Several years ago, I heard that within the Muslim religion, the pig is such an unclean animal that anyone who touches a pig, or anyone who eats any kind of pork product, willingly or unwillingly, is condemned to hell, with no hope of redemption.
On Friday evening, authorities finally captured Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of two men suspected of planting the bombs that were detonated at Monday’s Boston Marathon. This coming about 18 or 19 hours after the other suspect, his older brother, Tamerlan, was killed in a gunfight with police.
Monday’s bombing angered me, just as it did everyone else in America. I have absolutely no tolerance for terrorists of any kind. My anger has been so strong that I have thought that, if Dzhokhar is a radical Islamic jihadist, as it seems his brother was, this is what they should do with him: Presuming he is tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for his involvement in the attack, someone should open a can of SPAM and force him to eat it. Just shove it down his throat. Then he will die knowing that he is going to hell.
But then I had to catch myself, knowing that this is an entirely wrong attitude for me, as a Christian, to have. Jesus died for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev just as much as He died for me. Let me put it another way. I deserve to go to hell just as much as Tsarnaev does. No, I’ve never killed anyone. No, I’ve never sought to kill, hurt, maim, and terrorize thousands of people by planting a bomb in a highly populated area. But I am a sinner. I have a natural tendency to break God’s laws, and I have broken God’s laws—many times. For that, I deserve to go to hell, just as the Tsarnaev brothers deserve to go to hell; just as each of us deserves to go to hell.
The real difference between me and a terrorist is not that the terrorist has killed, or sought to kill, as many people as he can, while I have not. The difference is that I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. I have been made a recipient of the unconditional grace of God. A terrorist like Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, to my knowledge, has not.
Therefore, rather than wishing hell on this man, what I should be doing is praying for his salvation. I ought to pray that somehow, some way, he might be exposed to the gospel and believe in Jesus Christ.
This does not mean that if he ever did become a Christian, I would then feel he should be spared of whatever sentence, including the death penalty, is placed on him if he is indeed convicted of this heinous crime. The reality of God’s forgiveness does not negate the consequences of our actions. King David committed adultery with Bathsheba. Then he tried to cover it up by having her husband murdered. When confronted with his sin, David repented and sought forgiveness. Through the prophet Nathan, God essentially said to David, “I forgive you. You are now once again in right standing with Me. However, you still have to face the consequences of your actions. Some very unpleasant things are about to happen in your life.”
Therefore, if this man is convicted and even put to death for involvement in this act of terrorism, regardless of his religion, justice will have been served. In that, I will find a sense of satisfaction, and I think rightly so. But I need to guard myself against finding any kind of pleasure in the thought of anyone going to hell, no matter how much of an enemy he has proven himself to be.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Liberal Media Blaming Right-Wing Extremists
I’d be a lot happier not listening to the news. A pundit news correspondent on MSNBC said that we have no idea whether the two suspects in the Boston bombing were either 1) Domestic right-wing militia-type people, perhaps upset about something like what happened in Waco, TX in 1993, or 2) Affiliated with an international terrorist group.
What angers me about this is the assumption that if these individuals are domestic terrorists, then they must right-wing extremists. God forbid allowing for the possibility that they might have liberal political viewpoints. And, of course, it is absolutely impossible that these men might have voted for President Obama in the last election. Democrats—people with liberal viewpoints—just don’t commit this type of crime.
Could these men be right-wing radicals? Sure they could. My point is that we do not yet have any idea who they are or what kind of political views they have. Nor do we have any idea whether or not the bombing was even politically motivated.
The fact is that there are some members of the liberal media who cannot resist taking advantage of the opportunity to blame this event on right-wing extremists. They are trying to secure support for the Democratic Party in future elections. “Vote Democratic. Vote Liberal. After all, it was members of the right-wing movement who committed this crime.” They want you to associate these terrorists with conservatism. Even if it is a very loose association, they want you to make that association and use it to reject the Republican Party and conservative ideals.
Admittedly, and proudly, I am a political conservative. But my goal here is not to convince you to vote conservatively. My goal is to convince you to not let yourself be influenced by the media pundits who want to plant in your head the assumption that any domestic terrorist is, by default, a right-wing extremist. My goal is to encourage you to think for yourself. If you are a Democrat, you have plenty of reasons for it. You don’t need associating domestic terrorists with the right wing as a reason to reject the Republican Party. And if you’re a Republican, you’re not likely to buy into this garbage anyway. If you’re a moderate, be smart. Think rationally. The next time you vote, vote for the candidates with whose political views you agree. Don’t reject any particular candidate because you heard that these terrorists were of a certain political mindset.
What angers me about this is the assumption that if these individuals are domestic terrorists, then they must right-wing extremists. God forbid allowing for the possibility that they might have liberal political viewpoints. And, of course, it is absolutely impossible that these men might have voted for President Obama in the last election. Democrats—people with liberal viewpoints—just don’t commit this type of crime.
Could these men be right-wing radicals? Sure they could. My point is that we do not yet have any idea who they are or what kind of political views they have. Nor do we have any idea whether or not the bombing was even politically motivated.
The fact is that there are some members of the liberal media who cannot resist taking advantage of the opportunity to blame this event on right-wing extremists. They are trying to secure support for the Democratic Party in future elections. “Vote Democratic. Vote Liberal. After all, it was members of the right-wing movement who committed this crime.” They want you to associate these terrorists with conservatism. Even if it is a very loose association, they want you to make that association and use it to reject the Republican Party and conservative ideals.
Admittedly, and proudly, I am a political conservative. But my goal here is not to convince you to vote conservatively. My goal is to convince you to not let yourself be influenced by the media pundits who want to plant in your head the assumption that any domestic terrorist is, by default, a right-wing extremist. My goal is to encourage you to think for yourself. If you are a Democrat, you have plenty of reasons for it. You don’t need associating domestic terrorists with the right wing as a reason to reject the Republican Party. And if you’re a Republican, you’re not likely to buy into this garbage anyway. If you’re a moderate, be smart. Think rationally. The next time you vote, vote for the candidates with whose political views you agree. Don’t reject any particular candidate because you heard that these terrorists were of a certain political mindset.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Misfits Crossing the Red Sea
There are a number of directions I could go with Pastor John Han’s sermon on the crossing of the Red Sea. Did it really happen or not? Is the story meant to be taken literally or symbolically?
