Category Archives: Peter

One of 2 things…

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Plans change. Sounds like life, doesn’t it?

If you read my post form last Tuesday, you would not be expecting any new content today.

Plans change.

Here is a link for last week so you can catch up. Summer break!

My original plan was to not post anything new until September. I wanted to focus more on a novel I am trying to write.

Plans change.

A thought came to mind while I was reading a book. I try to do this on a regular basis.

The book is entitled 33 A.D. It is the second of two in a series.

Ted Dekker, the author, blends the life of Jesus into a fictional story. I am almost done with the second book. They are really engaging and thought-provoking.

There are no spoilers here just some praise for a good read.

There is one section that describes the scene at the Garden of Gethsemane. The night before the crucifixion, Jesus and his disciples go to the garden after the last supper.

Two things take place.

  1. Jesus wept. (Luke 22)

Jesus went to God with his pain, concern, anxiety, and troubles. He knew that he was destined to be killed.

But his flesh did not want it to happen. After all, he was fully human as well as fully God.

2. Peter slept. (Luke 22)

He was tired. Maybe he was trying to stay awake but he failed. We know that later that night, he denied Jesus.

His flesh was also pulling on his mind. And he yielded to it.

When we choose to be like Jesus, we become adept at getting through trials.

If we behave like Peter, we stay inept while being tempted.

Isn’t it nice how those four words rhyme?

Jesus wept and in doing so, became adept at overcoming temptation.

Peter slept and in doing so, was inept to fighting the temptation.

We all have Gethsemane moments in our lives. Sometimes daily.

One of 2 things is happening: sleeping or weeping.

Which one are you doing?

The Ultimate Vaccine

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Grace and mercy are fun attributes to study. Saying that God is graceful just feels good.

His mercies are new every morning. Good thoughts but even better theology.

We love to think about the positive characteristics of God.

He loves us.

Grace and mercy are right along side that love.

What about His faithfulness or kindness?

What about holiness? Surely this trait is no less important that any of the others?

I Peter 1:16 “For it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” ” NIV

Peter is quoting Leviticus 11:44-45.

Here are those verses:

“44I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. 45I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.” NIV

So why does Peter quote these verses? They speak to the dietary restrictions God has originally placed on the Israelites. Does that apply to me? Today?

God is different than we are. I really didn’t even need to type that sentence. Of course He is!

And that is the point. God is holy.

The Holiness of God | God Speaks I Listen

In a word, holy means seperate.

God is separate from us. The impurity of sin does not come in contact with God because He is separate, or holy.

He is the ultimate vaccine!

Because God is holy, He and sin cannot abide in the same space at the same time.

When you turn on the light switch, the darkness goes away. The light is holy, separated from the dark.

Now, add in grace and mercy. Because God also has these traits, He desires a relationship with us.

His love compels Him to restore relationship with us.

His holiness (and our sin) prevents Him to be with us.

His grace provides a solution to sin.

His mercy envelops us back to Him.

They all work together.

We can holy like God (as Peter was encouraging us to do).

All because God is who He is!

30 Bible verses about God, Holiness Of

Accepting Jesus into our lives is the key.

Our very life depends on it.

Take all of these traits of God and let them roll around in your mind for a while.

God might just be calling you.

God bless you.

H.E.L.P. part 2

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Hey there! If you are joining me for the first time, you have stepped right into the middle of a series! Don’t worry, you don’t need to clean your shoes.

The first part was last week’s post, H.E.L.P. Click here to catch up.

Alrighty! Jumping in where we left off…

The word HELP is an acronym.

H – Holy Spirit

E –

L –

P –

So now, we come to the E. I hope you like different languages because we are about to head to Greece!

The New Testament was written in Greek. It was a common language at the time of Jesus. I do not claim to be any type of scholar but I have learned some things. Let me share one thing I have learned.

The Church is a great help when it comes to living for God.

This entry is from biblehub.com. Biblehub.com is an excellent resource when digging into God’s Word. I copied it from this web page.

“1577 ekklēsía(from 1537 /ek, “out from and to” and 2564 /kaléō, “to call”) – properly, people called out from the world and to God, the outcome being the Church (the mystical body of Christ) – i.e. the universal (total) body of believers whom God calls out from the world and into His eternal kingdom.”

The definition you just read comes from the word “church” used in Matthew 16:18.

Jesus said to Peter, “Upon this rock I will build my church (ekklesia)”

H – Holy Spirit

E – Ekklesia

L –

P –

The second form of divine help is the church.

With that statement, there can be a myriad of ideas as to what the church is or should be.

Let’s go back to that definition. We are “people called out from the world and to God.”

When we get together for church, we celebrate this idea that God has called us out! He has purpose for us. And by worshiping Him with other believers, we can keep moving forward in our pursuit of Him!

As to which specific church building should a person attend? That is highly subjective because of so many differing reasons.

Here is my simple formula for deciding:

  1. Is the church bible-based with its teaching and doctrine?
  2. Do you feel challenged and encouraged when learning about God and His Word?
  3. Is there music that is within your range of liking?
  4. Is there a place within the church that you can help and share your talents?

