The Question

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

  

One of my favorite songs from the Broadway musical Rent is “Seasons of Love”. The chorus asks an interesting question.  

Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

 

Following this, the song rhetorically asks the question again by suggesting a number of different ways that you could measure a year: in daylight, in sunsets, in midnight, in cups of coffee, in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife? But the question remains unanswered. How do you measure a year?

 

You might think that Paul measured a year by the number of people that he led to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Or possibly the number of churches that he started. The truth is, that when he went to Macedonia on his second missionary trip, he got kicked out of more towns than not. On the surface, he looked like a failure.

 

Despite this, Paul persevered. Even in the midst of heavy persecution, he shared the love of Christ. He truly loved the people. In fact, his first letter to the church at Thessalonica is filled with statements that reflect just how much he loved them.

 

^7b Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, ⁸ so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

¹¹ For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.    NIV    1 Thessalonians 2

 

Even in the opening statement of Paul’s letter, he describes how much he cared for them. He mentions their faith, love and hope… three characteristics that Paul built into their lives while living with them.

 

² We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, ³ remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ESV 1 Thessalonians 1

 

The foundation of any relationship is communication. The same was true for the Thessalonians relationship with God. Therefore, Paul emphasized the importance of staying in constant communication with God. It’s an outgrowth of their love for him.

  

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.         NIV    1 Thessalonians 5

 

In the song “Seasons of Love”, the conclusion is that you measure your life in love. So, the question is – how do you measure your life? Paul prays the following prayer for the Thessalonians. It gives a pretty good answer.

 

¹² May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. ¹³ May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.          NIV  1 Thessalonians 3

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Silver Sneakers

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses” – Joshua 1:9
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Joshua 1:1-9 

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

  

Shortly after retiring, I discovered that my health insurance offered exercise classes called Silver Sneakers. They were live and on Zoom. It was perfect – you could see the instructor, but nobody could see you. After a few months of Zooming, I learned that a Silver Sneakers class was offered in person at a nearby gym.

 

The first time that I attended was very scary. I didn’t know anyone when I walked into the room, but immediately I was made to feel welcome. Since then, I’ve made many good friends. We’ve gone out for dinner and lunch. One couple even invited us to their cottage at Put-In-Bay on South Bass Island in Lake Erie.

 

Israel was camped east of the Jordan River and poised to finally enter the Promised Land. All that remained was for them to cross the river and take control of the land that their ancestor Abraham had been promised over 400 years earlier. However, obstacles were always a part of Israel’s journey.

 

First, they were enslaved by Egypt for 400 years. Once they were free, they worshipped an idol that they had made. As a result, the Lord didn’t allow that generation to enter the Promised Land. And now that everything seemed ready for Israel to claim their covenant… Moses died.

 

This meant there was a leadership change. Joshua was to lead them across the Jordan, take control of the fortified cities in the Promised Land of Canaan and divide the land between the twelve tribes of Isreal. What could go wrong?

 

In order to encourage Joshua, the Lord made many promises to him.

 

³ I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. ⁵ No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.     NIV

 

Although Joshua had been Moses’ trusted aide for forty years, you get the feeling that he still wasn’t totally confident in his new responsibilities. After all, he was going to be leading a nation estimated at over two million people.

 

In addition, he would be forcibly taking land from people who already lived there. It was their home, so they wouldn’t just hand it over. Therefore, the Lord told Joshua to “be strong and courageous”. This command also had a promise.

 

⁹ This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”       NLT

 

There was also a condition attached to the Lord’s promise to Joshua.

 

⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.           NIV

 

“Be strong and courageous” – it sounds so simple. But the Lord repeated it three times to Joshua as he faced the greatest challenge of his life.

 

We all face circumstances that are scary or fearful. Sometimes they’re as minor as going to Silver Sneakers. But often they’re much more significant, even life changing.

