12/12/13

From Ben Fronczek... Are You Ready

Are You Ready

2 Peter 3
 - By Ben Fronczek


Over the past few months I have been bringing lessons from letters written by the Apostle Peter. I have to admit, I like Peter. He wasn’t the kind of guy one would imagine being a religious or holy man. When we are first introduced to Peter (called Simon), he was a fisherman. Many fishermen of that time were gruff, unkempt, vile, shabbily dressed, and often used vulgar language. He would be what we call a man’s man today. These guys were full of vigor and had hot tempers. Perhaps that’s why his friends  and fellow fisherman, James and his brother John were called the Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17).  Their’s was a rough life since fishing was a very messy and physically demanding job. They must have been somewhat fearless too because some of the storms that came quickly upon the Sea of Galilee were fierce and furious. They often caught the fishermen by surprise and could easily capsize the 20 to 30 foot boats they used.

One day when Jesus showed up on the scene and said, “Follow Me.” We read that Peter and his brother Andrew, simply dropped everything and left their fishing business behind to follow Jesus. In Gospel accounts we read that Peter was outspoken, impulsive, and was still humble enough and realized that he did not even deserve to be in Jesus’ presence. At one point he told Jesus,

“Go away from me Lord for I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8)

Being a rugged individual Himself, Jesus and Peter seem get along great. Peter along with James and John became what we now call His inner circle and they seemed a little closer than the other apostles. Peter saw almost all the miracles that Jesus performed including Him walking on water when he had an opportunity to do the same (Matthew 14:25-33). He saw the glory of Jesus on the Mt. of transfiguration where Jesus began to glow as bright as the sun (Matt. 17:1-9). He got to listen to all those amazing teachings of Jesus first hand. He saw the death, and then three days later witness Jesus’ empty tomb, and witnessed the resurrected Christ. He heard Jesus final command, to go into all nations and make more disciples, and then baptize them and teach them to obey everything that He commanded (Matt 28:18-20). And then Peter was there to witness Jesus rising through the clouds back to heaven which was followed by the angels promising that one day again He would return the same way that he departed. (Acts 1:9-11)

Serving as the spokesman of the first believers on the day of Pentecost Peter was the first to stand up and preach the good news about Jesus to the Jews telling them about who Jesus was, and why they needed to put their faith in Him as their Lord and Savior. And in the latter part of Acts 2 he encouraged the people to repent and turn away from their sinful ways and be baptized so that their sins would be forgiven. And then we read that 3000 respond to his message and were baptized that very day. (Acts 2:37-41).

Later we also read that Peter would also be the first one to bring the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles when he goes to the home of a Roman Centurion, named Cornelius (in Acts 10). They likewise baptized his entire household opening up the way of salvation for not just the Jews but for everyone else.

Peter willingly suffered persecution, imprisonment, beatings, and even rejoiced at the fact that he was worthy to suffer disgrace for the Lord‘s sake (Acts 5:17 & 40-41). After that we do not read too much about Peter other than the fact that he served as an elder in the early Church.

As most of you know Peter was totally dedicated to Jesus even though he had a moment of weakness and denied even knowing Jesus three times the night He was arrested. There are traditional stories that state that before Peter himself was crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy of being crucified like Jesus, he had to watch his wife be crucified. Trying to encourage her he was heard crying out to her, “Remember our Lord, remember our Lord.”
From an arrogant, cocky, man of thunder, he became a humble, willing, obedient servant of the Lord, even to death. He rejoiced in that day of his death, knowing that he would be reunited with his beloved Savior. The lowly fisherman became a mighty fisher of men – and one that changed and shaped the world forever and is still proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ through his writings.

I was surprised to read that many scholars believe that Peter is actually the author behind the Gospel of Mark. They believe that John Mark was simply the scribe recording Peter’s words. And then we have the letters we just studied, I & II Peter.