I was struck by the fact that John was told by a six-year-old boy, of all people, “I don’t believe it ever happened.” This prompted John to seek out extra-Biblical historic and/or scientific evidence for the crossing of the Red Sea. I, for one, was surprised to discover that no such evidence is out there; surprised because of how much evidence exists to support other claims made in the Bible, including the fact that God once made the sun stand still for an hour. I don’t understand how, but it has been reported that scientists have discovered this actually happened. And the scientists who made the discovery, so far as I know, had no awareness of that story in the Bible. They just knew that, at some point in time, an hour of time has been lost (or gained? I’m not sure which way it works).
But apart from the Biblical account, no such evidence seems to exist for the crossing of the Red Sea. So did it happen or not? Furthermore, does it matter whether it happened or not?
Without trying to fully answer these questions, I will say that if such evidence could be found, then it would perhaps prove that the crossing of the Red Sea did happen as it is described in Exodus 14. However,, the lack of such evidence does not prove that it didn’t happen.
To me, it is only fitting that if we are going to accept this story as something that actually happened, then we must accept it by faith. The Bible is full of such stories, including the all-important Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this is by design. The Bible is a book of faith, and God’s people are to be people of faith. “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6) (Italics added).
But our faith is not blind faith. As I said, history and science have proven many of the Bible’s truth claims to indeed be true. Of course, there is always debate over whether a passage should be interpreted literally or figuratively. But I don’t know of anything in the Bible that has been proven false. And I don’t believe that will ever happen.
For one thing skeptics don’t realize, and that believers sometimes forget, is that God is true. God cannot lie. God always speaks the truth. God is truth (cf. John 14:6). As Christians, we believe the Bible is the Word of God. Yes, it was written down by men. But the Holy Spirit inspired them, telling them what to write, in a way that did not compromise their individuality or their unique writing styles. But this work of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth (Jn. 14:17; 15: 26; 16:13; I Jn. 4:6), guarantees that everything they wrote is true.
Within our postmodern society, we are taught to question everything. More and more often, people have an attitude that says, “If you can’t prove it, I won’t believe it.” Such a mindset causes many to say that it no longer is good enough to say, “I believe it simply because the Bible says it. That’s good enough for me.”
But as naïve as that sounds, it should be true. If any portion of the Bible is not true, then we are open to debating which portions of it are true and which are not. Furthermore, if any portion of the Bible is not true, then at least within that portion, God has lied to us. And who wants to believe in a lying God, even if He lied only one time? I certainly don’t.
Having said all that, I do wholeheartedly agree with Pastor Han’s main point. Where are you in the story? How are you to apply it to your life?
Among other things, the Bible is a book of history. But it is not like other history books. It is not to be read and studied simply so we can recite who did what where and when. The history of the Bible is the history of how God has interacted with His people in the past. As someone once said, “[Biblical] history is His story.” In addition, it is the story of how people from the past have related to God.
Hence, Biblical history should be read with the intent of how God worked in the lives of the people we’re reading about. Then, knowing that God does not change, seek to learn how His is working in our own lives. And as we see how various people in the Bible responded to God, we should seek to learn how we ought to respond to God in our own lives.
QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION
1. Romans 6:16 tells us that “if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness”. What sin(s) have you become enslaved to in your own life?
2. Romans 6:17-18 goes on to tell us that God has set us free from slavery to sin and has made us slaves of righteousness. How can this be true if you still have certain sins controlling you? What kind of freedom from sin is Paul talking about in these verses? And what does it mean to be a slave of righteousness, particularly in a society that values individual liberty above all else?
3. Finally, where are you in the story of the crossing of the Red Sea? Are you still in Egypt, wondering if you’ll ever get out? Are you on the other side, celebrating your new freedom? Are you in the midst of the dry ground, hoping and praying the waters don’t come crashing down on top of you before you make it to the other side? Are there situations in which you might actually be like Pharaoh, saying, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him?”
I was struck by the fact that John was told by a six-year-old boy, of all people, “I don’t believe it ever happened.” This prompted John to seek out extra-Biblical historic and/or scientific evidence for the crossing of the Red Sea. I, for one, was surprised to discover that no such evidence is out there; surprised because of how much evidence exists to support other claims made in the Bible, including the fact that God once made the sun stand still for an hour. I don’t understand how, but it has been reported that scientists have discovered this actually happened. And the scientists who made the discovery, so far as I know, had no awareness of that story in the Bible. They just knew that, at some point in time, an hour of time has been lost (or gained? I’m not sure which way it works).
But apart from the Biblical account, no such evidence seems to exist for the crossing of the Red Sea. So did it happen or not? Furthermore, does it matter whether it happened or not?
Without trying to fully answer these questions, I will say that if such evidence could be found, then it would perhaps prove that the crossing of the Red Sea did happen as it is described in Exodus 14. However,, the lack of such evidence does not prove that it didn’t happen.
To me, it is only fitting that if we are going to accept this story as something that actually happened, then we must accept it by faith. The Bible is full of such stories, including the all-important Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this is by design. The Bible is a book of faith, and God’s people are to be people of faith. “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6) (Italics added).
But our faith is not blind faith. As I said, history and science have proven many of the Bible’s truth claims to indeed be true. Of course, there is always debate over whether a passage should be interpreted literally or figuratively. But I don’t know of anything in the Bible that has been proven false. And I don’t believe that will ever happen.
For one thing skeptics don’t realize, and that believers sometimes forget, is that God is true. God cannot lie. God always speaks the truth. God is truth (cf. John 14:6). As Christians, we believe the Bible is the Word of God. Yes, it was written down by men. But the Holy Spirit inspired them, telling them what to write, in a way that did not compromise their individuality or their unique writing styles. But this work of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth (Jn. 14:17; 15: 26; 16:13; I Jn. 4:6), guarantees that everything they wrote is true.
