The weather in Germany is much cooler than it was when we left Texas!  The high temperatures here are less than the low temps were back home!

The cooler weather seems to put me in the mood for the holidays, and makes me remember things like

  • a huge Thanksgiving meal with family and friends
  • Christmas shopping (although more of that seems to be done online these days rather than in stores)
  • all the parties and gatherings associated with the season
  • Special worship services for Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas.

Those things have occurred in the past and will happen again in the future. I have to be careful not to focus only on the past and the future, because it is easy to forget all about the PRESENT!

This was a problem in Thessalonica that Paul addressed in his two letters to that group of believers. They had heard the good news of salvation and were looking forward to the return of Jesus. However, some of them went overboard, neglecting their daily tasks and jobs, and simply waiting for Jesus to come again. Paul tells them this is wrong. Of course we must look to the end of this life, being aware that Christ could return at any time. But that anytime may NOT be today or tomorrow or the next day. We need a proper balance in our lives: Looking forward to the future yet still living in the present.

If you spend all your time looking to the future, you probably won’t enjoy things as they happen because you will be anticipating the next thing!

You and I need to live each day as one who knows that Jesus lived and died and rose again for us. This is a month we think about giving thanks. Why not concentrate on expressing your thanks to God for all His goodness every day of this month?

When the Thessalonians were too wrapped up in the future, Paul exhorted them with these words:

2 Thessalonians 2:13–15  But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

Live joyfully in the present as we look forward to what is coming in this life and the life to come!