A Radical Change - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2026

From you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 1:8-10

A Radical Change
What a turnabout in the lives of these Thessalonians! This change was the result of having believed the gospel that Paul had preached to them in the power of the Holy Spirit. They had received it as a message from God, as indeed it was. So radical was this change in their lives that it had an effect on all who witnessed it. Idolatry and immorality had marked them before; that was their lifestyle, and they were not planning to change it. Yet the power of the Word of God can and did bring about a complete change. Such is the power of His Word!

It was God who commanded light to shine out of darkness. This light shone into their hearts, and that made all the difference. In turning to God, they had left their idols behind. They were freed from the bondage to sin and the power of the devil, and they had become servants of the living and true God. Indeed, a wonderful change had taken place. Now they served a new Master.

Their outlook on life had also drastically changed. They were not waiting for the world to improve, for they knew that God's wrath would soon be coming upon it. Their sights were much higher: They were waiting for the Son of God from heaven to come for them. The very One who will soon judge this world in righteousness is also the One who delivers from the coming judgment by taking all those who believe on Him to their home above, the Father's house.

Are you ready? Are you waiting for God's Son from heaven, "even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come"?

Jacob Redekop