Denying Christ or Denying Self?

We read the account of Peter's denial of Christ during the time of His trial and we shake our heads.

How could he do that? How could this man who had been so close to Jesus deny that he even knew Him? (John 18).

Yet, how easily do we deny Christ every day?

And does it even bother us?

When we have an opportunity to witness about how He has given us salvation, but we say nothing, we have denied Christ.

When we attempt to solve our problems in our own strength, we deny Christ.

When we give in to our temptations, rather than calling to Him for help, we deny Christ.

When we become complacent in our spiritual growth, we deny Christ.

When we become careless in our attitudes, lazy in our spiritual lives, adamant about preferences, we deny Christ.

Christ knew that Peter would deny Him. The Savior even told Peter that it would happen.

Christ also was compassionate and gracious in forgiving Peter.

And He didn't give up on Peter (John 21).

Look at the might preacher that Peter became in Acts.

He'll do the same with us. He knows that we will deny Him more easily than we will deny ourselves. Yet He will forgive us and use us - over and over again!

What a gracious, loving and forgiving Savior we have!

Crippled by Fear?

Some thoughts from Sunday evening's sermon by Pastor Dan Fields at First Baptist in Creston, Iowa. These aren't his sermon notes, but some thoughts that have been going through my mind today.

What are you afraid of?

The dark? Heights? Blood?

Have you ever been in a situation where fear has caused you to react?

You know, like someone jumping out from behind a tree and you scream.

Or maybe your fear of heights has kept you from climbing ladders and towers, or flying in airplanes.

Sometimes fear can keep us from doing dangerous things. Fear of falling into the Grand Canyon would keep you from getting too close to the edge. Fear of fire would keep you away from a burning house. Fear of moving vehicles keeps you from walking down the middle of the interstate.

Fear is not a bad thing. It can keep you from doing dangerous things.

Fear can be a bad thing when it keeps you from doing what you know needs to be done.

So how can we distinguish the two? How do we know when fear is good and when it is bad?

We have to consider the object of our fear and the result of our fear.

If we are afraid of danger, so we stay in bed all day, we are being foolish and lazy (Prov 22:13).

But, if we fear God, that will motivate us to the right things.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge..." (Prov 1:7). "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom..." (Prov 9:10). When we fear the LORD, we will be at the source of knowledge.

"...fear the LORD and turn away from evil" (Prov 3:7). "The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil..." (Prov 8:13). When we fear the LORD, we will run away from sin.

When we are crippled by fear, we can do nothing. We no longer have control of our bodies, our reactions or our words.

Likewise, we should be crippled by the fear of God. We can do nothing. We have surrendered control of our bodies, our resources, our words and our thoughts to Him.

When we are crippled by the fear of God, it is a good thing.

We will seek His wisdom and we will flee sin.

Call me "Bitter"

A famine in Israel made him consider the welfare of his family, so Elimelech took his family to Moab. He was their provider. He couldn't let them starve to death. And it didn't look like things were going to get any better in Israel.

It looked like a very logical solution.

Head to greener pastures.

The two sons found wives. Moabites.

What was a father to do?

His boys had to have wives. It was time for them to move out on their own. Start their own families.

There weren't any Israelite girls in their area.

It seemed like a very logical solution.

Elimelech dies. And his two sons die.

Apparently the sons died soon after marrying, because no children are mentioned.

Elimelech's wife, Naomi, heard in the fields of Moab that the famine in Israel was over. She heads back home.

One daughter-in-law stays with her, the other returns to her parents.

As Naomi and Ruth near the village of Bethlehem, someone recognizes Naomi.

"Isn't that Naomi?"

"Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?" (Ruth 1:20-21)

A father's decisions, which seemed logical to him, brought calamity to his family. His death and the death of his two sons were the direct result of his disobedience.

The law of Moses clearly stated that if the children of Israel were disobedient, the LORD would bring famine. Instead of running away from the LORD to Moab, Elimelech should have repented of his sins and sought to bring about restoration in Israel.

But it was easier to pack up and move to Moab.

Taking the easy way out ended up in death and bitterness.

Times of difficulty should lead us to repentance, turning back to God rather than running from Him.

Running may seem like the logical solution, but the only running we should be doing is toward God and righteousness.

Become a Repenter by Jack Klem

I read this blog post today from Jack Klem at http://jackklem.com/ and thought it helpful in my study of repentance. I trust it will be helpful to you as well.

Become a Repenter 

Posted: 26 Apr 2013 11:21 AM PDT

I reformatted some material from Tim Keller, “All Life is Repentance” for a chapel presentation that I wanted to share with you. I was encouraged, challenged, and focused as I worked with it. I hope it serves you in some way.

Luther’s first thesis nailed to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral acknowledged that the Lord willed the entire life of the believer to be one of repentance.

Why? This is the way that we make progress in the Christian Life.

So, how do I repent?

Religious Repentance – How not to repent.

You admit that you are wrong because you want to keep God happy and continue to get things from God.