As we studied these letters we read messages of hope:                             

- Peter says that God has given us everything we need for a life of godliness through our knowledge of him (Jesus). And He has also given us his great and precious promises so that through them we may participate in His own divine nature and escape the corruption in the world cause by evil desires. (1 Pet. 1:3-4)                                                                                  

 - He also lets us know that we have been given a new birth into a living hope and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade- kept for you in heaven                                

- He said that we are precious to God, we are a chosen people a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to Him (1 Pet. 2:2-5 & 9)     

- He said that we should cast our anxiety on God because He cares for us. (1 Pet. 5:7)

- He said that even if you suffer Christ will restore you and make you strong (5:10)

We also saw that he gave us wise instruction:                                            

- That we should prepare our mind for action, be clear minded, be self controlled so we can pray. He wrote, be obedient children and do not conform to the evil desires we had before we were Christians. Rather, to the best of our ability we should be Holy because our heavenly Father is holy (1 Pet. 1:13-16). And we should do our best to love one another. In doing so we actually become a mechanism or a vehicle of God’s grace to others.

- We should do our best to get rid of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

- He said that we should seek to grow up in our salvation and like new born babes crave pure spiritual milk. And to our faith add goodness and to goodness add knowledge, and to knowledge add self control.. perseverance… godliness… brotherly kindness and love

- Peter said that we should live our lives as strangers here in this world in reverent fear.  And that…

- We should live for God and do good, and humbly submit to those who are over us, and offer hospitality without grumbling

- He said that we should do our best to make sure our calling and election is sure.

But then he also gave us many warnings, such as:                                          

- We need to be careful, alert and self controlled because the our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. He said we need to resist him and stand firm in our faith. (1 Pet.5:8-9)

- He also warns us of the fact that there will be false teachers even from within the church that we have to be careful of. These individuals are dangerous and can deceive weaker members and cause much harm to the church. (2 Pet. 2)
And finally as we close this series we come to one scary final warning and a recommendation in 2 Peter 3. To begin with, Peter reminds his readers exactly why he wrote these letter.  


“Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.”

He wrote these things down as reminders, to stimulate (Greek: Wake up, stir up, or arouse)  us to wholesome (or Pure) thinking. Our generation like theirs has become very lacked in thinking about or acting on spiritual matters. Other things apparently have slipped in and have become more important to many of us. Peter wanted to shake up his readers a bit for their own good. He wanted to remind them of what was written about and spoke about in the past by those OT prophets and what Jesus said.

And just like people mock and scoff at our Christian beliefs today, many doubted then, especially the warning that Jesus will come again. And when  the day of the Lord arrives a cataclysm will come as well.   


“Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgmentand destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

Just like people of old who mocked and probably laughed at Noah and his family, people today sneer at the suggestion that such a disaster or judgment shall befall our planet today.  Peter writes here that God does not look at time like we look at time. He doesn’t have a watch or calendar, rather He is patient not wanting anyone to perish and is waiting for everyone to come to repentance (that is everyone who will).

And then he goes on to talk about the event: Read 3:10     

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.”                        

Peter lets us know that this event will come unannounced, like a thief. When is going to happen? We don’t know. Peter doesn’t know, but it’s going to happen.

He said,  

“The heavens will disappear with a roar and the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.”

Exactly what this means, I don’t know for sure. I don’t think anyone knows. Is it possible for something like this to happen? Based on scientific evidence our planet could be fried and burnt to a crisp in a moment’s notice. There are powers at work in the universe that few barely understand. Like: – The effect black hole moving close to our solar system. – A gamma ray burst or another  devastating blast of cosmic radiation. – The effect of something called dark energy,  or the questionable effect of the earth passing thru the galactic plane which will happen at the end of this year. This is what the Mayans warned us about that something major is about to happen.  And there may more dangers that we don’t even know about..
To Peter, it really it doesn’t matter how, or even when. What matters to him is  are you going to be ready. 

Read 3:11-15  

“Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[a] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth,where righteousness dwells.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.”

At this point, I believe here at the end his final letter Peter is pouring our his heart out to his readers. It is the last message we receive from him.  It doesn’t matter how or when this event is going to take place, he is more concerned about his readers being ready and living like, and being the kind of people we ought to be. And if you are living the way you should and are standing right with God you shouldn’t fear that day, rather you can look forward to it. Why, because we are looking forward to a new reality, a new and better existence for faithful men and women, in a new heavenly existence described as a new heaven and earth promised by God Himself. In that realm somehow we will be changed into spiritual beings, glorious beings like Jesus Himself. (1 Cor. 15)

The question is, are we ready? Better yet, are you ready?

