringe

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to think how many folk I have personally deterred

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by this approach, but the Holy Spirit is still

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in control. The secret of good witnessing is

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a good deed or a timely word, not a whole stage

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-managed passion play. When Paul writes to the

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believers in Thessalonica, he tells them to live

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the life. While the gospel is spread through

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the power of the Holy Spirit, of course, Paul

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and his team lead lives that radiate at Jesus.

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I find that really encouraging. We don't have

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to be super -witnesses, we just have to be God's

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people acting as salt and light. Pleasant manners

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in shops and as you drive, honesty with money

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and genuine friendliness with a Christian flavour,

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and no swearing. All of us can do this, so don't

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get worked up about how to witness. Just live

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your life to the full and let the Holy Spirit

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do His work.