Within our postmodern society, we are taught to question everything. More and more often, people have an attitude that says, “If you can’t prove it, I won’t believe it.” Such a mindset causes many to say that it no longer is good enough to say, “I believe it simply because the Bible says it. That’s good enough for me.”
But as naïve as that sounds, it should be true. If any portion of the Bible is not true, then we are open to debating which portions of it are true and which are not. Furthermore, if any portion of the Bible is not true, then at least within that portion, God has lied to us. And who wants to believe in a lying God, even if He lied only one time? I certainly don’t.
Having said all that, I do wholeheartedly agree with Pastor Han’s main point. Where are you in the story? How are you to apply it to your life?
Among other things, the Bible is a book of history. But it is not like other history books. It is not to be read and studied simply so we can recite who did what where and when. The history of the Bible is the history of how God has interacted with His people in the past. As someone once said, “[Biblical] history is His story.” In addition, it is the story of how people from the past have related to God.
Hence, Biblical history should be read with the intent of how God worked in the lives of the people we’re reading about. Then, knowing that God does not change, seek to learn how His is working in our own lives. And as we see how various people in the Bible responded to God, we should seek to learn how we ought to respond to God in our own lives.
QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION
1. Romans 6:16 tells us that “if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness”. What sin(s) have you become enslaved to in your own life?
2. Romans 6:17-18 goes on to tell us that God has set us free from slavery to sin and has made us slaves of righteousness. How can this be true if you still have certain sins controlling you? What kind of freedom from sin is Paul talking about in these verses? And what does it mean to be a slave of righteousness, particularly in a society that values individual liberty above all else?
3. Finally, where are you in the story of the crossing of the Red Sea? Are you still in Egypt, wondering if you’ll ever get out? Are you on the other side, celebrating your new freedom? Are you in the midst of the dry ground, hoping and praying the waters don’t come crashing down on top of you before you make it to the other side? Are there situations in which you might actually be like Pharaoh, saying, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him?”
Saturday, June 23, 2012
A Father's Blessing
A little late posting it, but......
Father’s Day has lost a little bit of its meaning for me. My dad passed away just about two years ago, and I myself am not a dad.
But the day has not lost all of its significance for me. Who knows, if I ever get married again someday, I may become a dad, or a stepfather. On Father’s Day, it is easy for me to reflect on what kind of dad I would like to be if God ever blesses me with that opportunity.
More significantly, however, I seek to reflect, as we all should, on the Fatherhood of God. Jesus taught is to address God in prayer as, “Our Father, who is in heaven.” In Romans 8, Paul says that it is by the Holy Spirit that we are able to call God, “Abba,” which means, “Father.” Actually, a more literal translation would be, “Dad” or “Daddy,” which is much more a term of familiarity and endearment than “Father.”
Indeed, God is the perfect Dad. Every good quality that a dad possesses, or at least ought to possess, God possesses to the nth degree. Every good thing a dad does for his kids, God does for His children.
While this was not the direct focus of Pastor John’s Father’s Day sermon, we can certainly learn some things about the Fatherhood of God from our study of the blessing Isaac gave to Jacob.
The situation was tainted by the fact that this blessing rightfully belonged to Esau. Jacob and Esau were twins, but Esau was the first to come out of the womb. He was the firstborn. According to cultural norms at that time, two things to which the firstborn was entitled were the family birthright and the father’s blessing. Together, these gave him the majority of the family estate, as well as authority within the family after the father had passed on.
Several years before this event in Genesis 27, Jacob had tricked Esau into selling him the birthright. Now, he deceived Isaac, stealing the blessing away from Esau. Isaac intended to give this blessing to Esau. When he gave it to Jacob, he thought he was giving it to Esau.
What happened next teaches us something about the power of a father’s blessing. When Esau finally came home from hunting to receive his blessing, Isaac realized the mistake he had made. He had been tricked and had given the blessing to Jacob. However, the blessing could not be revoked. Isaac did not have the option of calling Jacob in and saying, “Because you lied to me and tricked me, the blessing is no longer yours. I am taking the blessing away from you and giving it to Esau.” The pronouncement of the blessing was irrevocable.
The custom of bestowing a special blessing on the firstborn is not followed today. However, I do believe in the power of the blessing. And, unlike Isaac, who played favorites, every father should equally bless each of his children, and not just one time. As we learned from PJ, there are ways a father can bless his children every single day.
This is because, as we looked at the blessing Isaac bestowed upon Jacob, there are four ingredients in the blessing. As we look at each of these ingredients, we see that these are indeed things that a father should give to his children, as well as to his wife, every single day.
Briefly, these four ingredients are affection, communication of affirmation and love, attributing high value to your children, and picturing for them a great and glorious future.
I will not rehash the ways in which a father can do these things. I will leave it to you to consider how to make them practical in your life. instead, let me return to my original point. God is the perfect Father. He is the ideal Dad. So let me show you that God has done and does do these things for us.
Let’s start with affection. Is God affectionate toward us? Well, Ephesians 5:1 tells us to “be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Now, the Greek word for beloved is a derivative of agape, which signifies the perfect, pure, unconditional love of God. It is the highest, purest form of love. When you look agape up in a Greek Dictionary, the first definition found is “affection.” Those who are beloved, as in Eph. 5:1 are the recipients of such love and affection. God is intensely, perfectly, purely affectionate toward us. We are His beloved children.
The second ingredient in the blessing is the communication of affirmation and love. This goes hand-in-hand with affection. And if anyone ever asks whether or not regularly communicates His love toward us, the answer is yes. Notice the verb tense in Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The verse doesn’t say, “God demonstrated His love toward us…” It says that He demonstrates His love. It is a present tense verb. It indicates continuous, ongoing action. God has demonstrated, keeps on demonstrating, and will forever be demonstrating His love toward us.