Peter says that the Lord is patiently waiting for you to come to Him in faith. This promise does not cost us more than our faith and devotion. Jesus paid the price and died on the cross for every sin that we have and ever will commit. He’s the one who was willing suffer in your place for those sins as a gift to you because He loves you. All we need to do is accept that gift in faith. He wants you to confess that faith to others and do your best to turn away from doing evil things. And if you allow yourself to be baptized He said that He would remove those sins from just like a surgeon cuts away a cancer. He lets us know that if you do this you will be like a new born babe in God’s eyes. (Acts 2:37-38, 22:16; Colossians 2:9-13 & Romans 6:3-11)

Challenge:
Get ready and prepare because none of us know when that great day will come. For that matter we don’t know how long we are going to live. Peter pleads with us to get ready!

For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

From Jim McGuiggan... More Fireworks in the Fog

More Fireworks in the Fog

I recently read a piece that reflected on an article that talked about suffering. The article reviewed (actually, it wasn't reviewed), we were told, claimed that the answer to human suffering was found in the book of Job. (It’d take a brave or wild man or woman to make a claim like that.) We weren’t told who wrote the article and more importantly we weren’t told what the writer of the article had said. This means we weren’t told how the writer of the original article related the book of Job to "suffering answered". We were only told how astonished the reviewer was and how harmful the piece was; which the reviewer assured us was an expression of pride and arrogance that we should ignore and regard as "man’s wisdom".

The reviewer didn't tell us why the article astonished him, why it was harmful and created havoc; we weren’t told how the astonished one knew it was merely "man’s wisdom" or why we should ignore such a piece of writing. Ignore what, for pity’s sake? The reviewer treated us to fireworks in the fog while professing to give us light. The reviewer asked us to accept his word that some article of some kind saying something or other was arrogance and harmful man's wisdom. The reviewer accused our unknown author of arrogance and sets himself up as the judge of his work without even allowing us the opportunity to give it a hearing. Hmmm.

I wouldn’t suppose that any of us would want to rely on "man’s wisdom" as over against God’s; but that’s precisely the problem, isn’t it? We often don’t know the difference between what is God’s wisdom and man’s wisdom. To warn against man’s wisdom is wise and it’s also pious—it shows our own wisdom and humility, don’t you see. But to warn without telling others what we’re warning against is worse than no warning at all. Why is this teaching "man’s wisdom" rather than that teaching? How can we tell? Who can tell us? We hear the same kind of talk when people warn us against "Liberalism" and "heresy". Some years ago a prominent figure, in an open forum, was raging away against "Liberals" and a questioner asked him what he meant by the word. He said, "Those that don’t agree with what we’ve always believed."

The old piece of advice goes this way: if you want to get rid of a troublesome dog, get it to eat soap and when it foams at the mouth yell "mad dog," shoot it immediately and make sure no one has a close look at the corpse. Then there’s the story of "Live Forever" Jones who was convicted of a criminal charge. Someone asked him why he hadn’t made any points in his defence and he said, "I was afraid if I made points they’d hang me on them."

Here’s a piece of wisdom: see if what you read makes any points. If it doesn’t—no matter how pious sounding it is—dismiss it as fatuous and a waste of your time.
It isn’t hard for me to understand why some non-believers can’t put up with our pious bleating. Sometimes we’re just too sweet to be wholesome.

©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... Introduction To The Epistle ( 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2)

               "THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS"

                  Introduction To The Epistle (1:1-2)

INTRODUCTION

1. In our study of First Thessalonians, we found it to be an epistle...
   a. Written shortly after the establishment of the church in
      Thessalonica
   b. Providing personal reflections (1Th 1-3) and apostolic
      instructions (1Th 4-5)
   c. With the theme of "Holiness In View Of The Coming Of Christ"
   d. Mentioning the coming of Christ in each of the five chapters

2. Not longer afterward Paul wrote Second Thessalonians, an epistle...
   a. Containing three short chapters
   b. In which the coming of Christ is again an important theme
   c. Encouraging Christians in time of persecution
   d. Cautioning them against false conceptions of the Lord's return

3. As we continue to wait for the coming of the Lord...
   a. There may be times when we are persecuted
   b. There are certainly many different views of the coming of the Lord

[Therefore this epistle is certainly relevant to our time.  Thus we
begin a series of lessons based on Second Thessalonians, starting with
an "Introduction To The Epistle"...]

