April18 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:26:69-75 THRICE - It would be hard for any Galilean in Jerusalem to deny that He is not a follower of the accused Galilean, his speech/inflections would give him away. No one was fooled of course and the more he tried to deny it the more insistent others became. So why then did he continue? Keep in mind that he swore that he wouldn't. I feel that the sense of personal danger must have been too great. If the authorities wanted to reign in the rest of Jesus' group what better place to start than with the interogation of Peter. Torture could be used to discover the whereabouts of the remainder. The mood of the public had certainly changed as well, Peter may not have made it into the hands of the authorities if taken by the hand of the mob. Peter's testimony of what Jesus had declared could be used against Jesus as well. There is so much unknown and suspicious tide to consider. Earlier Peter had thought that he understood the pressures that would come to bare against him as a disciple of the captured Christ; he underestimated the depths that this late night could erode down into and the sentiments of the aroused mobs now gathering. There are well thought out reasons not just cowardice at work in Peter's denial. Extreme danger brings with it different angles and realities that Peter had not before considered. Jesus had considered these pressures and angles though and yet was not condemning. Peter would weep bitterly. A river would flow of embarrassment and shame and powerlessness and complete let down, but, most of all a torrent of love for the man that he had invested all his devotion and hope into. Even though we may not know the full weight of momentum behind this denial, we can certainly sympathize with it as we are just as likely or more so to do the same under lesser conditions. The faith of our Lord understands the pressures His word can bare on us just as much as He knows our strengths and weaknesses. He knows that what we intend to be/do for Him is rarely what comes out; and frankly He is okay with that as long as there is open repentance and progress made. The way of our lives is a constant correction. This is a real and correctable experience Peter has stepped into that will mold and shape the remainder of his life. Not many would have the guts to step into the danger so far as Peter did, it is almost as miraculous as stepping out onto the raging waters. We cannot say that what Peter ended up doing as he realized the storm set against him was right but, we can say that it was transformative; love and devotion will continue and grow. The Lord knows how to lead us from here in our bitter and broken tears to there into His secure and loving arms. This as much as anything is the trust that we must come to have in Him.
April28 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Matthew:28:16 WITH YOU ALWAY - Over five hundred people at different points saw Jesus glorified by resurrection according to Paul kjv@1Corinthians:15:6, some present at His ascension. Of the several occasions available, Matthew focuses on a meeting in Galilee ahead of Pentecost with the eleven to close His gospel. Everyone present there appeared to worship Him, but, we are left with the observable sense that at this point there was still some intellectual doubt present in the group. I think this to be admirably honest. We know that all were later present in the upper room for the infilling of the Holy Spirit and from Church tradition/history we know that each actually did go on to pursue this great world wide commission; so the doubts must have been laid to rest somewhere from this time forward. Doubt can take several different forms. One can be in agreement with but, still have some reservation. One can be in flat out denial. One can be scientifically skeptical awaiting further/conclusive data. Seeing Jesus stand before you may not cause all doubt to be erased immediately and I believe that this is alright with Jesus, He understands it as natural as long as is is not outright unconvincable denial; everyone comes to believe at different rates. Once on-board, occasion to doubt doesn't vanish either. To know however that our Christ is always with us and that all power is given Him in heaven and earth is of great great comfort. Doubt can be caused by fear, doubt can be caused by tribulation or the sudden death of a loved one. It is in these times most of all that for us to Love God and others (which is the the whatsoever He has commanded) as He has loved us and given Himself for us (even our enemies) that our doubts subside by faithful obedience. The faith of our Lord is always of great comfort to us and He wants it to be that way. With that comfort comes the power to pursue even this Great Commission. And with the power given to Him all things are to be gathered back unto Him to which we perform our obedience. Therein is the true worship even to the end of this world!
July8 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:1:5-25 THE BAPTIST - It must be noted how God is operating here with one man privately; big plans are coming to life, millenniums of preparation, Israel and mankind's redeemer, prophecies ripe and ready for the picking. There are ways that God could have made this much more public, worked within the system, flooded Israel with prophets, brought more witnesses and leaders into the game plan. God chooses to send Gabriel into the alter room alone, isolated from anyone else. The spread of the word from there is based on the public's reaction to a muted Zacharias. God seldom acts in conventional more recognizable/accepted forms. His reasons are manifold though mysterious. Add this sense to the time elapsed by generations of this plan kjv@Matthew:1, we see God working in a size and shape and scope no one fully understands or expects. The faith of our Lord challenges every man made convention and establishes a convention all its own.
