So lately I'm thinking about fear. There's certainly a lot to be afraid of right now if that's where we choose to focus. COVID, elections, explosions, and all the conspiracies that abound.
I've said before that fear is the foundation of sin, and sin separates us from all things good - God.
But you know what, fear is nothing new. I think of the story of Peter, on the night Jesus was arrested.
Peter was a guy who actually walked with Jesus, had those casual chats I've often wondered about with the guy who paid my bill. He was strong in his knowledge that Jesus was, indeed, the Christ. He was adamant in his loyalty to Jesus, and when they sat at dinner and Jesus said that everyone there would "fall away", Peter was vocal in claiming that he would stand strong even in the face of death.
Yet a short time later we rejoin our hero, fearfully hanging back to see what's going to happen. The story as told by Luke (22:54) says that "Peter followed at a distance" when Jesus was led away to the high priest's house, and then went to hang out with the crowd by the fire. It was fear of being accused, fear of being associated with Jesus, fear that he might be recognized as not being part of the crowd that drove his actions and led him to lie that night.
There's danger when we choose to hang out with the crowd by the fire. Sure, there's the illusion of warmth, but there's a real danger that we'll join in with the nay-sayers, lose faith, and deny the Truth we know. If you think you're not susceptible, I'll tell you simply, you're wrong.
I was talking with a friend over last weekend, explaining why I choose to not hang out in bars, even though it causes me to miss friends playing in bands, and taking part in karaoke & open mics and such. It's not because I am unsure of my faith, it's because I choose to avoid being in places where the norm is a lack of faith. Even Peter struggled with being surrounded by negative opinion. As I posed it to my friend, it's difficult to hang out in a sty and not get muddy.
If you surround yourself with worldly opinions and actions, you'll participate in worldly opinions and actions. I'm certainly not so bold as to believe that my faith is any stronger than Peter's.
It's easy to avoid the bars, where I spent quite a few hours and a whole lot of money in my early youth, before I was married. But it's not always so easy to avoid the negative opinions. We're wallowing in it right here on the Internet.
Rarely a day goes by when one of my friends - close friends who know what I'm about - send me a video "exposing" the latest conspiracy or outlining the past evils of one politician or another, or offering a "cure" to anything from the current virus to type 1 diabetes. I rarely watch those videos. I'm working toward being able to say I NEVER watch them, but occasionally one suckers me in and pulls me down the rabbit hole.
Nothing I've ever seen on social media, or heard "around the water cooler" can ever change the Truth that really matters. So I try my best to be cordial, give a "thumbs up" to whoever sent it to me, or simply not respond - and use it for a point of prayer for the state of our world that contains such derision and divisiveness.
The good news is that I don't have to be a slave to fear, none of us do.
Back to Peter. When he heard the rooster crow, as Jesus had predicted, Peter realized what he'd done and broke down and wept because he knew and acknowledged that he'd failed his friend and turned away from the Truth he KNEW.
Despite denying Jesus 3 times while hanging with the crowd - even building up to using some bad language to emphasize how much he didn't know Him - he was still important to Him.
We see in the account of Mark (16:7) that the angel encountered by the women at the tomb on the first Easter morning told them to "...go, tell his disciples AND PETER." Peter was specifically mentioned, despite his faith failing and running with the crowd, he was important enough to Jesus to be singled out among the disciples.
Peter learned a lesson from his experience and we see him grow in his faith to the point where he's ready, on the Day of Pentecost, in the Book of Acts (Ch. 2:14-40), with an explanation of what was happening when the crowds of nay-sayers were supposing it was merely a case of drunken gibberish.
So there's forgiveness, and failing faith doesn't make us any less important to God.
The first thing is to recognize when we're beginning to turn from what we know to be true and start running with the crowds - as my mama would put it "howling with the hounds." Once we recognize that we've failed, we need to repent, Peter did this when he broke down and wept - he realized he'd failed, and was broken-hearted by that knowledge.
Next we need to focus on the truth. The reason Peter was able to provide a reason for what was happening on the Day of Pentecost is because he knew God's word. He began to focus on Truth instead of what the hounds were howling about. We can do this by placing our focus on things of an eternal nature and not on the conspiracies and divisive rhetoric that abounds in our world.
The more we focus on the Truth, the more we see the Truth. When federal reserve agents are schooled on how to spot a forgery, they're not shown forgeries as examples - they're shown the REAL THING. By knowing the real thing, it's easier to spot a fake.
As followers of Christ, if we know the real thing, it's easier for us to avoid the flaming darts of the world as they try and distract us - and we can be ready with reasons for our faith, which will strengthen our own faith and help others build theirs - and give us all hope.
Father, my prayer today is that You will help me, help us all, to keep our focus on You, that by focusing on You we can stand strong in our faith and be ready when the crowds try to guide us off course. Thank You for preserving Your Truth for us and giving us hope. Help us place our focus in Your word, that will stand for an eternity, instead of the things of the world, that will change with the wind.
