Easter – Page 6 – LOVE | ACCEPT

Lent 2009 – 8 Steps to the Cross

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Ac 5:1-4)

As we grow so near to the cross that the reality of Passion week becomes undeniable, we are reminded of the fundamental truths of the God that we serve. Just as Peter witnessed, the presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit is immediate and real. We practice self deceit, as Ananias did in thinking that he could get away with his lie, keeping his actions to himself. Sadly, our interpretation of human relationships often colors how we view God. If we can pull the wool over the eyes of other people, we tend to think that we can fool God as well. The truth, of course, is far, far different. The Spirit knows our intimate thoughts and actions and his conviction works internally, with possible deadly results, as Ananias and his wife were soon to discover.

Lent 2009 – 9 Steps to the Cross

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,

“Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. Hue must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. 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.” (1 Peter 3:8 – 12)

I find this ideal to be one of the hardest to reconcile in my life. I strive to be sympathetic, to love, to live in humility and yet, in an instant I will respond to a personal affront with and equal reaction. Why? As soon as the words or thoughts have left my mind, I’m dying to take them back all the while knowing the truth. Once issued, the words or thoughts can’t be squeezed back into the tube. I’m left to deal with the aftermath, the disappointment in myself and maybe the hurt of the other person. Is this what Jesus died for? So I could continue to react as I always did? Is this reaction just a lizard twitch, something reactive out of my amygdale or is it my stubborn refusal to release this part of my heart to the Spirit.

Peter gives me hope.

Failure after failure culminating in a thrice issued denial and still the Lord restored him. Peter’s words here are not meant to be instructions for us to modify our behavior on our own. They have the deeper meaning of allowing the Spirit to work in those dark recesses and to transform us from within so that our actions will be super-naturally loving, sympathetic, compassionate and humble. The reality of the cross looms near now, only nine steps away. The horror of the cross wasn’t meant to make us work harder to change ourselves as Peter soon learned. It was meant so that we could be transformed in ways that we could not even imagine.

Do you have hope?

Lent 2009 – 10 Steps to the Cross

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) ( Mark 9:2-6)

Sometimes the best policy is not to say anything at all and yet, many of us are unable to stop the words from coming out of our mouths. At best, we risk sounding not so smart and at worst, we injure someone with our ill timed words. Peter didn’t like the silence that surrounded him at this moment of glory. He desperately wanted something to fill the space of quiet around him. Pragmatically, there is nothing wrong with Peter’s intentions and how he voices them. Spiritually though, he failed to wait on the Lord to tell him what his next step should be.

We continue to suffer from this fear of silence in our lives. When was the last time you had an extended time of silence in church? You’re there, the Spirit is there, and hopefully, the Father is present and all three (silence, Spirit, Father) are exerting pressure on your soul. It might be confronting a long held sin, or pressing you to move on another ministry initiative, or even just comforting you in their presence but we find the silence uncomfortable at best. Even in our times of prayer, the keyboardist or guitarist will inevitably succumb and begin to play.

Are we acting like Peter did at the transfiguration? Would he have been better off simply being present at this moment of glory? Find some silence and ask the Lord.

Lent 2009 – 11 Steps to the Cross

A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. (Proverbs 14:29)

Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a disagreement that they parted company. (Acts 15:37-39)

In your anger do not sin; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27)

Walking alongside Peter all these days sometimes makes you wonder what Jesus saw in him. Actually, it makes you realize what Jesus saw in you. Despite the face you put on in front of the world, we’re all deeply flawed individuals who can in no way claim perfection. We watch Peter and say, I would never do that…until we do. You see, we’re every bit the Peter that we don’t think we are. As I’ve reflected on my own worthiness to approach the cross this year, I’ve thought about moments of anger that have seized me and thought about why this hasn’t been lifted from me.

I think that part of the answer is to be found in the anger of Jesus. We should get angry at acts that diminish the personhood of other people. We should raise our voice against injustice. Our hackles should get up against mistreatment of other souls.

There should be anger within the Church.

We should get angry when Jesus is just a marketing tool. We should get angry when the church turns into the mall. We should should show righteous indignation toward those who should be shepherds but who only spend their time bragging (or tweeting for crying out loud! Seriously, who has the time for that stuff? And who spends their day living vicariously through the activities of other people? Write a book, draw a picture, compose a song, go find your wife or husband and tell them you love them. Play catch with the kids. Don’t tell me in less than 140 characters that you’re going to do it. Oooops! got off an a rant there.) Get angry with people who run stop signs.

On the other hand, when you son misjudges a turn and runs his truck into the back of yours, let it go. Pray for him to grow up to be God’s man. Pray for his fantastic personality to be used for the good of others.

Lent 2009 – 13 Steps to the Cross

If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4:14-19)

Peter offers up a warning of sorts in relation to his previous exhortation on the value of suffering. Just as Paul corrected the misconception about grace and sin (Romans 6:1-2), Peter preempts the line of thought that suffering for the wrong reason (murder and robbery) cannot be viewed as divinely ordained. Persecution and struggle must be seen as divinely ordained for each of us as an individual as way purifying us and maturing our faith.

