Confessing from the Heart

”And when they climbed into the boat, the wind had died down.

Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying

“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

Matthew 14:32-33 (NIV)

               This passage ends the story of Jesus walking on the water and His rescuing Peter. The other disciples watched what happened.

Tempestuous Peter asked Jesus to tell him “to come to you on the water.” It seems he wasn’t sure that they were seeing the Master standing before them. Jesus invited Peter to come to him. Peter got distracted by the surrounding waves, got scared, and cried out. Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.   

               “When they made it to the boat, the wind died down.” Those who watched the event were humbled, bowed down and worshiped Christ. They were convinced that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.

               In our 21st Century, we have times when we see events happen that only God, through Jesus, can comfort those who are those affected and those near to them. As an exercise, Take a copy of a newspaper and look through it.

               As you do this, make note of the stories that magnify the need for Christ in our world. The front page has big stories—the latest. The back inside page may be the OP-ED page, where the editors give people space to write letters telling what they see in our towns. The editors give their opinions on subjects of civic concern. The local-state page and the nation-world pages always bring us information of what is happening around us and in our land and on the planet.

                              Take a pencil or pen and go through and mark the stories and articles that show a need of Jesus Christ in our world. Then take the time to pray about these circumstances. When you have done this, take the time to meditate on these needs.

               At our former church, we did this at a service in a special series of meetings. The visiting pastor had each of us bring a copy of our newspaper and we took the time to do this during the meeting. It was a very worthwhile exercise.  It was an enlightening experience.

Book Review: The Skeletons in God’s Closet

By Joshua Ryan Butler

               Joshua Butler has written a book dealing with people’s fearful perceptions, “those deep dark doctrines we’d rather avoid” about God and His kingdom, those being hell, judgment and holy war.

               Mr. Butler gives his readers new understanding of hell, the role of judgment, and the idea of holy war. His book is divided into three parts: The Mercy of Hell, The Surprise of Judgment, The Hope of Holy War. Mr. Butler admits to turning these concepts upside down from what people normally think on these subjects.

               The Skeletons in God’s Closet, is a well-researched book. Included throughout the work are interludes giving extra information on the issues dealt with in the surrounding chapters. I found the conclusion very interesting, entitled; These Bones Can Live examines the passage from Ezekiel 37:1-14, giving hope for Israel. However, I must caution those reading this; this is not a book that one quickly reads.

               I would recommend this book to lay people who are studious and concerned about their faith and the faith of those who are around them—their natural families and their church families. I would also recommend it to clergy persons whose desire is to better explain what the scriptures say.

               I received a copy of this book free from Thomas Nelson Inc., through its BookLook Blogger program. All they asked of me was I give an unbiased review.

Confessing His Lordship

 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew 16:15-16 (NIV)

               Jesus approached his disciples and asked a very important question. He wanted to know who the people thought the Son of Man is. Their responses ranged from John the Baptist, to Elijah and Jeremiah. The people also seemed to think of Jesus as one of the prophets.

               The Master changes the focus of his question to whom they> thought He was. Peter gave a very insightful answer. In reply to Jesus, he spoke words that became the foundation of His future church.

                I once heard a friend share what someone had said to her. “Would you like to see a picture of a very great man?” This other person meant Jesus. My friend was taken aback by this question. She knew Jesus to be the Son of God. I didn’t know how to respond because I was related to this other person.

               As we grow in Christ, we have to answer the question of who Jesus is. I have heard of seekers who pray a prayer asking God to do something, if He is real. This might be where they are in their walk and the only way they know to pray and I find no fault with them.

               As we learn of God and His ways, we learn that He is sovereign, meaning He can do anything He chooses to remedy any issue we bring to His throne.   

              

               In our 21st Century world, how do people recognize Jesus? Or do they?  In my reading, I get the message that Jesus will return to earth very soon. My only hope is that all people will be ready to acknowledge Him for who He is –The Son of the living God.

Confession Yields His Forgiveness

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you

and did not cover up my iniquity.

 I said, ‘I will confess

my transgressions to the LORD—

 and you forgave the guilt of my sin.’”

                                                  Psalm 32:5 (NIV)               

               David writes to God and tells Him what he felt he did to get out from under the guilt of his sin. I find this a formula of sorts, a plan to follow when we might fall into sin. I prefer to think David used this plan whenever he realized he had done something that displeased God.

               In this verse we find a pathway back to wholeness after we have slipped into sin.

1.) We have to realize that we strayed from God’s plan for our lives. Before we start to venture into new activities, we should seek His guidance for this step.

