Tuesday Thought -- June 11, 2013

Good Morning Friends,

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) – if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.” (2 Peter 2:4-9)

I was talking with someone some time back who said he did not believe that God would send anyone to hell. It just didn’t seem logical to him that God, who created everything, would treat any of His creation that way. He based his belief upon his own human logic. Such logic is flawed.

The truth, revealed here by Peter as well as elsewhere in the Bible, is that God has already demonstrated that He has and will punish sin. God has already cast rebellious angels out of heaven and they await judgment. God has already demonstrated His willingness to judge the world by the flood He sent in Noah’s day. God has already shown how He deals with sin for which there has been no repentance when He sent fire and destruction upon Sodom and Gomorrah. These are just three of many examples of the demonstrations of God’s judgment of sin. They show us that God has and God will punish unrepented sin.

The author of Hebrews reminded us, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31) God will punish sin that has not been dealt with!

That’s the bad news and it is fearful news.  And the bad news is compounded by the realization that all of us have sinned. We’re all subject to God’s judgment and punishment.

But there is good news, too! The good news is that God has made a way to avoid punishment for our own sin. He’s done that by punishing Jesus for us and allowing us to access Jesus’ righteousness by coming to Him in faith. That’s the good news.

But remember that there is bad news, too. Let the bad news motivate us to tell others about the good news!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- June 10, 2013

Good Morning Friends,

“For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:8-11)

Are you worried that you won’t hang on to Jesus? Are you concerned that somewhere along the line your relationship with Christ will cool and then deteriorate to the point that you let go of it?

I know many people who do have that kind of fear. But Peter says there is a way to be sure that it will never happen. Security is found by growing. Peter’s promise:  “If you do these things, you will never fall.” That sounds pretty secure to me!

And what are the “these things” that Peter says we are to do in order to have this security?

Verse 8 says to “possess these qualities in increasing measure.” Things like faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. (2 Peter 1:5-7) There isn’t a required level of these qualities that a person has to have in order to qualify for heaven. Rather, it’s growth that will keep us secure – moving forward in our relationship with Christ.

Verse 10 says to “be eager to make our calling and election sure.” The desire to know God is a key to a secure relationship with Him. If we desire to know Him, He will give us the desire of our heart!

You don’t need to be afraid that you will lose the relationship that you have with Jesus. Just hang on and keep growing and there is nothing that will ever take us away from Him. God has promised it!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- June 7, 2013

Good Morning Friends,

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge ---“ (2 Peter 1:3-5)

God has already given us everything we need to please Him and to serve Him. Consider just three of the things God has provided for us:

He has given us His own Holy Spirit to indwell us. He provides guidance and teaching and encouragement and conviction and so many other things that we need. He is our very present help at all times.

He has given us His own Word. God has spoken His message through human agents and it will help us grow toward maturity. It will point out areas of our lives that are not pleasing to God. It will inspire and encourage us toward holiness.

He has given us His church. We are not alone in our relationship with the Lord. We have others to encourage us. We have co-laborers in the journey of faith we are traveling.

The reason God has given us these things and others is so that we will grow in our relationship with Him and move more and more toward holiness. The world and its temptations have a powerful pull away from God and His will, but God has given us even more powerful tools to move us toward Him.

And one more thing: it is up to us to apply the things that God has provided to our own lives. Peter says that we are to “make every effort.” There is an involvement that we must have in our own spiritual growth. We can’t sit back and wait for God to change us. We must be involved in His church, read and study His Word, and listen to His Spirit.

God has given us everything we need. It’s up to us to use them.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought -- June 6, 2013

Good Morning Friends,

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:8-11)

We have an enemy. Sometimes it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that our enemy is human – but it’s not. Our enemy is not our boss, no matter how badly he treats us. Our enemy is not the liberal political camp – or the conservative one. Our enemy is not the sinful person who has hurt you so badly by his uncaring actions. The root of the problem that we face does not stem from the person who stands next to us. The root of the problem stems from the one who inspires the evil in our world – the devil.

Peter describes him as “like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” He wants to devour you – to destroy as many people as he possibly can. He is on the prowl – he is rarely straightforward and visible in his attacks. He lurks in the shadows and schemes deeply behind the scenes. He is like a lion – there are few more powerful animals in the world – and few more frightening.