Just how does God demonstrate (or communicate) His love toward us? By continually drawing us back to the cross. He is forever seeking to remind us that” while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Additionally, Rom. 8:31-39 culminates with the statement that nothing shall ever separate us from the love of God. But I want you to notice something early in that passage. Verse 32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
This is a promise of God’s provision. One way God communicates affirmation and love to us is by meeting all our needs; physical, emotional, spiritual. Paul says we can be absolutely certain He will do these things for us, because He has already given up His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins.
And what of placing high value upon us? This one is obvious, isn’t it? God placed such high value upon us that He gave up His Son for the sake of making us His children. He considered us worth the sacrifice. For God to be willing to sacrifice His own Son for us speaks volumes about how valuable we are to Him.
Finally, we come to the matter of a father picturing a glorious future for his children. And indeed, our heavenly Father has promised a great and glorious future to us. He has given us the promise of heaven; a place of perfect peace, joy, and safety; a place of immense beauty; a place where there will be no pain, no disease or sickness, no cerebral palsy, and most significantly, no sin. All this culminates with the promise of spending eternity enjoying the perfect presence of the Lord.
Some discount this as nothing more than “dreamy-eyed pie in the sky in the great by and by.” But it is the absolute promise of God that we can securely rest all our hopes upon. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to have my piece of the pie, thank you very much.
QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION
1. If you are a dad, how do you bless your wife and children on a daily basis? In what ways to you fail to give them your blessing?
2. Do you have trouble connecting with God as your heavenly Father? Why or why not? In which of these four areas do you need to work on viewing God more as your Father?
I’ve only asked two questions, here. But they are very significant ones. Rather than just jotting down the first thing that pops into your head, really take some time to search your heart and consider these things.
Father’s Day has lost a little bit of its meaning for me. My dad passed away just about two years ago, and I myself am not a dad.
But the day has not lost all of its significance for me. Who knows, if I ever get married again someday, I may become a dad, or a stepfather. On Father’s Day, it is easy for me to reflect on what kind of dad I would like to be if God ever blesses me with that opportunity.
More significantly, however, I seek to reflect, as we all should, on the Fatherhood of God. Jesus taught is to address God in prayer as, “Our Father, who is in heaven.” In Romans 8, Paul says that it is by the Holy Spirit that we are able to call God, “Abba,” which means, “Father.” Actually, a more literal translation would be, “Dad” or “Daddy,” which is much more a term of familiarity and endearment than “Father.”
Indeed, God is the perfect Dad. Every good quality that a dad possesses, or at least ought to possess, God possesses to the nth degree. Every good thing a dad does for his kids, God does for His children.
While this was not the direct focus of Pastor John’s Father’s Day sermon, we can certainly learn some things about the Fatherhood of God from our study of the blessing Isaac gave to Jacob.
The situation was tainted by the fact that this blessing rightfully belonged to Esau. Jacob and Esau were twins, but Esau was the first to come out of the womb. He was the firstborn. According to cultural norms at that time, two things to which the firstborn was entitled were the family birthright and the father’s blessing. Together, these gave him the majority of the family estate, as well as authority within the family after the father had passed on.
Several years before this event in Genesis 27, Jacob had tricked Esau into selling him the birthright. Now, he deceived Isaac, stealing the blessing away from Esau. Isaac intended to give this blessing to Esau. When he gave it to Jacob, he thought he was giving it to Esau.
What happened next teaches us something about the power of a father’s blessing. When Esau finally came home from hunting to receive his blessing, Isaac realized the mistake he had made. He had been tricked and had given the blessing to Jacob. However, the blessing could not be revoked. Isaac did not have the option of calling Jacob in and saying, “Because you lied to me and tricked me, the blessing is no longer yours. I am taking the blessing away from you and giving it to Esau.” The pronouncement of the blessing was irrevocable.
The custom of bestowing a special blessing on the firstborn is not followed today. However, I do believe in the power of the blessing. And, unlike Isaac, who played favorites, every father should equally bless each of his children, and not just one time. As we learned from PJ, there are ways a father can bless his children every single day.
This is because, as we looked at the blessing Isaac bestowed upon Jacob, there are four ingredients in the blessing. As we look at each of these ingredients, we see that these are indeed things that a father should give to his children, as well as to his wife, every single day.
Briefly, these four ingredients are affection, communication of affirmation and love, attributing high value to your children, and picturing for them a great and glorious future.
I will not rehash the ways in which a father can do these things. I will leave it to you to consider how to make them practical in your life. instead, let me return to my original point. God is the perfect Father. He is the ideal Dad. So let me show you that God has done and does do these things for us.
Let’s start with affection. Is God affectionate toward us? Well, Ephesians 5:1 tells us to “be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Now, the Greek word for beloved is a derivative of agape, which signifies the perfect, pure, unconditional love of God. It is the highest, purest form of love. When you look agape up in a Greek Dictionary, the first definition found is “affection.” Those who are beloved, as in Eph. 5:1 are the recipients of such love and affection. God is intensely, perfectly, purely affectionate toward us. We are His beloved children.
The second ingredient in the blessing is the communication of affirmation and love. This goes hand-in-hand with affection. And if anyone ever asks whether or not regularly communicates His love toward us, the answer is yes. Notice the verb tense in Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The verse doesn’t say, “God demonstrated His love toward us…” It says that He demonstrates His love. It is a present tense verb. It indicates continuous, ongoing action. God has demonstrated, keeps on demonstrating, and will forever be demonstrating His love toward us.
Just how does God demonstrate (or communicate) His love toward us? By continually drawing us back to the cross. He is forever seeking to remind us that” while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Additionally, Rom. 8:31-39 culminates with the statement that nothing shall ever separate us from the love of God. But I want you to notice something early in that passage. Verse 32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
This is a promise of God’s provision. One way God communicates affirmation and love to us is by meeting all our needs; physical, emotional, spiritual. Paul says we can be absolutely certain He will do these things for us, because He has already given up His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins.
And what of placing high value upon us? This one is obvious, isn’t it? God placed such high value upon us that He gave up His Son for the sake of making us His children. He considered us worth the sacrifice. For God to be willing to sacrifice His own Son for us speaks volumes about how valuable we are to Him.
