Category: Pondering Passages

This Week’s Passage and Memory Verse (in red): ²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ²⁷ No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

I’m gonna go ahead and admit it – I am not in very good shape right now. I’m not in bad shape. but I’m not in good shape. It hasn’t been all that long thought since I was in very good shape. Not too long ago I competed in a Sprint Triathlon. I was biking 12-20 miles a week, swimming about 2 miles a week, and running several miles a week. That was 2007. Then in 2008 I completed a rigorous 3 month fitness program called P90X. I was pretty studly for a 50 year old guy if I do say so myself. As I think back I’m pretty amazed that I did both of those. And as I think back there are a couple of reasons why I was able to do so.

1) I had a goal in front of me that provided motivation –  There was an end date and there was a reward for seeing both fitness programs through to the end. The same can be said for our faith. There is an end date and a reward. We know that Jesus is going to return. We know that there will be rewards in heaven. What we don’t know is how far away the end is. I think this negates the motivation factor for many of us. We need a tangible, attainable goal to keep in front of us. So I would suggest creating some tangible, attainable goals that will get you a little bit closer to the big goal. Here are a couple of mine that I presently have: a) Ponder one passage a week for a year and blog about it (this one you are familiar with); b) Memorize Ephesians 1 by June of 2012. I have several others that I’m hoping to add that have to do with developing a healthier prayer life and reading great books – just not implemented yet.

2) I had a team of guys that I trained alongside to encourage me – in both instances there were often times when I just did not feel like training but because I was expected to be at the park for a bike ride or expected to be in The Loft for a workout I showed up. The same is true spiritually. We need the accountability and encouragement of our faith comrades to keep pursuing the goals that we have set for ourselves. Otherwise, more often than not they will often fall by the wayside. This is certainly true for the 2 I mentioned for me above. In the case of “a”, knowing that I have a blog audience (however small it may be) has kept me pondering now for 10 months. And the encouragement I get along the way certainly helps. This past Sunday, a friend mentioned how much they enjoyed my post on Mark 12 last week. A little bit of encouragement goes a long way to motivate me to keep pressing forward. For “b”, the fact that a number of others in our student ministry are also memorizing Ephesians 1 keeps me working on the verses each week. I know that at any time they may ask me to say the verses that I am also holding them accountable for.

So I guess it’s time to get in shape. Both physically and spiritually – lest I run like a man running aimlessly. And I’ll admit too that I would like one of them thar prizes that Paul talks about.

So how is your training going? If you want, let me know what you are doing to stay fit and i will try to encourage you along the way to keep at it. And you can do the same for me.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 3:14-21
Next Week’s Memory Verse: Ephesians 3:20-21

This Week’s Passage and Memory Verse (in red): ²⁸One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. ³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

So I want to make note of a few things about Jesus’ answer  to the question he was asked. The first part of his answer is a direct quote from Deuteronomy 6:4-5. But I want you to see His answer in the context of what comes before and what comes answer. So here is Deuteronomy 6: 1-8: ¹ These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, ² so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. ³ Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.  ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

Note what comes before His quote (in Deuteronomy): God does not give us laws and rules just because he wants to keep us under his thumb. He gives them to us for two reasons: to provide for us and to protect us. His promise here is that the keeping of His commandments will mean that 1) it will go well with us and 2) we will increase greatly. Two pretty studly reasons to obey.

Note what comes after His quote: In Mark Jesus adds an addendum to “Love the Lord…: He also says that we are to “Love our neighbor…”. Seems to me that Jesus is saying if we love God then it is going to translate into love for people. In other words, we can’t get away with with just saying that we love God. We have to back it up by showing love for God by loving people. He ups the ante – as he often does. Its easy to say you love God. Its a whole lot harder to demonstrate love for people.