I've said before that fear is the foundation of sin, and sin separates us from all things good - God.
But you know what, fear is nothing new. I think of the story of Peter, on the night Jesus was arrested.
Peter was a guy who actually walked with Jesus, had those casual chats I've often wondered about with the guy who paid my bill. He was strong in his knowledge that Jesus was, indeed, the Christ. He was adamant in his loyalty to Jesus, and when they sat at dinner and Jesus said that everyone there would "fall away", Peter was vocal in claiming that he would stand strong even in the face of death.
Yet a short time later we rejoin our hero, fearfully hanging back to see what's going to happen. The story as told by Luke (22:54) says that "Peter followed at a distance" when Jesus was led away to the high priest's house, and then went to hang out with the crowd by the fire. It was fear of being accused, fear of being associated with Jesus, fear that he might be recognized as not being part of the crowd that drove his actions and led him to lie that night.
There's danger when we choose to hang out with the crowd by the fire. Sure, there's the illusion of warmth, but there's a real danger that we'll join in with the nay-sayers, lose faith, and deny the Truth we know. If you think you're not susceptible, I'll tell you simply, you're wrong.
I was talking with a friend over last weekend, explaining why I choose to not hang out in bars, even though it causes me to miss friends playing in bands, and taking part in karaoke & open mics and such. It's not because I am unsure of my faith, it's because I choose to avoid being in places where the norm is a lack of faith. Even Peter struggled with being surrounded by negative opinion. As I posed it to my friend, it's difficult to hang out in a sty and not get muddy.
If you surround yourself with worldly opinions and actions, you'll participate in worldly opinions and actions. I'm certainly not so bold as to believe that my faith is any stronger than Peter's.
It's easy to avoid the bars, where I spent quite a few hours and a whole lot of money in my early youth, before I was married. But it's not always so easy to avoid the negative opinions. We're wallowing in it right here on the Internet.
Rarely a day goes by when one of my friends - close friends who know what I'm about - send me a video "exposing" the latest conspiracy or outlining the past evils of one politician or another, or offering a "cure" to anything from the current virus to type 1 diabetes. I rarely watch those videos. I'm working toward being able to say I NEVER watch them, but occasionally one suckers me in and pulls me down the rabbit hole.
Nothing I've ever seen on social media, or heard "around the water cooler" can ever change the Truth that really matters. So I try my best to be cordial, give a "thumbs up" to whoever sent it to me, or simply not respond - and use it for a point of prayer for the state of our world that contains such derision and divisiveness.
The good news is that I don't have to be a slave to fear, none of us do.
Back to Peter. When he heard the rooster crow, as Jesus had predicted, Peter realized what he'd done and broke down and wept because he knew and acknowledged that he'd failed his friend and turned away from the Truth he KNEW.
Despite denying Jesus 3 times while hanging with the crowd - even building up to using some bad language to emphasize how much he didn't know Him - he was still important to Him.
We see in the account of Mark (16:7) that the angel encountered by the women at the tomb on the first Easter morning told them to "...go, tell his disciples AND PETER." Peter was specifically mentioned, despite his faith failing and running with the crowd, he was important enough to Jesus to be singled out among the disciples.
Peter learned a lesson from his experience and we see him grow in his faith to the point where he's ready, on the Day of Pentecost, in the Book of Acts (Ch. 2:14-40), with an explanation of what was happening when the crowds of nay-sayers were supposing it was merely a case of drunken gibberish.
So there's forgiveness, and failing faith doesn't make us any less important to God.
The first thing is to recognize when we're beginning to turn from what we know to be true and start running with the crowds - as my mama would put it "howling with the hounds." Once we recognize that we've failed, we need to repent, Peter did this when he broke down and wept - he realized he'd failed, and was broken-hearted by that knowledge.
Next we need to focus on the truth. The reason Peter was able to provide a reason for what was happening on the Day of Pentecost is because he knew God's word. He began to focus on Truth instead of what the hounds were howling about. We can do this by placing our focus on things of an eternal nature and not on the conspiracies and divisive rhetoric that abounds in our world.
The more we focus on the Truth, the more we see the Truth. When federal reserve agents are schooled on how to spot a forgery, they're not shown forgeries as examples - they're shown the REAL THING. By knowing the real thing, it's easier to spot a fake.
As followers of Christ, if we know the real thing, it's easier for us to avoid the flaming darts of the world as they try and distract us - and we can be ready with reasons for our faith, which will strengthen our own faith and help others build theirs - and give us all hope.
Father, my prayer today is that You will help me, help us all, to keep our focus on You, that by focusing on You we can stand strong in our faith and be ready when the crowds try to guide us off course. Thank You for preserving Your Truth for us and giving us hope. Help us place our focus in Your word, that will stand for an eternity, instead of the things of the world, that will change with the wind.