If you can answer yes to these questions, then you may have just found your church home!

The reason I write about a local church is that I think that it is supremely important to be connected to a body of believers.

Through COVID and 2020, my family and I have not been to church but for a few weeks. It has been terrible.

It is really difficult to live for God as a lone ranger. The Kingdom of heaven is not for mavericks!

The Holy Spirit resides in each believer. That form of help cannot be taken away.

The church, ekklesia, is also available for anyone. Make use of that help today.

H – Holy Spirit

E – Ekklesia

L –

P –

God will help you everyday. He might just choose to a church.

Two forms of help explained. Two more to go. See you next week.

Even the angels…

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Hello friends!

I realize it has been a while since I posted. Busy times.

In the meantime though, there have been two ideas rolling around in my head.

idea cloud

But let me catch you up first, in case you have missed my posts.

catch up

For the last number of posts, I have been going through I Peter. Today, this post will cover through verses 8-12 of chapter 1. Click here for the most recent post.

I have also stated that it seems to be taking a long time. Well, so what. Okay, on to verse 8.

Here is the first of the two ideas that have been taking up space in my brain:

1. I have never seen Jesus but I have given my whole life to Him.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” I Peter 1:8-9

More than just getting something, I have purpose.

My life is justified in Jesus. There is hope.

In a word, salvation.

It would take many more posts to explain all the many facets of salvation and the scriptures that support them. I probably have other posts that would accomplish this but I don’t recall which ones would have that information. Maybe read a few of them…?

Now, as for the second idea…

2. Angels are curious.

Apparently, angels are concerned with the things of man. God sends these heavenly being to do His bidding. Human life would be vastly different if there were no angels.

But about this salvation…they are curious. They don’t get the same perspective that we get. The Holy Spirit resides in those who follow Christ. That spirit empowers us to live according to God’s purpose. God, via the Holy Spirit, is with us every step of our lives.

Angels don’t that privilege.

sad-angel

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.” I Peter 1:10-12

Have you ever been to a sting ray tank? You can buy little fish and feed these magnificent creatures. Watching them glide through the water is amazing. It is really cool how you can look over the side to see into their world.

You want to lean close to get a good glimpse or maybe even to touch one of them as they swim by.

stingray

That is how the angels feel about us!

Even the angels long to look into these things…they want to know about us and our world!

I am greatly encouraged by these things. God is really cool that way.

Gold!!!

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Guy walks into a jewelry store and proceeds to steal a gold watch. As he is running away, the store owners yells at him. “AU, that’s not your watch!”

gold watch

If you didn’t get that joke, go back to the periodic table of elements. Find number 79. It should make itself clear at that point. =-)

My last post, Trials and Chocolate, ended with the promise to blog about Gold bars.

According to www.usmint.gov, here are some fun facts about gold:

  • Amount of present gold holdings: 147.3 million ounces.
  • The only gold removed has been very small quantities used to test the purity of gold during regularly scheduled audits. Except for these samples, no gold has been transferred to or from the Depository for many years.
  • The gold is held as an asset of the United States at book value of $42.22 per ounce.
  • Highest gold holdings this century: 649.6 million ounces (December 31, 1941).
  • Size of a standard gold bar: 7 inches x 3 and 5/8 inches x 1 and 3/4 inches.
  • Weight of a standard gold bar: approximately 400 ounces or 27.5 pounds.

Now for the spiritual side of gold.

We are in I Peter, and, if I say so myself, not moving very fast. No problem. It is good to meditate on God’s word. Here is verse 7 of the first chapter:

“These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

If I read that correctly, my faith has greater value than gold.

Why do we go through trials and tribulations?

So that our faith can be proven.

Gold is put through fire. It needs the fire to be purified.

By itself, the gold cannot remove any impurities.

This process of refining gold is complicated and multi-faceted. I don’t understand it either. But the basics are worth catching.

Gold can be found on all seven continents. Regardless of where it was mined, the gold coming out of the earth is not yet pure. It has a long way to go before it gets to your fiance’s finger.

Hence, the refining process. The fire of God.

gold refining

For us, that comes in the form of hard times, temptations, or struggles.

God is desiring that the impurities are removed.

When Jesus comes back, our lives will reflect His glory. Or they won’t reflect His glory.

We can choose to rely on God through the trial or we can try to stick it out ourselves. 

Think about that last sentence.

Who are we to say that we know better than the Almighty God?

Who am I to ignore His grace just for a moment of pleasure?

As much as it hurts or is uncomfortable, let the refining process happen.

I know that I am trying.

I want to be super shiny when Christ returns. I will reflect His character, praise, honor, and glory so much more that way!

At some point soon, you will probably see gold. It might be your wedding band. Perhaps a gold crayon. Maybe the sky will provide golden hues.

Let that color remind you of these two things:

  1. God is letting you go through the refining process to become pure.
  2. God will also never let you go through it alone.

gold bullion