What Would Love Do?

  Blog »   What Would Love Do?  
Chapter 7  RSVP      Bill Baker
Thursday, October 31, 2013

Near the end of “The Invitation of God” section of the video and study guide of the book Unfinished Mr. Stearns suggests that the best way to make our choices according to God’s way in the world is to ask the question “What would LOVE do?”  For whatever reason, this question really resonated with me.  It made me pause and reflect.  For me, in my personal life, even during some of my darkest moments, life always finds a way to remind me in sometimes small but always extraordinary ways that goodness and light still do exist despite all the evil and hopelessness in this world . . . . that is, if I give myself permission to see it. This is probably why this question opened my eyes to this simple thought.  Now, that is no easy task in moments which are enveloped with despair and fear, when it feels as though everything I believe to be true is demonstrating itself to be false, and when the kind of God “I “so desperately want to embrace is not showing up in my life in any appreciable way.       

I got to thinking about my own life and some of the places where I find myself struggling, stressed out, worried, or stuck right now. I can see that instead of asking what love would do, I'm often asking other, less inspiring questions to myself like, "What should I do?" or “Why can’t I have that?” or “I don’t think that is fair.”  Notice the common thread here of the word “I” in many of my comments.  But when I heard this question: “What would LOVE do?” a few weeks ago it sort of stuck and took on meaning for me.  I find myself repeating or asking those four words often.  When I have paused and acted on my answer, I have always been blessed about the decision I have made to follow God’s prompting instead of my own selfish motives.

So what if we all actually ask ourselves, "What would LOVE do?" in all of the important areas of our lives, especially the most challenging ones? I bet that it would dramatically alter not only how we relate to people and circumstances, but also would alter what we did and said, and ultimately how we valued ourselves on the inside.  Maybe in some small way our actions cover the world with the light of Christ. . . . right where we are at. If we're courageous enough to ask, to truly listen to the answers we receive and to act on them from a place of real love, compassion and truth, we will have the opportunity to transform lives and relationships in a real and profound way. That is the kingdom of God.    

God wants to use you and he wants to use me to change the world.  He has called us to do something greater than ourselves by following him.  To quote Pastor Jeff last week “Each of us is invited by Jesus to make a fundamental change in the world, one person, and one community at a time”.  He has extended an invitation.  It is up to us to R.S.V.P.  So I challenge you to ask yourself . . . . "What would LOVE do?”

 

Comment    

For more:   follow on Twitter @jefflampl  

Meals Matter

  Blog » Meals Matter  
Wednesday, October 30, 2013 

This Blog comes from John Frye at the Shepherd’s Nook.  It will teach you how Jesus changed everything.  It will also make you thing long and hard about how you “do family”.  I hope you read it carefully and prayerfully.   Jeff  

When Jesus broke bread, he broke Israel. With his meal-time habits, Jesus was boldly speaking a new language and scandalously introducing a new world.  

US American culture has gutted the social significance of daily meals. With innovative TV dinners and ubiquitous fast food chains, we eat like we live: with a sound and fury signifying nothing. Occasionally we are seated at a table with 3 forks, 3 glasses, two spoons and two knives and we freeze up. This is no ordinary meal. Which fork do we use first? A china plate with 3 long green beans with a “glaze” on them and a piece of meat the size of a postage stamp with a purple flower next to it shows up. We mutter, “Who needs 3 forks for this?” We begin to fantasize about a happy meal.  

In Jesus’ day a meal was a controlling cultural map. Who was eating with whom? Where? What? And who was in charge? All this said something significant about social relationships. An iron-clad social code was telegraphed. It was what anthropologists call “the language of meals.”  

Are you one of us or one of them? Every meal in Jesus’ day was an answer to that question. Meals portrayed legitimate and illegitimate social relationships. “This man (read “scum bag”) welcomes ‘sinners’ and eats with them” (Luke 15:1-2). Who was clean and unclean? Who was pure and who was polluted? Meals answered these questions.  

Add to this Israel’s history with God around meals—complaining about water and quails—eating and drinking at the golden calf—picking manna up daily—the periodic holy feast days—staying pure in Babylon (Daniel and his friends)—you get the picture. In Israel your meal-time habits showed whether you were close to or far from God. The “Lord’s Table” was every meal you ate. . . or it was not His table.  

Meals kept tribes together, clans united, families bonded, a nation identified. Meals were expressions of law-keeping or law-breaking. Right “eatingness” was really close to godliness.  