Finally, we come to the matter of a father picturing a glorious future for his children. And indeed, our heavenly Father has promised a great and glorious future to us. He has given us the promise of heaven; a place of perfect peace, joy, and safety; a place of immense beauty; a place where there will be no pain, no disease or sickness, no cerebral palsy, and most significantly, no sin. All this culminates with the promise of spending eternity enjoying the perfect presence of the Lord.
Some discount this as nothing more than “dreamy-eyed pie in the sky in the great by and by.” But it is the absolute promise of God that we can securely rest all our hopes upon. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to have my piece of the pie, thank you very much.
QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION
1. If you are a dad, how do you bless your wife and children on a daily basis? In what ways to you fail to give them your blessing?
2. Do you have trouble connecting with God as your heavenly Father? Why or why not? In which of these four areas do you need to work on viewing God more as your Father?
I’ve only asked two questions, here. But they are very significant ones. Rather than just jotting down the first thing that pops into your head, really take some time to search your heart and consider these things.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Misfits: Sarah--Lessons From a Misfit Mother
The story of Abraham and Sarah reads like the script of a soap opera. Perhaps we could call it, “As the Stomach Churns.” Abraham could have called it, “The Ways of My Wives.” To be certain, Abraham and Sarah were “The Old and the Restless.”
One part of the story that we did not learn about this week was the fact that, when a famine hit the land, Abraham went down to Egypt looking for food. Despite being a senior citizen, Sarah was still a beautiful woman. So beautiful, in fact, that Abraham thought the Pharaoh would kill him in order to take Sarah for his wife. Giving in to his fear, he asked Sarah to lie if anyone asked about the nature of their relationship. “Tell them you are my sister,” he said. Sarah agreed to go along with this, and as a result, Pharaoh did take her to be one of his many wives. But at least Abraham got to keep his life.
Ah, the tangled webs we weave. But the Lord proved Himself faithful by not allowing Pharaoh to sleep with his new bride and informing him that she was Abraham’s wife. Abraham then received a sharp rebuke from the Pharaoh, in which he was essentially told, “You should have had at least some trust in me.”
This happened, not once, but twice. And interestingly enough, we’re never told how Sarah felt about the whole thing. It makes me wonder whether there was a little bit of revenge when she was seeking when she offered her servant Hagar to Abraham. Was she perhaps thinking, “He offered me to another man. Let’s see what he does when I offer another woman to him”?
If revenge was a motive, I think it was a small one. The greater issue was a lack of faith on her part. She went to Abraham and said, “The Lord promised you a son, but He did not specify who the mother would be. And we both know I can’t have a child. I went through menopause twenty or thirty years ago. Take my servant Hagar, sleep with her, and let her be the mother of your prodigy.”
Abraham agreed, just as Sarah had agreed to lie about not being his wife. Hagar got pregnant and began rubbing it in Sarah’s face. “How long have you been married to Abraham? And all this time, you couldn’t have a baby. I slept with him once, and I’m pregnant. Maybe I should be his wife, and you can be my servant.”
My comment about whether or not Sarah was seeking some revenge comes from Genesis 16:5. After Hagar began looking on her with contempt, she went to Abraham and said, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!”
Sarah did not say, “May the LORD judge between Hagar and me.” Her anger was not truly directed at Hagar. It was directed toward Abraham. She was essentially saying, “I may have suggested it, but you’re the head of the house. You agreed to it. You went through with it. Now, this is your mess.” Perhaps she added, “This is what you get for trying to pawn me off on Pharaoh.”
Fast forward maybe ten years, and we find the Lord again promising a son to Abraham. This time, however, He is specific about who the mother will be. In Genesis 17, He told Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her” (vv. 15-16).
Abraham laughed at the notion of he and Sarah having a child in their old age. He did not believe it was possible. So he said to God, “You promised me a son, and I have a son…Ishmael. Let him live before you. Let all the blessings you’ve promised me come through Ishmael.”
God said, “No. Ishmael is not the one I promised. Sarah will have a baby. You are to name him Isaac, and he will be the one through whom the blessings will pass and the promises be fulfilled.”
A short time later, Sarah also laughed at the prospect of becoming a mother at the age of ninety. But God was faithful. He answered His own question (“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”) by opening her womb. She had a baby, and he was named Isaac.
With all the deception, disobedience, and doubt, it is hard to imagine Abraham and Sarah as people of great faith. A man of great faith doesn’t lie about his wife being his sister. A woman of great faith doesn’t encourage her husband to sleep with another woman. And people of great faith don’t laugh at God’s promises.
And yet, both Abraham and Sarah are listed in the book of Hebrews’ “Hall of Faith.” In fact, it is somewhat surprising to see that “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered Him faithful who had promised” (v. 11). The author of Hebrews tells us that she knew God had made a promise, and that she trusted God to keep His promise.
What does this tell us about faith? Perhaps it tells us that faith doesn’t have to be long lasting in order to be great. Sarah was not a woman who spent twenty or thirty years constantly trusting God and praying for a child. She did not patiently wait on the Lord, saying, “I know it will happen in His good timing.”
Still, she had a measure of faith. Perhaps it was wavering. Perhaps she did not express her faith until after the Lord rebuked her for laughing at the promise that she would have a baby at the age of 90. Maybe Sarah had what Jesus referred to as “faith like a grain of mustard seed” (Matt. 17:20). But it was faith nonetheless.
As with Adam and Eve, we learn from Abraham and Sarah that God is faithful. He is faithful to His people, and faithful to His Word and His promises, because He is faithful to Himself. God cannot lie, which means He cannot break any of His promises. Hence, as Wil Mayfield told us, what God has promised, He will perform.
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. What “impossible” situation are you facing in your life? What do you want or need God to do in your life?
2. Do you truly believe God can and will handle the situation? Are you trusting Him to take care of it in His way and in His timing? Or do you find yourself trying to force the issue by handling it yourself?
3. How much is God’s working in your life dependent on your level of faith? What can you learn from how He worked in Abraham and Sarah’s life, despite their apparent lack of faith?
