Category: Men of Steel

A Sudden Change in Plans

Posted on by

Continuing this series in the life of Paul, after the stoning of Stephen, Paul began new threats against the followers of Christ (Acts 9:1-2) so he might jail them of kill them. This is the chapter where Jesus gets to Paul and reaches him with the life-changing message of the gospel.

If you’re like me, you probably have asked at some point in your Christian life, “Why in the world did you choose to save me?” Each of us knows our personal failures and vulnerabilities and have concluded that we are not really worth the price of our salvation. Then we look at Paul and decide that at least we are not like him! He was so anti-Christ (Acts 26:11). Paul was obsessed with destroying the church. The word really means “to act like a maniac” (the Greek term is mainomai).

Paul was a hot-headed rabbi determined to make a name for himself. One day on the road to the city of Damascus, Jesus Christ intervened in his life (Acts 9:3-4). This encounter left him blind and dependent on those around him (Acts 9:8). In a way, Paul is the perfect example of a guy who was totally sincere in his beliefs yet totally wrong. He thought he knew it all but actually knew nothing. In a world of black and white religious dogma, Paul comes face to face with shades of gray. Sincerity means nothing if it is misdirected.

Sometimes we feel that we should get our lives straightened out before we can come to Christ, but a great verse is Romans 5:8, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. No matter how dark or deep, we can begin a journey of faith in Christ. No one is perfect, but we all must press on toward the goal (Philippians 3:12). The phrase “take hold” means to seize with eagerness, like God snatched Paul by the hair. Paul never forget the depth of his sinfulness, out of which Jesus saved his soul (1 Timothy 1:15).

There is no room for pride and nothing can bring us back to reality and humble us like remembering how God saved us from ourselves. No one can teach forgiveness like the forgiven. Paul believed in his cause and it led him down a destructive path. That day on the Damascus Road, Paul not only was snatched from the devil but God snatched Paul from himself; from his misguided zeal and his obsessive behavior.

There is little doubt that Christ can save anybody. No one is too wicked or far from God (Isaiah 59:1). A gray question may be why God chose to save us, but a black and white answer is that “I once was lost but now I’m found.”

What About Church Discipline?

Posted on by

The church, at times, must exercise discipline toward members who have sinned. Granted it is not done much, but why do you suppose? Could it be that people take the words of Jesus (about not judging, or getting the plank out of your own eye first) to keep us silent on correcting a fellow believer? Perhaps we don’t do it because we are very aware of our own sinfulness and failures to talk to someone else about their sin. But according to the Bible, church discipline must be handled carefully, straightforwardly, and lovingly.

The situations we find:

  1. Unintentional error and/or private sin.
  2. Public sin and/or those done flagrantly and arrogantly.

The steps we follow: (Matthew 18:15-17)

  1. Go to the brother or sister, show the fault to him or her in private.
  2. If he/she does not listen, go with one or two witnesses.
  3. If he/she refuses to listen, take the matter before the church.

The strategy we foster:

  1. Remove the one in error from the fellowship (1 Corinthians 5:2-13).
    1. The sin of others should bring on mourning and shame (1 Corinthians 5:2).
    2. The offender should be removed from the fellowship (1 Corinthians 5:2).
    3. The church calls a meeting (1 Corinthians 5:4).
    4. The unrepentant person is to be thrown to Satan (1 Corinthians 5:5).
    5. What? Why? A little bit of yeast affects the whole lump of dough (1 Corinthians 5:6, 7).
    6. Don’t pal around with people who indulge in sexual sin (1 Corinthians 5:9, 11).
    7. It is the responsibility of the church to judge believers who are sinning (1 Corinthians 5:12).
  2. The church gives united disapproval, but forgiveness and comfort are in order if he/she chooses to repent (2 Corinthians 2:5-8).
    1. Oppose the offender, but after the discipline, you must,
    2. Forgive and comfort him lest he get discouraged (2 Corinthians 2:7).
    3. Then affirm your love for him (2 Corinthians 2:8).
  3. Do not associate with the disobedient person; and if you must, speak to him/her as one who needs a warning (2 Thessalonians 3:14,15).
  4. After two warnings, reject the person from the fellowship (Titus 3:10).

