Parable of the Bag of Dirty Clothes

                                             Parable of the Bag of Dirty Clothes

Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the 'righteous', but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:29-32


         I got to thinking, while I was in Honduras (there was a lot of time for that), about an incident that happened at 3:30AM. I was at the hospital delivering a baby and they don't have gowns or shoe covers for the doctor to wear. I've been told later they do, they just didn't give them to me. Why? Because I didn't ask. Why didn't I ask? BECAUSE I DON'T SPEAK SPANISH! Anyway, sense a little frustration? Back to the story. So the patient pushes the baby out with an expressive force. They say the body has 18 different types of fluid. I think my scrubs got 20 on them because they also got some undesirable baby fluids. So I waddled back to my room to take off these nasty scrubs and clean my shoes and then I thought, these scrubs are too gross to put in my dirty clothes bag. I don't want all my other clothes to get this stuff on them. What did I do? I walked fully clothed into the shower and took a cold shower.(it was so hot there I only took cold showers. Actually I refrigerated my oatmeal before eating it because I didn't want warm food in my body). Then I hung my scrubs to dry (with the humidity it only took three days) and then put them in with the dirty clothes.

       Humanity is like my dirty clothes bag. This is the distinction of Christianity that, like the above verses, it gives an unfavorable diagnosis. The Bible says we aren't clean, we are like the clothes in my bag - dirty. The Bible says "all have sinned", "there is none righteous, no not one". Unbelievers don't accept that; they think "I am a good person." Why do they think that - because they are surrounded by a bunch of clothes that smell just like them. Sure, they know dirty when they see it. "Get those nasty scrubs out of here - those things are filthy." Unsaved people know what evil is and so they take comfort in the fact that they aren't like that. They grade evil on a curve and judge themselves against that standard. What they don't realize is that the standard is clean not less filthy. We cannot come into the presence of a clean God in our dirty state. Therefore God sent His Son, Jesus, to take our dirt on Him. If we admit we are sinners and in need of cleansing, which the Pharisees wouldn't do in the above verses and which most of mankind refuses to do, and accept God's free gift of washing our sins away through His Son's blood shed for us on the cross, we can be cleansed and brought into the presence of God. This is why we have been created. To live a life in a glorious relationship forever with our Maker. Yet the one thing keeping us from this is acknowledging our sin.

        Have you humbled yourself before God and said, "I am a sinner in desperate need of forgiveness. I receive Christ's death on the cross in faith to wash my sins away. I in humility bow my knees before You and surrender my life to You in gratitude for saving me from my sins. I look forward to a new and increasing relationship with You now that I can come into Your presence." If you have, God has removed your sin as far as the East is from the West and put the Holy Spirit inside you to enable you to live a life pleasing to God and bring you into His presence. Heavy stuff, huh? But the first step is admitting that you are in that dirty clothes bag.

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 24

                                        1 Peter 5:8-14

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹ To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
¹² With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.
¹³ She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. ¹⁴ Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

     As Peter closes this letter,  he mentions our adversary the devil,  for the first time.  It is as if all the advice on prayer, relationships, humility, serving, the body, authority, etc. are all leading to this. If you don't do these things watch out because the devil has you in his sights. It's not that he is going to make your life miserable,  that might drive you to Christ, but he wants to see your eternal soul in hell.

    Have you seen those animal shows where they do a segment on lions? The lion will go after a pack of gazelles or zebras and they single out one.  Like the Amalekites that picked off the stragglers of the Israelites, the lion picks off the weakest zebra. He goes after the gazelle that has been separated from his group. They are the most vulnerable. Likewise, if we are anemic, baby Christians, not strong in the faith,  not prepared to give a defense for our faith,  not in the Word, we are easy pickings. No wonder kids go to college and at least 70% of our Christian kids get devoured.  They had no faith of their own. They had their parent's faith. They had their youth group's or pastor's faith. It is so essential to make these kids strong before they leave home. They have to be able to outrun the devil.

    But secondly, we need to be in a herd. No matter how strong you are or your teen is, if they aren't in a group,  they will be vulnerable.  Even if something like Baptist student union is shallow and a social club, or a dating pool (I heard someone once say such things- someone who wasn't walking with the Lord) at least, theoretically,  you are in a herd. You are mingling with fellow zebras not lions. So many people see the church as optional. I hope they can run fast because the devil is after their soul. Peter says that he is surrounded by a woman (maybe a particular church body-a bride), Silas and Mark. Who are you surrounded by? He spent three years sucking in every word Jesus said. Are you eating, breathing in God's word? Look out!

Lord, thank you for Peter's wisdom learned from spending time with Jesus. Help me to take it all to heart and finish strong.  Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 23

                                    1 Peter 5:4-7

⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
⁵ In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

      Do you have control issues? In other words, do you feel the need to be in control and when you aren't, it makes you extremely anxious? I think this may be the type of anxiety that Peter is discussing here.  Any time you humble yourselves or submit to someone, you are surrendering control to them. I see this manifested in medicine.  Some people are extremely scared of having surgery and being put to sleep. When I ask why it usually has to do with loss of control. Some patients come in with a long list of how they want their labor and delivery to be handled. Some of these people,  not all, are just afraid of surrendering control to the doctor. I also see this played out in marriage. A wife, being commanded in the Bible to let the husband lead can have great difficulty in this if she is a person that needs to feel in control. Peter says to cast all your worries and anxiety on Jesus.  He cares for you and He is in control.  Do you believe that?

