It is a beautiful Wednesday morning and I am reading my Bible enjoying the birds singing as the sun comes up. I am reading the second Epistle of Peter and I had to jot this down while it is fresh on my mind. Peter’s second epistle begins this way, “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:” II Peter 1:1 (NKJV) I have always liked that statement, “To those who have obtained like precious faith…” It to me is one of the “Awesome” quotes that God has placed throughout His precious Word. It is statements such as this that that help us to go on even when troubles and trials have us at wits end. He is writing this epistle to me, one like him who has obtained like precious faith, and there are no greater words we can use to describe than “Precious Faith.”
This “Precious Faith,” is ours and is something that we obtain by (or through) “the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:” He gives us a privilege that we do not deserve but in our state of unworthiness He grants us this faith through His Grace. One of the most precious aspects of this faith is that it is that which links our fellowship with Christ. It is this faith that helps us to hold on. It is this faith that helps us to grow closer to Christ and the closer we grow to Him the more Precious He is to us.
When taking time to write a letter to help encourage and exhort a fellow believer (Titus) the Apostle Paul wrote, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, (12) teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, (13) looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” Titus 2:11-13 (NKJV) This Precious Faith walks hand in hand with the Blessed Hope that Paul speaks of here to Titus. This Blessed Hope is sustaining to me and it just sounds better and better because His Glorious appearing is what I am longing to see. It is the knowledge of the Glorious appearing of Jesus that is my hope it is the promise and sealant of the precious faith that I have in Him.
This precious faith holds and binds us, sealing the truth of the blessed hope within us and as we see in the following verse. “And everyone who has this hope purifies himself, just as he is pure.” I John 3:3. If we have this hope it purifies us just as He is pure. What a thought, what a hope and what faith it takes to hold and to maintain this hope. If we do so, we purify our hearts, our minds and our lives. In this truth we grow in the Lord and we become more like the Lord Jesus.
Would not our lives be exceedingly better if we would strive to be more like Christ? This is especially true in this day and age that we currently live in. The world and even this precious country of ours is turning away from Christ. We who are His must make it our goal, our mission to do more for the cause of Christ especially as we see the day approaching. How sad it would be for a country such as ours which has experienced the blessings of Christ to disappear from the annuls of history.
Hebrews 10:38, “Now the just shall live by faith: but if anyone draws back, my soul shall has no pleasure in him.” (NKJV) We are to live by faith, if we do not we will be as those who draw back, as those who shrink away for Christ, In doing so we cause Him to turn His face from us, to take his hands of protection off of us.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
An Odd Church Encounter
I like court room dramas just for the sheer intensity of their atmosphere. One of my favorite courtroom scenes is from “A Few Good Men.” Col. Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson) is on the stand and is being interrogated by Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise). In one of the scenes you get one of the famous movie line quotes when Col. Jessep says, “You can’t handle the truth.” How true this is in almost every relationship that we are in. Case in point some other lines that we are faced with and we know that “they can’t handle the truth.” “Does this make me look fat?” “Do you care if I go shopping with my mother?” “One drink will not hurt.” etc.
We have taken this to the point that we often keep from saying things to some people in fear of offending or hurting them. We struggle with truth with some because we know that they are insecure in their relationship with you. So many people carry their feelings on their shoulders and blow off at the smallest of matters.
The other day I was talking to someone in the church before the service mostly making small talk nothing serious. Though the conversation was not serious but something was very serious and that was their breath. I did not want to hurt their feelings or say something wrong. What if they had a sour stomach or some other stomach problem? What if they had a dental problem? What if they leave me some clean air to breathe?
I tried to break the conversation off, I tried to move away but they kept encroaching pushing me more and more into a corner. Sometimes I wish that I had the brashness of Lt. Callahan (Clint Eastwood) in Dirty Harry when he was confronted by Captain Briggs (Bradford Dillman) and said, “Your mouth wash ain’t cutting it.”
Those words are not edifying but they sure would feel good rolling off of my tongue. What a grand violation of God’s rules of communication. That would be a giant step backward in my efforts to speak as God would have me to, as He would have all believers to do. We find in Ephesians 4: 25 God’s command to speak the truth, “Therefore, putting away lying, Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.” (NKJV) Speaking the truth is really not enough because we can do so in a harmful way. So to avoid this we add to this the truth that which we find in verse 15 of that same chapter, “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--” (NKJV).
We are to speak, speak truth but speak truth lovingly. This truth Is sealed in verse 29 which reads, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Some of the strongest preaching we do needs to be directed back at ourselves. I am so glad that I do not have the brashness of a Dirty Harry but still long for the compassion of the Saviour when I do speak to others.
We have taken this to the point that we often keep from saying things to some people in fear of offending or hurting them. We struggle with truth with some because we know that they are insecure in their relationship with you. So many people carry their feelings on their shoulders and blow off at the smallest of matters.
The other day I was talking to someone in the church before the service mostly making small talk nothing serious. Though the conversation was not serious but something was very serious and that was their breath. I did not want to hurt their feelings or say something wrong. What if they had a sour stomach or some other stomach problem? What if they had a dental problem? What if they leave me some clean air to breathe?
I tried to break the conversation off, I tried to move away but they kept encroaching pushing me more and more into a corner. Sometimes I wish that I had the brashness of Lt. Callahan (Clint Eastwood) in Dirty Harry when he was confronted by Captain Briggs (Bradford Dillman) and said, “Your mouth wash ain’t cutting it.”
Those words are not edifying but they sure would feel good rolling off of my tongue. What a grand violation of God’s rules of communication. That would be a giant step backward in my efforts to speak as God would have me to, as He would have all believers to do. We find in Ephesians 4: 25 God’s command to speak the truth, “Therefore, putting away lying, Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.” (NKJV) Speaking the truth is really not enough because we can do so in a harmful way. So to avoid this we add to this the truth that which we find in verse 15 of that same chapter, “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--” (NKJV).
We are to speak, speak truth but speak truth lovingly. This truth Is sealed in verse 29 which reads, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Some of the strongest preaching we do needs to be directed back at ourselves. I am so glad that I do not have the brashness of a Dirty Harry but still long for the compassion of the Saviour when I do speak to others.
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