Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

Lottery Winners

 

Lottery Winners - Galatians 4

Do you ever play the mental lottery game? You know, what would we do if we won the lottery. What you would give, buy, share, travel, etc, etc. Robin and I do this some, but for some reason, it’s not easy for me to do, I think I am a bit too logical and can't find a lot of joy in what-ifs. This might be a reason why Robin calls me the dream squishier. 

This morning, as I was reading an odd thought popped into my head, the thought was Paul was trying to get it through to the Galatians that they won the spiritual lottery. Maybe not a great analogy, but it’s what I was thinking. Check out the first few verses in Galatians 4. 

“Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.” - ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here Paul is using the inheritance language, ultimately the heir to the fortune. As the heir to the fortune, here Paul is saying the trustees are in control of how the fortune will be used and passed on to the children while they are underage. This model of the trustee controlling the inheritance and the heir subject to the guardian was Paul's example of what it was like living under the law and following rules and religion. This was life before Christ, and before Christ came to connect us with our inheritance freely. 

“But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”” - ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4:4-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Christ fulfilled the law! The Gospel set us free, and gave us access to the inheritance with no trustee. This shifted from an inheritance to a spiritual lottery winner. 

But here is the funny thing about lottery winners. We hear story after story of lottery winners who burn through all the winnings and end up broke and debt-ridden. Freedom turned back into slavery. I think this says a lot about a person's character and where our real source or power and truth comes from. Our character becomes unleashed when we become an instant millionaire or the recipient of a considerable inheritance. 

TRUE CHARACTER IS REVEALED IN THE CHOICES A HUMAN BEING MAKES UNDER PRESSURE - THE GREATER THE PRESSURE, THE DEEPER THE REVELATION, THE TRUER THE CHOICE TO THE CHARACTER'S ESSENTIAL NATURE.” -ROBERT MCKEE

Paul is challenging and bringing light to the Galatians about the choices and decisions they are making. They turned to Christ, and they received the inheritance, they were spiritual lottery winners who have been set free. God has made them His heir! However, the Galatians were not living in grace and extending grace, and they had turned back to their previous way of living. 

“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” - ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4:8-9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“How I wish I could be there in person and change my tone toward you, for I am truly dumbfounded over what you are doing!” - ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4:20‬ ‭TPT‬‬

I had to use the TPT version, and I loved this language. Paul was dumbfounded over what the Galatians were doing. This is it, right—lottery winners, instant gratification, instant millionaires, instant fame, fortune, or whatever. For the most part, the results of that more than likely will be dumbfounding if our true foundation and life source are not in Christ. 

Maybe we should think about the character quote in a little different way. Let us ponder this over the day. 

The choices we make every moment of the day reveal our true dedication and commitment to Christ.

Through that lens, now play the mental lottery game. 

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch