2 Thessalonians 2: 15-17

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

One of the benefits of being empty-nesters in these days is the ability to kind of pick up and go at a moment’s notice. Friday afternoon, Patrina and I set out for the Prayer March 2020 in Washington, D.C. There we joined more than 50,000 of our closet friends for two events. The first was The Return, organized by Jonathan Cahn, featuring a number of speakers and musicians for repentance and prayer for our nation. The second was the Prayer March 2020, organized by Franklin Graham, which began with prayer at the Lincoln Memorial and then moved to specific prayer stations along the National Mall to the Washington Monument then to the U.S. Capitol Building.

It was such an encouraging day. Everyone in attendance was unified in faith. We may have doctrinal differences, but those dissipated as thousands and thousands of people sang and prayed out loud as we began at the Lincoln Memorial. We made every stop along the way and did I already say it was an encouraging day?

Paul’s words in the verses above were intended to have much the same impact on the Thessalonians. He encouraged them to “stand firm and hold on” to Biblical teaching, but also reminded them that the “eternal comfort and good hope” is not based on any man-made religion, but on faith in God Himself.

We live in politically-charged days and it is hard to avoid the thought of politics in Washington, D.C., but the event this weekend moved beyond politics and encouraged everyone, I think, to stand firm in the Faith and hold on tight to what is good.