     Therefore, I can now submit to the person in charge without worrying if they are going to make all the right decisions or not.  I don't need to micromanage. Let's say you are on a mission trip and you have to be to the airport at a given time. You are currently under the authority of the leader of the trip. The leader is late picking you up,  drives slow,  gets gas, takes the wrong turn.  Meanwhile you are having anxiety because you are under the control of someone who doesn't plan ahead like you. You finally get to the airport and you missed your flight. How do you respond?  Probably not in love.  Probably not in humility or gentleness.  You actually at that point might decide to quit being under authority.  What would Peter say? He would say do you trust that God is the ultimate authority and he has your good at heart? How do you look at things then? Maybe you think about that God has someone for you to meet while you are delayed. Maybe He just wants to work on your control issues. Whatever it is, it is for your good.

       I talked to a guy at the gym the other day and he said,  and he is a Christian,  " if Hilary Clinton gets elected, I'm leaving the USA and moving to the Phillipines. A person with a little money can live like a king there." There's a problem there and that problem is that he thinks Hilary would be in control.  She isn't, Trump isn't, Obama isn't- God is.  Relax, He has you covered...forever.

Lord, help me to see the big picture.  Help me to remember that you are in control and thus help me to surrender control to Earthly authorities. Amen.

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 22

                                 1 Peter 5:1-3

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

      So, I've been an elder in the past at a PCA church. We had ruling elders which were me and 4 or 5 other men and a teaching elder. We were in charge of shepherding the body which was a very involved task especially when your pastor goes on sick leave to never come back and you are in charge of holding the body together and overseeing them while being without a pastor for 2 years. But that's another story for another day. All I can say about that is that I was too young and immature for the job. Now I am elder and not an elder. But I am somewhat responsible for a Sunday School class of approximately 30 people and shrinking fast. People always tell me I'm a great teacher but I sure can shrink every class I teach. What are Peter's instructions to me in this passage?

    #1 Shepherd people.  Get into their lives. Call them during the week.  Visit them. Know specifically what to pray for. I am doing a rotten job of this! And then Peter says, the worst thing to do,  now that I know that I am doing a rotten job, is feel guilty and start doing more. No, he says do it not out of guilt because I have to but rather do it because I love and care for these people.

   #2. Be an example to them. I need to model what I teach. I can't get lazy in my prayer life and indeed I need to be meeting with them for prayer. I can't get slack in my bible study and I need to study with them. If I teach on witnessing, visiting, serving the poor,  I need to be doing this and taking them along with me. How can I expect them to get on fire if I am not?

   #3. Show humility to them. Even though I am older and have a position of authority,  I need to demonstrate that they are more important than me. I am equal with them at the foot of the cross. If I portray that my time is more important than their's or my knowledge, status, ideas, marriage, children are better than theirs, I have blown it.

Lord, I have never been a good elder, I confess.  My life is too consumed with me, my marriage, my kids,  my grandkids, and my free time.  Lord, I want to do better. Increase my love for others mostly. Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 21

                                      1 Peter 4:12-19

 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴ If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵ If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. ¹⁶ However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. ¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
    what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

¹⁹ So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

       I watched a video by John piper on "hope" which he preached at my daughter's church. I think I mentioned it in a blog a few days ago.  It is fresh in my mind since I just saw it Sunday.  He gave 5 areas today that if we stand for truth we endanger ourselves.  One was the gay agenda. One could lose their business,  their wealth,  and at some point in the USA, pastors could lose their freedom and churches their tax exemption status. The second was human trafficking.  If you go after the source of this billion dollar industry you put your life in danger. Third, abortion. I support a ministry that uses shock value on campuses. They set up huge posters of dismembered fetuses and engage people in conversation.  They are vehemently verbally attacked by students. He mentioned a couple others but you get the point. I would think that if you set up a soapbox on a street and started preaching the gospel,  you would suffer. In all these you would want to make sure that you weren't breaking any laws doing what you are doing because Peter says that you don't want to suffer for being a criminal.  However,  if you did it legally and were persecuted , which is why so few of us do these things,  Peter says that there are some good things that will result.

     First he says we will be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. To me this mainly refers to the fact that most of us say we are looking forward to heaven but really we would just as soon stay down here. Why? Because we are comfortable.  We aren't suffering.  Add a little suffering to your life and it makes you long for heaven.  But also a lot of us go through life wondering why we aren't seeing the glory of God on a day to day basis.  No miracles,  no god-things, no conversions, etc. Maybe it's because we are being too safe. He doesn't need to show up. In the book "tortured for his faith" the author talks about one episode after being tortured, he sat in his cold dank cell and felt God's arms around him all night long keeping him warm. He experienced God's glory.

