may121

Q2. (Matthew 13:22; Luke 8:14) Which of the thorns that Jesus mentions do you think is the most dangerous: Riches, worries/cares, or pleasures? Why do you think so? I think it depends on an individual's condition. If he is a celebrity / politician / some Very Important Person, then 'Riches' is most dangerous. RICHES come with fame, power, etc. which means no freedom & privacy for him. I always pity those famous celebrity. Take Michael Jackson as an eg. I don't think he had the freedom to worship freely in a church fellowship (if he's a follower of Christ), in a prayer or cell group meeting. Everywhere he went, people would be chasing after him for autograph, photograph, etc. RICHES choke this group of people the most. In our Chinese culture in Asia, some of us don't pursue RICHES. Family unity & peaceful life are more important. For PLEASURES, it depends on how you look at it. For me, having a cup of coffee with something that I like to read in my garden is a pleasure. Something that I find is very enjoyable.

We can never achieved God's standard of holiness. However we are made 'holy' in His sight because Jesus has paid the price for us. We can't achieve holiness but we can maintain that standard, by coming to God with clean hands and clean heart. We can stand blameless before Him because all our blemishes were taken away by Jesus. We can boldly stand before Him if we come with clean hands & clean heart. Otherwise we should humble & confess our sin (for our benefit !) .

Predestination is scary if we would look into the case of Judas Iscariot, having walked with Jesus & witnessed His power, was predestined to destruction by ownself, he chosed this path. I personally don't understand why he had chosen this, money is so big that it has blinded his eyes & influence his decision in betraying Jesus. If we would just trust Him completely or start to trust Him with a small faith (as small as a mustard seed, Bible says) it is not scary, no matter what stormy & crippling condition are we in. Perfect love casts out fear. Know that God is in control, He has a plan to prosper us & not to harm us.