After constant badgering and a lot of peer pressure… Okay after one pretty well thought out comment, I have decided to do the “in thing” and work on memorizing 1Peter with some of the men at PLBC.
I have several reasons why I capitulated to the demands of my peers.
PLBC is preaching through 1Peter. It may help me understand and maximize the preaching on Sunday morning better.
I have always struggled with Peter’s writing. I seem to be able to work through Paul’s writing.
My pastor has reminded me that by memorizing extended text it will allow me to meditate on the text. Something which I struggle to do.
Pastor Craig said so, and I always do what he says.
Knowing that verse memorization is important, I struggled on what I should spend my time memorizing.
I have decided that I am going to focus my memorization on the Fighter Verses from Desiring God.
Since I do not have a lot of Bible experience, I think it will be good for me to memorize verses from assorted places in the Bible, verses one long passage. In time I will want to do some long passages such as Romans 8, but for now my focus will be on the Fighter Verses.
On Justin Taylor’s “Between Two Worlds” there is a post about Norma McCorvey, the Jane Roe in the Roe vs. Wade case. The full post is quoted here on my blog. At the end of the post there is a link to the full testimony of McCorvey, it is definitely worth reading.
The “Jane Roe” of Roe v. Wade was Norma McCorvey. In 1969 she was 22 years old, divorced, homeless, and pregnant for the third time (she had placed her first two children for adoption). Somehow an adoption agency connected her with two young lawyers fresh out of law school who were eager to challenge the Texas statutes on abortion. McCorvey only met with her lawyers twice–once for beer and pizza, the other time to sign an affidavit (which she didn’t read). In order to speed things up McCorvey lied and told them she had been raped. She never appeared in court, and she found out about the infamous ruling from the newspapers. The baby she was seeking to abort was born and placed for adoption.
Today Norma McCorvey is pro-life, advocating for the unborn. You can read her sworn testimony recounting her experience as the plantiff in one of the most signficant cases to appear before the Supreme Court.
Barak Obama today has been sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. The roles have changed, the media who spent the last eight years hating the presidency and looking for every excuse to slander President Bush, begins their love fest in earnest with President Obama.
What is a Christian to do? We are angry, we are frustrated and we are concerned. It has already begun, I’ve watched my friends get more and more engrossed in watching and criticizing everything Barak Obama does. Are we going to spew the same hatred, vileness and vitriol that was spewed at us? Are we to become like those who hated us? Is it time for our revenge, to get back at those who hate us?
Right now I am sure many Christians want to question God about what is going on. Why is this man president? Someone who seems to disagree with many of the things that God cares about. Why is this man so successful, why did this man win the election?
I imagine the answer that we might get is the same answer that Peter got, when he questioned Jesus about what is going to happen with the beloved disciple John.
“When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!””
(John 21:21-22 ESV)
So what about this man Barak Obama, if God wills him to be President, what are we suppose to do? We are to do what we always are suppose to do, and that is to follow Jesus.
We have a choice, we can either obsess over everything President Obama does, get angry, get frustrated and become fruitless. Or we can continue to do what God has commanded us to do.
The Jews were looking for a powerful political messiah, the same as people today. Jesus refused to involve himself in the politics of the day because his mission was much more important. The Jews wanted to be saved from the Romans. Jesus saved us from ourselves, our sins, death and the wrath of God.
From the little I know of the New testament, neither Jesus nor the other New Testament writers often criticized or disrespected the governments that were in place. I think the story i below helps us understand how His focus was never to save us from the government, but we are to respect it.
“Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.”
(Matthew 22:15-22 ESV)
In fact his respect for the government authority placed by God took Jesus right to the cross (John 18:33-36 ESV)
Okay so what do we do?
Decide that our focus is on the ONE TRUE MESSIAH, we follow Jesus Christ.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the great and first commandment.And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””(Matthew 22:37-40 ESV)
Love your enemies and pray for them. We cannot become like many on the left became. (Matthew 5:43-44)
Remember that there is going to be people who hate us not only because we maybe conservative or republicans, but most of all because we are Christian (Mark 13:13 and John 15:18)
Remember we are being watched and the way we act reflects on Jesus Christ. See these posts: They Are Watching… and The Day After…
We realize that the field are white for harvest and we go out and make disciples (John 4:35 and Matt 28:19-20)
Barak Obama is “preaching” about unity, love, charity, and sacrifice as if they are new ideas. Take those openings and teach people about where those ideas came from, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We are exiles here in the United States of America, our ultimate authority is not the government of the United States. We don’t necessarily have to like our new president, but we have to remember it is our responsibility to do everything to honor and glorify God.
P.S. I definitely am not saying that we cannot question see this blog post by John Piper.
I have been awed by a couple of verses, that have been driving me to my knees in showing me God’s ultimate authority and power.
““Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalms 46:10 ESV)
“You follow me!” (John 21:22 ESV)
I imagine being in conversation with Jesus, spilling out my cares and worries, and after a while Jesus says “you follow ME, now be still, and know that I am God”.
These two verses, are powerful because they do two things. First they end anxiety, worries, concerns, objections, jealousies and pride. Secondly they reminds us to take a good long hard look at who God is.
The discussion is over. The doubt is over! Faith and worship begins!
__________
Please share verses in the comments that drive you to your knees and help you to end the doubt in your mind.
There is a story in Matthew 8 of a centurion who comes to Jesus about his sick servant.
“When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.”
(Matthew 8:5-10 ESV)
I have been thinking about this story for several days now because of the faith the centurion has. He understood what authority Jesus carried. He had faith and trust in that authority.
We look at the world and we worry. The economy is close to a recession. People are losing their jobs. We are concerned with the new president ready to take office. We tend to look to our selves and our government to save us from our troubles.
Do we have that faith and trust in what God has promised us?
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:31-39 ESV)
I read a devotional Bible that I have read now for the past three years, it divides up the bible into daily readings of about 15 minutes a day and in that time I read, Old and New Testament, a psalm, and some of proverbs. I read it every morning first thing when I get up, just to be able to get my self into scripture every morning. I noticed some things today
In the Old Testament:
Day One of reading (Genesis 1-2)
God created the Earth, and creates the plants and the animals, and man and woman.
I am going to make an assumption here that the earth was perfect at this time.
Adam and Eve had direct fellowship with God (something we desire, but will not have on this side of glory).
Day Two of reading (Genesis 3-4)
The Serpents temptation of Adam and Eve
The fall of humanity to sin.
The curse
For the next 363 days I am going to read in the Old Testament the unfolding of God’s plan and preparation for His Son through the Law.
God created the world and gave man mastery over everything and the next thing you know we have lost it all, through the manipulations of the serpent and our own ambition to be God.
What amazes me is that God created the world and created man knowing full well that in a blink of an eye we were going to give everything up to try to become our own god. What pain the God of love must of felt when He lost His creation to sin.
How long was it between the finishing of the creation of the world, to the fall? A day, a week, a month, a year? (Is there a number?)
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