Tough stuff, but how much is the marriage or the family of another man worth? When you see the dead end lifestyle and the failures in a professing believer, how can we not intervene, warn or sound the alarm? It’s not an issue of our superiority over the failing person, or that we have it all together, but it is an act of love and kindness to confront a man with his destructive habits or marital infidelity. Reach out a hand when you see a man about to step onto a slippery slope that brings tragedy and regret.

[print_link] [email_link]

Forgiveness, Faith, and Fear

Posted on by

When we get to the life of Paul in the book of Acts, the first reference to him was at the execution of a Christ follower named Stephen (Acts 7:58-8:1):

They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died. Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. — Acts 7:58-8:1

Perhaps Saul the Pharisee needed to oversee this event because he remembered the whole situation with Lazarus. In that story Lazarus died (John 11:14) and Jesus decides to go back to Judea where only a few days earlier the “people” tried to kill Jesus (John 11:7-8). The resurrection of Lazarus was a powerful testimony to Jesus and His mission and many people came to faith in Him (John 11:45, 48, 53, 57, 12:9, 17). To top off this celebration of people coming to faith in Jesus, the religious leaders decided to go ahead and kill Lazarus, too (John 12:10). I find that ironic, but Saul may have had this batched execution in mind when he came to witness the elimination of Stephen.

The Bible says that Stephen was a man full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, faith, grace and God’s power (Acts 6:3, 5, 8). This tells me he was more than just a believer in Christ but had surrendered his whole life to Him. This is not just for those who eventually become pastors and missionaries, but for all of us.

During the stoning, Stephen showed such meekness, which is defined as power under control. He had such confidence in his message and did not fear the people who sought to do him harm. He stood before the religious leaders, who were shocked to see that he had the face of an angel (Acts 6:15). Moses may have had this same look when he came down from meeting with God on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 34:29). King Solomon wisely confirms that wisdom brightens a man’s face (Ecclesiastes 8:1). Whatever they thought, they did not expect to hear a history lesson of their ancestors being a stubborn people who killed God’s prophets and were disobedient to God’s laws (Acts 7:51, 52, 53). That was the last straw; they were ticked at him (Acts 7:54).

As frightening as this situation must have been, Stephen demonstrates the attitude of Jesus himself and asks that God not hold this sin against them (Acts 7:60). Forgiveness is a hard thing to do; the message and Bible study this past Sunday was called, strong families forgive. It is only through forgiveness that we can free ourselves of bitterness that will permeate all parts of our lives, not to mention that forgiveness is a powerful witness of Christ in our lives.

We tend to equate victory in our lives with survival, but the apostles had a different understanding… that they would be counted worthy to suffer or die for Christ (Acts 5:41). I like this picture given in Acts 7:56; did you catch it? The heavens open and Stephen sees Jesus standing in the place of honor. That which was happening on earth was so significant that it brought the Son of God to His feet. While Stephen was standing up for Christ, Jesus stood up for him. Stephen may have been covered in his own blood, but he was also covered by the blood of Christ. Stephen got a standing ovation from the only One who mattered.

Saul was a witness of all this and he was no innocent bystander. The Bible says that he gave approval for all this (Acts 8:1). The word used means “to take pleasure with” and the grammatical tense is continuous or repeated action; so basically he was cheering. At the same time, Jesus is standing in heaven noticing every act in this play on earth. One man was covered in blood; the other is covered by prayer shawls. One could not save himself from men; the other could not save himself from sin.

So, consider examining yourself to see whether you are on board with the mission of Christ or if you are actually an obstacle in God’s path. Are you striving to be found faithful by God, or will you allow the world to conform you into its image? I hope that one day, maybe every day, Jesus would stand to His feet and take notice of how we are involved in the Mission of God. How about you? What can you do for the kingdom of God?

Just Lead Me

Posted on by

There is a great debate on roles within a marriage. The issue probably causes more conflict than anything else since people will often enter marriage with differing expectations. Those more conservative tend to focus on the leadership of the husband and father and the submission of the wife; those more egalitarian see the marriage as a partnership with no one person being the head or the leader. A partnership is a great way to go (Philippians 2:3-4, Genesis 2:24, Ephesians 5:25, 28, 31, 33), the two becoming one. I heard an old preacher once say that “anything with no head is dead and anything with two heads is a freak.” So without getting into that debate, (although I probably opened myself up for one) I have discovered that leadership is often misunderstood.