Enter radical pastor Jesus and his new code. There’s a startling new table in town and with it came Jesus’ meal-time, good news message. He was subversively, non-violently redrawing Israel’s cultural-spiritual map. He offered new, happy redefinitions of who is pure and who is polluted. He did not have to say a lot. All he had to do was host a meal and break the bread and pour the wine. By these actions Jesus literally broke Jewish society apart, even family members had to chose (or not) to be in the new social structure Jesus was creating (see Matthew 10:34-39).  

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”  

Jesus said, “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west (i.e., despised Gentiles), and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Jesus said, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and ‘sinners.’”  

Jesus, then, by his meal-time associations reconfigured the kingdom of God for all to see. He was amazingly courageous and intensely controversial. I wonder if most of his followers developed ulcers. “Can you believe what he is doing?” I hear Peter saying to John. “We are all going to die.”  

Every meal Jesus ate in his ministry was a transformative expression, a here and now enactment of the presence of the kingdom of God. Grace: amazing, gutsy, pass-the-potatoes grace.

 

Comment    

For more:   follow on Twitter @jefflampl  

God owns everything I have

  Blog »   God owns everything I have  

Monday, October 28, 2013
Jeff Lampl

“every good endowment that we possess and every complete gift that we have received
must come from above, from the Father”    (Phillips NT)  

I have to admit that I received an “aha” this week.  It is something I had never quite “gotten” before.   

I have known for decades that God is the owner and I am his “money manager”.  I get that.  But this week I discovered that I had only “gotten It” intellectually.   Until now I didn’t get it “actually”.   Kathy and I tithe on our gross income and we also give to many causes over and above our tithe.  Our take on the Bible is that those are the obedient things to do.   But what about the rest?  

If God is the owner, then it stands to reason that I will look at every expenditure as my spending His money.

Do I consult God when deciding what to spend on clothes?   Do I consult God before furnishing my home?  Do I ask for God’s guidance when I make decisions about TV and internet services?  Looking at my spending this way makes me an actual steward, rather than a person who just gives lip service to God’s ownership.    

It occurs to me that the following chart might describe three different ways that we view our money.

                           I Should                                 I say                                    I actually believe
                              Give                             God owns it all                           God owns it all

   

 Which category best describes you?

 

Comment    

For more:   follow on Twitter @jefflampl  

The Clue is in the Do

  Blog » The Clue is in the Do

Friday, October 25, 2013    Jeff Lampl 

As I read the following words of Jesus it occurred to me that Jesus loves goats too.   He loves them enough to give them a “tough love” talk.     

Second, in Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:9) to the “right hand of God” (the control room of the universe) as Lord over everything (Psalm 110:1, Acts 1:32-36), His Lordship is now visible in the following passage where Jesus, as Lord over all of the earth, judges the nations of the earth, and by implication judges each of us.    

Although our entrance to heaven is by faith through grace (Ephesians 2:8, 9), nevertheless there is some way in which we will also be judged by works  (2 Corinthians 5:10).    

As you read this incredible passage try to capture your thoughts and feelings.    Do they leave you with a twinge of something in your “gut”?  If so, ask God to let it drive you to what He might want you to do about it.  

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his   glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.  I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?  Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?  When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.  For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.  I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ 

“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
                                                                           Matthew 25:31-46 (NLT)

Comment    

For more:   follow on Twitter @jefflampl  

Culture Shock

                                                                           Blog »                 

 

Guest Blog    Chris Wolfe
Thursday, October 24, 2013

                
                "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making
                                                     his appeal through us."
                                                       I Corinthians 5:20

I have spent 25 years of my career working with thousands of foreign students from 100 different countries and hundreds of foreign legal professionals from 45 different countries.  I have traveled or worked in 22 different countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.  Cultures are "different" because things like language, social behaviors, food, customs, dress, laws, etc. are not the same. The totality of culture may be described as a "world-view" or a "lifestyle". "Culture Shock" is the tension we feel when we travel to a culture where these things are different, unexpected or not understood. Culture shock may be mild or it may be debilitating. We can even experience it in our own country; a New London native who goes to New York City for the first time will experience culture shock.  I know something about culture shock and cultural adaption; I have not only experienced these things innumerable times, I have also taught the subject.  

An ambassador is a citizen of one country who is an official representative of that country while living in a host country. As Christians, we are citizen ambassadors, "official representatives", of the kingdom of God while living in the kingdom of this world. The difference between our ambassadorship and a "worldly" ambassadorship is that we are not simply representing a different "lifestyle", we represent a new life, a new class of being-- a human with God's Spirit living within-- a new life offered to all.  Talk about culture shock!

