Think out Laud
Chris Kelly's journal---a blog for to publish his feeble attempts to praise Jesus Christ, bare his soul, and think out loud about these Interesting Times.
Daily Bread on 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16
Paul was deeply thankful that the Thessalonians accepted the message of the gospel as the word of God. It's too easy to reject a message given by men as merely man's word. But God uses men to deliver his message. This is a problem for those who want to see miraculous signs or hear voices from the clouds. But it is GOD'S WAY of working.
Muslims reject translations of the Bible. They say Jesus was a prophet. But they reject anything Jesus said because it was written down by men. They cannot accept God's word as the word of God unless they hear it directly in their ear with no man in the room. Of course, they accept the Koran. But they are forced to accept that, either by someone with a gun, or a sword, or someone who controls their food supply, or by other believers in their community, that is, peer pressure.
But the truth speaks for itself. Those who love Truth will be able to stand on Jesus' side even if it means losing their lives for Him. God's word will always come through a preacher or witness. But we need "ears to hear what the Spirit says". Jesus always said this, "Let him who has hears ear." We need ears that are tuned to God's word, not the loud shouts of fanatics or the constant drone of music and other noise. We need a Quiet Place.
Jesus is that Quiet Place. He is our Rock, where we can hide in the desert, who shields us, comforts us, protects us, warms us.
Meanwhile, there are serious enemies of the gospel. They were those who killed Jesus and the prophets and also drove out Paul and his companions. They displease God and are hostile to Truth. Why would intelligent people who are even countrymen and friends oppose Paul so vehemently? They want to keep the gospel from reaching people because they do not want to repent. V.16 says, "In their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved, ... they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last." Such people are not willing to repent their sins, but live under God's wrath.
I met a man who is living just like this. He will not listen or repent because he is under God's wrath. "For me it is too late," he would say. "I'm too bad to come far gone to come back to a righteous life now." How sad, how sad, that one would prefer the status quo to being born again, that one would prefer a rut that goes nowhere to a new direction that leads to God and God's heavenly kingdom. Such people are actually not just desperate; they are committed to their evil ways. They are determined to keep others from escaping the life of sin also, and to lead as many as possible in with them.
But we must be imitators of God. This is a much harder lifestyle and the view is scary at times. May God give us real courage like Paul, to fight spiritually and not back down.
Posted by ckelly at September 24, 2007 06:44 AM