Month: March 2021

1 Peter 1,10-20

Holy isn’t a word that one hears too much these days. When it is used it is often in regard to the exotic, a personal special place or object. It is defined by the individual, a cricket fan might call the Lords pitch their holy ground. Sometimes it is linked to a personal aspiration and is termed their holy grail meaning the goal at the end of a quest. Historically holiness has been linked to pilgrimage and it still is for some Christians, particularly Orthodox and Catholic traditions but is now perhaps more associated with other world faiths. The idea that it is God who determines what is holy is central to the Christian faith and other theistic religions but is at odds with common western world views that are rooted in materialism or relativism that emphasize individual independence.

Peter makes holiness a main theme in his letter. He repeats God’s command in Leviticus ^19.44, ‘But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy”. ^{1 Pet 1.15,16} Holiness is defined by the nature of God himself.  But is that realistic and how do we go about being holy? Wouldn’t that make one into some kind of oddball? How can one possibly live a normal life and be holy? It does sound rather medieval and completely out of touch with modern life. It is a big topic but Peter in the second half of the first chapter does provide some starting points that are not odd but have a lot to do with one’s mindset.

The believer has always been in the mind of God as he prepared salvation. The Spirit of Christ inspired the Old Testament prophets to point to the coming of Jesus as Messiah. ^{1 Pet 1.10} A key understanding to start the walk of holiness is grasping that one has always been in the mind of God but more than that, each one of us is so valued and loved that it was always his intention that Jesus would through suffering bring about salvation.  Jesus’ death and resurrection followed by his return to glory was never a spontaneous event, it was a matter of pure deliberate love.  As post resurrection Christians we have been in the privileged position of having the good news (or gospel) explained to us. The wonder of it is so great, Peter says, ‘Even Angels long to look into these things.’ ^{1 Pet 1.12} Closely associated with holiness is awe, as we increasingly grasp the depth of God’s love for us then awe of God will grow.

Peter says in the light of this, prepare your minds for action, be sober minded and, ‘set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.’ ^{1 Pet 1.13} Being holy then is a deliberate thing, one must be resolute and determined, crucially in being like Jesus in one’s attitudes involves positively embracing godliness and rejecting passions that once controlled one’s life. As Peter goes on to say, ‘As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.’ ^{1 Pet 1.15} This is not a colourless drab life, it is filled with love, joy, good relations, peace of mind and fulfilling deeds that are aimed at bringing the good news of the gospel to all in your sphere. As a disciple of Christ one becomes part of a loving, generous community with a common goal.

Disciples of Jesus are in the combined position of being able to know and address Almighty God as Father and at the same time understand that he also is the one who judges impartially. ^{1 Pet 1.17} That combination of what might feel contradictory understandings makes sense in the light of Jesus’ sacrifice. As we deliberately choose to walk the path of holiness we do so knowing it was Jesus who ransomed us, not a matter of, we pass God’s judgement based upon our own good deeds. Peter reminds us that we were not ransomed with material wealth but, ‘with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.’ ^{1 Pet 1.19} Carrying that knowledge with us helps us to soberly prepare our minds for holiness.

What is your passion?

Holiness – Micah Stampley

1 Peter 1.3-9 and John 3.1-15

We live very close to the coast and the wind plays an important part in our lives. We have just had a four day period of 40mph winds. The wind howls round the front door and the trees whip and twist. Young plants have been torn from the ground and established trees in the fields are bent permanently in the direction of the prevailing wind. Walking on the beach in shorts becomes painful as the sand blasts the skin below the knee. This last weekend my wife turned to me and said, ‘Look at the wind out there.’ Clearly, we could not see the wind but the effect of the wind was dramatically apparent. Jesus describes the impact of the Holy Spirit on people’s lives in just these terms. ‘The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear it’s sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’ ^{John 3.8}