Note what comes in the middle of His quote: Jesus slips in a few words that are not found in the OT passage. “With all your mind.”  How do you love God with all your mind? Here are a couple of thoughts: 1) You don’t pollute your mind with trash that is offensive to God. 2) You exercise your intellect to defend the gospel and to teach and train believers with God’s Word. 3) You THINK! – you don’t put your mind on cruise control. You use it to filter out the lies that the world throws at you and you use it absorb truth. The mind is the gateway to the heart. (See Romans 12:2)

Note what doesn’t come after His quote: I find it interesting that when Jesus was asked this question that he answered it very succinctly. Here was a man who was interested in discussing spiritual things with him and Jesus didn’t preach at him or go into a long monologue discussing great commandments in the Scriptures or even whip out a tract and tell him how to get saved. He simply answered simply. He let the seeker drive the conversation at the pace that he was comfortable with. Hmmm – seems like a good lesson.

I”m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Next Week’s Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 9:24

This Week’s Passage and Memory Verse (in red): ¹² See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. ¹⁴ We have come to share in Christ, if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first.

These verses, and the context of the verses around them talk about finishing what we start. There have been too many “Christians” who have flamed out before crossing the finish line. Too many who have turned their backs on God, given up, and gone back to a life that was safer and more familiar. I put the word Christians in quotation marks because they are Christians in name only – not in reality. The author of Hebrews gives us a few clues here about how to finish what we start. Let’s take a quick look at them.

v 12) Guard your own heart – Clearly, according to this verse, part of the responsibility, if not most of it, is ours. What are some things that we can do to “see to it… that we do not turn away”. I believe one of the most important things a believer can do is to put himself in community with others who are seeking to know God and to live holy lives. It is in community where we can hear the Word of God taught. It is in community where we can see lives that have been transformed by grace. It is in community where we can both get and give encouragement.

v 13) Guard your neighbors heart – One of the best things we can do for others is to encourage them – to intentionally build courage into others lives. When we lose courage we become very vulnerable to “sin’s deceitfulness.” We need to be around others who are fighting a good fight so that we can feed off their courage. But we need to also make sure that we are doing what we can to fuel others with the courage that they need. And this needs to be done daily. Today! Not once or twice a week when you might run into someone at church. Here is a truth that you can take to the bank – someone that you will come in contact with today needs to be encouraged. I promise. Be proactive. Do something about it.

v 14) Once saved always saved?? – So is this verse saying that if we do not hold firm to the end in what we believe that we do NOT share in Christ or that we can lose our salvation? Not at all. It is saying that the proof that you believe in the real gospel of Jesus Christ is IF you hold firm to the end. We are talking about the doctrine called “perseverance of the saints.” And this is the best way that I know how to define it: Perseverance of the saints means that those who persevere are the saints. Those who do not persevere, who do not hold firm to the end, are not the saints of God. And the context of the verse makes it clear that we need others in the body of Christ to give us the courage that we need to “hold firmly to the end.”

So encourage someone today. And if you are having a hard time finding someone that needs to be encouraged then I am just an email away.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Mark 12:28-34
Next Week’s Memory Verse: Mark 12:30

This Week’s Passage and Memory Verse (in red): ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

My pondering this week is going to focus on our memory verse – verse 28. Definitely one of the premier promises in the Bible and DEFINITELY worth committing to memory.

And – This is a connecting word. It is looking back on the last verses. This great promise assumes that there are going to be difficult times where there will be much groaning in this life. The promise of this verse is still another reason that we groan in the midst of crisis and chaos and don’t grumble.

we know – Paul’s confidence comes in knowing! He is not just wishing or thinking maybe God works in and through the tough times… he KNOWS! There is absolutely no doubt in his mind. How does he know? Because he has seen it play out in his own life over and over again. He has been beaten and jailed and persecuted and through it all God has used him to be an instrument of grace and mercy and forgiveness. People’s lives have been transformed. Churches have been planted. His personal testimony attests to the fact that God works. Therefore he knows!

that in all things – Not some things. Not most things. But ALL things. God’s sovereignty reaches in to every nook and cranny of our lives. Those areas where you might think that God doesn’t care – He cares. That situation that you wonder if God is even aware of – He notices and is alert to every detail. All things means… ALL things!