     Secondly, you probably don't need to wonder if you are saved or not.  The fact that His glory is resting on you,  that people are identifying you with Christ,  should confirm that you are one of His. Like Stephen before he was stoned to death, his face looked angelic,  the people gnashed their teeth, took up stones and killed him. Paul says that he could have avoided persecution if he started preaching circumcision/works salvation/not salvation.  When we are on Christ's side, we will be persecuted. Why would the devil hurt you if you are on his side?

     Lastly our suffering in a way vindicates and justifies God in His judgment on mankind, , not that He needs that, because no one can stand before God and say "that's not fair". Because of our suffering, God could, if he wanted to,  show a video of that person persecuting or at least not caring about the persecution of Christians and say, "your suffering is deserved and equal." I know that could be a new thought. If you want to marinate on that one, check out Rev.7:9-11, Matt. 23:34-36, Isa. 9:5

Lord, help me not to shy away from obedience to You in areas where I know I will be persecuted for. Give me boldness, strength, and direction.  Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 20

                          
                                                    1 Peter 4:11


¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

      Once again Peter is raking me over the coals. He said,  he who speaks is to speak as if he is speaking the very words of God.  Now in one sense and probably the way Peter is meaning this is that if I stand in front of people and teach or preach,  I should first of all make sure that what I am teaching is truth.  Is it in accordance with God's Word? Also I should be authoritative because I am speaking as God's man. I shouldn't be timid or apologetic but speak what God has told me to say. My son Brett has been asked to speak this Sunday and is scared to death because as of midweek, God hasn't given him words to speak. That's how serious we should be when speaking or preaching in front of people where they are expecting to hear God's Word.

    But that's not the sense where I blew it. The other sense is if you say something to anyone and you are a Christian,  what you should say is what Jesus would say i.e. WWJS. My words were along the lines of "don't you nurses in Honduras do anything?" Yes, I really said that. The only saving grace was that it was in English,  and unless they are pretending not to understand a word I am saying, I think I am safe. I'm not going to explain why I said it because then I would be trying to justify something that can't be justified.  Why can't it be justified even if it was true (see I couldn't resist)? Because it wasn't the very words of God.  Jesus would have never said that.  Why? Because He was not self centered. He would have been more concerned about the nurse's life than His own. He would have thought, how can I serve the nurses.

    Peter would say that I was not only not speaking God's words but I wasn't functioning in His strength - I was functioning in mine. Amazing how I can be on a mission trip,  be in God's Word,  be constantly in prayer and still slip back into my own strength so easily. How did Jesus do it?  How can I do it.  Will I ever succeed? Good thing I'm not done with Peter yet; maybe he'll tell me.

  Lord, forgive me and help me! Please. I'm desperate.  Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 19

                                 1 Peter 4:8-10


⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

     Here I am in Honduras taking to heart my blog from yesterday.  My surgery went well and I felt the Lord with me. I think the patient will do well. The stress of the surgery drove me to my knees which to the Lord was more important than the outcome of the surgery. Last night I labored in prayer about today's surgery which I know I can't do and I believe God told me to call for help to decide whether to do it or not. I'll ask Jeff, the missionary surgeon for his opinion. If he says yes we do it.  If he says no we cancel . It's just that the lady has a huge cancerous mass on her bottom and I want to help her but I don't want the complications of the surgery to be worse than her cancer.

    What would Peter say? He says we all have different gifts.  Use your gifts together in a humble fashion.  I got to sleep last night because a nurse sat with my patient from yesterday. I could operate yesterday because a tech sterilized the equipment.  The patient didn't jump when I cut her because the wife of the missionary surgeon had watched visiting anesthesiologists and now functions as the anaesthetist.  I was assisted by a family practice doctor who helped me tremendously. Between cases I hydrated and ate at the snack shop overseen by missionary Joe. I'm radioed by David when they need me. The CRNA fed me last night. A 20 year old girl, Sarah, translates for me working here during her summer college break.  In the church it is the same way. God has given us all unique gifts and abilities and if we don't use them, the body suffers. I have never appreciated my office nurse as much as this week. I can't find speculums, gloves, KY Jelly, wet prep material, qtips, anything.  It's all here but I don't know where to find it, nor how to ask. Back home it is there at my service. When people aren't doing what they are supposed to do, there is chaos, stress, and a malfunctioning hospital/church.

     So who is more important, me the doctor or the lab girl who picked me up when I came in? Who is more important,  the pastor or the nursery worker? The answer is neither. Peter says this is what love is;  this is where hospitality starts. This is how the whole world will know that we are truly His disciples and that Christianity is the real deal. This happens when we all consider others and more important than ourselves. This happens when we humble ourselves and serve others using our unique abilities.

    Lord, thank you for this experience to once again learn that I am not"the man". Thank you for spreading out your gifts through the body of Christ so we can function in a supernatural way. Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 18

                                            1 Peter 4:7


⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.