If a wife and mother says to her husband, “I wish you would take on more of a role of spiritual leader in our home,” I can guarantee she is not saying that she desires for him to be the boss over her, make decisions for the family, or tell her what she can do or where she can go, what to believe, what to cook, how to dress, how to raise the children, or how often she needs to make time for him. If a husband really leads and loves his wife as Christ loved the church, there is no way to lead with such abuse, bossiness or selfishness.

Look at the context of her statement. How many wives attend church alone and bring the children into God’s house without her husband? Or maybe when he comes, he’s thinking more about the game this afternoon than about how the truths he is hearing can change his life, his marriage and his kids? I suspect that what she desires is that her husband lead spiritually by taking the initiative to pray together, to go to church together, to demonstrate the love of God in the home and set the pace for her and the children.

I’m haunted by the lyrics of this Sanctus Real song and thought you all might allow God to speak to you through these lyrics. If you want to hear the song, [ Click Here ]

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying…

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can’t
Don’t leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you’re willing to fight
That I’m still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They’re just children from the outside
I’m working hard, I tell myself they’ll be fine
They’re in independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying…

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can’t
Don’t leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you’re willing to fight
That I’m still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I’m called to be
Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won’t You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can’t
Don’t want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up

I’ll show them I’m willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone

Father, lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone.

Men, that last section is addressed to the Father. Read it again, we cannot do this alone. Don’t leave you wife and kids hungry for love. Don’t let them stand alone because people stumble and fall when they are alone. Remind your wife that she is the love of your life. Tell your kids just how important they are to you. Make time for the important things in life.

[print_link]  [email_link]

The Frat Brothers of Saul

Posted on by

John the Baptist came preaching about a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and he did not win many friends among the Pharisees (Mark 1:4, 5, Luke 3:7-8). Luke 7:30 tells us that the Pharisees rejected God’s purpose for themselves; now that’s taking your destiny into your own hands. They were hard-hearted and Jesus still loved them. But people who hide behind masks don’t like to be around those who peel them off, Jesus could see right through the Pharisees phony spirituality.

There was one guy named Nicodemus that needed to know more, and came to Jesus with some questions (John 3:1-2). He was not alone (John 12:42) but they were sort of behind the scenes followers who wanted to keep it quiet for fear of being fired. They loved the praise of men more than praise from God (John 12:43). We should not be too quick to condemn them since all of us at one time or another had remained silent seeking the approval of others.

By the time we get to John 11, we see evil making plans to get rid of the problem preacher since many people were coming to faith in Jesus (John 11:45, 48, 53). Did they fear the loss of the nation or really the loss of their “place” in the temple (John 11:48)? What a prophetic word, that it is better for one man to die for the people than that the whole nation perish (John 11:50).

These were the teachers and classmates of Paul; a glimpse of religion gone wild. Do not underestimate the evil that is deep within our hearts. One prominent tool the enemy uses is self-interest that leads to manipulation of others.

For a time, the Pharisees believed they had won; Jesus was dead, He even declared “it is finished” (John 19:30). They did all they could to make sure it stayed finished, but the resurrection still happened. In our lives, think about what is really finished and what is not. Our salvation is finished, Jesus paid it all, but our sanctification is not finished. We will spend the rest of our lives growing in godliness and into the image of Christ himself (Romans 8:29).

Jesus does not save us to let us live the rest of our lives without him. He wants to be involved in your marriage, your family, your work place, your school. With God’s power we can change into the kind of men that God desires for us to become. He changes us from the inside out. We are to be crucified with Christ and allow Jesus to live through us (Galatians 2:20). We are bought with a price and we are no longer to live without God (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Love the Lord or the Law?

Posted on by

Paul had grown up in the home of a Pharisee, under strict adherence to the Law of Moses. The term Pharisee once represented genuine piety and deep devotion to God. We can assume that all followers of God would have a similar devotion for God. Look around at the Christians you know. How would you define what a follower of Jesus really looks like? Perhaps your list might look something like this:

  1. Careful student of Scripture
  2. Zealous and active in their stand for God
  3. Appetite for worship and prayer
  4. Consistent in worship attendance
  5. Practices Scripture memorization
  6. Not afraid to pray in public
  7. Active in the local church
  8. Fasts and tithes regularly
  9. Has desire to stand against blasphemy and ungodliness
  10. Has firm grasp of basic foundational theological truth

For a long time I thought this is what would honor God and help me become more like Jesus. But look again; these behaviors are not of Jesus’ disciples, but of His chief opponents, the Pharisees. Just something to think about.