September3 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@Luke:12:49-53 BUT RATHER DIVISION - Okay.. Let us size up the human heart. Jesus the Son of God comes, dies for our sins, raises the third day fulfilling all prophecy, ascends with the stamp of approval from the Father, fills our heart with His forgiveness and His Holy Spirit, heaven and earth and life and death there for the choosing. Everyone jumps on board, right? Wrong! As John would later say "the light came into the darkness" "they loved the darkness rather than the light". Let us size up the human mind. Jesus teaches through simple parable the mysteries of God, reveals the plan and will of God, one need only the mind of a child to understand. Every one understands, right? Wrong! As Paul later said "the cross of Jesus is utter foolishness to the wise of this world". What then shall we conclude is the state of man's heart? One psalmist asks "Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing" (see kjv@Psalms:2). The prophet asks "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?" (kjv@Isaiah:53). Peter states "think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you". Jesus does not seek to be at peace with (tolerate/excuse) man's evil heart, He seeks to cleanse and restore it and while that is happening there "will" be sharp division. Can you think of one other single division any sharper? If three out of five family members do not want His operation on their hearts, three out of five are going to be belligerent to the two that do. If three out of five academics have disdain for the beautiful logic contained, three are going to belittle the two. If three of five nations regard the gospel of Jesus a blasphemous corruption of Mohamed's holy truth, three will war against two. The faith of our Lord is not in a peace here and now, the human heart is in no condition for such peace; peace then is not the first objective. The faith of our Lord is in all of this putrid rottenness being being flushed out, painfully/shamefully exposed, being proven ill, allowed it's full degenerate course; that it be used to prove and purify His follower's sincerity and faith; that at His triumphant second coming all wickedness be once and for all judged and put to end. Then and only then will the human heart be transformed and ready. Then comes His intended and planned for peace!
November30 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:12:12-19 THY KING COMETH - It had been said that "no man taketh" the Sons's life that He "gladly giveth it". The Sanhedrin watched on powerless and self defeated. The disciples watched on not understanding. The effect of the raising of Lazarus is stunning even months latter. The part of the crowd that awaited waited to see what blessing the miracle man would bless them with next. The part of the crowd that had followed Him in were following expecting Him to be their King immediately just as a year before (and Jesus had refused). A part of the crowd gathering just to not to miss a good commotion. Jesus on the one hand, the perceivable side was boldly defying the Sanhedrin and political elite. On the other hand, the one not to be understood till after, He was giving Himself over to His death; not by anyone's power but His own. Hosanna is to say "Come save". Only He at this point understands what to "save" means and from what. "He that comes in the name of the Lord" is taken by the crowds in many different ways as well; only He knows from just how far He has come and for what. He has come and entered in and it will take days before anyone in power will know what they are going to do. They won't know till it walks up to them in the form of a betrayal. The faith of our Lord is that in the weeks after to come the true understanding will closely follow. There wont be the understanding actually until it walks up and fills the room in the form of tongues of fire, The Holy Ghost. It will walk up to us because of Him, the one who freely gave His life that we might live. It will draw us in because of Him, the one that took Life back. This is for our salvation and that is our King and that will be the fold of His kingdom. THY KING COMETH... COME SAVE.
December31 @ @ rRandyP comments: mFaithOfJesus kjv@John:21:15-25 FOLLOW ME - Two of our favorite personalities of the bible Peter and John face the ultimate question in our final passage. Peter is asked directly by Jesus "do you love me". John reports to us from a curious distance. Three times Peter is asked and what could he honestly say? What could any of us say? Peter just a week or so ago had denied Jesus three times. Peter has learned first hand of the often cloudy climate of intention and misguided result within our hearts. So must we. Jesus twice is asking however if Peter loves with the "agape" that Jesus loves him with. With much thought Peter admits that he loves Him more like a brother. Could any of us truly respond rather in the affirmative? Peter answers with naked honesty. I don't know whether John understands at this point either. He writes some sixty years later with much introspection addressing himself simply as "the one Jesus loved"; perhaps the best answer of all. We love Jesus best we can because He first loves us best that anyone can, in so doing He teaches us what it means to be agape loved. Any agape form of love we have is solely a reflection of the love with which He has always loved us. Peter is asked the third time "do you love me then like you say as a brother"? Taking the inquiry a step further, do any of us even know what the brotherly form of love is all about? Could we know without first knowing His agape love? Jesus here presents these questions to Peter further as a "if/then" conditional statement. It is almost better translated "if you feed on My agape then feed My agape to My other sheep as well". We easily fall into the trap of thinking that it is our love that we are to show and so too we forget that we are all His sheep; our love/our (or scattered disassociated) sheep/our feeding. His sheep need fed His agape not the mere human resemblance of it. If we have any resemblance of love of our own for Jesus we would know this. This ties into the notion of abiding fully in His love and therein/thereby producing fruit. The moment we step out of that love into a lesser forms of love from our own reserve our fruitfulness withers detached from the vine. It also ties into the notion that we are to crucify our former self daily as a living sacrifice being transformed by the renewing of our minds, as much of our mind is going about doing our own forms of love and not His. Couldn't the question be interpreted "I know from which love you love me by the love with which you are feeding my sheep"? Peter's love one day will become sacrificial and will glorify this very Savior, not to confuse it with the Saviors though. It will remain within the agape love Jesus has shown all men. In Peter's case it matters not what the other men like John will be called to do because it all is the working of the Lord's agape. We are compelled by the agape love of Christ to freely partake and distribute of said agape to the benefit of all His children. The faith our Lord is that we can come to know His agape love and that it is His agape love will can be presented and distributed to all men world wide. It is often best combined with our more agape infused brotherly forms of love as that is what we are more generally suited to produce. However, it must always be the focus of His agape not our forms for that is where all credit truly lays. The honor of fielding His banner into the unknown territories is the greatest form of due respect to Him possible. It is an honor men like Peter and John and others have followed and for some even died for.
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