Welcome to this daily PBJ devotional. Read Numbers 31, Isaiah 54, and 2 Thessalonians 2. This devotional is about 2 Thessalonians 2. Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the day of the Lord has already come. Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs, and the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, is revealed. He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you? And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth and annihilate by the majesty of his arrival. The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder, and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion, so that they believe the lie, in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth, and delighted in wickedness. But we should always thank God for you, brothers, who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter. Now may the Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed. This is God's Word. In chapter 1 of 2 Thessalonians, Paul taught that Christ is coming to this earth again. When he comes again, Jesus will punish those who have rejected him and have persecuted his people. He will also be worshiped by those who love him, because we have been saved by his grace. That's chapter 1 of 2 Thessalonians. Now here in 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul continued to write about these end time events. In this chapter, we learned what will happen before Christ comes in judgment in verses 1-12. But beginning in verse 13, Paul turned from discussing what will happen in the end times to what was happening in Thessalonica. Because God had saved people in Thessalonica and had formed his church there, Paul wrote that he was always thankful for them in verse 13a. But his thankfulness for them was not so much about something they had done for him. No, Paul was thankful because of what God had done for them and in them. Paul told the believers there, you are loved by the Lord because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. And that's verse 13, the end of it in the NIV. They received God's call to salvation through our gospel according to verse 14a. But notice what the goal of this calling through the gospel is in verse 14b, which says that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And again, that's verse 14 in the NIV. Christ will be glorified when he returns, when he punishes his enemies, and when he establishes his kingdom on this earth. But this verse says that believers will share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, God has an amazing future planned for His people. Other passages in the Bible spell out more thoroughly what God has planned for us in the future. The Bible's message is consistent across scripture. Christ will rule and reign forever, but he will share his reign and the blessings of it with us who believe. And this is one aspect of the amazing grace of our God that maybe we don't think about much. God will mercifully save us all from hell through Christ. But because he has adopted us, he will also graciously fulfill the promises to us that we will share with him the unbelievable glory he receives as king. Now Jesus will be honored, worshiped, and magnified in his kingdom. But he wants you to shine too. We don't receive the worship that only belongs to him. But as He is worshiped, He will lavish on us His attention and His love for all eternity. Verses 15-17 close out this chapter by encouraging us believers to stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you. That's verse 15b in the NIV. When God saved you by faith, he called you to follow him in obedience and not turn away. This is the doctrine we know as the perseverance of the saints. And that perseverance of the saints teaches that all those whom God saves will follow Jesus in faith and good works. But we need to hold fast to his truth in order to persevere until he returns. Are you committed to Jesus Christ fully? Are you determined to follow him forever, even when you experience sorrow, fear, threats, and even persecution? Every good thing God created you to have will be yours in eternity if you believe in Jesus. But because you believe in Jesus, you will hold fast to him until he comes. Let these words encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed, as verse 17 in the NIV says at the closing of this chapter. Be encouraged. Be strengthened. Show your love and devotion to Christ in good works and good words today. And if you found this devotional helpful, please go to my website dailypbj.com slash subscribe and enter your email address. And then every day for free, these devotionals will show up in your inbox and that will cue you to be in God's word every single day. Please consider becoming part of my financial support network so we can keep making video content like this and more. Go to dailypbj.com slash support if you're interested in being part of that mission. Would you please share this with someone who might be helped in their faith by it? And I'll see you next time. May God bless you. Hope you have a great day today.