Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

About Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

A daily chat with Pastor Mike and other resources to encourage listeners to connect with the Word of God and grow in their faith.

Publisher

Michael L Grooms

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Jul 2020

Latest episode

9 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

2,193 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   9 Oct 2026

   2 Thessalonians 3:17-18 - Grace for the Journey

   Paulusually dictated his letters to someone who wrote them down for him. But as hecame to the end of this letter, Paul took the pen himself and wrote theseclosing words in his own handwriting. He says: “The salutation of Paulwith my own hand.” There was a special reason for this. Earlier in thisletter, Paul had warned the Thessalonians not to be deceived by a letter thatsupposedly came from him. In 2 Thessalonians 2:2, he told them not to betroubled “either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, asthough the day of Christ had come.” Apparently, false teaching wasbeing circulated under Paul's name. So Paul says, in effect, “Here is mysignature. This is really from me.” Butthen Paul closes with something far more important than his signature. Heleaves them with grace. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ bewith you all.” What a beautiful way to end this letter. And really,what a beautiful way to live the Christian life. By grace. We are savedby grace. Ephesians 2:8 says: “For by grace you have been saved throughfaith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” But graceisn't only what saves us at the beginning of our Christian life. Grace is whatsustains us throughout the Christian life. We need God's grace every singleday. We need grace when we are strong. We need grace when we are weak. We needgrace when life is going well. And we especially need grace when life becomesdifficult. Aswe look back over 2 Thessalonians, remember what these believers were goingthrough. They were facing persecution. They were suffering for their faith. Somewere confused about the return of Jesus Christ. False teaching had disturbedthem. Some believers had become disorderly and had stopped fulfilling theirresponsibilities. Yet throughout this letter Paul kept pointing them back tothe Lord. Inchapter 1, he encouraged them to remain faithful in persecution andtribulation. Inchapter 2, he reminded them not to be deceived concerning the coming of theLord. He told them to “stand fast and hold the traditions which you weretaught.” Andhere in chapter 3, Paul has reminded them to pray, to work faithfully, not togrow weary in doing good, to correct one another with love, and to depend uponthe Lord of peace. Andnow Paul brings everything together with one final word: Grace. “Thegrace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” I think there is awonderful lesson for us in that. Paul didn't promise these believers that alltheir problems were going away. He didn't tell them persecution would suddenlystop. He didn't tell them life was going to become easy. Instead, he remindedthem that whatever they faced, the grace of Jesus Christ would be with them.And that same grace is available to you and me today. I don't know what youwill face tomorrow. I don't even know everything I will face tomorrow. But Iknow this: God's grace will already be there when we get there. TheLord told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you,for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Maybe today you feel thatyou don't have the strength for something you are facing. You may be right. Yourstrength may not be enough. But His grace is. Sometimes God doesn't removethe burden. Instead, He gives us the grace to carry it. Sometimes He doesn'timmediately calm the storm around us. Instead, He gives us peace in the middleof the storm. Sometimes He doesn't show us everything that lies ahead. Hesimply gives us enough grace for today. And tomorrow? There will befresh grace for tomorrow. Aswe finish 2 Thessalonians, perhaps we can summarize its message this way: Standfirm when life is difficult. Don't be deceived. Keep doing what is right. Keeplooking for Jesus. And depend upon His grace every step of the journey.

2. 