I. THE AUTHOR (1:1a)

   A. PAUL...
      1. Confirmed by a reference to his own signature at the end - 2 Th 3:17
      2. Early sources in church history that attribute this letter to
         Paul include:  Clement of Alexandria (200 A.D.), Tertullian
         (200 A.D.), and Irenaeus (200 A.D.)

   B. JOINED BY SILVANUS AND TIMOTHY...
      1. Silvanus, also known as Silas
         a. Who together with Paul established the church in
            Thessalonica - Ac 17:1-4
         b. Who joined Paul in the salutation of the first letter - 1 Th 1:1
      2. Timothy, also known as Timotheus
         a. Paul's son in the faith - cf. 1Ti 1:2
         b. Who also joined Paul in the salutation of the first letter
            - 1Th 1:1
         c. And served as Paul's emissary to Thessalonica - 1Th 3:1-2,6

[Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy were naturally concerned about the welfare
of the church in Thessalonica.  Let's now review some things about...]

II. THE RECIPIENTS OF THE EPISTLE (1:1b)

   A. THE CITY OF THESSALONICA...
      1. It was the capital and largest city of the Roman province of
         Macedonia
      2. Located on the Egnatian Way, a major road from Rome to the
         eastern provinces
      3. The city served as a center of trade and commerce
      -- Today, it is known as Thessaloniki (formerly Salonica)

   B. THE CHURCH OF THE THESSALONIANS...
      1. Its establishment is recorded in Ac 17:1-9
         a. On his second journey, Paul and his companions had just left
            Philippi
         b. Traveling through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they arrived at
            Thessalonica
         c. Paul went to the synagogue on the Sabbath as an opportunity
            for evangelism
         d. For three weeks he reasoned with the Jews, converting some
            and a number of prominent Gentiles
         e. Unbelieving Jews soon caused a disturbance, forcing Paul to
            leave
      2. Despite such ominous beginnings, a strong church was
         established
         a. It quickly gained a good reputation - 1Th 1:8
         b. It was mostly Gentiles - 1Th 1:9
         c. Members included Jason (Ac 17:9), Aristarchus and Secundus
            (Ac 20:4)
      3. From the first letter we learn...
         a. Persecution of the church had continued, giving Paul grave
            concern - 1Th 3:1-5
         b. Yet they had remained strong, giving Paul great comfort
            - 1Th 3:6-8

[Encouraged by what Timothy had reported, Paul wrote the first epistle.
But it was not long after that Paul found it necessary to write
again...]

III. THE PLACE AND DATE OF WRITING

   A. THE PLACE...
      1. In our study of First Thessalonians, we suggested Corinth as
         the place from which it was written
         a. Paul had only been gone a short time - 1Th 2:17-18
         b. He had sent Timothy from Athens, who had returned - 1 Th 3:1-6
         c. Yet Paul did not stay long in Athens - Ac 17:16-18:1
         d. And Timothy came back from Macedonia after Paul arrived in
            Corinth - Ac 18:5
         -- Thus the first letter was likely written soon after Paul's
            arrival in Corinth
      2. The second letter appears to been written just a few months,
         perhaps a year later
         a. Paul stayed in Corinth eighteen months - Ac 18:11
         b. If Paul wrote the first letter at the beginning of his stay,
            he could have easily written the second letter toward the
            end of his stay
         -- Thus the second letter was likely also written from Corinth

   B. THE DATE...
      1. Paul arrived in Corinth sometime around 50-52 A.D.
      2. Writing the second epistle toward the end of his stay, the date
         would be 53 A.D.

[Now let's consider...]

