What Is Your Opinion? - 1 Thess 1:4-7

SCRIPTURE

1 Thess 1:4-7

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

COMMENT

Here we go again, so I will ask you, how do you understand the statement that God (he) has chosen you? If that is true, does it mean we have no role in the decision? Does God choose but we get to decide? If God chooses some to salvation, what about those not chosen by God? Are they without hope, or do they get to decide on their own. I know what I want to believe. I want to believe that all are capable of being saved. But what if I don't get what I want? Am I still willing to worship that God? These are tough questions, but questions that should be thought about if we are going to approach Scripture with the idea that maybe we are not the ultimate authority when it comes to how God should do things. So I pose questions without giving answers or opinions sometimes, because it is not what I think that matters, it is getting others to think.

It says that they received the word in much affliction. What??? No padded pews, pop music bands, funny preachers? How does that even work? (Heavy sarcastic tone should be noted.) In the midst of affliction, they were filled with joy. I wonder if that is why so many today seem so joyless? Perhaps where there is no affliction, the invitation to become a Christian is often not that Christ is the answer, it is that Christ will keep you from future affliction. Jesus is the vaccine shot that will keep you Corona free, and the cure for the common cold, and everything else for that matter. Maybe we need to read more Scripture.

False Brothers (Galatians 2:4-10)

SCRIPTURE

Galatians 2:4-10

Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

LANGUAGE

Vs 4 False brother - pretend associate

Vs 4 Secretly - to come alongside stealthily

COMMENT

False brothers. That is a tough term. Those who come in and act as your friends, but have an agenda. The agenda in this case was to spy on their freedom. Humans tend to be a jealous lot. When someone has something, we think we should too. Just look at the socialist agenda that so many are chasing. It is not fair that the rich have more than us, they should be made to not only pay their share, but more so since they have more. The rich on the other hand, do all they can to hold on to what they have, looking for loopholes in tax laws or other ways to take advantage of the system. So when these Jews saw that the followers of Jesus were no longer being bound by the Jewish laws, they were jealous. Since they had to follow the laws, so should everyone. Since everyone who seeks to follow the law is slave to the law, they wanted to "bring us into slavery" (Vs 4) with them. 

The law enslaves. It tells us what to do.Grace sets us free. Free to do what we want to do. Which for the Christian, looks insanely different than it does for the rest of the world. The rest of the world sees freedom as an invitation to do whatever it wants, whatever feels good. And the world wants joy, power, security. It finds those things in sex, alcohol, possessions, control. The Christian wants joy, power, and security too, those truly converted just find it in a different place, they find it in Jesus. Our joy is now found in serving Him. Our power is not the power of controlling others but in following Jesus and seeking to serve Him by how we treat others. Our security is found in His love for us, starting with how he loved us while we were sinners and continuing in our childlike efforts to love Him still. 

John Piper has a term he calls "Christian Hedonism." I am sure a lot of Christians don't like that term because they see hedonism as the selfish pursuit of pleasure. But isn't hedonism the pursuit of joy at all costs? Isn't that what the lover of God is pursuing when no matter the circumstance, they can praise God because through it all, God's love is greater than our circumstance? Why did Paul and Silas sing praises while in chains? It was not because they loved torture. It was because they had been counted worthy of suffering for the sake of Christ. Joy like that does not disappear when the money runs out.

Revelation - Matthew 4:1-11

Scripture

Matthew 4:1-11 ESV

Summary

Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. After fasting 40 days and nights, He was hungry. The devil came and said, "You're God's Son, turn some stones to bread and eat!" But Jesus responded saying that the words of God are of more value than food.

So the devil took Him to the pinnacle of the temple. The devil said, "Prove you're God's Son, throw yourself down, God's angels will protect you!" But Jesus responded by saying that we shouldn't put God to the test.

So the devil took Him to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of world. He offered them to Jesus, in exchange for Jesus worshiping him. Jesus responded telling Satan to leave, that we should only serve and worship God

After the devil left, angels came and ministered to Him.

Observations

• Jesus was led by the Spirit to a place where He would be tempted. Does anyone else find this interesting? The Holy Spirit knowingly put Jesus in a place where He would be tempted. Think about that the next time you are sking, "Why me, Lord?"
• Jesus turned water to wine, so what would be wrong with turning a few rocks into bread? It's not like he was making a seven-course meal! On the surface, I see a couple of issues. Jesus may not have been ready to end His fast. I think breaking the fast early would have been a big deal to Him. Also, think about the purpose behind the turning of water to wine, that being to glorify God and reveal His divine self to the disciples. No such purpose here, only the serving of selfish needs.
• Satan offered to give Jesus what He wanted, all the kingdoms of the world. No cross needed, just worship him (Satan). This was not God's plan, and in fact, would have had the opposite effect. 

Comments

It appears that Satan, while understanding some of the mission of Jesus, did not grasp the whole picture. Or else he just viewed Jesus as being potentially weak. 

I see Jesus as understanding that God works in a cause and effect type of way. The cause of Jesus' strength was His relationship with God. The effects of that relationship were played out in the events of His life. Satan took those effects, and made them primary. "Here, eat something, Prove who you say you are, take all of these kingdoms." But the effects are meaningless without the cause. 

Modern day example: A pastor sees his job as building the kingdom (an effect, not a cause). He works hard all his life, a beautiful building is built, many people come and say the sinner's prayer or are baptized. But the message is weak, lest the people be offended by the cross. There is no real repentance, few hearts are turned to God. All because the pastor sold out. Instead of focusing on his relationship to God (cause), he focused on the results of his ministry (effect). 

Imagine Jesus walking down from the mountain, the king of world. All recognize Him, all follow His words and example. And all He had to do was a brief moment of worshiping Satan to get it. But at what cost? Did Jesus come to become a king of this world, or to lead us into the kingdom of God? Something He could not have done had He paused to worship Satan.