    So here I am in Honduras about to operate on a at least stage 2 cervical cancer because no one else will take her and she is bleeding to death. All I can think about is will I be able to perform this surgery. Will I get into other organs it has grown to.  She is already low on blood and will she exsanguinate before I'm done. Will they have the right instruments?  The suture or drains I need? Antibiotics? Pain meds? Blood? My blood? It was so frustrating even examining her last night because they didn't have the basics I needed or if they did they were somewhere else in the hospital.  It's hard for me not to get frustrated.  It's hard for me not to show it.

   What would Peter say? First of all,  put things in perspective.  Is this lady saved? The end is near for both of us!  100 years from now,  even 40, none of this will matter except eternal matters.  What lives on? The fruit I bear today. Just chill, Jim.

    Secondly,  Peter once again mentions prayer as the ends not the means. This case has gotten me talking to God, which is the reason I'm alive - that relationship with Him . Not to mention that I posted it on Facebook and had hundreds more praying. Doesn't that put all our trials into perspective when we think#1, one hundred years from now this won't matter except for the fruit you bore and #2 the intimacy you experienced with Christ during it.

    I have another horrendous case tomorrow,  something I've never done before nor do I feel capable of doing, but it is her only hope for survival.This will keep me up praying tonight (and watching youtube videos) which is just what God wants. Are you being kept up by something.  Are you worrying or praying?  That makes all the difference.  Please don't take a sleeping pill (take 5 hour energy the next day) Use those stresses to drive you to God. That's what they are there for.

Lord, help me not to worry but view problems in the light of eternity and as a way to build a closer relationship with You. Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 17

                                                1 Peter 4:1-6

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. ² As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. ³ For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵ But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

    Just looked up some stats on Christian persecution. One Christian is martyred every 5 minutes. There were more Christians killed in the 20th and 21st century then the previous 19 combined. There are 200 million followers of Christ facing persecution in 105 countries making Christianity the most persecuted religion in the world. Just 2 weeks ago a North Korean pastor, Han Chung Ryeol was brutally murdered. He had led numerous North Koreans to the Lord. Did you hear about that? Me neither;  I just checked out The Voice of the Martyrs website. That is happening all over the world and we consider ourselves persecuted when people exclude us or make fun of us because of our faith.  Actually Peter is going to address both of these in this passage and you might be surprised by his conclusions.

    Obviously the church is undergoing persecution at the time of Peter's letter. People were being put to death for following Christ. What does Peter say? Basically he says it happened to Jesus, too so we can expect it. Like Jesus, who went to eternal glory when He was put to death, we too, when we die as believers, whether martyred or not, get to spend eternity in Heaven. If that isn't great enough,  Peter kind of longingly sighs and says, oh to be done with this sinful messed up world and my desire to sin. Do you ever feel that way? We should. Could it be that we aren't bothered by sin as much as we should be? Could it be we don't stand against sin like we should?  I've got to say I am a work in progress on this topic. Part of me wants to echo "Christians should be known for what they stand for not what they stand against" which if I've heard once I've heard a thousand times. That sounds great and safe but it's interesting that I didn't hear that quote until the last 10 years. Those kinds of things make we wonder. And then you have someone like Franklin Graham, who I deeply respect as I am currently at one of his mission hospitals in Honduras, going around the USA and calling a sin a sin. I truly believe that if we do that we are going to be persecuted.

     Besides being martyred,  I do believe Peter addresses those minor things like having abuse heaped on you for saying,  "sorry, but as a Christian I don't do that". Peter says,  you know, that's okay because all those things you used to be tempted by like drinking, sex, popularity, orgies - um, not a problem anymore. You can move on to new temptations to deal with because no one is going to invite you to those parties anymore. Not to say you shouldn't go to those and be a witness when invited,  just don't expect too many more invitations.

    Let's not run from persecution nor do we need to go out looking for it because it will come for us, and Peter says, that's not a bad thing.

     Lord, give me wisdom to know how to deal with this are in my life.  Give me strength to stand for You and not cave when persecution comes.  Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 16

                           
                                  1 Peter 3:17-22


For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. ¹⁹ After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— ²⁰ to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him

    This passage has three main players, Noah, Jesus,  and you and me. Never thought you would be mentioned in the same breath, huh? These three characters have a similar problem, a similar plight,  and a similar - looking for a"p" here - promise (future would have probably been better).

      Let's take Noah. First of all his problem was that he was building an ark to save whoever would believe that the earth was about to be destroyed by a flood,  and no one was believing. In fact they were mocking . They thought he was a fool building a monstrosity for years when no one had ever seen rain before.  Yet he was right.  Only 8 believed and they were his family. He faced the plight of death yet lived through it because of God's promised deliverance. He got to live in a brand new world because he believed God, boldly told the truth,  and lived a  life of obedience demonstrating his faith.

         Then there was Jesus.  His problem was that He came to tell the world that mankind was sinful and judgement was coming but deliverance was here, and like Noah, only a handful believed.  In fact just like in Noah's case, they mocked Him and called Him mad. He faced death and was delivered from it through the resurrection - where incidentally their two stories intersect as Jesus,  while in the dominion of death for three days says to all those Noah mockers, oh by the way, you should have listened to Him. Jesus' promise was a throne in Heaven seated at the right hand of the Father.