In Jesus, God took on the life of man; in Jesus, man takes on the life of God. It is only through Jesus' death and resurrection that we are able to be "born again" and have the life of God flowing within us.  We truly are new "creatures" and citizens of a wholly different Kingdom. This is good news. This touches every aspect of my life.  This changes everything!  This is great news! It is this new Kingdom that we are called to represent, and we are called to be witnesses, representing to others what we have experienced in this new Kingdom, with an invitation to join.

Jesus commanded me to love God and to love others. When I do this, I allow His life and love to flow in two different directions:  back to God in worship, thanks and adoration, and out to others in compassion, assistance and invitation. God offers His life and citizenship in a His Kingdom to all who will accept it, and we are called to share that invitation with others.

Prayer:  Lord, may I allow your Holy Spirit to live through me so that others may believe and accept your invitation. Amen.

       

 

Comment    

For more:   follow on Twitter @jefflampl  

Now What?

  Blog » Now What?  

Wednesday, October 23, 2013     Jeff Lampl

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.   Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)

DONE     (dun)   Past participle of do¹.     Having been carried out or accomplished; finished: a done deed.  

On the Cross Jesus said, “It is finished”, in Greek “tetelestai”, done, paid in full.   It is a commercial term used when a debtor’s debt has been paid off.   The Bible teaches us that Jesus paid off all the debt that we have incurred from wrongs that we have initiated or participated in.  

Finished, Done, irrevocable forgiveness.   Jesus took the penalty that we should have incurred for our sin and set us free.   That’s Grace.   Free, unearned, undeserved.   You are asked to believe this fact of history.  You are asked to trust that it’s true.    

Now what?  

Ephesians 2:10 and a reasonable summary of the rest of the entire Bible tell us that these two words, “now what?” form the most important question you will ever ask.  

Now what?  Vs 10 above tells us that each of us was created intentionally and purposefully by God.   Take that in for a moment.   Actually planned by God!   My life is intended for the doing of good things which were planned eons ago.  Actually believing this has implications.    Do you find this to be BIG?  

My “now what” is answered by Grace.   God, seemingly out of the clear blue, decided not just to rescue me from my sin through his death, but also gave me the gift of being created for a purpose.   He created me to do something that matters.   He gave the unasked for, unmerited, undeserved, unearned gift of being able to live my life for a purpose given to me by GOD himself!

 

 

Comment    

For more:   follow on Twitter @jefflampl  

 

 

 

 

 

The World has a Lot to Say . . . . .

  Blog » The world has a lot to say about the poor

Tuesday, October 22, 2013     Anonymous

The world has a lot to say about the poor.

Take a stroll down the roughest part of our local city center: what do you feel? Discomfort? Guilt? Indifference? Do you avoid eye contact with the homeless, with drug dealers, with street children, with prostitutes? Do you simply walk a little faster?

Maybe you stop and share some change, or a granola bar, or even stop to buy a coffee. Many of us feel like there’s nothing to be done, that we could never do enough to make a difference in the lives of those in need, or even that they don’t deserve our assistance.

For many of us, the poor are faceless: a child in a third world country who gets a basket of rice for our $19.99 every month or the patrons of a soup kitchen to which we donate non-perishables.

Humanitarianism is on the rise in our culture. Like never before, we have the ability not only to know about, but to travel and actually impact, the whole world. People like Angelina Jolie, Bono, and Pope Francis are three of the loudest voices speaking out against human suffering today. These people feel a responsibility, even a call, to help those in need.

This week over a million Catholic Christian young people flood Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day. They have traveled from literally all over the world to see and receive guidance from the Pope. This isn’t just a fun vacation for the youth who are attending, they will be challenged to try and make the world a better place when they leave.

Pope Francis will welcome all of these visitors to his native South America , and throughout his visit he’ll be greeting millions who have traveled to worship alongside him–but that’s only part of his schedule.

The Pope’s visit to Rio will be busy. He will spend most of the day Wednesday in prayerful retreat, and then spend his evening visiting patients suffering with AIDS at a Rio hospital. The next day, he will visit one of the poorest neighborhoods in Rio , Manguinhos. He will also spend some time visiting with young prisoners: not in their prison, rather, they will be welcomed at the Archbishop’s home in Rio .

Francis has made it clear that he cares deeply for the poor and that his ministry will be centered around loving those whom the world has rejected. When he washed the feet of 12 young prisoners before Easter this year, he said: “Among us the one who is highest up must be at the service of others. This is a symbol, it is a sign. Washing your feet means I am at your service.”

