6/17/13

From Gary... Enduring beauty



My grand-daughter Elizabeth took these pictures of Linda's roses and they are beautiful. There is just something about roses (besides being my family name) that is wonderful.  They are soft and have a pleasant odor and just having them around is a feast for the eyes.  However, they DO NOT last forever; their attractiveness fades as they wither and die.  If you look closely at the larger ones in the picture, you will see that the process of decline and decomposition has already begun.  These roses made me reflect on how transient are the things of this world.  How wonderful EVERYTHING seemed when I was young, but now???  I wish there was no decline and death, but sorrowfully, that is not the case.  But what if wishes came true; what then???  Read on and you will see...

1 Peter, Chapter 1

 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,  2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.  3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy became our father again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  4 to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, 5 who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  6 Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials,  7 that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ—  8 whom not having known you love; in whom, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory—  9 receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,  11 searching for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, pointed to, when he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would follow them.  12 To them it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you, they ministered these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Good News to you by the Holy Spirit sent out from heaven; which things angels desire to look into. 

  13  Therefore prepare your minds for action, be sober and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ—  14 as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance,  15 but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior;  16 because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.”  17 If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear:  18 knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers,  19 but with precious blood, as of a faultless and pure lamb, the blood of Christ;  20 who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of times for your sake,  21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God. 

  22  Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:  23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.  24 For, 
“All flesh is like grass,
and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass.
The grass withers, and its flower falls;
  25 but the Lord’s word endures forever.”

This is the word of Good News which was preached to you. 

God's word does not fade; it is eternal.  The lives of countless individuals have attested to this fact and are witnesses of the truth.  Most prominent among those is Jesus.  He is the living example of God's word: resurrected, exalted, and providing us with an opportunity to be like him in heaven.  Tell me, have you heard any news today that even is in the same galaxy as that???  Look at the flowers, enjoy and reflect a bit and you will see what I mean.  And then, do yourself a favor.... read the first chapter of 1st Peter again.  Compare the two- one fades, the other does not.  Which one will you choose?

From Jim McGuiggan... Power Perfected In Weakness


Power Perfected In Weakness

The present tense of the verb suggests that the phrase "my power is made perfect in weakness" means God's power continues to be made perfect in weakness. The Greek text has no word answering to "my" but it appears that translators are correct in adding the word.
The text has immediate reference to Paul's own set of circumstances. If Paul wants to faithfully serve God (and he most certainly does) then he is to remember this truth: God's strength has always been and goes on being made perfect in weakness. Paul sees that truth demonstrated in his own labours across the world.
But the central and decisive demonstration of that truth is found in Jesus Christ who was "crucified in weakness" (2 Corinthians 13:4) and in that weakness he defeated all the powers of evil, cruelty and cynicism that led the creation to tear itself away from God and wake up in chaos (compare 
Colossians 2:15).

There is no silly claim here that God lacks "coercive" power. By "coercive" power I mean power that needs no co-operation to gain its object. Coercive power wills it to be so and it is! For example God can speak and non-existent galaxies obey and appear before him. He speaks through Christ and plain water immediately blushes and becomes wine. The power that is made perfect in weakness is another kind of power--but it is power nevertheless. It is non-coercive power. It's the power of love meeting hatred, it's the power of holiness meeting sin and it's the power of reconciling forgiveness meeting the fragmentation of rebellion. It is power that works within the parameters of relationships, respecting their structure and allowing them the possibility of the veto. (This needs further nuancing but I think you get my meaning.)
In the Corinthian context the power that is made perfect in weakness is God's will to redeem those who are too blind to know they need redeemed or are too hard to want to be redeemed. He who wants to rescue such people within the parameters of a relationship must come to them without coercion and the astounding thing is that God wants to do just that. He who would redeem us from our ugliness must love us even in our ugliness.
God seems to have a soft spot for the under-dog and weakness calls out not only his non-coercive power it calls out his coercive power to serve that power that is more costly to exercise.
There was a time when a man's aged body and a woman's barren womb said "no" and God in the power of love said "yes". A nation was enslaved and a mighty pharaoh said "no" to their freedom but God's powerful love said "yes". A restless sea and a brooding wilderness opposed their going home and said "no" and God's holy love said "yes". One day a representative of Rome and leaders of his own people consigned the Messiah to death's keeping and when God came asking for him the grave said "no". But God pounded his great fist on death's door and said an eternal "yes". All of that coercive power in the service of the power of love. Holy love's power that cannot bully its way into our lives is freely offered and is brought to perfection in our weakness.
All this reminds us that God's "coercive" power doesn't exist in isolation but is given its complexion by his "character". The exercises of his coercive power expressed his holy love and faithfulness. It not only makes sense to say that God's holy love determines how his coercive power will be exercised, it is following the biblical witness. A good and holy man will not say, "I am physically very powerful and my power will be the determining factor in all I do." Nor would a holy God even though he is omnipotent.
The passage doesn't say, "Your power is made perfect in weakness." The passage doesn't say, "You are made powerful in weakness." The power lies always with God and because in our weakness we are the place where God's saving power is made fully present we are said to be strong. But we are never said to be able. We hear, "Therefore he is able to save to the uttermost those that come to God by him" Always he and never we.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... Peter’s Denial Of Jesus (Mk 14:66-72)



                          "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

                   Peter’s Denial Of Jesus (14:66-72)

INTRODUCTION

1. Among the things Jesus suffered was the indignity of Peter’s
   denial...
   a. Three times, with increasing intensity, Peter denied knowing Jesus
      - Mk 14:66-72
   b. Peter denied knowing Jesus, despite being with Jesus:
      1) From the beginning of His earthly ministry - Mk 1:16-18
      2) At the healing of his own mother-in-law - Mk 1:29-31
      3) On the Sea of Galilee, walking on the water - Mt 14:22-33
      4) On the mount, seeing Jesus with Moses and Elijah - Mk 9:2-6

2. How did Peter come to deny his Lord and Savior...?
   a. What forces were at work, that led to his cowardly deed?
   b. Might they be forces we face today, encouraging us to do the same?