The evangelist in Peter sees a further meaning to suffering as an opportunity to model Christ-like lives for the benefit of the unsaved. He moves his readers to consider how much more difficult persecution and travail must be for those without the hope of Christ. To accept our challenge and continue on with our lives in love and obedience opens the door to see Christ for themselves.

How heavy is your cross today?

Lent 2009 – 14 Steps to the Cross

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you. but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 5:12-13)

One of the ideas that is found throughout the Bible is the notion of the privilege of suffering. Whether it be persecution or a difficult ministry situation, or even personal disability, the Christian is to rejoice at the idea of being considered worthy of the suffering that we must face.

Frankly, most of us would gladly pass on this privilege.

Suffering for the glory of the gospel runs counter to our survival mechanism. We are wired to avoid pain and difficulty if at all possible and yet Peter, like other authors before him, exhorts us to rejoice at any sudden challenges that appear in our lives. Reading the rest of the verse gives us a clue that helps to change our attitude toward suffering. He reminds us that we are sharing in the suffering of Christ, in however small a way that the Lord deems appropriate for us to do so. Just as our promise awaits us in the distant future, we must also view today’s challenges as having an effect in the future of God’s plans.

Somehow, we still struggle.

Lent 2009 – 15 Steps to the Cross

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” (1 Peter 1:22-25)

How would you rate the love and fellowship in the Church? In your church the fellowship might be genuine and loving, but what about the church at large. There is a fellowship crisis that mirrors the alienation of the larger culture. This runs contrary to Peter’s exhortation to realize the before and after of one’s conversion. Those redeemed by the Savior have a new heart, a heart that is now capable of deeply loving others despite their human faults and struggles.

These last few verses conclude a passage on how holiness is something that we are to pursue and something that we are. The purification that comes of obedience to the Spirit within has as its result a holiness that becomes more Christ-like as we mature. This new nature has as one of its fruits the love of even the unlovable. Whether it be within our church or out in the streets, love must become one of our identifying characteristics.

Have you expressed holy love today?

Lent 2009 – 16 Steps to the Cross

Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:17-21)

Do we live in fear of God today or has His grace become our license to live a less than holy existence. Grace is funny that way. To many, the God of Fear was only existent in the Old Testament. That was a God of wrath, smiting this, flooding that, opening up the earth to swallow sinners and striking others with blindness. The loving Jesus supplanted that God didn’t he?

Fearing God has nothing to do with His immediate judgments and everything to do with his perfect justice. He does not pass judgment capriciously or indiscriminately but with perfect judicial fairness. His judgment is not colored by human discrimination or favoritism and His judgment,

cost the life of our Savior.

Fear is not meant to inspire anxiety or dread, rather, it is intended to drive us to a respectful love for the justice of God and the redemption by His Son. Fear of God makes us aware of our own corruption and, though saved by grace, our personal indebtedness to the Father. As Peter says, Jesus was sacrificed and returned to life for your sake.

How is your fear today?

Lent 2009 – 17 Steps to the Cross

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)

Anyone who has been involved in the Church for any length of time has heard that aphorism spoken in a number of ways and in many different contexts. The scripture that Peter recalls comes from the clean part of your Bible, in Leviticus chapter 11 where God speaks: “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.” (Lev 11:44) Do we still take this idea seriously or has our knowledge of grace made this a mushy requirement for us.

Many Christians today take their holiness less than seriously because the notion of grace that has been taught rightfully instills in them the idea of forgiveness for sins past, present, and future. Though not specifically taught, the cultural attitude of many churches today leads to a view of grace as license. We are freed from the necessity to sacrifice by grace.

That freedom came from Christ’s sacrificial giving of His precious life.

The purpose of observing the Lenten season is as a reminder of that sacrifice. As Peter exhorts us not to live any longer in ignorance, the daily meditations of Lent remind us to be ever mindful of the sacrifice that granted us our freedom. With an agile mind and a compliant heart, push away from the evil desires.

Do you consider yourself ignorant?

Lent 2009 – 18 Steps to the Cross

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:13)

The contrast of the two great apostles is no more apparent than right here. Where Paul’s writing is dense and filled with tightly woven units of logic as befits his education, training, and person, Peter is more expressive, given to blunt exhortation of bedrock principles. We find ourselves attracted to both but there are times in which we simply want a short piece of scripture to hang onto. The opening statement in a series of exhortations to holiness provide for just such a need.

At just 18 daily steps weeks from the glory of Easter, we draw closer and closer to reality of the cross. The weight of our sin may have seemed light when we took the first few steps but now, as the cross draws near, the burden starts to become onerous. Peter knew this feeling. His repeated failures and the love of his restoration changed him forever. He cannot help himself from trying to move us to the holiness that he enjoys. In short enthusiastic bursts, Peter begins a series of imperatives to take the life of holiness seriously.

Preparing your minds for action is literally to ‘gird your mind [loins] for action’, an ancient word picture that has lost its bite through the centuries. When men wore an outer shirt that draped down to their ankles, swift movement was not possible. When danger approached and agility was needed, a man would pull his shirt up into his belt so that he had fast freedom of movement. Rolling up the sleeves of our minds means to be prepared, to removed impeding thoughts so that any challenge to a life in Christ or attack on holiness could be quickly rebuffed and the heart protected.

What’s on your mind today?