While there are exceptions, by the time of the New Testament it appears that the Pharisees become synonymous with hypocrisy and cynicism. In Matthew 23, Jesus gets into a name-calling argument with the Pharisees.

  1. They made demands on others that they could not themselves keep (Matthew 23:4)
  2. They made their religious actions something into a show for others (Matthew 23:5)
  3. They loved to be at the center of attention (Matthew 23:6)
  4. They not only would not enter the kingdom of God but were preventing others from entering (Matthew 23:13)

I suppose what they really did was take the love out of obedience, which left only the Law. They became so obsessed with following the Law that they forgot to love God, and others. They choked on each letter of the Law, and God had something to say about them, Isaiah 29:13 for example: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up of only rules taught by men.”

Let’s check our motivation for following Christ. Let’s make sure that we follow Him out of love for God and not the reward from God, or simply to be obedient. Paul was a Pharisee, but he was far from God. Let’s not make the same mistake of having a head full of religion and a heart that is missing genuine love for God.

The Son of a Pharisee

Posted on by

It’s probably a verse you have come to know over the course of your Christian life. We quote it around Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and use it to remind parents of their responsibility to raise godly children; it does not happen just because we take our kids to church.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6

For the parents of the apostle Paul, these were not simply words of a short verse worth memorizing; they were the foundation of family life. In a Jewish home, it was not the job of the mother to teach spiritual things to the kids, it was the father’s responsibility, who learned it from his own father.

Philippians 3:5 tells us a bit of Paul’s early childhood: circumcised on the eighth day, a part of the children of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, and even a “Hebrew of Hebrews.” The readers understood that Paul meant nothing but Jewish influence surrounded him in those early years.

The Code of Jewish Law states that “it is the duty of every father to train his children in the practice of all the precepts, whether biblical or rabbinical” and “to guard his children against any forbidden act.” Paul’s father took this responsibility very seriously.

Looking back through New Testament eyes, we tend to put Pharisees in a negative light, since Jesus had so much conflict with them and they ultimately schemed the crucifixion of Christ, but in the first century the Pharisees held a position of great honor. I wonder if Paul spoke from experience when he penned the words to the Ephesian church that fathers must not exasperate their children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

The Jewish historian Josephus (under contract with the Roman Empire) wrote the Jews lay greater stress on the training of children than on anything else; as one of the most important duties.

Being a Hebrew was not just about religion, or a way of life, but it defined who you were, how you thought and how you felt about life. It affected how you dressed (even the wearing of phylacteries – Exodus 13:9) to what you celebrated (the regular ritual and feasts).

So men, has there been a time in your life when you delegated the task of spiritual instruction to your wife, thinking that religious stuff was for women, or raising the kids is primarily woman’s work? I challenge you to make sure you rethink that position and learn from the life of Paul that religious instruction is the father’s role in the family. There is a phrase that should haunt each of us, “Like father, like son.”

While I don’t want to discount a miracle of God working in our kids lives, but how can we expect our children to mysteriously be right with God one day, or stand up for godly principles, if we ourselves are not right with God? We must model what a relationship with God is all about and train our kids in the way they should go. They might choose another path later on, but it won’t be for a lack of instruction on the father’s part when they were young.

So, what do you need to do to better model what a relationship with Jesus is all about? How well do you know the Bible and the teachings of Christ? Can you pass on the stories and teachings at appropriate times throughout the day, helping your kids know that Christianity is not just something we do on Sundays? Can you quote Scripture in front of your kids, and challenge them to memorize verses as well? How can you relate the teaching of the Bible to the struggles and situations in their daily lives? Have you set up a time each day to read Scripture, a devotional thought and pray? It’s never too late to get on the right path.

Set Apart From Birth

Posted on by

This is the first part in a series on the life of the apostle Paul. First off, using the term, “the apostle Paul” may conjure up images of some holy man, spiritual mystic, saintly statue or iconoclastic portrait, but in the original language of the New Testament (Greek), the term apostle really means “one who is sent out.” That is exactly what happened to Paul in the New Testament, he was called by God and sent out with a message. That is what we read about in the book of Acts; Paul and his missionary journeys take up most of the book’s content.

