Thessaloniki, Greece
Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold to the tradition you were taught, either by message or by letter… the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen and guard you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 2:15, 3:3
The New Testament of the Bible contains many epistles or letters that the apostle Paul wrote to various cities. First and second Thessalonians were written on Paul’s second missionary journey, in the years 52 and 53 AD. The main purpose of the letters was this:
1. To praise and encourage the church for their steadfastness under persecution
2. To instruct them on holy living
3. To correct any misunderstanding about the second coming of Jesus
4. To instruct the church on disciplinary action toward those who refused to work
I know, I know, you probably think I’m super smart because I know all this info… BUT, it wasn’t until our team did a Bible study on these particular books that I dug deeper into the text. I had read them before and knew the popular verses about “praying without ceasing” and “we thank God for you.” Thanks to blueletterbible.org and other handy resources I now have a deeper understanding. So I’m not really smart, I’m just passing along what I learned through other reliable sources.
What’s the best way to solidify your learning? For me, it’s hands on. Field trips. So why not take a field trip to the city where Paul wrote these letters?
Yes, please! Since Korce is only 30 minutes from the border with Greece, my team agreed that we must take advantage of this opportunity. We studied up on the books in the Bible and then hopped on a bus to Thessaloniki, Greece.
Korce, Albania is only 30 minutes from the border with Greece. Paul visited Thessaloniki, Greece on his second missionary journey.
Our weekend field trip was sense-sational!
Taste: authentic Greek gyros
Smell: incense burning in the Greek Orthodox churches
Sight: beautiful market colors
Hear: Greek. Needless to say, we still had a hard time communicating but some things were in English
Feel: the warm autumn sun beaming down from above
I wish I had worn a pedometer on Saturday because we opted for the self-guided tour, which resulted in 10+ miles of walking! Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of the day.
I had a chance to break away from the group and spend some time reflecting along the boardwalk. I reread Paul’s letters and realized how the same message could be written to today’s generation of believers- to encourage them to press on in holy living, to not give in to the desires of the world and to be ready for Christ’s return.
In a city where history meets modern day, Paul’s words still apply. Stand firm!
An ancient day spa in the middle of modern day Thessaloniki.
On a lighter note, what would a blog about Greece be without a video? Traveling across borders, even for just a weekend, can be quite time consuming and much of it is less glamorous than all the pretty pictures would depict. So enjoy this video capturing my field trip to Thessaloniki:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YfwVd8_Dwc
If you want to see more pictures, check them out on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.762976623421.2214217.185002477&type=1