Peter celebrates this spiritual birth, ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!’ ^{1 Pet 1.3} Peter is referring back to Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus a prominent Pharisee and Jewish religious leader, who later came to faith in Jesus and helped with his burial in the tomb. Jesus made clear that just as we have a physical birth, for a relationship with God, there is a need for a spiritual birth. ^{John 3.5-7} This new birth involves being cleansed from one’s old sin driven life and our heart, or inner person, being spiritually renewed. As Paul puts it, ‘He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus expresses surprise that this is puzzling to Nicodemus as an Old Testament scholar because it is clearly expressed in Ezekiel ^36.25-27 and Joel. ^2.28-32 Just as a tree bending in the wind is evidence of the wind so a believer’s life should be evidence of their spiritual new birth. Many look for dramatic spiritual signs as evidence of the Spirit’s work but the most significant signs are to be found in changes in the believer’s life. Peter encourages them to live out their new life. ‘Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.’ ^{1 Pet 1.22.23}

Peter explains that this new spiritual birth is due to the believer’s participation in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. ^{1 Pet 1.3} The new life will not die as our body dies but is an inheritance of eternal life. Once given it is God who keeps it secure and it will become evident in what Peter terms, ‘in the last time’. Peter is encouraging believers to live in the light of this secure hope. The reason Peter wants believers to be secure in this understanding is that it will create resilience in times of trouble.  Resilience here is more than simply bearing suffering, the knowledge of God’s eternal promises will bring about joy during suffering. ‘In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.’ ^{1 Pet 1.6}

New birth has led to resurrection hope and rejoicing in times of trouble, resisting sin, and this in turn brings glory to Jesus Christ. ‘These (troubles) have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. ^{1 Pet 1.7}

Peter is the one who has seen for himself the suffering, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and heard his teaching. Time now has passed and the letters’ recipients have only heard about Jesus, they have the Old Testament writings but as yet they would have limited, incomplete collections of New Testament gospels and letters. It was therefore very important for the churches to hear firsthand from those who lived with Jesus. Even so, Peter is excited by the evidence of their new birth through the Spirit. He shares with them the joy of their salvation. How lovely that he is thrilled by their salvation and is rejoicing for others. ‘Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.’ ^{1 Pet 1.8}

How much would others see in our lives evidence of new birth as the wind can be seen in the trees?

Who are we rejoicing with that though they have not seen him, they love him and are filled with joy as a result of their faith and salvation of their souls.?

Power of your love

1 Peter 1.1-2

I was standing on my drive last week when a delivery driver appeared from behind the front hedge with the words, ‘Are you Andrea Williams?’ Now I am six foot, over weight, balding, with a beard and male. ‘Yep’ I replied. He seemed a little unsure so he pressed me for more detail. ‘Are you number three?’ Now as far as I know my mother only had two children and I was the second, but I assured him I was number three any way, just to get the whole thing over with. ‘This is for you then’, he said and thrust a small parcel in my hand. I’ve been had like this before and given post that wasn’t for me and ended up walking the local streets trying to find the real recipient, so I checked which delivery firm he worked for. He threw back over his shoulder the name of the highest valued company in the world (other possibly more ethical internet providers are available) as he rapidly disappeared from sight. Mildly amusing as that interchange was it succeeded in establishing who the post had come from and if it had arrived at the intended recipient, which broadly is what the opening sentences of 1 Peter does as well.

Peter wrote this letter close to the end of his life, around A.D. 62-64, he was probably in Rome. He was one of the most well known of the apostles with a special commission from Jesus to, ‘Feed my Sheep.’ ^{John 21.17} This commission, Jesus made clear, was to be a response arising from Peter’s love for Jesus. Peter had a particular role in reaching out to the Jewish community while Paul had a special commission to establish churches amongst the Gentiles (non-Jewish). However, it is a mistake to think that that these roles were exclusive, Peter was the first to have revealed to him that the same baptism of the Holy Spirit was for Gentiles as it was for Jewish converts and Paul always started his outreach in a new town by going to the synagogue and preaching to the Jews.

