Mark 14:71 KJV
But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.
Peter's response to those who recognized him as a disciple of Christ is so well known that it would not be too difficult to pass over in our reading. But when one considers it, it seems shocking. Peter was the most outspoken of Christ's followers by far. He was one of those three inner circle disciples and he was the most adamant that he would die with Christ before he would deny Christ.
And yet here he is. With Christ just feet away in the midst of the battle for the souls of men, Peter was outside cursing to prove He had no relationship with Jesus.
Peter's failure should be a stern warning to all of us. The key to our faith isn't found in our loud and confident outbursts of belief and fellowship with the Lord. The key to our faith happens when the rug beneath our faith is pulled away. When we remain faithful
even then we have a faith that will get us through.
The good news is that though Peter failed this test, God was not through with Him. Before his life was finished Peter came to the sort of faith that preserved him through jailings and near execution. Finally tradition says he was executed for his faith and remained faithful and true.
We never know if our faith is what we believe it is until we have been tested. In testing we learn our weaknesses but we also find Christ's strengths.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Our Wisdom is Only God's Word
Deuteronomy 4:6 KJV
Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
The wisdom of Israel was the statutes and judgments God gave them.
Of all the nations in that time none had a system of statutes and judgments similar to what God gave Israel. These laws and judgments and statutes separated them and set them apart from every other. Others would eventually follow their example and copy the system they had been given by the Lord until, in our day, many people question whether it came from Israel at all. When our country was founded those men charged with forging out our constitution referred time and again to the Old Testament law as a source of instruction and direction. America is not the second Israel, but we do have a heritage built on the Bible.
But Moses told the people to take heed that the wisdom they saw God give them became removed from their hearts. And that is what is happening in America today. The wisdom that has so impressed the world has now become despised around the world. And no wonder. Our own countrymen don't love the wisdom of the statutes and judgments of God.
We have got to turn our children back to the Bible. We have got to give them a love for God and the things of God if we are to ever see our country once again be the beacon of the world. Power built on borrowed money and technology based on foreign engineering will not sustain a nation as a super power. Only God can do that.
Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
The wisdom of Israel was the statutes and judgments God gave them.
Of all the nations in that time none had a system of statutes and judgments similar to what God gave Israel. These laws and judgments and statutes separated them and set them apart from every other. Others would eventually follow their example and copy the system they had been given by the Lord until, in our day, many people question whether it came from Israel at all. When our country was founded those men charged with forging out our constitution referred time and again to the Old Testament law as a source of instruction and direction. America is not the second Israel, but we do have a heritage built on the Bible.
But Moses told the people to take heed that the wisdom they saw God give them became removed from their hearts. And that is what is happening in America today. The wisdom that has so impressed the world has now become despised around the world. And no wonder. Our own countrymen don't love the wisdom of the statutes and judgments of God.
We have got to turn our children back to the Bible. We have got to give them a love for God and the things of God if we are to ever see our country once again be the beacon of the world. Power built on borrowed money and technology based on foreign engineering will not sustain a nation as a super power. Only God can do that.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The Source of Our Errors
Mark 12:24 KJV
And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
The error of the passage has to do with the resurrection. These Sadducees were not really asking about what happens to the wife after the resurrection. They did not believe there would be a resurrection and asked the question to demonstrate what they thought was the obscurity of it. Their error is only one of an innumerable combination of errors people make, both spiritually and otherwise. And the source of their error is the source of all error, which comes from one of two streams:
They did not know the Scriptures.
Many errors of man happen as a result of not knowing. If we do not know what God has said, if we do not know the warnings of the many dangers in the world, if we do not know the instructions God has given to avoid those dangers and safely pass through life on this earth, how can we help but error? It becomes us then to learn the Word of God. It becomes us to read the Bible for ourselves, to study it and to faithfully attend church services where the Bible is taught and preached.
The second stream of error comes from not knowing the power of God.
Many are those people who, like the Sadducees, have studied the Bible but fail to grasp it because they do not believe the message of it. They know what the Bible says, they just don't believe in a Christian who saves, a life in heaven or hell, or a God who is interested in our choices today.
This error is not merely the one of the atheist or skeptic; plenty of Christians, in fact all Christians to some degree have error in their lives because they either do not know what the Bible says or else they do not believe it. It might be concerning tithing. It might have to do with some sin. It could be a habit they enjoy but Scriptural principles would caution against. It might have to do with a ministry or some other simple instruction in the Bible that they have not been compelled to obey. And in their not believing that obedience would be best, they go on in error.
And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
The error of the passage has to do with the resurrection. These Sadducees were not really asking about what happens to the wife after the resurrection. They did not believe there would be a resurrection and asked the question to demonstrate what they thought was the obscurity of it. Their error is only one of an innumerable combination of errors people make, both spiritually and otherwise. And the source of their error is the source of all error, which comes from one of two streams:
They did not know the Scriptures.
Many errors of man happen as a result of not knowing. If we do not know what God has said, if we do not know the warnings of the many dangers in the world, if we do not know the instructions God has given to avoid those dangers and safely pass through life on this earth, how can we help but error? It becomes us then to learn the Word of God. It becomes us to read the Bible for ourselves, to study it and to faithfully attend church services where the Bible is taught and preached.
The second stream of error comes from not knowing the power of God.
Many are those people who, like the Sadducees, have studied the Bible but fail to grasp it because they do not believe the message of it. They know what the Bible says, they just don't believe in a Christian who saves, a life in heaven or hell, or a God who is interested in our choices today.
This error is not merely the one of the atheist or skeptic; plenty of Christians, in fact all Christians to some degree have error in their lives because they either do not know what the Bible says or else they do not believe it. It might be concerning tithing. It might have to do with some sin. It could be a habit they enjoy but Scriptural principles would caution against. It might have to do with a ministry or some other simple instruction in the Bible that they have not been compelled to obey. And in their not believing that obedience would be best, they go on in error.
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