   Lastly there is us. We are to tell an unbelieving, mocking, politically correct, secularized world that Jesus is the only way to deliver them from the impending plight of death, judgement and eternal separation from God in a place called Hell, due to the fact that we all have sinned and fallen short of His glory. How many have believed our message? Generally only a very small number. It is easy to be discouraged and give up until we realize that we have two that have gone ahead of us with the same results and they didn't give up. And here our story intersects with the previous two. Someday, we will meet Noah in Heaven and worship Jesus forever. In fact, we are Jesus' promise. We are His bride.

      Let's not get discouraged when few believe, when we are mocked, when we face difficulties and life is a toil. Remember Noah and Jesus. We have been included in good company. Don't give up. There will be a few who believe and there is a promise awaiting for us that makes it all worthwhile.

       Lord, I've often been beat down in witnessing by the lack of results. Help me to not grow weary but keep casting the seed knowing that somewhere out there is fertile soil. Keep my eyes focused on the prize. Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 15

                                           1 Peter 3:13-16


Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”¹⁵ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander

    Who is really my lord - who or what is my master? We can say,"oh, it's definitely Jesus" but if so, why do we bow down to people?  Why are we afraid of what they think of us, what they will do to us, or their approval. We are so timid that we don't tell people about the good news of Jesus when we get the chance, , because people are our lord, not Jesus.

    I said in my last blog that if you want to get conviction, talk about prayer.  The other button to push is witnessing. This passage gives some hints on witnessing that we need to take to heart. First of all Peter says always be ready. Sharing Christ needs to be in the forefront of our minds daily. I used to go to the gym and play pickup basketball and one of my friends, Ken, would lead us in prayer prior to leaving the car. He would pray that we would demonstrate Christ and have an opportunity to share the good news with someone. This convicted me because I thought we were just going to play basketball. We need to pray every time we get out of our car those same words whether it be work, Walmart, fitness center, ,etc. I have seen signs on sidewalks of churches as I exited, "you are now entering the mission field". How about posting one on the door of your car?

     Next, Peter says be prepared. What do you say to people? There are many tools to help like evangecubes, tracts, evangelism explosion, Roman's Road, FAITH, gospel beads, etc.I like to draw out the bridge illustration. What does that require, pen and paper. If I am not carrying that with me it shows that I am not ready. Karen met with a woman lately and she asked Karen, "there are so many religions out there, how do I know Christianity is the right one." And then she asked,"wasn't the Bible just written by men?" Karen had just read Reason for God and listened to some messages by Andy Stanley on that topic. We have listened to Vodie Bauchum, Josh McDowell, Ravi Zaccharias, read Case for Faith and because of that Karen was prepared to give an answer. Would you be? She didn't convince her to be a Christian because God has to work through the heart not the intellect (another blog for another day) but she did convince her to come to church.

    Lastly, Peter tells how to share - with gentleness and respect. To me this says, be winsome. Show that person that you value them and their opinions.  Pray for wisdom to introduce doubts into their stances so that they can wrestle with their beliefs rather than telling them that they are wrong. Ideally they will already be wrestling with their beliefs by seeing how amazing your life is,  your marriage is,  your family is,  and how selfless you are in serving and doing good deeds. They will ideally see too how you don't cave to peer pressure and be intrigued by that too. The unspoken assumption here is that you are around unbelievers. I personally have a tendency to just hang out with Christians and then this whole blog is meaningless.

     Lord, help me to be ready, prepared, and winsome in regards to witnessing.  Along with that, help me to get involved in some unbelievers lives in order to lead them to You. Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 14

                            1 Peter 3:7-12

  ... so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
⁸ Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. ⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰ For,

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.
¹¹ They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.
¹² For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

      How is your prayer life?  You want to give a talk and have people get convicted?  Ask that question. You don't even need the Holy Spirit to convict. I shouldn't jest like that because without the Holy Spirit to convict all you get is guilt. Here in the next passage, Peter is going to talk about prayer and we will see its importance and some guidance on how to have effectual prayer.

      The first time we see prayer mentioned is at the end of the previous passage.  Peter says to husbands, if you don't have your marriage in order your prayers are going to be hindered. I can testify that when Karen and I are not right, I can't do anything effectively because all I can think about is getting right with her. Peter is saying that in order to have focused thoughts on God your relationships on Earth must be in line. This is not only because of distraction reasons but the psalmist says that if we regard iniquity in our heart the Lord does not hear us. In the gospels Jesus says if you are going to the altar to offer sacrifices and realize that a relationship isn't right, you are to go back and reconcile that issue and then go offer the sacrifice. So not only does a distracted mind inhibit prayers but also a sinful heart harboring unconfessed sin. But wait there's more. Marriage, as we just said in the last blog reveals selfishness and the degree to which we aren't getting along is revealing the degree to which we are being run by the flesh. How can we expect to see prayers answered if we are being run by the flesh?

   We tend to look at a godly marriage as the ultimate, representing an accurate picture of Christ and the church, his bride, to a lost world. As important as that is,  Peter is saying that your prayer life,  your intimacy with Christ supercedes that. He says, you better have a good marriage or else you won't be able to pray. You want to know how important prayer is - there you have it.