Pope Francis is imitating the One who loved him first.

Many people – people like Mother Teresa, Pope Francis, and yes, even Bono – have been inspired by the love of Jesus Christ, who lived His whole life loving those whom the world abused.

Jesus was motivated by love, in fact He is the very definition of love. His ministry culminated with the sacrifice of His own life on the cross: He died for all of us.

It’s easy to spot the poor and needy materially, but we are all poor. We all have a hunger. Jesus gave His life to provide for us in our poverty and hunger with His love. The Bible says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)

If this is true, if we are motivated by love and want to love well, then we need to be willing to sacrifice our comforts and even our own lives for those who go without

We don’t need to be millionaires, authorities, or celebrities with a huge sphere of influence in order to make a difference in the lives of those in need. We can start in our own cities, loving our friends, but eventually the whole world, and loving them the way Jesus did. Eating with the hungry, socializing with the ostracized, clothing the naked, visiting prisoners.

If you feel convicted by this, why not find a local soup kitchen and serve lunch to the hungry a few times a month, go through your closet and donate anything you haven’t worn in a while to a shelter, or visit an elderly neighbor? And while you’re at it, consider Who may have blessed you with the means to help those in need.

Lord Jesus, I am hungry. I have tried to fill my life with many things that do not satisfy. I have hurt others and I have hurt You with my words and actions, and I’m sorry. I believe that You died on the cross to spare me from the consequences I deserve. Thank You for Your sacrifice. I believe that You rose from the dead into eternal life and I want to live it with You: I know that You alone can satisfy me. I want You to take control of my life, show me Your great love so that I can share it with the world. Amen.

 

Comment    

For more:   follow on Twitter @jefflampl  

I plege allegiance to . . . . .

Blog » "I pledge allegiance to. . . ."  

Monday, October 21, 2013

“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven,
conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ”
Philippians 1:27 (NLT)
 

This passage tells us that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God and that we must conduct ourselves as such.  Just as a citizen of the USA must pledge allegiance to the fundamental “creed” of our country, so also must believers display their allegiance to the fundamental creed of the Kingdom of God.  

Putting together the earliest proclamations of Christianity the following is the fundamental Creed to which every Christian is bound:  

In Jesus God came to earth
               What could be bigger than that?  Take that in for a moment.  Think about it
               a lot.  GOD came to earth as a person a point and place in time!

Died for our sins
                God sacrificed Himself/His Son so that you can be rescued.  The God who
                rules the cosmos did this because you and I matter!!!!!  Do not allow over-
                familiarity with this truth to lull you into complacency over it.

Was raised from the dead
                Just HUGE!  The Bible says Jesus is the "first fruits" referring to the first
                crops harvested in the Spring.  In other words, Jesus is the first not the last
                to be raised from the dead. What God did for Jesus he will do for the whole
                planet and for those people who allow Him to rescue them.  Can you
                picture planet earth and its inhabitants raised, renewed, and recreated?

Rules the Universe
                 Jesus has the final word on everything.  What we see in our lives and in
                 our world are just "preliminary results"

Is making all things new
                 This is where belief and faith and obedience and trust (in the end all are
                  exactly the same thing) all come together in the calling that every citizen
                  of the Kingdom of God has, which is to partner with Jesus in setting this
                  world right, inviting others to become citizens and to enlist them in the
                  cause of Jesus.Our life task and calling is to be and make fully engaged citizens of God's Kingdom.

 

Comment    

For more:   follow on Twitter @jefflampl  

Just when I think I'm getting it right . . . .

  Blog » Just when I think I'm getting it right . . . .  

Friday, October 18, 2013
Jeff Lampl

       “He is no fool who loses what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”
         Jim Elliot

What do you make of the following interaction between Jesus and a young man with a great question?  

 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him,  
 knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.
  But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder.
  You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You
  must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.' ”
  “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was
   young.”    Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one
   thing you haven’t done,”  he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give
  the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow
  me.”
  At this the man’s face fell, and he went away very sad, for he had many
  possessions.
  Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter
  the Kingdom of God!”   This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is
  very hard to enter the Kingdom of God.
  In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
  person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
  The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.
  Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not
  with God. Everything is possible with God.”
  Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.
  “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or
   brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for  
   the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses,
   brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in
   the world to come that person will have eternal life.
   But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who
   seem least important  now will be the greatest then.”   Mark 10:17-31 (NLT)  

What is your reaction?  Guilt?  Motivation?   Self-justification?   Rationalization?  Immobilized?   Hopeful?   Bribed?
 