God works – This is really good news. It is not my job to make everything work out well nor is it my job to fix all the messes that I make or that others make around me. It is God’s job to make everything make sense.

for the good – Truth: God works for the good! He doesn’t make everything good. Bad things happen… and yet somehow God redeems even the bad things and brings good out of them. The bad stuff is a result of living in a fallen, sinful world. But it takes an amazing God to bring good even out of the bad.

of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose – This incredible promise  is conditional. It is not for just anybody. It is not for those who could care less about God. It is not for those who are pursuing their own selfish purposes. God promises to redeem the bad stuff that happens only for those who love Him and live their lives for Him. He promises to make sense out of life when life doesn’t make sense if our passion is for His glory and His greatness and not our own.

So if you love God no matter what is going on in your life right now just know this: God is up to something, and that something will be for your good… and for His glory!

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Hebrews 3:12-14
Next Week’s Memory Verse: Hebrews 3:13

This Week’s Passage and Memory Verse (in red):  ¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

Here again, as in many of the passages that we have explored this year, we see strong encouragement to look toward That Day and keep it firmly fixed in our minds. Having such confidence in this hope as believers would be the only way that we could say with Paul: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” I mean, after all, who likes to suffer. But the deal is that we all have to experience suffering to some degree or another. That’s life! It is the sure confidence of our hope that enables us to deal with it courageously and profitably.  3 things pop out to me in this passage  that seem to be key to developing and then maintaining this sure confidence:

Eager expectation – I can’t wait until December. In fact I am counting down the days. There are exactly, as of this writing, 85 days until I fly to India to see my daughter. I miss her. And even though I talk to her several times a week it is not the same as seeing her and being with her. I have an eager expectation of that day almost 3 months from now. And that is to some degree what my hope is (or at least should be) for seeing the Lord. Even though I talk with Him daily it is not the same as being with Him. For believers there ought to be an eagerness as we await That Day. It will help as we experience those long, lingering days when life on earth is not so great. Something to look forward to always makes the present easier to deal with.

Groaning not grumbling – I’m not one of those people who thinks that you just have to put on a happy face even when life is hard. Because sometimes life is very hard. I am however one of those people who believes that nothing good is gained by grumbling and having a woe is me attitude. There is a huge difference between groaning and grumbling. Groaning recognizes that suffering is a direct result of the Fall. Groaning longs for That Day when all will be made right again. Groaning expresses itself more as righteous anger than as selfish hurt. Groaning is filled with hope for the future rather than bitterness over the past. Be a groaner, not a grumbler.

The Spirit’s help – The Gospel of John refers to the Spirit as the Paraclete – the One who is called alongside us to comfort us and to counsel us – to help us through the dark and sometimes dreary days of life. Jesus did not leave us to fend for ourselves when He returned to Heaven. He left us His very presence in the person of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit does not dwell at the church where we attend; He dwells inside us. We don’t have to shout to get His attention; we need just whisper. He does not begrudge His help; He helps willingly and eagerly anyone who expresses genuine neediness and weakness. And He helps us even when we do not know that He is helping us.

It seems like only yesterday that I was graduating from high school. And yet that was over 35 years ago. That day in all reality was just not that long ago. And That Day, the Day of His appearing, the Day that gives us reason to joyfully hope and persevere through this life – in reality is just not that far away. So, in the meantime, wait eagerly, groan with a passionate longing, and let the Spirit of God help you along the way. It will help you to redeem all the days of your life that are left.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 8:28-39
Next Week’s Memory Verse: Romans 8:28

This Week’s Passage and Memory Verse (in red): ⁹ You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.  ¹² Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, ¹⁴ because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

MetLife has a motto that this passage reminds me of…

7 times in these verses Paul uses the word “if.” I want to focus my attention on verse 13: For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Paul is talking here about the “if ” in LIFE. John Owen, in his classic book The Mortification of Sin, made this comment about this verse:

“…the choicest believers, who are assuredly freed from the condemning power of sin, ought yet to make it their business all their days to mortify the indwelling power of sin…Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

Mortify – now there’s a word that you do not hear a lot these days. So what does it mean? Merriam-Webster defines it like this: “to destroy the strength, vitality, or functioning of “.

So as believers we are in a daily battle to destroy the strength and vitality of sin. Paul says that if we don’t do this we will die, i.e. we will be dead spiritually. But if we do battle sin and destroy it’s vitality then we will live. So how do we fight sin – in a practical sense? John MacArthur offers up these 5 suggestions as a way to start;

1) Recognize the presence of sin – not just in the world, but in YOU! Admit that you have a  problem. Sin dwells within you and it MUST be fought. It must be killed…. or it will be killing you little by little.

2) Fix your heart on God – This is one of the primary reasons that you should be strongly connected to a community of believers. We need each other in order to keep our hearts fixed on God. Without the regular encouragement from the preaching of the Word and corporate worship and small group fellowship our hearts are prone to wander.

3) Meditate on the Word of God – The Psalmist says, “Your Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Jesus did battle against sin on the Mount of Temptation by wielding the Word of God as mighty weapon. This is why I love this whole pondering passages thing – because it MAKES me think intentionally on the Word. This is a good thing.

4) Commune with God in diligent watchful prayer – John Owen again wrote, “He who pleads with God for the remission of sin also pleads with his own heart to detest it.” Don’t just go through the religious exercise of prayer but learn to pray diligently. Learn to pray watchfully.

5) Cultivate obedience to the Word – As you read the Word and as you meditate on the Word and as you pray the Word – take it a step further and implement the Word in strategic practical ways. As James says, don’t just be hearers of the Word. Be doers of the Word.

Pretty good suggestions I think. And IF we take them to heart and IF we help each other practice them and IF we learn how to fight sin then we will undoubtedly take the IF out of LIFE and live boldly for the glory of God.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 8:18-27

Next Week’s Memory Verse: Romans 8:18

This Week’s Passage and Memory Verse (in red):  ¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, ⁴in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

⁵ Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; ⁷ the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

This week and the next three we are going to look at all of Roman Chapter 8. One of the studliest chapters in the New Testament.

There are 3 words that scream out at me from this passage. I’m sure there are other words that scream at you from this incredible text. But my 3 words are “set me free” in verse 2.

I’ve been set free from an enslavement to sin – It’s not that I don’t sin it’s that I don’t have to sin. The power of sin has been broken and I am free not to sin.

I’ve been set free from a fear of death – Because my dad died so young I used to fear death. Now I can stare it down because I know that the best is yet to come.

I’ve been set free from life without purpose – I’m not just aimlessly drifting through life trying to make it from start to finish. My life has purpose as I follow God’s directives and choose to live according to His ways.

I’ve been set free from joyless living – Because of what Christ has accomplished for me on the cross I can live each day with “the joy of the Lord as my strength.” Even in difficulty and desperation there is still joy because He walks with me.

I’ve been set free from meaningless relationships – When you are free in Christ relationships take on a whole new meaning. Instead of trying to take what you can you try to give what you can. Instead of using others, you love others and seek to help them discover how to experience freedom and joy in Christ.

I’ve been set free from oppressive worry – I have never really been a worrier. But I know people who are worriers and it can be very oppressive. Better I think to to be a warrior than a worrier. In Christ we have an arsenal at our disposal to combat worry so that we can experience the peace that freedom in Christ brings.

Speaking of warriors…

For some reason this passage also brings to mind one of the GREAT movie scenes of all time – William Wallace’s climactic last words in Braveheart that spurred a nation to mobilize against their enemy. (I’ve posted the short version here. You can go to YouTube if you want to see the 2-3 minutes leading up to this.)

With freedom as our birthright we can do battle against the enemies that want to destroy our faith and demolish the foundation that we have in Christ. Let “FREEDOM” be the clarion call that drives you this week to live out the gospel in real life.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 8:9-17
Next Week’s Memory Verse: Romans 8:14

I mentioned at the end of my message that I would post my notes and the quote that I used at the end. Here they are… such as they are. Kind of rough. If you were not there they may not make much sense. If you were there they may trigger you to remember.

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Have you experienced His divine power in your life? Rescued, forgive, peace. I see evidence of God’s power all around this room.

Where do you get this divine power from? Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation… It takes power to raise the dead to life. You were dead. Maybe you ARE dead.

Is there a way to tell if you have experienced His divine power in your life? Zoe (vitality, fullness of life) and godliness (Piper: godliness means a love for the things of God and a walk in the ways of God.)

When Peter says that we have everything that we need – what does he mean by everything? Greek – EVERYTHING!.False teachers..trying to add on.

If we have everything, why do we seek to find satisfaction by filling our lives with other things?  Jeremiah 2:13 :

 ¹³ “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Game we play with youth group. Fill up a tub that leaks.

If God is not enough – then all the stuff that you add won’t matter. Broken Cisterns

How does Peter say we are to find the life that is truly life? Knowledge of Him. Not $$, fame, drugs, success, relationships.

How is it that we attain knowledge of Him? Ex Linda and I. Dating… engaged (knew her enough to want to marry her). Learned how much I didn’t know her when we got married. But… know her a LOT better – because of conversations, shared experiences, doing life together.

How do you know that you are one of the ones that God has called? Have you responded to His call? Lazerus!

Why is it significant that God called us “by His own glory and goodness?” Respond to God’s call because of who He is and what we know about Him. Glory. Goodness. 2 examples: 1) Girls – you get a call from a guy…  Tori.

What did Peter think about God’s Word and His promises to us? Great and precious

What is your attitude toward the Word of God? Psalm 19, Psalm 119 – or read your verses for the day, done your duty, now expect God to do His.

How do you develop this kind of love for God’s Word that Peter had and that David had? Understand a few things:

1) A Living Word (Heb 4:12) God’s Word to you – not just a 2000+ year old manuscript.

2) A Life-changing Word (2 Tim 3:15-16) Able to make you wise for salvation and for sanctification.

How does God’s Word enable us to become more like Him (participate in the divine nature)?  Teaches, encourages, convicts. “Sin will keep you from God’s Word OR God’s Word will keep you from sin.”

How has the world been corrupted?

What are some of the evil desires of your heart?

Where do these evil desires come from?

Piper sums up this section with some practical thoughts…

“Notice that corruption comes by lust which means that the battle against corruption is fought on the field of our desires or passions. Sin makes its attack by holding out promises to us for our happiness… And sin will always win the battle unless we have the luscious carrot of God’s promises hanging clearly in front of our noses. Unless we enter our day armed with one or two precious and very great promises we will be utterly vulnerable to temptation. But if we hold before our eyes the astonishing things God has promised us now and in the life to come, his divine power will be present and we will escape corruption and be conformed to the image of his Son. Therefore I urge you: search this book for the promises of God and hang them like a carrot in front of your eyes so that they lure you away from sin and toward the likeness of God.”

Bonus Illustration:

Corrie ten Boom and her family had a special secret that helped them get through their difficult days under Hitler’s regime. The family members would quietly ask each other, “What do you have in your shoe, Mama?” “What do you have in your shoe, Daddy? “What do you have in your shoe, Betsy?” The answer—precious portions of Scripture that they had torn from their Bible. They were literally standing on the promises of God!

This Weeks Passage and Memory Verse (in red): 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

So this will be a bit different this week. Rather than making comments on the passage as I usually do, instead I am going to pose a bunch of questions that popped out in my mind as I was thinking through the text. I do have lots of thoughts  about these questions and I WILL share them – but not in this context. It just so happens that I will be preaching this Sunday at our 9:45 Exalt Service and I will preach from this passage. So put your own thoughts into these questions and then on Sunday you can compare notes with me. (I feel pretty confident that I won’t be able to tackle ALL these on Sunday but I’ll have fun trying.)

From verse 3:

Have you experienced His divine power in your life?

Where do you get this divine power from?

Is there a way to tell if you have experienced His divine power in your life?

When Peter says that we have everything that we need – what does he mean by everything?

If we have everything, why do we seek to find satisfaction by filling our lives with other things?

How does Peter say we are to find the life that is truly life?

How is it that we attain knowledge of Him?

How do you know that you are one of the ones that God has called?

Why is it significant that God called us “by His own glory and goodness?”

From verse 4:

What did Peter think about God’s Word and His promises to us?

What is your attitude toward the Word of God?

How does God’s Word enable us to become more like Him (participate in the divine nature)?

How has the world been corrupted?

What are some of the evil desires of your heart?

Where do these evil desires come from?

And then as a bonus, here is a short list of some of my favorite “great and precious promises”:

• 1 John 2:25
• Acts 2:38-39
• Romans 8:28
• 1 John 1:9
• Jeremiah 29:11
• Proverbs 3:5-6
• Philippians 4:6-7
• Isaiah 40:30-31
• John 15:7
• Matthew 11:28-30
• 2 Timothy 4:8
• Revelation 21:3-4
• Proverbs 37:4-5

Hope you have a great Labor Day weekend. And here’s another promise to chew on… “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

I’m just sayin’!

Next Weeks Passage: Roman 8:1-8
Next Week’s Memory Verse: Romans 8:1

(in red):  ¹⁹ Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ²⁵ Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

What motivates you day in and day out to stay true to God and His Word? What is it that keeps you walking the walk of a believer even when life becomes confusing? As I pondered this passage this week, these are 2 of the questions that it addressed for me.

v 22: The author encourages us to “draw near to God… in full assurance of faith” – I don’t know about you, but sometimes my faith gets a little wobbly.I don’t always have “full assurance.” Sometimes I have lots of questions that I want to ask God. Sometimes I even wonder if God is actually really there. Sometimes I don’t want to draw near to God. And you thought pastors never waver and have faith that moves mountains. Think again.

v23: Unswervingly. What a great word. I have this picture in my mind of me driving down a straight road but having to fight the wheel to keep the car on the road because I keep swerving. Do I have an unswerving hope? Not all the time.

v:24: Hmmm! Not so sure that I do a great job of spurring others on toward love and good deeds. Maybe spurring others on to play more disc golf. Maybe to read their Bible more. Maybe to be at church. But toward love and good deeds. Not so much.

v25: Okay, I’ll admit I’m not bad at the first half of this verse. In fact I think us Baptists pretty much have this one down pat. Meeting together. We’re good at that. But how good are we at the encouraging others part of the verse. When you leave church do you come away feeling more courageous as you seek to live for Christ (that is what it means to be en-couraged. To have courage built in to you) or do you leave 1) hoping God is happy with you cause you did your duty of going to church, 2) tired because the sermon went just a little longer today, 3) disgruntled because the music wasn’t quite what you were hoping for, or 4) angry because nobody said anything to you or even noticed you were there. And while you are thinking about yourself, think about this – how many people did YOU build courage into while you were at church.

So what is it that should energize us to draw near to God, to unswervingly hope, to spur others on, and to build courage into others? There are actually  2 answers given in this passage. The first answer is in v 19-21. These verses are a summation of the gospel. Jesus shed His blood to provide a way for us to have unhindered access to God and to enter His presence with confidence. A daily reminder of what Christ has done for us at the cross ought to motivate us to live for Him. This is why Jerry Bridges (President of the Navigators) says that he preaches the gospel to himself everyday. The other answer is in verse 25. Because the Day is a’comin! The Day when we will stand before God and give an account for how we lived out our faith. The Day when we hope to hear from God “Well done”. The Day when we don’t want to face our Lord with a life full of regrets and if onlys.

Thinking back and thinking ahead. Remembering the past and looking forward to the future. These are the ways that we stay grounded in the present and motivated to live a life holy and pleasing to God.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: 2 Peter 1:3-4
Next Week’s Memory Verse: 2 Peter 1:3