    Lastly, Peter gives us a laundry list of character traits and behaviors necessary for effective prayer which leads to good days and loving life. These are to be compassionate, humble, loving, not repaying evil with evil but overcoming it with good, keeping the tongue from evil and deceitful speech, turning from evil and doing good,  and seeking peace and pursuing it. In my younger Christian days I would have written out that list and if I really wanted something bad, I would have worked on all those area one by one in order to have my prayer answered the way I wanted. After studying Galatians, I am pretty sure God is not about lists. He is about identifying what is behind that list and once again it is about killing the flesh-dying to self. The degree to which we are doing that is the degree to which God's righteousness can shine through and the degree to which we can have effective communication with Him- the ultimate goal in life.

Lord, I want to know You. I want to think your thoughts and hear your voice.  I want to be concerned about the things that concern You. Please don't let anything get in the way of this.  Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 13

    
                                        1 Peter 3:1-7
  Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, ² when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. ⁴ Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. ⁵ For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, ⁶ like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
⁷ Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life,...


   The next passage in Peter deals with marriage and relationship between husband and wife. The interesting thing is that it follows right after the passage we just talked about which is no longer living for yourself,  but living under a new overseer who has given us a gift, the precious gift of life. This doesn't mean that we were dead before but spiritually speaking,  the spirit part of us was not alive. We were like zombies, I suppose, living for the flesh, craving me, me, me and devouring whoever we were next to, to satisfy that desire. Now that our spirit is alive by the Spirit,  we are craving God. We want more of Him and we want to live lives pleasing to Him.

  So what does this have to do with marriage? Pretty much everything. A secular marriage/relationship is me centered. It has been described as 2 ticks without a dog. Even the glorious quote "you complete me", succinctly describes the problem. It's about"me". I want you for"me". God's love for us was completely different. Do we complete Him? Hardly. He is complete. So why does He love us? I guess because He is love. Love is an out flowing from His heart that wants the best for everyone, and that best is Him. When people look at God as this megalomaniac who says"love me or I will send you to Hell, they don't get it.  God is saying, "I am what will make your life complete. In fact I am so good for you that you could call the absence of me in your life'hell'".

Therefore, a God centered marriage is between two people who are not living for themselves. The godly wife is not trying to draw attention to herself by her outward appearance but rather is trying by her fruit of the spirit to point people to Christ.She doesn't need to control her husband or fear being out of control because she already is out of control.  She is controlled by the overseer of her soul. The godly husband doesn't take advantage of that because he is not about getting his own way but Christ's. He knows that he should love her like christ loved him ; tenderly, gently, patiently, and sacrificially. The husband should love the wife for who she is in order to complete her demonstrating the love of Christ to an onlooking world. If this is the way marriages worked there would be a zero divorce rate.

Lord, I lift up to you my marriage. I pray that both Karen and I would follow your example and truly love the way you modeled. Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 12

                                      1 Peter 2:24,25

 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵ For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.


    Wow! What can be said about one of the greatest passages of the Bible! Peter says it all!

      I was listening recently to a message by Lehman Strauss. In it, he claimed that the Devil not only is a liar but the Devil has a primary lie. In Thessalonians Paul states that people believe the lie. Strauss then develops what that lie is and if I understood him correctly, he says that the lie of the devil is "live for yourself" or "be your own god". I can't argue with him too much because we see the Devil in Isa.14 falling from Heaven because of this, using it on Adam and Eve, tempting Jesus with it, and the traitor inside of me - the flesh - tells me to do it. Peter, in this passage is probably referencing Isa.53:6 where Isaiah says, "all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way..." There it is. That's what sin is. It is choosing to do what we want rather than what God wants. It is making ourselves the ultimate authority in our lives. It is calling our own shots.

       Peter says that there is a penalty that we have to pay for that choice and that penalty is death. I am trying to wrap my head around, as I contemplate this, why this choice deserves the eternal death penalty. That seems harsh doesn't it? There are two things I keep coming back to. Number one is that we are so into ourselves that our understanding of this punishment is distorted by the fact that the flesh tells us that this really isn't that wrong to follow self. Therefore we can't get a clear take on its gravity. The second thing is, so what it is harsh. God made a way so we don't have to die. He paid the penalty by sending His own Son to die. It's like the law if you don't pay taxes you go to prison. Seems harsh doesn't it? But that's OK because I pay my taxes. I don't have to even worry about that.

       So what does Peter tell us we have to do? Return which means repent. Turn. Turn to the one who created you. Turn to your overseer or shepherd. What does an overseer or shepherd do? They boss you around. They lead you. They direct you. They are in charge, not you. We need to quit going our way and turn to following His way. People ask, "do I have to quit this or that behavior to become a Christian?" We are tempted to answer, "yes", but the real answer is more along the lines of, "are you willing to put God in charge of your life and do whatever He tells you to do?" That is the real question people have to answer. If they say yes, the blood of Jesus heals them of their sins and the Holy Spirit comes inside bringing them to life and enabling them to live righteously.