One part of the story that we did not learn about this week was the fact that, when a famine hit the land, Abraham went down to Egypt looking for food. Despite being a senior citizen, Sarah was still a beautiful woman. So beautiful, in fact, that Abraham thought the Pharaoh would kill him in order to take Sarah for his wife. Giving in to his fear, he asked Sarah to lie if anyone asked about the nature of their relationship. “Tell them you are my sister,” he said. Sarah agreed to go along with this, and as a result, Pharaoh did take her to be one of his many wives. But at least Abraham got to keep his life.
Ah, the tangled webs we weave. But the Lord proved Himself faithful by not allowing Pharaoh to sleep with his new bride and informing him that she was Abraham’s wife. Abraham then received a sharp rebuke from the Pharaoh, in which he was essentially told, “You should have had at least some trust in me.”
This happened, not once, but twice. And interestingly enough, we’re never told how Sarah felt about the whole thing. It makes me wonder whether there was a little bit of revenge when she was seeking when she offered her servant Hagar to Abraham. Was she perhaps thinking, “He offered me to another man. Let’s see what he does when I offer another woman to him”?
If revenge was a motive, I think it was a small one. The greater issue was a lack of faith on her part. She went to Abraham and said, “The Lord promised you a son, but He did not specify who the mother would be. And we both know I can’t have a child. I went through menopause twenty or thirty years ago. Take my servant Hagar, sleep with her, and let her be the mother of your prodigy.”
Abraham agreed, just as Sarah had agreed to lie about not being his wife. Hagar got pregnant and began rubbing it in Sarah’s face. “How long have you been married to Abraham? And all this time, you couldn’t have a baby. I slept with him once, and I’m pregnant. Maybe I should be his wife, and you can be my servant.”
My comment about whether or not Sarah was seeking some revenge comes from Genesis 16:5. After Hagar began looking on her with contempt, she went to Abraham and said, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!”
Sarah did not say, “May the LORD judge between Hagar and me.” Her anger was not truly directed at Hagar. It was directed toward Abraham. She was essentially saying, “I may have suggested it, but you’re the head of the house. You agreed to it. You went through with it. Now, this is your mess.” Perhaps she added, “This is what you get for trying to pawn me off on Pharaoh.”
Fast forward maybe ten years, and we find the Lord again promising a son to Abraham. This time, however, He is specific about who the mother will be. In Genesis 17, He told Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her” (vv. 15-16).
Abraham laughed at the notion of he and Sarah having a child in their old age. He did not believe it was possible. So he said to God, “You promised me a son, and I have a son…Ishmael. Let him live before you. Let all the blessings you’ve promised me come through Ishmael.”
God said, “No. Ishmael is not the one I promised. Sarah will have a baby. You are to name him Isaac, and he will be the one through whom the blessings will pass and the promises be fulfilled.”
A short time later, Sarah also laughed at the prospect of becoming a mother at the age of ninety. But God was faithful. He answered His own question (“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”) by opening her womb. She had a baby, and he was named Isaac.
With all the deception, disobedience, and doubt, it is hard to imagine Abraham and Sarah as people of great faith. A man of great faith doesn’t lie about his wife being his sister. A woman of great faith doesn’t encourage her husband to sleep with another woman. And people of great faith don’t laugh at God’s promises.
And yet, both Abraham and Sarah are listed in the book of Hebrews’ “Hall of Faith.” In fact, it is somewhat surprising to see that “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered Him faithful who had promised” (v. 11). The author of Hebrews tells us that she knew God had made a promise, and that she trusted God to keep His promise.
What does this tell us about faith? Perhaps it tells us that faith doesn’t have to be long lasting in order to be great. Sarah was not a woman who spent twenty or thirty years constantly trusting God and praying for a child. She did not patiently wait on the Lord, saying, “I know it will happen in His good timing.”
Still, she had a measure of faith. Perhaps it was wavering. Perhaps she did not express her faith until after the Lord rebuked her for laughing at the promise that she would have a baby at the age of 90. Maybe Sarah had what Jesus referred to as “faith like a grain of mustard seed” (Matt. 17:20). But it was faith nonetheless.
As with Adam and Eve, we learn from Abraham and Sarah that God is faithful. He is faithful to His people, and faithful to His Word and His promises, because He is faithful to Himself. God cannot lie, which means He cannot break any of His promises. Hence, as Wil Mayfield told us, what God has promised, He will perform.
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. What “impossible” situation are you facing in your life? What do you want or need God to do in your life?
2. Do you truly believe God can and will handle the situation? Are you trusting Him to take care of it in His way and in His timing? Or do you find yourself trying to force the issue by handling it yourself?
3. How much is God’s working in your life dependent on your level of faith? What can you learn from how He worked in Abraham and Sarah’s life, despite their apparent lack of faith?
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Misfits: Adam & Eve
What does a Christian look like? How does he dress? How does he behave? Is a Christian someone who doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, and doesn’t dance? Is a Christian someone who goes to church every time the doors are open? At the church I grew up in, we had Sunday morning service, Sunday evening service, and Wednesday night prayer meetings. Is a Christian someone who makes sure he/she is at all three?
As Pastor John explained on Sunday, for most people, their perception of what a Christian is morphs into the same person. They believe in the cookie-cutter Christian. And as I once heard a Christian comedian say, “If you don’t fit in that hole, then you just aren’t saved.”
A misfit is, indeed, a mis-fit—someone who doesn’t fit the mold of what people think a Christian is or ought to be. Ironically, we’re all misfits. Because the mold, or the standard of what a Christian should look like is Jesus Christ.
As we began our series of character studies from the Bible, entitled “Misfits”, we looked at the first two misfits; the first two humans. Adam and Eve. They were misfits because they did not fit the mold of what God intended for the human race. God intended that we all be people who love Him and perfectly obey Him. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, became sinful, and passed the Sin Nature on to the rest of humanity.