2.) We have to face the fact we have sinned. I have known people who took the attitude, “I did it; so what, it’s who I am.”

3.) We have to admit our wrongdoing to God. As a part of this admission, we may have to say we know what we did was wrong.

After we do these tasks, God removes the guilt we carry from us. I believe this exercise works whenever> we use it. I found myself practicing this before I realized I found the scripture. I know my being introduced to it was a sign from God.

Confessing Faith

jmesmirror,com

“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him.

 But because of the Pharisees they would not confess

 their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue,

for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

John 12:42-43 (NIV)

 

               John writes of leaders who secretly believed in the Master’s teachings. These men feared being cast out of the Hebrew house of worship. He makes a bold statement about the reason these men were quiet about their thoughts “for they loved praise from men more than from God.”

               Are we in the 21st Century very different from the leaders who believed in Jesus but chose not to share their beliefs with those around them? I think not.

               I remember hearing a story about a young man who found the Lord just prior to going away to college. When he came back to church over a school break, someone asked him how his friends on campus responded to his new faith. He hung his head and said, “They don’t know of my faith.”

               Does everyone who knows us know of our faith? A church friend of mine has a burden for a neighbor who is very seriously ill. As my friend prayed for guidance on how to reach this neighbor and her family, she received a two word answer—‘Live it.”

            This answer applies to each of us. We can say all we want to about Jesus and about God but, unless our neighbors see our faith lived out; we are ‘spinning our wheels’ and getting nowhere.

               When we confess our faith before others, we also do it before God. If we keep our faith to ourselves we impede the growth of God’s kingdom.  In my young adult years, a person who kept his or her status quiet was thought of as fence-sitters—never really taking a stand for the Lord.

Dear Father God:

                              Please give us the strength and the courage to stand for you in this broken world. Teach us to long for Your praise. Guide us to demonstrate Your love for others as we go through our daily walk.

All praise belongs to You. I ask this out of Your grace and love. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. AMEN

Confess His Name

iiwig.com

              

“When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy

because they have sinned against you and when they turn back

and confess your name, praying and making supplication

before you in this temple, then hear from heaven

and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them

 back to the land you gave to them and their fathers.

2 Chronicles 6:24-26 (NIV)

            Solomon built the temple and prayed a dedication prayer over it. He stood on a platform in the center of the outer court and prayed. He commended God for keeping His promise to David to allow a permanent home be built for the arc of the covenant. Solomon also requested God to keep the promise of always having a descendant of David sit on the throne of Israel.(see 2 Chronicles 6:12-16)

           

            Solomon continued to pray, renewing a covenant between God and the nation Israel. In this prayer, he asks God to hear the nation’s prayers after they have confessed His name, turned back to Him, and repented of their sins.

            Why is this important to Solomon? He knew the nation and its people will sin and fall away from God.  Are we like the people Israel? Yes, we are. We as a nation need to confess our sin to God, repent of our ways, and seek His forgiveness.    

               In our 21^st Century world, we are not unlike the people of Israel.  We fall short of God’s expectations of us and we sometimes don’t care. We have “more important” things to do than sit or kneel and tell someone we can’t see that we had done wrong. We might choose not to because we don’t really believe we have. We find other false gods to spend time with.

               The sad thing about how we, as a society spend our lives is that, one day soon, our nation will have to answer for what we have done. We need to be ready.

Keep Our Eyes on Jesus

 

One of the raimbows we saw last year

“Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling,

Fix your eyes on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.”

Hebrews 3:1 (NIV)

               The writer of Hebrews tells us we need to look to Jesus. He is talking to us, not to non-believers. We have written evidence that the people of Israel didn’t always do this. As we read the Old Testament, we see kings ascend the throne who did as they themselves chose. In Biblical terms, they did what was good in their own eyes.

              

               In Sunday school recently, we talked on the importance of keeping our eyes on Christ. One lady said that over the centuries, the church hadn’t done this. We named several events in history that transpired because people chose to ‘do what (they thought) was right’ at the expense of other people groups. The Spanish Inquisition, The Crusades, and The Holocaust came to mind.

              

               Have you ever wondered how our world would be if Christians, those called by God’s name, would look to Jesus before doing anything else? What about our personal lives, would they be different? Can we do this or is it too late?

Dear Lord God:

               We thank You for Who You are. We thank You for the many acts of kindness You perform. Please show us how to keep our eyes on You. Guide us as we walk through each day You give us. Let Your light shine through us in order for those around us to see You. We will give You the praise. In the Name of Jesus we pray, AMEN