 

Thankfully, just as the Lord promised Joshua that he would always be with him, that same promise is still true for us today. Therefore, “be strong and courageous” … for “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

A Psalm/Prayer

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”: Psalm 139:23-24
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Psalm 139:1-24

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

  

Have you ever noticed how someone who is really close to you knows what you’re going to say before you say it? After fifty-two years of marriage, my wife does that with me. In fact, on occasion, she will finish my sentences before I’m even done.

 

God is like that with us. He is all-knowing – omniscience is the theological word for it. David put it in a much more personal and practical way in his psalm/prayer.

 

² You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
⁴ You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.         NLT

 

Because we are all sinners, to be fully known by someone, and still having them love you is staggering. David, for instance, had some glaring skeletons in his closet – an affair with Bathsheba and then having her husband, Uriah, killed. Yet, the Lord loved David. In fact, the bloodline of Jesus ran through him.

 

David also wrote in his psalm/prayer how God’s Spirit was with him everywhere he went. The theological word for this is omnipresence. But again, David framed it in a much more personal and poetic way.

 

⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.      NIV

 

The impact of this was that David realized even in the darkness of his sin, the Lord was there. Not only was the Lord there, but he was at work in his life, using his trials and temptations and failures to grow in his faith.

 

Finally, David wrote about the all-sovereign God – or how God is omnipotent. In doing so, David defined himself not by his failures or successes, but by the truth of being created by the Living God.

 

¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.    NLT

 

As David meditated and wrote about who God was and how God worked in his life, he concluded his psalm/prayer where he started – a desire to follow the Lord and obey him in all that he did.

 

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.       NLT

 

This is a psalm/prayer worth repeating every day of my life.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

The Unseen World

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Ephesians 6:10-20

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

 

When I was a teenager, I loved horror movies like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and Wolfman. Every Saturday night there was a TV show called “Shock Theater” hosted by Christopher Coffin. I never missed an episode.

 

I loved movies like House on the Haunted Hill starring Vincent Price and Beast with 5 Fingers with Peter Lorre. There was a TV series called The Twilight Zone hosted by Rod Serling. Edgar Allen Poe was my favorite author. Anything that involved the supernatural or the unexplainable fascinated me.

 

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul encouraged them to “be strong in the Lord”. Then he warned them about something that sounds like it could have come straight out of one of the movies that I watched as a kid.

 

¹² For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.         NLT

 

Our Western culture doesn’t embrace the concept of spiritual warfare. We would rather attribute life’s struggles to circumstances, mother nature, the environment, science or some other logical reason. But Paul clearly stated that there are spiritual battles.

 

For example, when he was in Ephesus for two years, there was a riot started by a silversmith who made shrines of the Roman goddess of Diana. Paul’s ministry was hurting his business. On the surface, it appears that the root cause of the riot was greed and jealousy. But underneath, it was a spiritual battle.

 

The book of Job is a classic example of a spiritual battle that on the surface appeared to have worldly causes: The Sabeans killed his servants and stole his oxen and donkeys. A windstorm caused a house to collapse killing his sons and daughters. His wife turned against him and told him to “curse God and die”.

 

But previous to this, unseen by Job, there was a conversation between God and Satan. The Lord pointed out the faithfulness of Job. But Satan claimed that it was only because God had blessed him with so much that Job was faithful.  

 

So, God allowed Satan to attack his servant Job to prove that he was faithful. On the surface, it appeared to be natural causes. But below the surface, in the unseen world, it was spiritual warfare.

 

When Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he was under arrest and chained to a Roman soldier. So, it’s not surprising that he would use the armor of his jailer as a metaphor to encourage the Ephesians to stand strong.

 

¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.                      NIV

 

After he details what the “full armor of God” is, he closes with this statement.

 

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.       NLT

 

In Ephesians, Paul teaches us that our ultimate struggle is not against human enemies, but against "spiritual forces of evil". But the good news is that we don’t have to face them alone. The Holy Spirit is always with us and makes God’s power available to us.

 

 Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com