Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 4:8 NIV
Not Disregarded
An article on the peaceanddiplomacy.com website says, “Canada is under pressure…from all corners of the world. Our Euro-Atlantic and Arctic frontiers have destabilized in the wake of the collapse of relations between Russia and the West. Foreign interference scandals and increasingly tense ties involving China and India have cast doubt on the credibility of our only recently minted Indo-Pacific strategy. And our moralistic and megaphone-centric post-Cold War foreign policy has diminished our international credibility and influence at a moment in history when relative power is shifting away from the West.”
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There are lots of people who love to offer us their advice. Job’s friends certainly did, and after all these years they still teach us what advice we should not be offering. If we are wondering how to live as followers of Christ, the place to start, always, is God’s Word the Bible. It is there that we get God’s advice, God’s instructions. In speaking to the believers in Thessalonica, and focusing on living a holy life, Paul says this in 1 Thessalonians 4:8: “Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.” Paul does not soften his words here, and neither should we. This is not merely advice for better living or a suggestion for spiritual improvement. Paul reminds us that obedience to God’s call is deeply personal. When we choose to ignore what God has clearly spoken, we are not brushing off human opinion—we are turning away from God Himself. Let’s live by God’s instructions.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley