Prayer: Lord, help us to look to you that we may love and strengthen others.
Reading: I Thessalonians 3:9-13 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? Reflection: When you pray for folks, what do you usually pray for? When other folks are in my prayers, they are usually sick or distressed. I pray for God’s healing. Have you ever prayed that folks will love each other more? Maybe. Have you ever prayed that God will make others holy and blameless? I can’t say that I’ve ever uttered that prayer. We just read those prayers directed to the church at Thessalonica. For me the power of the prayer is St. Paul’s confidence in the source of our love and holiness—God makes us increase in love and strengthens us. And that is the love and strength we reflect to others. We try so hard to love one another. We really do want to be “good” folks. In the end, of course, we fail. There is always something more that we could have done. We could have loved more. But here is our model. God is perfect love. God is perfect. May we always be aware that it is God who comes to us, love us, strengthens us and helps us to reflect that love and strength to those around us. --Jim Bricker, Chaplain to Camp Mount Luther’s Summer Staff
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