Peter starts his letter by stating he is Peter, a sent one or messenger, from Jesus Christ. In fact, no one knew Jesus better than Peter. He went through every grueling moment of Jesus ministry, death and resurrection by the side of Jesus. He knew Jesus’ love and rebukes. He saw Jesus in all his miraculous glory, he saw his tortured body. He witnessed Jesus’ healing touch and then healed people himself in Jesus’ name. He welcomed Jesus into his home and saw him heal his mother in law. He walked with Jesus for three years over the whole landscape of Palestine. He saw Jesus disappear in the clouds following his resurrection promising to return. He ate fish with him, that Jesus had cooked, after Jesus’ crucifixion. He listened to every word of Jesus’ teaching. He had walked on water towards Jesus in the middle of a tempestuous storm and then lost faith so Jesus had to grasp him and save his life. He had been imprisoned for speaking about Jesus’ resurrection and then been miraculously released from shackles and prison. He had experienced the grace of God in a way that few could compare with. Peter was a man who learnt the hard way but there was nobody who had greater claim to say they were an apostle of Jesus Christ. So, receiving a letter from Peter for any church was a massively significant moment.

The letter was for circulation around the churches of Asia Minor or what is now Turkey. In his initial greeting to the elect exiles of the Dispersion the ‘elect’ are the chosen of God in the same way as Israel was the chosen people of God in the Old Testament. He is signifying that the church is now God’s people, called by God, to be his body living distinctively and bearing the good news of Jesus to the world. In the second sentence Peter introduces one of the key themes of his letter, the notion that God’s people are exiles. From now on their allegiances are to the kingdom of God and they are now strangers to the culture of the world that they have been called out of. Jesus consistently taught about the kingdom of God and then established it through his death and resurrection and on his ascension being enthroned as the King. The kingdom became the dispersed people who God had sanctified through the Holy Spirit. ^v2 Sanctification here is referring both to the initial conversion of the believer and also to the progressive changes the believer experiences as they learn to live more like Christ. This is the life of discipleship or as Peter describes it here, obedience to Jesus Christ. This new relationship with God is only possible because by faith the Christian has benefited from forgiveness from sin because of Jesus taking the consequences of the believer’s sin through his death. Peter describes this as being sprinkled with his blood.

In these ways Peter establishes at the beginning of his letter, who he is and who he is writing to. He then prays for their continued experience of God’s blessing in experiencing God’s mercy and peace. Peace here is not only a sense of inner peace, it is peace in terms of their relationship with God, not being estranged from him and in fact being positively in harmony with him. The opening of Peter’s letter also makes clear that the believer’s relationship is with the full Trinity, as he describes the foreknowledge of God the Father, the sanctification of the Spirit and obedience to Jesus Christ.

Have we made that first step of obedience to Jesus Christ and therefore joined the Kingdom of God?

Do we experience the continuing sanctification of the Spirit that enables us to become more like Jesus?

What a Beautiful Name – Hillsong Worship

Psalm 61

David opens the psalm a long way from Jerusalem and the tent of meeting. ^v4 It felt like being at the end of the earth although he was probably just over Israel’s border. He was in the need of God’s presence to be his place of refuge. He was experiencing a time of spiritual weakness as well as probably a threat to his life. Although the tent of meeting was the holy place where the ark of the covenant was placed the God of Israel was not contained by geography. Psalm 139 makes this clear, ‘Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. ^{Psalm 139.7,8} David felt safe in the presence of God in a similar way that being in the presence of someone who you love provides a sense of safety. A sense of safety is an important aspect of love, it is why we hold someone who is frightened and why we hold the hand of a loved one in their dying moments.

The central verses of the psalm, either side of ‘Selah’ carry the heart of this psalm’s message. It is the importance of spending time in the presence of God. ‘Let me dwell in your tent forever!’ ^v4 says David. He wants to be close to God not only for refuge but also because he shares the inheritance of all those who fear God. Because he loves God he loves being with God. Absence isn’t making his heart grow fonder, the continuing presence of God grows his love.  He enjoys God and enjoys obeying God. The Old Testament and especially the psalms are full of verses that thrill at being in the presence of God. ‘How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God’. ^{Psalm 84.1,2}

In Jesus we have a perfected model of desiring to be in the presence of God. Jesus showed and taught his disciples the importance of spending time quietly in God’s presence. When the twelve disciples excitedly returned to Jesus after he had sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God, he said to them, ‘Come away with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest’. ^{Mark 6.31}

Spending time in God’s presence enables the disciple to resist sin as Jesus showed in the wilderness after his baptism. Persistent sin frequently damages Christians’ ongoing relationship with God and limits the effectiveness of their lives. David links time spent in God’s presence with the keeping of his vows. ‘For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.’ ^v5 Again in verse 8, ‘So will I sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day.’