There is no way that I would ever face a lion by myself and without some kind of powerful weapon at my disposal. I think those who try to battle Satan by themselves are foolish. I need an ally that is powerful enough to defeat the devil for me. Fortunately I have an Ally who is always ready to come to my aid and has already defeated Satan!

In fact, the devil is only “like” a lion. He is a poor imitation of the real thing. The real Lion is Jesus. Jesus is not “like” a lion – He is the “Lion of the tribe of Judah.” (Revelation 5:5)

My job is to be watchful and to resist and stand firm. God’s job is to defeat the devil and to provide us the strength that we need to fend off the devil’s attacks.

We have an enemy and we have an Ally – cling to the One and resist the other.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- June 5, 2013

Good Morning Friends,

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

I’m worried about _____. You can fill in the blank from your own life. We all have worries. We’re concerned about certain aspects of our lives. We’re not sure things are going to be O.K.

Do you think your problem is too big for God to deal with? Jeremiah reminded us, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” (Jeremiah 32:17)

Do you think your problem is too small for God to be concerned about? Paul told the Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6) Any and every problem can be brought to God. There’s nothing that we care about that He doesn’t care about!

Do you think the forces of the world are too strong for God to overcome? John said, “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

Do you think the cost of helping you with your problem is too great for God to be willing to pay? “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all -- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) He’s already made the BIG sacrifice. Don’t you think He’s willing to help you with the little things you're dealing with now?

The bottom line is that God loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His Son for you. He loves you so much that He’ll hold back nothing from you that you need. He loves you more than your parents love you. He loves you more than your spouse loves you. He loves you more than anyone on earth could possibly love you, more than you even love yourself! God loves you.

And because God loves you, you can trust Him with whatever it is that you are worried about! He’ll help --- because He loves you.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- June 4, 2013

Good Morning Friends,

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11)

The list of gifts that God has given to His people is long. Peter only mentions two of those gifts here, serving and speaking, but there are many others that are listed in 1 Corinthians, Romans, and Ephesians. Even those lists are not exhaustive, but just representative of some of the kinds of gifts that God has given.

The manner in which we are able to contribute to the Kingdom of God is a gift from God. What we do for the Lord does not come out of our own talents and efforts, but from God’s provision. He enables us to contribute to what He is doing in the world. That truth means that whatever credit or praise comes because of what we have done isn’t ours to keep to ourselves, it belongs to God. He created us, He gifted us, and He deserves the praise for what He accomplishes through us.

The purpose of the gifts God has given us is to serve others. They aren’t given to set us apart as special. They aren’t given to demonstrate our value to God or how righteous we are in His sight. They aren’t given to puff us up with pride. They aren’t given for our benefit at all, they are given to us to be used to benefit others, to serve them.

The gifts God has given us are one way that we can pass God’s grace on to other people. They are the way, at least one of the ways, that God wants to use to touch the lives of others.

So, whatever it is that you have, whether it’s a natural talent or a supernatural gift, it comes from God. Use those things for Him, and for those around you.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- June 3, 2013

 Good Morning Friends,

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. … The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” (1 Peter 4:1-3; 7)

Do you remember what it was like before you came to Christ? Do you remember the self-focus that dominated your thinking? Do you remember how easy it was to give in to the temptations to sin? Do you remember the ways you hurt yourself and hurt those around you with the sinful decisions that you made?

All of us remember those things. All of us have things in our past that we’d like to forget about and about which we are not proud.

Thank God that He has done a work in our lives to change us. It’s not that the work of God is finished. There are still ways that we give in to the temptations to sin. Still, our lives are not characterized by the same kind of wanton disregard for what pleases God that they were before we came to Christ. Or, they shouldn’t be!

That’s Peter’s point! We have “spent enough time” in sin. Isn’t that true? The memory of how empty giving ourselves to sin made us feel should cause us to be more diligent and disciplined to rid our lives of sinful choices. The memory of the guilt that plagued our spirit before we came to Christ should prompt us to rely on God for victory over the temptations we face today.

And here’s another reason to be more diligent to move toward self-control – we don’t have that much time left!  No one does. The end is near. No one who is over 50 can possibly deny that fact. Life speeds by at such a pace that we can’t believe it and the end is rushing toward us. The end of the world is also rushing toward us. With each passing year the earth seems to grow more and more depraved. Surely God will not allow this world to deteriorate much longer before He calls it to its appointed end.

I know I’ve already spent enough time in sin – haven’t you?

His, by Grace,

Steve