IV. THE PURPOSE AND CONTENT OF THE EPISTLE

   A. THE PURPOSE...
      1. From the letter itself, it appears that the church at
         Thessalonica remained strong in the Lord despite persecution
         - cf. 2Th 1:3-4
      2. But it is apparent from this letter that misunderstanding about
         the Lord's coming was present in the church
         a. Some of the members were being troubled by false reports
            - cf. 2Th 2:1-2
         b. Others had stopped working, perhaps assuming that the Lord's
            imminent return meant one did not need to work anymore
            - cf. 2Th 3:11-12
      3. Paul appears to have a threefold purpose in writing this
         epistle:
         a. To encourage them in their steadfastness under persecution
         b. To correct their misunderstanding about the imminence of the
            Lord's return
         c. To instruct the congregation on what disciplinary action to
            take toward those who refused to work

   B. THE CONTENT...
      1. Encouragement in persecutions - 2Th 1:1-12
         a. Salutation, and thanksgiving for their spiritual growth
            - 1:1-4
         b. Encouragement in trials in view of the coming of Christ
            - 1:5-10
         c. His prayer for them - 1:11-12
      2. Enlightenment about the coming of the Lord - 2Th 2:1-17
         a. The apostasy must come first - 2:1-12
         b. Steadfastness encouraged - 2:13-17
      3. Exhortation to Christian living - 2Th 3:1-18
         a. A request for prayer, and a prayer for them - 3:1-5
         b. A charge to discipline the disorderly - 3:6-15
         c. Concluding remarks - 3:16-18

CONCLUSION

1. With an emphasis on remaining steadfast, an appropriate theme for
   this epistle would be:

         "Steadfastness While Waiting For The Coming Of Christ"

2. In keeping with such a theme, I offer the following passage as the
   key verses of the epistle:

   "Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you
   were taught, whether by word or our epistle.  Now may our Lord Jesus
   Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us
   everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts
   and establish you in every good word and work." - 2Th 2:15-17

As we proceed through this epistle, it will be my prayer that our study
will lead to steadfastness in our service to God as we wait for the
coming of Jesus, that we might truly be recipients of His grace and
peace (2Th 1:2)!

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011


From Gary... Things

































This has to be my favorite car of all time!!!  Something says it is a Dusenberg or an Excalibur, but I don't really don't know.  Anyway, I love this car.  I know that I will never have it (unless something life-changing happens) but it is sort of nice to imagine having it.  Funny how the days of ones life seem to intertwine in a commonality of thought!!!  Just last night our preacher (Larry Schatzer) taught on the parables again and guess which one he chose...

Luke, Chapter 12
 13  One of the multitude said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 

  14  But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”   15 He said to them, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.” 

  16  He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man produced abundantly.  17  He reasoned within himself, saying, ‘What will I do, because I don’t have room to store my crops?’  18  He said, ‘This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.   19  I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 

  20  “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’   21  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” 

  22  He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear.   23  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  24  Consider the ravens: they don’t sow, they don’t reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds!   25  Which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his height?   26  If then you aren’t able to do even the least things, why are you anxious about the rest?   27  Consider the lilies, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.   28  But if this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith?   29  Don’t seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious.   30  For the nations of the world seek after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need these things.   31  But seek God’s Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.   32 Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.   33  Sell that which you have, and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heavens that doesn’t fail, where no thief approaches, neither moth destroys.   34  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Everyone likes nice things, but with them comes a danger of giving them too high a priority in life.  God knows our needs and abundantly supplies them. But the things we lust after... well- not so much!!!   Still, seemingly unimportant gifts can mean a lot.  Just before Linda and I were married, I was working with my father in Mechanicville, N.Y. as a plumber's helper and when the lady of the house (Mrs. Flilippo Falco) heard that I was getting married, she dissappeared for awhile and returned with a gift (an inch square little book with Bible Verses in it).  I have kept that little book for over 45 years now and intend to do so for the rest of my life.  Why?  Because it means something to me.  If someone who is a stranger can show kindness like that- well, then there really is hope for the human race.  Gifts don't have to be fancy or expensive to be valuable, but if God decides to use someone to bring a little pleasure into your life, be happy with whatever you receive.  Still, there is that car...  Stop, Gary... remember the verse you just read...

31  But seek God’s Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.