Within his sermon, PJ suggested that Adam and Eve were the original Dr. & Mrs. Doolittle; that they could talk to the animals, or rather that the animals could talk to them. (I sometimes talk to my dog, but she doesn’t talk to me.) That this may have been the case is implied by the fact that, when the serpent started talking to Eve, she didn’t seem a bit surprised by the fact.
However, I personally would not necessarily conclude that Adam and Eve routinely conversed with all the animals. Numbers 22 tells the story of Balaam having an argument with his donkey. The fact that the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, so she could speak, makes it clear that, at that time, animals did not have the ability to speak. And yet, Balaam was so upset that he never stopped to say, “Wait a minute. How is it that my donkey is talking to me?”
Regardless of whether or not Adam and Eve’s last name was Doolittle, the serpent spoke to Eve, she sinned, Adam sinned with her, and things went downhill from there.
The one of the overarching themes of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the loyalty of God. Time and time again, He proves Himself loyal (or faithful). In this case, He proved Himself loyal by killing an animal, covering their nakedness, and promising to send One who would crush Satan’s head (Genesis 3). And so we find that the story, as do all stories in the Bible, culminates with Jesus Christ.
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. In what ways are you a misfit? What forbidden fruit have you eaten from the proverbial tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
2. How has your sin broken down your relationship with God? With other members of your family? How can these relationships be repaired?
3. How has God shown His loyalty to you?
As Pastor John explained on Sunday, for most people, their perception of what a Christian is morphs into the same person. They believe in the cookie-cutter Christian. And as I once heard a Christian comedian say, “If you don’t fit in that hole, then you just aren’t saved.”
A misfit is, indeed, a mis-fit—someone who doesn’t fit the mold of what people think a Christian is or ought to be. Ironically, we’re all misfits. Because the mold, or the standard of what a Christian should look like is Jesus Christ.
As we began our series of character studies from the Bible, entitled “Misfits”, we looked at the first two misfits; the first two humans. Adam and Eve. They were misfits because they did not fit the mold of what God intended for the human race. God intended that we all be people who love Him and perfectly obey Him. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, became sinful, and passed the Sin Nature on to the rest of humanity.
Within his sermon, PJ suggested that Adam and Eve were the original Dr. & Mrs. Doolittle; that they could talk to the animals, or rather that the animals could talk to them. (I sometimes talk to my dog, but she doesn’t talk to me.) That this may have been the case is implied by the fact that, when the serpent started talking to Eve, she didn’t seem a bit surprised by the fact.
However, I personally would not necessarily conclude that Adam and Eve routinely conversed with all the animals. Numbers 22 tells the story of Balaam having an argument with his donkey. The fact that the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, so she could speak, makes it clear that, at that time, animals did not have the ability to speak. And yet, Balaam was so upset that he never stopped to say, “Wait a minute. How is it that my donkey is talking to me?”
Regardless of whether or not Adam and Eve’s last name was Doolittle, the serpent spoke to Eve, she sinned, Adam sinned with her, and things went downhill from there.
The one of the overarching themes of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the loyalty of God. Time and time again, He proves Himself loyal (or faithful). In this case, He proved Himself loyal by killing an animal, covering their nakedness, and promising to send One who would crush Satan’s head (Genesis 3). And so we find that the story, as do all stories in the Bible, culminates with Jesus Christ.
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. In what ways are you a misfit? What forbidden fruit have you eaten from the proverbial tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
2. How has your sin broken down your relationship with God? With other members of your family? How can these relationships be repaired?
3. How has God shown His loyalty to you?
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Resurrection: A Living Hope
“It’s no use. All hope is lost. I’m a hopeless mess. God can’t love me. How could He? After all the times I’ve screwed up; all the times I’ve let Him down. I’m so ashamed of myself. How could God possibly love or forgive me? It’s hopeless.”
Have you ever felt that way? I know I have. And Peter also struggled with that feeling of hopelessness. For Peter had denied Jesus; denied being a follower of his Rabbi. He denied ever even having met Jesus, and not just once, but three times.
As PJ told us, denying your Rabbi was practically unheard of. The relationship between a Rabbi and his disciples was stronger than the relationships within one’s own family. To make matters worse, the one Peter denied wasn’t just another Rabbi. Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus was (and is) the Son of God. And Peter knew it! Peter denied—effectively rejected—Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God incarnate.
So we can imagine the hopelessness Peter felt as Jesus was falsely accused, convicted, sentenced, and eventually crucified. It was all over. Jesus was gone. He was dead, along with all of Peter’s hopes and dreams of overthrowing the Romans and establishing the Messianic kingdom.
But then, when we turn to I Peter 1:3, we read of a new hope, a living hope, that Peter had. And we might ask, “What’s this? Peter? Hope? Really?” Other than Judas’ betrayal, Peter had committed the ultimate sin. In fact, Matthew 26:74 tells us that Peter cursed and used foul language as he shrieked, “I don’t know that man! I’ve never met Him before in my life!” (My paraphrase). So how can Peter now talk about hope?
Peter answers this question in the very same verse by saying that we have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Jesus’ Resurrection gives us hope: The hope of a new day. The hope of a new beginning. The hope of forgiveness from God. The hope of a relationship with Him.
Last week’s sermon was titled, “Afflicted: Why Did Jesus Have to Suffer and Die?” This week’s message was, “Resurrection: A Living Hope.” But PJ could have just as easily entitled it, “Why Did Jesus Have to Rise From the Dead?”
In his sermon, John did not ask this question, but he did answer it. Jesus’ had to rise from the dead because you can’t have a relationship with a dead man. What point would there be in Jesus dying to bring us into relationship with Himself if His death was the end of the story? That relationship He died for would be nonexistent, and His death would have been meaningless.
Also, Jesus had to rise from the dead because He loves us. In this week’s sermon, Pastor John opened my eyes to a new way of looking at the Resurrection. Consider this: Romans 5:8 says, “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” I John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Because of verses like these, we closely associate God’s love with the death of Jesus, and we should. But PJ told us that Jesus not only loved us enough to die for us. He loved us enough to come back from the dead, so He could engage us in the relationship that He died to make possible.