    Lord, thank You for paying my penalty for going my own way. Help me to always go Your way. I give up all rights to my life to You. Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 11

                                       1 Peter 2:18-23

Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. ¹⁹ For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. ²⁰ But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

 

 

            Apologies. We all get them and we all give them. The interesting thing is they all have a "but" in them. In other words they all include a justification of why this harmful thing was done. "I'm sorry, I said that to you; I know it was hurtful, but I felt betrayed so I lashed out..." "I shouldn't have acted that way but I was just having a bad day..." Have you ever given an apology without justifying your behavior? It's tough. Next time you apologize, try it.

 

          Why do we do this? Tim Keller often talks about "conceit". In the KJV this is often translated as "vain glory". He makes the point that we all have "glory tanks" that are empty but need to be full. Worse than being hated, disliked, talked about - is being ignored. I'm convinced this is why people make so many outrageous nasty comments and replies on social media posts. Are the people that mean? Maybe, but I think they just want to be noticed and responded to. Internet trolling is just saying, "please fill my glory tank." We want to be noticed. We want to be significant. All of us deep down need to matter. I just watched a movie "The Avengers; Civil War". One scene has Tony Stark (Iron Man) walking past The Atom in a cell and saying "who are you?" That was the biggest insult he could give because we all want to be known. Therefore we fill this tanks or puff ourselves up with importance by using others, tearing down others, facebook statuses, blogs (ouch), getting ourselves in places of importance, etc.

 

         How does this relate to this passage in Peter? Peter says that when you are mistreated, abused, wronged, harmed, ignored, bypassed, slandered, gossiped about, lied about, punched, accused wrongly - and we all have, you don't have to be a first century to 21st century slave to have experienced this- how should we handle this? Peter doesn't delve into a whole disortation on self defense, Christians and legal rights, etc. and these cases can be made. His point is - just take it. Are you able to do that? Why or why not? Could it be that people have punched holes in your "glory tank" and you need to plug them. Could these insults be pointing to the fact that you are getting your glory filled in a different way than Jesus was? How did Jesus do it? "He entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly." He got His glory in the Father.

 

         In Philippians Paul says that Jesus came to Earth and emptied Himself of glory. In other words, because He was/is God, He is glory defined. Yet He gave up that glory so that you and I could be filled with His glory. Our glory tanks are filled with a never diminishing, leaking, or draining supply so that when people poke holes in us it doesn't matter. We don't need to prove our worth - we're worthy. We don't have to justify ourselves - we've been justified. Don't you think that a world desperately seeking glory would notice a person who isn't striving for it because they already have it. Don't you think that would make an impression? Don't you think they would want that? One word of caution - they might be so bothered by it that they might try to drive it out of you so you can be like them. I feel like this may be the reason why Christian kids get bullied in school quite often.

 

       So the next time you apologize, try not to defend yourself. You don't need to save your dignity. You have a full tank of it.

 

         Lord, help me to find my worth in You today, not in my position, money, what people say about me, what people think about me or my performance. Thank You that You left Heaven for Me because You love me and You think I am special. Help me glory in that today. Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 10

                                       1 Peter 2:13-17

 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, ¹⁴ or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. ¹⁵ For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. ¹⁶ Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. ¹⁷ Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

                                          Matt. 17:25-27
“What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
²⁶ “From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ²⁷ “But so that we may not cause offense...

       
          I included the passage in Matthew because in it, Jesus is discipling Simon Peter and teaching him some principles about how aliens like us who are technically citizens of Heaven and under a different authority, should behave and treat the authorities down here. Now, in 1 Peter, Simon Peter is relaying to other citizens of Heaven what he learned from Jesus so they can live lives pleasing to the Lord. It says in the gospels that Jesus picked the 12 so that they might spend time with Him.

        This makes me think about my kids. I have 4 children and they are all following the Lord. I had 18 years to be with them - to spend time with them. What a blessing when I see or hear them teaching their kids or their students the things I taught them about the Lord and about how to live the Christian life. The two boys that are married and fathers both own guitars and know the limited number of chords that I do in order to sing to their kids praise songs to Jesus that they sang while growing up. Their kids watch Veggie Tales movies - the same things we showed them growing up. I remember sitting with them at the dinner table and reading from a devotion book that gave sticky situations that we as Christians get into and then we would discuss how to handle them. I remember our biggest fight was a situation where hypothetically you are at work and  you observe a fellow employee stealing from the company. What should you do? Wouldn't it be nice to ask Jesus those questions instead of Dad? Dad gives opinions, Jesus gives truth. Peter had that opportunity to hear truth and now he relays it to us. My kids had 18 years of my and my wife's accumulated wisdom as a basis to formulate their own opinions from a good starting point.

      How much of those 18 years was used training them in Godliness? Not nearly enough, but at least we did and the dividends have been tremendous. What are you training your kids in? Sports? Dance? School and education? Nature? All good things but not the best things. Do you want to see your kids walking in the truth? Do you want to see their kids walking in the truth? Be intentional. Spend time with them and instruct them in the kingdom of God. That's what Jesus did and those disciples changed the world.