Comment    

For more:   follow on Twitter @jefflampl  

The Hole in Our Gospel

Blog »   Hole in Our Gospel  

Thursday, October 17, 2013     Jeff Dixon

Acts 1:3 To these He also presented Himself alive, after His sufferings, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.

A question to start off with.  What is the kingdom of God?  We have been discussing it now for two weeks and do we have a firm biblical understanding of what it is.  If Richard Stearns is right about there being a hole in our gospel would you not want to fill it in?  Here is a short list of some of the things the kingdom of God is;

                Romans 14:17. . . .it is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

                1 Corinthians 4:20 . . . .it is not in words, but in power

                Luke 12:31. .Seek first the kingdom of God and all these shall be added unto you

                Luke 17:21 . . . the kingdom of God is within you/among you

These are only but a few of the passages in scripture that speak to the kingdom of God and what it is.  I do not claim to be a scholar or an expert of the scriptures but it seems clear that God’s kingdom is not like what we might think a kingdom looks like.  The problem with words is they form ideas and familiar words form familiar ideas.  The scriptures say kingdom and we start to think king on a throne big robe and a crown.  All of those things are true about God, the train of His robe does fill the temple with glory, He is seated on a throne in heavenly places, and does wear a crown but that is not what it seems to be saying in these texts.  The kingdom or “reign” of God is not external but internal.  God is ruling in the hearts of man and woman given over to His lordship. As we grow from faith to faith and glory to glory we surrender more of ourselves into His hands.  This for me has been the key to all of my too few successes.  When I surrender what God is seeking from me and trust it into His keep what I receive from Him is that “I become a partaker of His divine nature. . .” 2 Peter 1:4.  A part of the new nature given to me at my conversion is opened up to me in ways I could not see before and now I see things and people around me differently. Now the nature of God can freely express itself through our lives which are a demonstration of Gods power in us.  It is all of Him and not of me and yet it is demonstrated through me, Galatians 2:20.  It is not my self-driven efforts to put to death my old nature, but listening to the voice of the Spirit of God in small ways every day. Not a booming voice, but that still small voice that stirs my thoughts to the things I know God would have me do. It is in surrender through obedience to these sometimes small things sometimes not so small things that God builds our faith. It is rare however that what I believe I am to do is in isolation, it almost always includes others. We sometimes see our faith as just that, ours but it is not ours in the singular since but in the plural.  He is not just my heavenly father He is also yours which in fact makes Him “ours”.  If our view of the gospel is diminished in some way it is probably that we see it mostly through the eyes focused on self, which in fact is not about the kingdom of God but rather our own little kingdom.

The question set before us this week is whether there is a hole in our gospel or not. I cannot speak for you or the Church at large but I know me pretty well.  Some days it seems my gospel looks more like Swiss cheese than a solid wall of faith, there seems to be holes everywhere. If we were honest with each other we would probably soon find out that all of us have holes in what we call the gospel and none of us clearly understand what the kingdom of God is, but before we give up in frustration let us look to someone in the scriptures who also had a hole in his idea of the Gospel.  Peter gave up his life to follow Christ, walked with Jesus for three years, preformed miracles, cast out demons, healed the sick, walked on water and saw Christ transfigured right before his own eyes and yet did he ever have a hole in his gospel. Peter thought he was on the right path, he even went so far as to argue about the place he should have in the Kingdom.  You could drive a truck through Peter’s hole and it leads him to deny Christ.  Yet look at what Christ did for Peter.  He did not leave him in frustration and despair but Christ comes to Peter and loving confronts Peter with truth and Peter is changed.  The one who denied Christ before a servant girl stood tall before the Sanhedrin and refused to stop preaching about Christ.     

What I think God would want us to see here is this that He will not leave us in our hole in our gospel either. He will by His grace and through the Holy Spirit start to fill in the hole in our gospel so we might start to see His gospel, a gospel that speaks to us of a kingdom that reigns in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which is where the Love of God has been poured out.  In this way we are given the blessing of pouring out onto others that which was poured into us.

Father, I pray that this makes since to those who need to hear it, that it leads us to seek you in some quiet place to ask of you that we might see the glory of your gospel and to catch a glimpse of your kingdom, that we might see your divine nature being manifested in ourselves and the lives of those around us. That we would see it and it would be marvelous to our eyes. “I pray that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened so that we may know what is the hope of your calling, what are the riches of the glory of your inheritance in the saints”, Amen.    

Comment    

For more:   follow on Twitter @jefflampl