The passage today is from Galatians 1:15-16, where Paul tells us that he was set apart from birth and called by God; that the Father revealed the Son to him so that he might preach to the nations. The question comes, what may have been the upbringing of Paul? In what sort of home was he raised? Taken from Scripture and the Code of Jewish Law (which for centuries has been the foundation of Jewish life), Paul’s life was surrounded by Jewish custom and tradition, and guided his Jewish moral, social and religious behavior.

In Galatians 1:15-16, since Paul mentions being set apart from birth, he describes the rite of circumcision, which is the sign of the covenant (going all the way back to Abraham, Genesis 17:2, 7, 9, 10, 14). Paul includes in his testimony that he was the son of a Pharisee (Acts 23:6), a topic on which I will follow up next time.

The Jewish household was surrounded by Scripture, even from the very front door of the home. A mezuzah (the little container attached to the doorpost) contained a portion of sacred Scripture from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and Deuteronomy 11:13-21. These are the bedrock of the Jewish faith.

There were three priorities for the devout Jew: study of the Torah (the Law of Moses), marriage, and doing good deeds. I’ll save the look into Paul’s boyhood home for next time.

So, what does this all have to do with us today? When was the last time you looked at your spiritual past? From where did you come? How far has the Lord brought you? You know more than anyone where you have been, and out of what God has saved you. Do you understand that what he has done in your life is no accident? We can also have the same response as Paul, that we have been called from birth. Circumcision is not the issue, but once we have come into a relationship with Christ, we can begin to see that He has guided us down a path that includes providential care and provision. We might not see it during the early or dark days, but hindsight is always 20/20, we can see how God has led us to where we are today. Take time this day to rejoice in what God has done in your life.

Secondly, how committed are you to the Word of God? Does your soul hunger and thirst for the things of God? Do you long to hear from Him? Do the Scriptures comfort your soul and fill your spirit? How do you handle the Word of God? Do your kids know how much the Bible means to you and your spiritual life? Do they see you reading from it and do you teach its principles each day?

One last question: do you sense the need and urgency to make necessary changes to become all that God desires for you to be? Not just for your own sake, but for your family’s sake.

The Grounds for Faith

Posted on by

This Sunday we continue in Second Peter, which begs the question as to why would we have faith at all? How can we know God’s plan for us? Can we really trust what is recorded in Scripture? Peter will also address his thoughts as he nears the end of his earthly life. How can we know that what we have followed all these years was right? If you could convey a final message to people whom you hoped would continue and persevere in the Christian faith, what would you say? What would you want them to know?

This letter is in many ways Peter’s farewell address. He reminded them of their source of faith. It was not built on the apostles, but upon another source.

Invoking His Memory

What God revealed to Peter: Peter wants to remind his readers of what they already know, Peter was not holding anything back (2 Peter 1:12). These believers have been established in the truth. He mentions that stirring them up, teaching and encouraging them was the right thing to do, even though his execution was drawing near (2 Peter 1:13, 14). Jesus made it clear that he would not live to a ripe old age, but a martyr’s death (John 21:18, 19).

What Peter requires of us: Peter wants these believers to remember the great spiritual truths he has written in these letters, especially after “his departure” (2 Peter 1:15).

Identifying His Majesty

Here, Peter reviews what we call the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13, Matthew 17:1-13). He and the disciples did not follow cleverly devised tales or stories about Jesus; he proclaimed that which he experienced. He was an eyewitness to the glory of Jesus (2 Peter 1:16, 17). The glory faded on the mountaintop, but the Word of God will never fade (1 Peter 1:24, 25). There was a sight (2 Peter 1:16) and there was a sound (2 Peter 1:17, 18). Peter experienced Christ, he did not just believe the right stuff about Him. Peter had a first-hand faith rather than a second-hand faith.

Inspiration of His Message

First Peter addresses the accomplishments of the Bible, moving toward giving us hope for the future (2 Peter 1:19). God’s Word is a light that shines in the darkness. As Galadriel spoke to Frodo giving him a gift of the special lamp, she said, “May it be a light in the dark places, when all other lights go out.”He challenges us to “make more sure” about the prophetic Word, which we “do well to pay attention.”

Then Peter moves to the author of the Bible (2 Peter 1:20, 21). So we beg the questions… can we trust the Word of God? How has it been preserved for us to read today? Is it reliable? Do we interpret the text properly? What does the word inspiration mean anyway? The message did not come from human writers, but from the power of God, people moved by the Holy Spirit.