You admit that you are wrong because you want to avoid the consequences of an action.

You admit that you are wrong, that you are so bad and that you deserve to be forgiven.

You suffer consequences to merit forgiveness.

You admit that you are wrong because you are hoping to live a life that is good enough for God to bless.

Gospel-Driven Repentance – How to repent.

You admit that you are wrong because you know that even though your sin can’t separate you from God, you know that God hates your sin and that your sin disgraces and dishonors Him.

You admit that you are wrong because you know that this is the pathway to deepen your joy in Christ.

You admit that you are wrong because this is how you receive the forgiveness earned for you by Christ (Jn 1:8-9).

You admit that you are wrong because your hope is in the righteousness of Christ.

Now we believe! Oh, really?

In the last hours before His crucifixion, Jesus is giving His disciples final instructions. He's going to leave, but will send the Holy Spirit. They shouldn't be surprised when they are persecuted. Loving one another is the way to show the world that they are His disciples. He's going to His Father, but He will come back.

At the end of John 16, the disciples have an "Aha!" moment. Now they get it! He's speaking plainly. Now they believe (vs 29-30).

Jesus challenges them, knowing what is coming and what their hearts are like. "Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave Me alone" (v 32).

Jesus knew that they would abandon Him when the pressure was on. He knew they would return to their old lives. They were excited and claimed that they believed in that moment.

But true belief is not evidenced in words, but in actions.

So what do your actions say about what you believe?

Most of us will never be put in a life-and-death situation, where we will run for our lives.

We say that we believe in heaven and hell, sin and salvation, but we don't open our mouths to tell our friends.

We say that we believe that Jesus can give victory over sin, but we struggle with the same temptations for decades.

We say that Jesus can help us solve our problems, but we abandon our family when we can't take it any more.

We say...but we do...

Our actions reveal what we truly believe.

What do your actions reveal about your beliefs today?

Better than the Magic Kingdom

Everyone in the Disney World commercials has great big smiles. Kids are laughing and oohing and aahing. It looks like everyone is really happy.

There's certainly nothing wrong with having a fun time and building family memories.

But is that all there is?

Do we go from one event to the next, hoping to be happier?

A day in the Magic Kingdom may be great fun, but what about the next day?

Maybe a weekend at the Magic Kingdom will be better.

Maybe if you got a job at the Magic Kingdom you'd always be happy!

Nothing against the Magic Kingdom. You could plug in any place, any activity, any group of people, any food and come to the same conclusion: Is this all there is? Where's the promised happiness?

Jesus promised to give us joy.

"These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:11).

He has a plan to fill us with His joy. Do you want to know what that is?

What are "these things" that He spoke?

Abiding in Him. John 15 begins with the picture of the vine and the branches. Jesus is the vine, His Father is the keeper of the vines and we are the branches. we can do nothing apart from Him. He wants us to bear fruit by abiding in Him. As we abide in Him and bear fruit, we will find joy (vs 1-6).

Praying. As we are abiding in Him, maintaining fellowship with Him, we will be praying to Him. Communicating with Him about our needs and desires. And He promises to answer our prayers. Wow! The Creator of the universe will answer our prayers! And answered prayers leads to greater joy (v 7).

Obedience. If we obey, we will abide in His love. Our obedience shows our love to Him. And as we love Him, He loves us in return. We don't have to earn His love, but the love can become intensified as we abide and obey. Greater love leads to more joy (vs 8-11).

Go ahead and have fun. But don't try to find joy at the Magic Kingdom.

You'll only find that by abiding in, praying to and obeying Jesus, the only One who can give you joy.

Dedicated Idols

Does this statement make sense to you?

"I dedicate the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image" (Judges 17:3).

The son had stolen the silver from his mother, but he returned it to her. That is when she made the above statement.

But doesn't that contradict Exodus 20:4? "You shall not make for yourself a carved image."

It does.

The mother commissioned the making of the idol with some of the silver and gave the rest of it back to her son. The whole story is just wrong.

And there is no sign of God's blessing, God's leading or God at all in the story. It's near the end of Judges and demonstrates the principle that is repeated in these last chapters, "Every man did what was right in his own eyes."

The son stole the silver from his mother. The mother rewarded the son for stealing. They ended up with a silver idol in their home.

But don't we do the same things?

We dedicate our children to the Lord when they are born. We talk about raising them up in obedience to Scriptures. We take them to church. We help them learn memory verses.\

But when it comes time to confront them about their sin, we avoid it. We don't want the conflict.

We pick up after them. We do their chores. We let them sulk. We'd rather keep things calm and quiet than face conflict.

Our children have become our idols. We do what they want us to do, rather than what God wants us to do.

Or when we hear juicy gossip. We know it's not right, but why bother stopping that person?

She'll just gossip about me. I better stay on her good side.

Our friends have become our idols. We do what they want us to do, not what God wants us to do.

So what good things have you dedicated to the Lord only to turn them into idols?