[From "Peter’s Denial Of Jesus", there are important lessons to be
gleaned.  Indeed, Peter himself can help us to avoid making the mistakes
he made when he writes as one who knows the dangers before us.  For
example, we note first of all that...]

I. PETER WAS BETRAYED BY PRIDE

   A. HE BOASTED HE WOULD NEVER DENY JESUS...
      1. Proudly proclaiming that even if all left Jesus, not him! - Mk 14:27-29
      2. In so doing, Peter took the first step in falling away - Pr 16:18
      3. We can also be overconfident in our service to God - cf. 1Co 10:12

   B. PETER LATER COMMANDED HUMILITY...
      1. To be clothed with humility - 1Pe 5:5
      2. To humble ourselves before God - 1Pe 5:6

[Peter learned the hard way about the danger of pride.  Will we learn
from the mistake of Peter, and value the importance of humility?  Next,
notice that...]

II. PETER WAS BESIEGED BY LAZINESS

   A. HE KEPT FALLING ASLEEP...
      1. At a time when he needed to be watchful - Mk 14:37-42
      2. His laziness therefore led to lack of preparation
      3. The same thing can happen to us!
         a. Without diligent preparation, we too can be unprepared - cf.
            Lk 21:34-36
         b. More often than not, we gradually "drift away" because we
            are too lazy to "give the more earnest heed" - cf. He 2:1-3

   B. PETER LATER ENJOINED DILIGENCE...
      1. Commanding vigilant resistance against the devil - 1Pe 5:8-9
      2. Calling for diligence that we might:
         a. Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus - 2Pe 1:5,10
         b. Be found in peace, without spot and blameless - 2Pe 3:14

[Do we allow simple laziness to keep us from careful preparation?  Do we
fail to attend services, study God’s Word, or even pray, because of
laziness?  If so, how can we hope to stand up for Jesus when put to the
test?  As we continue, we observe that...]

III. PETER WAS BESET BY COWARDICE

   A. HE FOLLOWED JESUS AT A DISTANCE...
      1. Peter still followed Jesus - Mk 14:54
      2. But now that Jesus was unpopular...
         a. He stays far enough away so not to be identified with Him
         b. He was unprepared to face the challenge of ridicule and
            persecution
      3. Might we be guilty trying to follow Jesus, but with cowardice?
         a. Ashamed to be seen carrying a Bible?
         b. Ashamed to be seen giving thanks?
         c. Ashamed to be seen with other Christians?

   B. PETER LATER EXHORTED GLORIFYING GOD...
      1. Charging us not to be ashamed, but to glorify God - 1Pe 4:16
      2. Thinking not of what things mean to us, but what they mean to
         God! - cf. Mt 5:16

[With cowardice keeping him at a distance from his Lord, Peter was a
prime candidate for succumbing to what came next...]

IV. PETER WAS BELEAGUERED BY WORLDLINESS

   A. HE WAS INFLUENCED BY THE WORLD...
      1. By sitting with the servants of the High Priest, and warming
         himself by their fire - Mk 14:54
      2. Ashamed to be seen with Christ, it was easy to mingle with
         those of the world and enjoy their comforts
      3. But one cannot be "comforted by the fire" of the world, and not
         be "burned"!
         a. E.g., close contact with things that can harm has an effect
            - cf. Pr 6:27-29
         b. So we cannot flirt with the world and walk away untouched
            - 1Co 15:33

   B. PETER LATER CALLED FOR US TO BE OTHERWORLDLY...
      1. To live as sojourners and pilgrims, abstaining from fleshly
         lusts and with honorable conduct among the nations - 1Pe 2:11-12
      2. To look for that new heavens and new earth, being diligent to
         be found by Christ in peace, without spot and blameless - 2Pe 3:13-14

CONCLUSION

1. When Peter concluded his second epistle, he did so with a warning...
   a. To beware lest you fall from your own steadfastness - 2Pe 3:17
   b. To grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ - 2Pe 3:18

2. These admonitions come from one who was well qualified to speak...
   a. For he knew how easy it was to fall through such things as:
      1) Pride
      2) Laziness
      3) Cowardice
      4) Worldliness
   b. But he also knew how one could grow in grace through such things
      as:
      1) Humility
      2) Diligence
      3) Glorifying God
      4) Living as strangers and sojourners

Yes, we know that Peter, though he denied Jesus three times and wept
bitterly, received grace when forgiven by Jesus and permitted to fulfill
his role as an apostle.  If we have been guilty of letting our Lord
down, look to Him for the grace to repent and growth that only He can
bestow...!



Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

eXTReMe Tracker