        Lord, thank you for my kids. Thank you that they are following You. Help them to continue to pass the truth on to their kids intentionally and urgently. Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 9

                               1 Peter 2:11,12

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.


         I looked up foreigners and exiles in my Greek dictionary and putting the two words together, here is what I come up with - a temporary dweller, not having a settled home where he is currently living because he will soon be going back to his permanent dwelling place. However, in the meantime he is in , among, and assimilated with the people of that foreign land.

       I am trying to come up with an analogy today. How about a soldier sent to the middle east. In a sense, yes, because they would never buy land, build a house, buy a car, settle down because their tour of duty will be over soon. That would be foolish. However that analogy breaks down because the soldiers pretty much stay with each other because of the dangers of close intimate contact with the indigent. Then I think of ambassadors. The ambassador represents his home country to a foreign nation. We are ambassadors, Paul says in 2 Cor.5, yet the analogy breaks down because the ambassador sets up his little piece of home on foreign soil (consulate) and stays there in safety hopefully, and the people come to him rather than the other way around. 

      So that leaves us with missionaries. Missionaries leave their home and dwell among citizens of a foreign land in their land among the people of this land no matter how dangerous it is to be an alien there. What do they do? They live such good lives among them, serving, giving, sacrificing in a way that unsaved people can't understand because they are run by the self centered sinful flesh that says me, me, me, that they are wooed into becoming Christians. Of course it is more than just example because Peter says, "they will glorify God". How would unsaved people know to glorify someone besides the missionaries unless like Joseph or Daniel we say "It's not me, it's the God I serve." Friendship evangelism, servant evangelism, social work is all great and commanded, yet if we don't share words, we might as well be good Hindus, Muslims, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons or Moonies.

       Do you see yourself as a missionary to a foreign country? If you had to write a support letter to the church back home, what would you say? Would you have some names of converts to share? Would you have a list of unsaved people that you want the people back home to pray for? My guess is most of us would have two responses. Number 1 , "I am currently in the process of assimilation" which is code speak for my family and I have become so immersed in the culture that we forgot what we are here for. The second response is "I am in the mission compound and am having great fellowship with the missionaries. We are currently formulating plans on how best to reach the people for Christ" which is code speak for it is dangerous out there and I much prefer hanging out with Christians.

       Every day when I dropped my kids off for school, because we chose to public school for this very reason, I would say, "remember, you are a missionary to Sevierville today. Bear fruit." which is code speak for " Live such good lives among the pagans that, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

      Lord, help me to view myself today as a missionary to the USA sent from Heaven for a short time. When I give my report back to You tonight, may I have something good to report. Amen

Thoughts on 1 Peter - Day 8

                     1 Peter 2:6-10

 For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.


          Is Jesus precious to you? If you and I get into a conversation, it won't be long until I talk to you about my wife, my kids, my grandchildren, delivering babies, baseball, the Vols, or zombie shows. How long until I get to talking about Jesus? The length of time it takes me to get there kind of shows how precious He is to me. When you walk into my (Karen's) house, how long until you see Jesus? When you step into my office, does Jesus jump out at you? He should! He called me out of darkness into His wonderful light. I deserved Hell and in His mercy, He gave me Heaven. Once I was an orphan and He took me, for no reason, made me His special possession - the apple of His eye, so to speak - and adopted me into His family making me a "people of God".

       We have been talking about the flesh and the Spirit, how they war against each other and how to live like Children of God, or priests representing God to the world as this passage states, versus living sinful self centered lives according to the flesh. As I think about it there are two ways to accomplish this. One is to deny the flesh. Starve it. Get accountability people in your life to ask you tough questions. As Jesus metaphorically speaks - "if your right hand offends you, cut it off." There certainly is precedence for this denying of the flesh throughout scripture and it is necessary. The other way for living a life pleasing to God, I feel is even better, easier, less stressful, more freeing, and certainly less painful (doesn't require eye gouging). This is, Jesus becoming more and more precious to you. As a kid growing up, the biggest treat in the world was when my parents would take us for a McDonalds hamburger. We hardly ever went out to eat because we were on a tight budget (hint, hint), but if we got a good report card or on a birthday, golden arches here we come. Oh man, were those hamburgers good! Until I tasted Fuddruckers or Five Guys. And Oh were those good until I tasted the smoke stack at Shake Shack. Sorry McDonalds but you don't even tempt me anymore. I have been seized by the power of a greater affection. Hopefully you get the analogy. When you get to know Jesus," the things of Earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

     I was a deacon at my church but when I rotated off I didn't sign back up. The main reason was that I don't like visiting shut-ins. I know that sounds terrible and frankly it is. But we would go to someone's house and listen to them talk about themselves for an hour then pray with them and leave. They would be about 85 years old and in an hour of talking never mention how precious Jesus was to them. Oh, they loved the church, the pastor, the church TV broadcasts (streaming? what's that), etc. but what about Jesus?! Isn't He precious to you! Lord, when I am an old geezer - I mean an older geezer - may all the words on my lips be Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. And less I continue to judge people so harshly, may all my words today be directed towards glorifying Your name! Amen