Many of us like to say that Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship. And herein is the difference between Christianity and other major religions in the world: Buddha is dead. Mohammed is dead. Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, Caesar, Pharaoh—all the so-called great religious leaders of the world, who are worshipped by their followers, are dead.
But Jesus Christ comes to us and says, “I was dead, and now I am alive forever and ever!” (Rev. 1:18). This is why we worship Jesus. For what good is it to worship a dead man? A dead man can’t save you. A dead man can’t forgive you. A dead man can’t give you the eternal life, hope, and comfort Jesus gives.
We could also say that Jesus had to rise from the dead in order to prove that His death accomplished its intended purpose. As we learned last week, He died as our substitute, as the sacrifice for our sins. But how would we know the sacrifice He offered was accepted by God if He had not risen from the dead? We know His death atoned for our sins because He came back from the dead.
And what about Peter, who had denied ever knowing Jesus? On the day of the Resurrection, an angel told the women who had gone to the tomb, “Go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee” (Mark 16:7). Peter was mentioned by name. The Lord specifically wanted Peter to know that He was risen, and that not even Peter’s denials could negate His love for him.
Fifty days later, Peter preached the first sermon of the Church. Over the course of the rest of his life, he lived up to his name, Cephas, meaning, “a rock.” He became a rock, preaching the gospel and refusing to ever deny his Lord again, even at the cost of being crucified upside down.
No wonder Peter wrote about “a living hope.” No wonder the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus is called the gospel; the good news.
QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION
1. Do you ever feel hopeless? What causes you to experience such feelings?
2. What aspects of Peter’s story do you most identify with?
3. Judas, after betraying Jesus, felt remorse, and hanged himself. Peter felt remorse after denying Christ. But after the Resurrection, he was restored. What is the difference between Judas and Peter, and what lessons can we learn from this difference?
4. How does the Resurrection provide hope in the areas of life you struggle with the most?
Have you ever felt that way? I know I have. And Peter also struggled with that feeling of hopelessness. For Peter had denied Jesus; denied being a follower of his Rabbi. He denied ever even having met Jesus, and not just once, but three times.
As PJ told us, denying your Rabbi was practically unheard of. The relationship between a Rabbi and his disciples was stronger than the relationships within one’s own family. To make matters worse, the one Peter denied wasn’t just another Rabbi. Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus was (and is) the Son of God. And Peter knew it! Peter denied—effectively rejected—Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God incarnate.
So we can imagine the hopelessness Peter felt as Jesus was falsely accused, convicted, sentenced, and eventually crucified. It was all over. Jesus was gone. He was dead, along with all of Peter’s hopes and dreams of overthrowing the Romans and establishing the Messianic kingdom.
But then, when we turn to I Peter 1:3, we read of a new hope, a living hope, that Peter had. And we might ask, “What’s this? Peter? Hope? Really?” Other than Judas’ betrayal, Peter had committed the ultimate sin. In fact, Matthew 26:74 tells us that Peter cursed and used foul language as he shrieked, “I don’t know that man! I’ve never met Him before in my life!” (My paraphrase). So how can Peter now talk about hope?
Peter answers this question in the very same verse by saying that we have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Jesus’ Resurrection gives us hope: The hope of a new day. The hope of a new beginning. The hope of forgiveness from God. The hope of a relationship with Him.
Last week’s sermon was titled, “Afflicted: Why Did Jesus Have to Suffer and Die?” This week’s message was, “Resurrection: A Living Hope.” But PJ could have just as easily entitled it, “Why Did Jesus Have to Rise From the Dead?”
In his sermon, John did not ask this question, but he did answer it. Jesus’ had to rise from the dead because you can’t have a relationship with a dead man. What point would there be in Jesus dying to bring us into relationship with Himself if His death was the end of the story? That relationship He died for would be nonexistent, and His death would have been meaningless.
Also, Jesus had to rise from the dead because He loves us. In this week’s sermon, Pastor John opened my eyes to a new way of looking at the Resurrection. Consider this: Romans 5:8 says, “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” I John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Because of verses like these, we closely associate God’s love with the death of Jesus, and we should. But PJ told us that Jesus not only loved us enough to die for us. He loved us enough to come back from the dead, so He could engage us in the relationship that He died to make possible.
Many of us like to say that Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship. And herein is the difference between Christianity and other major religions in the world: Buddha is dead. Mohammed is dead. Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, Caesar, Pharaoh—all the so-called great religious leaders of the world, who are worshipped by their followers, are dead.
But Jesus Christ comes to us and says, “I was dead, and now I am alive forever and ever!” (Rev. 1:18). This is why we worship Jesus. For what good is it to worship a dead man? A dead man can’t save you. A dead man can’t forgive you. A dead man can’t give you the eternal life, hope, and comfort Jesus gives.
We could also say that Jesus had to rise from the dead in order to prove that His death accomplished its intended purpose. As we learned last week, He died as our substitute, as the sacrifice for our sins. But how would we know the sacrifice He offered was accepted by God if He had not risen from the dead? We know His death atoned for our sins because He came back from the dead.
And what about Peter, who had denied ever knowing Jesus? On the day of the Resurrection, an angel told the women who had gone to the tomb, “Go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee” (Mark 16:7). Peter was mentioned by name. The Lord specifically wanted Peter to know that He was risen, and that not even Peter’s denials could negate His love for him.
Fifty days later, Peter preached the first sermon of the Church. Over the course of the rest of his life, he lived up to his name, Cephas, meaning, “a rock.” He became a rock, preaching the gospel and refusing to ever deny his Lord again, even at the cost of being crucified upside down.
No wonder Peter wrote about “a living hope.” No wonder the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus is called the gospel; the good news.
QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION
1. Do you ever feel hopeless? What causes you to experience such feelings?
2. What aspects of Peter’s story do you most identify with?
3. Judas, after betraying Jesus, felt remorse, and hanged himself. Peter felt remorse after denying Christ. But after the Resurrection, he was restored. What is the difference between Judas and Peter, and what lessons can we learn from this difference?
4. How does the Resurrection provide hope in the areas of life you struggle with the most?
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