   8 Oct 2026

   2 Thessalonians 3:16 - The Lord of Peace

   Today we are nearing the end of our journey through 2Thessalonians. Here in chapter 3, Paul deals withthe practical responsibilities of living the Christian life while we wait forJesus to return. Butnow, as Paul begins to close this letter, he gives them a beautiful word ofencouragement. Listento 2 Thessalonians 3:16: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give youpeace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.” What a wonderfulpromise and prayer! Paul calls Jesus “the Lord of peace.” Noticethat he doesn't simply say that the Lord gives peace. He is the Lordof peace. Peace comes from Him because peace is part of who He is. And thatis important because we live in a world where peace can sometimes be verydifficult to find. There can be trouble around us. There can be trouble in ourfamilies. There can be financial uncertainty. There can be health problems. Therecan be difficult decisions. There can be things happening in our nation andaround the world that cause us to wonder what tomorrow will bring. Butthe peace Jesus gives us does not depend upon everything around us beingpeaceful. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:27: “Peace I leave withyou, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” Jesussaid, “My peace.” The world says, “I'll have peace when myproblems are gone.” Jesus says, “I can give you peace in the middle of yourproblems.” The world says, “I'll have peace when I know what tomorrowholds.” Jesus says, “You can have peace because you know Who holds tomorrow.” Paulknew something about that kind of peace. He had been beaten. He had beenimprisoned. He had been rejected. He had been threatened. And yet he couldwrite about peace. Why? Because his peace wasn't found in his circumstances. Hispeace was found in Christ. Notice another word in our verse. Paul says: “Maythe Lord of peace Himself give you peace.” I love that word “Himself.”Our peace ultimately doesn't come from money. It doesn't come from goodhealth. It doesn't come from everything working out exactly the way we planned.Our peace comes from a Person. Jesus Himself is our peace. ThenPaul says something else that I don't want us to miss: “give you peacealways in every way.” Think about that. “Always.” Notjust when life is easy. Not just when the doctor's report is good. Not justwhen the bills are paid. Not just when everyone agrees with us. Not just whenour prayers are answered the way we hoped. “Always.” And then hesays: “in every way.” That means there is no circumstance we willface today where the Lord is unable to give us His peace. Isaiah26:3 says: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed onYou, because he trusts in You.” Maybe that is the key. Our peace isconnected to where we place our minds and our trust. When I focus only on theproblem, I become anxious. When I focus on the Lord, I remember that He isbigger than my problem. That doesn't mean the problem disappears. It means Idon't have to face it alone. Andthat brings us to the last sentence of today's verse: “The Lord be withyou all.” Perhaps that explains everything Paul has just said aboutpeace. How can I have peace when I don't know what tomorrow holds? The Lordis with me. How can I have peace when I am going through a difficult time? TheLord is with me. How can I have peace when I don't understand what God isdoing? The Lord is with me. Sometimeswe ask God to change our circumstances when what we need most is simply a freshawareness of His presence in our circumstances. You may be facingsomething today that has taken away your sense of peace. Maybe there issomething you cannot change. Maybe there is something you cannot fix. Maybe youdon't know what the outcome will be. Take it to the Lord. And then leave itwith Him. The Lord of peace is still on the throne. He knows where you are. Heknows what you need. And He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you.

3. 

   7 Oct 2026

   2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 - Correcting With Love

   Yesterday we closed with the wonderful encouragement of 2Thessalonians 3:13: “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doinggood.” Today Paul continues with verses 14 and 15, and he deals withsomething that is not always easy—how do we respond to a fellow believer whorefuses to obey the Word of God? Paulwrites: “And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note thatperson and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do notcount him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” Rememberthe situation in Thessalonica. Some believers had apparently stopped workingand were depending upon others to support them. Paul had already instructedthem to work quietly and provide for themselves. Now he says that if someonedeliberately refuses to obey this instruction, the church should take itseriously. Paul says, “note that person and do not keep company withhim.” That sounds rather strong to us today, but we need to understandPaul's purpose. He wasn't trying to destroy the person. He was trying to restorethe person. Paul says the purpose was “that he may be ashamed.” Inother words, there should be enough love within the church that when someonedeliberately chooses a path of disobedience, other believers care enough notsimply to ignore it. Sometimeswe think love means never confronting anyone. But biblical love is willing tospeak the truth. If I see someone I love walking toward danger, love doesn'tremain silent. Love warns them. And spiritual correction should always have onegoal—restoration. That becomes very clear in verse 15: “Yet do notcount him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” I love thatstatement. Paul says, Don't treat him like an enemy. Remember, he is yourbrother. Thereis a tremendous difference between correcting someone because we are angry withthem and correcting someone because we love them. We can be right in what wesay and wrong in the spirit in which we say it. Galatians 6:1 gives us asimilar instruction: “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass,you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.” Noticethat word—restore. The purpose of biblical correction is never revenge. Itis never humiliation. It is never to prove that we are better than someoneelse. It is to help a brother or sister get back into a right relationship withthe Lord. I believe there is an important lesson here for the church today. We live in atime when people often seem to go to one of two extremes. Sometimes we excusealmost anything in the name of love. At other times, Christians can becomeharsh and judgmental toward someone who has failed. Paul gives us a better way.Take sin seriously, but treat the sinner lovingly. Speak the truth, butspeak it with grace. Stand for what is right, but never forget that the personyou are correcting is someone for whom Jesus died. Ihave often found through the years that people usually don't need someonestanding over them telling them how badly they have failed. Many times theyalready know that. What they need is someone who loves them enough to tell themthe truth and then help them find their way back. Jesus modeled that perfectly.He never compromised the truth, but He was always ready to receive therepentant sinner. Maybe you know someone today who has gotten away from theLord. Don't give up on them. Don't treat them as an enemy. Pray for them. Lovethem. When God gives you the opportunity, lovingly encourage them to come back to theLord. And perhaps today the Holy Spirit is using someone else's lovingcorrection in our own lives. When that happens, instead of becomingdefensive, we should ask: “Lord, is there something You are trying to showme?” A true friend doesn't always tell us what we want to hear. Sometimes atrue friend loves us enough to tell us what we need to hear. May God help us to be people who standfirmly for truth while always demonstrating the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

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