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– Samuel Wells, Power and Passion: Six Characters in Search of Resurrection (eBook)[In Matthew 16:13-18] Jesus turns and asks, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And the disciples talk about John, Elijah, Jeremiah - all of them prophets who proclaimed repentance and judgement. “But who do you say that I am?” says Jesus. You can imagine the silence. Then Peter says, “You are the anointed king Israel has been waiting for for 500 years. You are the very presence of God among us. You are the one who will restore the intimate companionship of God and his people.” And Jesus blesses Peter and says, “Peter, you didn’t discover this for yourself - it was God who gave you the vision to see what you have seen and say what you have said.”
Against the backdrop of pagan religion, Roman domination, and Jewish collaboration, Peter names Jesus as the embodiment of God’s purposes for his people, and Jesus names Peter as the rock on which the new form of companionship with God will be founded. Peter says, “Israel, God’s people, will never be the same again.” Jesus says, “Neither will you, Peter.”
So much for 2,000 years ago. What does this story mean for our contemporary culture? … The farther we get from the messianic expectation of the first century, the bigger Peter’s claim about Jesus seems to become. Where Peter would have said “Jews,” we would say “everyone”. Where Peter might have said “people,” we would say “all creation”. Where Peter might have said “world,” we would say “universe”. Where Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” we might say, “You are the epicenter of the universe, the purpose of creation, the meaning of existence, the bond that joins humanity to God forever”…
If this story tells us exactly who Jesus is for us today, then it also tells us what the church is. The church is still Peter. That is, the church is a fragile people inspired by God to speak the truth about Jesus. Peter spoke the truth about Jesus; so does the church. But Peter was not infallible. Neither is the church. If Peter spoke the truth, it was because God inspired his words; so it is for the church. Peter was sometimes stupid, selfish, scared, and just plain wrong; so is the church. But Jesus chose Peter. And Jesus still chooses the church. Who are we to differ?
Fallible and clumsy it may sometimes be, but the church will never be overcome by death or evil. So long as it continues to live as a fragile people inspired by God to speak the truth about Jesus, the church will never be extinguished by evil or death. The best football matches leave the spectators on the edge of their seats till the last nail-biting minute, with the result in the balance. But reality isn’t a football cliffhanger. We already know the result. God wins. The gates of Hades may look pretty dangerous, and they may hurt… but they don’t win. That’s the gospel.
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– Douglas Connelly, Amazing Discoveries That Unlock the BibleMore than 200 flood legends have been found in cultures all over the world. The legends are so numerous and from such diverse cultures that they could not have been simply copied from each other. Furthermore, the legends were recorded long before missionaries brought any knowledge of the biblical account of the flood to these cultures. (The account is preserved accurately in Genesis 6-9.)
James Perloff makes some startling comparisons: In 95 percent of the more than 200 flood legends, the flood was worldwide; in 88 percent a certain family was chosen to survive; in 70 percent survival was by means of a boat or raft; in 67 percent animals were also saved; in 66 percent the flood was due to human sin and wickedness; and in 57 percent the boat came to rest on a mountain.
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Scripture teaches us that life is not about feeling good or being happy; rather, it is about growth: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2 ). The tap on the shoulder, if you will, is God commissioning us boomers for a work to be performed in this part of the twenty-first century. It isn’t, however, only about loving and caregiving for our aging parents, instructing and guiding our adult children, or even learning how to cope with resources stretched to the maximum. It is about our growing into the image of Christ and learning how to be his people, eager to do his will.
– Terry Hargrave, Boomers on the Edge: Three Realities That Will Change Your Life Forever -
Let’s face it. Conflict is inevitable. After all, it takes very little for the fur to fly in most marriages. We end up arguing about silly little things: “Who took my pen?” Or “You just passed a parking space right there!” Such seemingly innocuous questions and statements, when augmented with a particular attitude, can ignite a major blowout. It’s almost unavoidable. We can’t eliminate conflict completely—not if we are being authentic with our feelings. But empathy can reduce conflict’s lifespan and minimize its negative impact. How does empathy do this for us? By trading in the blame game for positive solutions.
– Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott, Trading Places: The Best Move You’ll Ever Make in Your Marriage -
God designs the soul of a man for adventures and exploits. In doing so, God calls him to a life of discipleship in his career and ministry (Matthew 16:24; 28:19). Yet, if a man has a family, God also calls him to be a Christ-like husband ( Ephesians 5:23) and a spiritual leader and teacher of his children ( Proverbs 22:6). We seem bent on pitting these callings against each other, like boxers in a ring. But, as long as all of them are ordained by God, they should do more than just coexist, but actually thrive together. Each calling is meant to be a single thread, interwoven into the common fabric of a man’s adventure.
– Rich Wagner, The Expeditionary Man: The Adventure a Man Wants, the Leader His Family Needs -
The Wall Street Journal reported that less than one in three kids eats an evening meal with both parents. While you might feel tempted to think that the family dinner exists as an old-fashioned institution like sock hops and soda shops, consider this: the same Journal article cited statistics from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse that teens from families that almost never eat dinner together are seventy-two percent more likely than an average teenager to use illegal drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol.
– David Staal, Words Kids Need to Hear: To Help Them Be Who God Made Them to Be -
– New Men’s Devotional BibleWhen you boil life down to the nubbies, the name of the game is change. Those who flex with the times refuse to be rigid, resist the mold and reject the rut—ah, those are the souls distinctively used by God. To them, change is a challenge, a fresh breeze that flows through the room of routine and blows away the stale air of sameness.
Stimulating and invigorating as change may be—it is never easy. Before you get all jazzed about some quick and easy change you plan to carry out, better read that sentence again. Changes are especially tough when it comes to certain habits that haunt and harm us. That kind of change is excruciating—but it isn’t impossible. Change—real change—takes place slowly. In first gear, not overdrive (see Romans 12:1-21).
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Here, I believe, is the fundamental clue to understanding conversation with God. When we raise our concerns to God, we stand by him and look with him toward people and problems that we care about mutually. When we turn our eyes toward him, we say out loud our love and appreciation, just as we look toward our oldest and dearest friends and tell them how we care for them, though they already know it. We confess to God what we are and what we have done, which he knows all about. We express our faith in him. We thank him for who he is and what he has done for us. None of this is news to him, but all of this draws us together.
– Tim Stafford, Personal God: Can You Really Know the One Who Made the Universe? -
Faith is essentially the practice of trust. And our routine failure to properly trust an infinitely wise God reveals something of our own perversity. We all desire to control our circumstances, and faith is a surrendering of that control. So we naturally tend to rebel against faith. But God graciously counteracts this tendency by nurturing us. Like a good parent, he consistently demonstrates his love. And we, like kids, must trust him on this basis.
– James S. Spiegel, Gum, Geckos, and God: A Family’s Adventure in Space, Time, and Faith -
In his final prayer (see John 17:1-26 ), Jesus prayed that his disciples would experience the full measure of his joy—now. He prayed for us to have his joy in the middle of rush-hour traffic, screaming kids, and a darkening world. He doesn’t want us to wait for heaven to be full of joy. Jesus’ joy has a divine purpose; to reveal him. He desires to fill us with overflowing joy, to proclaim his victory to the world over life’s worse conditions—even in the face of hurricanes, plagues, terrorism, and nuclear disaster.
– New Women’s Devotional Bible