Questions to Consider this Week:

  1. What people and events does Peter remind his readers (2 Peter 1:16-21)?
  2. What responsibilities did Peter seem to feel he had for his readers (2 Peter 1:12-15)?
  3. What phrases indicate Peter’s view of death?
  4. What can we assume was his attitude toward death?
  5. What do you hope will be your own attitude when death approaches?
  6. What could you be doing now to build toward a “good death?”
  7. In what ways did the transfiguration reveal the majesty of Jesus?
  8. What difference does it make to know that Peter’s teaching about Jesus came from eyewitness testimony?
  9. What difference does it make that the Father said of Jesus, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” (Matthew 17:5)
  10. What does this passage tells us about the design and purpose of Scripture (2 Peter 1:19-21)?
  11. What are some ways we can show respect for the Bible?
  12. Other verse to consider about the Messiah: Isaiah 40:1-11, 53:1-12, Micah 2:2-5, Zechariah 9:9, Revelation 21:22-22:7

Commentary:

Peter’s readers needed a reminder that rested on apostolic authority that was in harmony with other Scripture.

The Need for a Reminder (2 Peter 1:12–15)
Returning to the subject of God’s promises (2 Peter 1:4), Peter developed the importance of the Scriptures as the believers’ resource. This was designed to enable his readers to appreciate the value of the Scriptures and to motivate them to draw on God’s Word so they would grow in grace.

Peter’s previous words were a reminder to his readers, not new instruction. 2 Peter 1:3–11 contain basic truths about the Christian life. Peter apparently believed that he would soon die as a martyr. He said he wrote this epistle so that after his death the exhortation in it would be a permanent reminder to his readers.

The Trustworthiness of the Apostles’ Witness (2 Peter 1:16–18)
Peter explained that his reminder came from one who was an eyewitness of Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry, which would have heightened respect for his words in his readers’ minds. This section begins Peter’s defense of the faith that the false teachers were attacking, defense which continues through most of the rest of the letter.

The apostles had not preached myths to their hearers, as the false teachers were doing. They had seen Jesus’ power in action as God’s anointed Messiah. God had clearly revealed that Jesus is the Christ at His transfiguration when God had announced that Jesus is His beloved Son (2 Peter 1:18).

The Divine Origin of Scripture (2 Peter 1:19–21)
The prophetic Old Testament Scriptures confirm the witness of the apostles. That witness is similar to a light shining in a darkened heart and world. Until the Lord returns, we should give attention to the Old Testament and to the apostles’ teaching. That is the only real light available to us. What we have in Scripture originated not in the minds of men but in the mind of God (2 Peter 1:21). The prophets did not simply give their interpretation of how things were or would be. They spoke as God’s mouthpieces, articulating His thoughts in words that accurately represented those thoughts. The Holy Spirit “carried along” the prophets to do so.

The next lesson we will take a look at false teachers. Have a great week.

Pursuing Excellence

Posted on by

I’ve read that leaders pursue excellence. They lead their organizations, their families, their businesses, and their lives striving for their best. No one wants to settle for second best. Check out what was said about Jesus…

They were completely amazed and said again and again, “Everything He does is wonderful. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak.” — Mark 7:37

I sense that Jesus was committed to excellence. We read in John 3:16 that God gave his very best–his Son. Likewise, as Mark reminds us, God’s Son gave his very best–his life (Mark 10:45). He prepared the best food (Matthew 13:19-20), made the best wine (John 2:9, 10), and the arms He healed were completely restored (see Mark 3:1, 5). Since we are to be in the image of Christ (Romans 8:29) we should do no less. Less than our best is inadequate, considering the fact that God gave us His very best.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” Whatever our role, our position, our organization, or our lot in life, we must strive for our best. The measure of our success is not attached to our career or what we earn but to our character and what we give back.

From my days as a basketball player in school, excellence does not mean you’ll always win, or being the best, but it means being your best. Just as sanctification is becoming more like Jesus every day, excellence is being better today than you were yesterday.

I’ve heard it said that some people have fame thrust upon them. Think about it, very few men have excellence thrust upon them. Excellence is achieved and earned. So, what changes do you need to make so that people may say of you, “Everything He does is wonderful” (Mark 7:37)?

[print_link] [email_link]