Denying Christ - John 13-15

John 13:36-38 (ESV)

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.

Simon Peter is all in for Jesus, but does not, yet, know his internal weakness.  That is so true for all of us. Until tested we are not guaranteed we can still do what we thought we could do.  There is no doubt the Peter is sincere in the above commitment.  He just lacks the understanding about his own, true nature.    Paul would say it this way in his letter to the Romans:

Romans 7:14-18 (ESV)

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Like Peter we want to say we would follow Jesus, even to our death.   But the flesh is not as strong as the spirit in us.  This is why we must rely completely in God’s grace.   

1 Corinthians 15:10 (ESV)

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

James 4:13-17 (ESV)

Boasting About Tomorrow

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

We do not succeed because we boast with our mouth to succeed.  We succeed by believing in our hearts that God will produce within us, by His grace, what He needs from us. 

Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV)

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Distraction to Restoration - Joel

Joel 2:24-25 (ESV)

“The threshing floors shall be full of grain;

the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

I will restore to you the years

that the swarming locust has eaten,

the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,

my great army, which I sent among you.

Before we can understand the above, we have to remember what God sent to the nation recorded in chapter one:

Joel 1:4 (ESV)

What the cutting locust left,

the swarming locust has eaten.

What the swarming locust left,

the hopping locust has eaten,

and what the hopping locust left,

the destroying locust has eaten.

God sent the locust to destroy everything. That was the discipline for their disobedience.    Joel is announcing this destruction on them, but then gives them the restoration message as well.  This is how God works in discipline.  There may be destruction in God’s discipline for His children, but there is always restoration.   We can’t pretend to disobey God and then walk the way we walk.  God will interrupt that walk and cause us to take stock in our walk with Him.  When we repent and return to Him we have His restoration, which is the replacement of what was devastate by the discipline.    God will always restore us to Himself.  

What Do We Do With Traditions? Proverbs 22

Proverbs 22:28 (ESV)

Do not move the ancient landmark

that your fathers have set.

This proverb is a summary of the command of God in the giving of the Law to Moses in Deut 19:14.  Solomon repeats it here and gives no reason.   In Proverbs 15:25 we read that God protects the land of the poor and/or widow.

Proverbs 15:25 (ESV)

The LORD tears down the house of the proud

but maintains the widow's boundaries.

God is concerned that greed and power are kept in check.  He tells us here that wisdom includes our following His basic laws and is reflected in how we treat the property of others.   God knows when we don't show mercy.   We can remove the boundary lines and secure more for ourselves but that would not be in the character of God.   We can move away from what our father's taught us and we can literally move the boundary of the culture of our homes, families, churches and communities.  God wants us to remember important, traditional and historical events, times, laws and property.   Foolish people attempt to move these things; or, at times, simply ignore them.   Holding too much onto tradition for the wrong person can make you Pharisaical.   However, leaving the ancient boundaries for the wrong reason or out of ignorance suicidal.  Hold on to what God gave us and keep the traditions He has established and the boundary lines He has ordained.

God Delivers Us! (Psalm 105-107)

Psalms 107:23-32 (ESV)

Some went down to the sea in ships,

doing business on the great waters;

they saw the deeds of the LORD,

his wondrous works in the deep.

For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,

which lifted up the waves of the sea.

They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;

their courage melted away in their evil plight;

they reeled and staggered like drunken men

and were at their wits’ end.

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

He made the storm be still,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.

Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,

and he brought them to their desired haven.

Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,

and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

Psalm 107 is a song to praise God for how He rescues those in need.   He speaks of four different type of people in need:

1. Those who are lost and wandering. (107:4-9)

2. Those who rebelled against God are in the shadow of death and in prison. (107:10-16)

3. Those who, because of their foolish and sinful ways are in affliction. (107:17-22)

4. And, as above, those who are simply out in life, doing business, and get caught up in a storm. (107:23-32)

It is often our own situation and choices that put us in the place of pain and suffering.   That is the reason for #1, #2 and #3, above.   When we wander, rebel and make foolish choices we are left to the suffering that follows.  Yet, in each of those cases, we read this:

Psalms 107:6 (ESV)

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

That verse appears in all four examples.   God knows that we are but dust and that we will fail, fall and flounder in our humanity.   But God is there to rescues us and deliver us.   He hears our suffering and He delivers us from our distress.  Even if the distress is, as above, simply by going about and doing our business and a storm appears.   God can turn darkness into light no matter the reason the darkness comes.  

God Calls - God Supplies - 1 Chronicles 20-24

1 Chronicles 22:11-13 (ESV)

“Now, my son, the LORD be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the LORD your God, as he has spoken concerning you. Only, may the LORD grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the LORD your God. Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.

In this section of 1 Chronicles we have the account of David introducing his son, Solomon, to the idea of building the Temple.  David had wished to build it, but God prevented him because he was a man of war.   In the above passage we read what David said to Solomon about this project.   

1. David informed Solomon that the project would only be successful because God would be with him.  

2. Solomon’s success was guaranteed by God. 

3. God would grant Solomon discernment and understading on how to build the temple.  

4.  God was going to establish Solomon with the authority to lead the nation. 

5.  God would be empowering him to keep the word and to follow through with it. 

6. That God wanted him to be strong and courageous and not be frightened.  

Where God leads, He provides.   

Obey God’s Word - Numbers 13-17

Numbers 15:32-36 (ESV)

While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the LORD commanded Moses.

God is serious about obeying His word.  There are a lot of stories in the Bible about obeying God’s word.  The word obey appears over 100 times in the ESV version of the Bible.   Jesus claimed that love for Him included, rather demanded, that we obey His commands.  

John 14:15 (ESV)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

In the above story we have a man who disregarded the word of God to keep the Sabbath and do no work on the Sabbath.  His desire to build a fire trumped his desire to obey God.  If we think we can walk through life without obeying God, we are utterly foolish.   God demands obedience.  In the Garden of Eden Satan tempted Eve to simply slightly obey God’s word.  That led to the sin of mankind.   When we approach life in utter disregard for His word, this is the consequences.  God may not, today, strike us dead, or have His people stone us to death, be we are still subject to His divine discipline for not obeying His word.   

Pursue These Things: 2 Timothy 1-2

2 Timothy 2:22 (ESV)

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

The word pursue in the above context means to follow after something without hostility.   Paul wants young Timothy to continue in the faith.  He wants Timothy to fully embrace following Christ.  But what does that look like?   Paul started this little letter with this statement to his young protégé:

2 Timothy 1:5-7 (ESV)

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.  

The way you fan the flame of your faith is to pursue with a passion what Paul has listed for Timothy.  He is to pursue after: 

1. Righteousness - what God has required of all mankind and richly supplied through the death of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21) 
2. Faith - by without no one can please the Lord (Hebrews 11:6)
3. Love - The summation of all of God’s commands (Matthew 22:37-38)
4. Peace - What God has supplied in the death of Christ to reconcile us to God (Romans 5:1-3)
5. Fellowship with other believers - which is our ultimate fellowship with God and His Son (1 John 1:7)

This is what Timothy is to do to demonstrate his growth in Christ.   The same is said for us.  We, too, are to purse what God has intended for us to purse.