Promising or Practising!

There was something special about Peter. He was a born leader of men. He was the natural spokesman for the Twelve, but sometimes he said more than he did.

In John 13:36-38 we get a little insight into Peter: "Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward." Peter said to him, "Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times"." (ESV)

Notice Peter's Concern: He had heard the Lord say that He was leaving and he asks "Lord, where are you going?" He was close to the Lord, he loved the Lord, he did not want to be left alone. The Lord explains "Where I am going you cannot follow me now..." 

Next, we have Peter's Confidence: "Lord...I will lay down my life for you"! 

Finally, and very sadly, we have Peter's Crash: The Lord said "the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times". 

This morning, as I considered this sad little story of Peter, it caused me to think of a few very practical lessons:

1. Peter knew the Lord, but he did not know himself. He had too great a trust in his own ability. This experience would teach him otherwise. To be self-confident is foolish! 
2. Peter FELT that he could do something but the Lord KNEW that he couldn't. I must learn to accept the words of the Lord even though my feelings tell me otherwise. 
3. In the upper room Peter could speak confidently of his dedication and devotion. It was quite another thing when circumstances where adverse! At the very least this should keep me from being over-critical of others failures in circumstances I have never been in! 
4. True Discipleship involves more than Promises - it requires Practices. How often have I promised the Lord my life, how much of it is practically devoted to Him?    

May the Lord help us all not only to promise but to practice, not only to say but to do!    

Satisfied with Christ...

Some of my favourite lines from a hymn are:

"Now none but Christ can satisfy,

None other name for me.

There's love, and life, and lasting joy

Lord Jesus, found in Thee."

Many of us sing the lines often but, am I, are you, satisfied with Christ?

I was speaking last night on John 4 - the woman at the well. If ever there was someone who found "love, and life, and lasting joy" in Christ, it was her! After she had grasped who it was to whom she was speaking, she "left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 'Come, see a Man, which told me all things that ever I did: Is not this the Christ?'" (John 4:27)   

Notice, she "left her waterpot"! F F Bruce states "She forgot the water of Jacob's well in her excitement at receiving the living water of which Jesus had spoken. The wellspring of perennial refreshment was now bubbling up within her". Christ had so satisfied her that she forgot what she had previously been occupied with! 

Is this not at the very core of the Gospel? To know Christ, to have Christ, to enjoy Christ as we should, will transform our lives and our interests forever. Conversely, if we feel it necessary to fill our lives with the pleasures and pursuits of the world, it only manifests that our appreciation of Christ is not all that it should be!  

Having been Satisfied with Christ, she went on to Speak of Christ: "Come see a Man..." 

Perhaps, and I speak to myself, if we were more occupied with Christ and thus satisfied with Him, our impact upon others would be greater! William Blane summarizes the story:

"She left her waterpot and ran

The wonderful tale to tell

Of the Living Water, and the Man

Whom she met at Jacob's well!"

Belief & Behaviour

Our concept of God will determine our character of life - that can be seen clearly from Romans 1:18-32. 

It is those who "glorified Him not as God" and "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like unto corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things" and "changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator" that descended into the most gross forms of immorality. They "did not like to retain God in their knowledge" and so "God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things that are not convenient..." 

Is there a lesson in this for the Christian? I believe there is. Our concept of God will determine our character of life! To put it another way: If we want to behave right, then we have to believe right! It is important therefore to have a Scriptural understanding of God - to glorify Him as God. 

There is a simple yet very sound book with brief meditations on God's Attributes that I have found most helpful. It is called Alone in Majesty (William MacDonald). Every young Christian could do worse than add it to their library and read a chapter a day.  

 

Not Ashamed of the Gospel?

These words of Paul have called me to examine myself again.

Paul was "not ashamed of the gospel of Christ" (Rom 1:16). Yet this Gospel was a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles (1 Cor 1:23). The religious people and the intellectuals of Paul's day were no different than they are today! To them it was foolish, stupid, absurd, to present to the world a Saviour who was "crucified through weakness" (2 Cor 13:4).

Was Paul intimidated by this? Not at all. At Rome there were those who felt that Paul's Gospel was OK for the provinces - but it would never make any impact in the great city of Rome. Paul however had every confidence in his message. Why? Because it is "the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth"! That which differentiates the Gospel of Christ from all the ideologies of men is it's inherent Power!

Thank God, there is not a soul under heaven and out of hell whose life and destiny cannot be transformed by faith in Christ. Let us have confidence to spread this good news in whatever way we can. "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good" (Eccl 11:6).

 

Owned!

I am owned.

In modern parlance to say that someone is "owned" means that they have been defeated or humiliated! Thankfully this is not true for the Christian! But we are owned...

In Romans 1:1 we read "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God". Here Paul speaks of his Ownership "a servant [slave] of Jesus Christ"; his Office "an apostle"; and his Occupation "separated unto the Gospel of God".

Paul was a great man of tremendous intellect and vision - but he was happy to acknowledge that he belonged to Christ! He reminded the Corinthians that they too were "bought with a price" and, as a result, they did not belong to themselves but to Another. May we acknowledge this great truth and yield our lives to Him!

"Oh the love that sought me
Oh the blood that bought me
Oh the grace that brought me to the fold
Wondrous grace that brought me to the fold"