Time in God’s presence also builds hope. David expresses such hope for himself but at the same time moves into prophetic verse concerning the coming King, the Messiah, as he talks about being enthroned forever before God. ^{vv 6,7} Hope is a vital part of the Christian life, it is rooted in the promises of God and the death and resurrection of Jesus. Hope produces resilience. When Peter was writing to the churches at the time of Nero and rapidly escalating persecution he wanted them to grasp the hope they had in Christ. He wrote, ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.’ ^{1 Peter 1.3,4} Later he called them to come into Jesus’ presence to be built up into the people of God that God desires. ‘As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’ ^{1 Peter 2.4,5}

Have we regularly built into our life time to, ‘come away and be with Him’?

Do we allow ourselves time to enjoy being in the presence of God and celebrating the hope that is within us?

Living hope – Phil Wickham

Psalm 60 and 2 Samuel 8

As a parent what was the worst fight you had with your child, or perhaps it was the other way round? In our household it was over worm medicine. Worms are a topic that most of us prefer not to mention in public but something a lot of us have had to deal with in private. I am not sure if children lock on to parents’ tension over this. I remember vividly the semi-secret whispered request over the pharmacy counter if they stock medicine for worms and then the absolutely toe-curling embarrassment as the pharmacist loudly proclaims the whole family must take the treatment. I was then told not to worry as it was a delicious strawberry flavour. The truth is the taste of the medicine was revolting and nothing at all like strawberries. As dutiful parents we made a show of cheerfully swallowing our dose. The first child opened their mouth and spat it across the room. There then began one of the biggest family scenes I remember that ended with our rolling around on the floor with our child trying to wrestle a spoonful of medicine into him. It was a ridiculous humiliation of parenthood, easily rectified the next day by buying tablets crushed into copious quantities of jam. God’s discipline of his people is like worm medicine, unwanted and unpleasant but good for you.

Psalm 60 relates to a time when David was defending Israel against invasion on multiple fronts and is described in 2 Samuel 8. The enemies were the Philistines, Moabites and Edomites. David believed God who had promised to go with the Israelites into battle had left them ^v10 and it was God who had previously given them victory. The nation had in some way rejected God and now they were experiencing his discipline by God removing his presence from them. It had become a national emergency, so David prayed, ‘You have rejected us, God, and burst upon us; you have been angry – now restore us! You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking. You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger.’ ^{vv 1-3} Some might interpret a psalm like this today as God causing a pandemic to punish countries for sinful disobedience and rejection of God; in much the same way as some said Aids was God’s punishment against homosexuality. This I believe is an entirely false understanding of scripture. The Old Testament should be read in the light of Jesus’ life, sacrificial death, teaching and example.

David responded appropriately, as the representative of God’s people he threw himself entirely on God’s mercy. ‘Save us and help us with your right hand, that those who you love may be delivered.’ ^v5 God’s reply was that he was not only the God of Israel, he was also God over all nations. ^{vv 6-8} David then faced up to the fact that the nation had become proud and thought they could achieve victories without God’s help. He confessed their own helplessness to do so and their need of God. ‘Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies’. ^{vv 11,12}

The New Testament reveals there are still times when God needs to discipline his people. Not this time in national battles as his people are now spread across the nations. No this is a battle for holiness. In Revelation 2 and 3 the risen Christ addresses words of discipline to seven churches located in modern Turkey. He repeatedly opens his words with, ‘I know your deeds’. God’s discipline was addressed to the local church as a whole and formed from his intimate knowledge of the church. He both affirms their obedience and details their failings. He cautions the church in Ephesus, ‘Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.’ ^{Rev 2.5} The Spirit would withdraw from the church and it would die. The church in Laodicea had become like Israel in Psalm 60, self-dependent and not trusting in God.  The Spirit warned them of the risk of their losing his presence, ‘Because you are lukewarm – neither hot not cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire … Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.’ ^{Rev 3.16-20}

God’s discipline in both the Old and New Testaments is relational.

How much do we prize our relationship with God?

Have we experienced God’s discipline in our lives reflected in our relationship with him?

Do we grasp the grace of God in always wanting to restore our relationship with him.

I will offer up my life – Matt Redman