Inside Out Living

I was reading in Luke 5 this morning about when Jesus called Peter and James and John to be his disciples. I was quite interested in Jesus' response to Peter, after Peter realized that he was in the presence of the Lord.

At the start of this account, Peter, a fisherman didn't fully understand who Jesus was, even though in the previous chapter Jesus had healed his mother-in-law (Luke 4:38-41). On a side note, it could be that Peter wasn't all that thrilled that Jesus healed his mother-in-law, I don't know I am just sayin'. But now in chapter 5 Jesus does something that really gets Peter's attention. He demonstrates his power over the sea as he orchestrates the largest catch of fish that Peter has probably ever witnessed. Is there any surprise that when they are back at the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection that Peter immediately recognizes Jesus to be the stranger who told them to cast their nets on the otherside providing them with a big catch. I do find it curious that Peter appears to be more impacted by the tremendous catch of fish than by Jesus healing his mother-in-law from a bad fever. It just goes to show that catching a fish is far harder than recovering from a bad illness, not that I think that is the point of the story.

Ok, back to the point. When Peter realizes what Jesus has done, he quickly realizes who Jesus is. This presents Peter with a problem because he knows that he is a sinful human who is not fit to be in the presence of a holy God. He is probably envisioning Isaiah 6 in his mind as he realizes that he is face to face with God in the flesh. While Peter's reaction is appropriate (that is his understanding of his own sinfulness), Jesus' next statement to him reveals that Peter's sin will not prevent fellowship with Jesus.

Why does Jesus tell Peter not to be afraid? The reason he tells this to Peter is because it is not Peter's sin that will prevent him from having fellowship with God through Jesus. Now don't get me wrong here and think that I am presenting a concept of universal salvation, because I am not. Peter is fully lost in his sin and is eternally separated from God at the point that he encounters Jesus, but the point of Jesus statement is that he doesn't have to fear because his sin does not disqualify him from being able to receive salvation as a free gift.

This is because it isn't our sin that prevents us from receiving salvation, but rather it is our refusal to place our faith in Jesus that prevents us from receiving the free gift of salvation. Yes God does take sin seriously and there are eternal consequences for our sin, but the glorious message of the Bible is that Jesus has taken the consequences for our sin upon himself and that through faith we can receive the gift of eternal life.

Jesus modeled transparency to us in how He lived His life. Jesus opened himself up to His disciples and allowed them to know certain things about Him and His purpose. I do think that it is important to note that He was more transparent with some of his disciples (Peter, James, and John) than He was with the rest.

Part of living an authentic Christian life is the practice of transparency with a trusted brother or sister in Christ. Like Jesus, we need not be as transparent with all as we are with some. Transparency involves giving someone else a window into our soul where our deepest thoughts and emotions lie. Transparency leads to authenticity because, when we allow others to know us fully, we can no longer fool them with our external behavior. They know when we’re faking it because they know the real us.

Like an overhead transparency that is revealed when the light is switched on, may your life become transparent when you encounter the light of Christ.

On March 11, 2007 Morgan Tsvangirai, founder of Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change, was forced to cancel a prayer meeting because the attendees were in grave danger from riot police. Tsvangirai himself was beaten and jailed later when he attempted to visit the 40 some supporters who were arrested at the prayer gathering. Reflecting on that experience, Tsvangirai said, “Far from killing my spirit, the scars they brutally inflicted on me have re-energized me…”

For men like Tsvangirai and Mordecai, whom we read about today, the courage to stand against oppression and persecution, does not merely come from ones own internal fortitude. Rather it is in God that they find the courage to take a stand when governing authorities are in conflict with God’s will.

When you face potential persecution or humiliation for your Christian faith, may you have the courage of a Mordecai who stood up to Haaman, or of Peter and John who stood up to the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:29).

When I was in seminary, one of my professors challenged us with this question: how can the ancient prayers written in the psalms to God, be God’s Word to us today? The answer, I propose to you, is that the psalms are prophetically the prayers of Jesus, the Messiah Himself. I know this may be a different way of understanding the psalms for you, but I believe that there is sufficient biblical evidence to support this.

So, as you read through the psalms this week, I hope you enjoy some insights into the life of the Messiah by reading through the prayers of the Messiah.

Today's Devotional:

Psalm 16 is a fitting start to our study in the Psalms this week. If you read Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, you will discover that Peter quotes verse 8-11 of this psalm in Acts 2:25-28. Peter then goes on to declare that David was not writing of himself, but rather of the coming Messiah. However, we recognize that the whole psalm is in the first person, so logically we conclude all of it to prophetically be the words of the Messiah Himself.

As I read through the rest of this psalm, I am encouraged by verse three, “The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!” Have you ever considered that living a godly life is a source of joy for Jesus?

Not that living a godly life is possible on our own, but rather because of Jesus’ death and resurrection we are then able to live godly lives. No wonder it brings Him joy to see us living a godly life. It is one of the reasons He died. His joy is in seeing our lives reflect the benefit of His sacrifice. May you bring joy to God by living a godly life through the power of Christ who is in you.

The theme for this week is sacrifice. This week we are going to explore what it means for us to sacrifice. One of the key verses that will be brought up this week is Romans 12:1-2:

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind He will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”

May you, as you read this week, ponder the ways in which your life can be a living and holy sacrifice.

The last chapter of Leviticus is concerned with redeeming that which was dedicated to the Lord. The act of redemption was a major part of life for the Israelites. For the 21st century Christian it is not something we often think about. When is the last time you heard someone talk about redeeming. If anything, we use the word to speak of getting even which isn’t the biblical meaning.

Redemption is an important concept for us though, because if you are in Christ then you have been redeemed (Titus 2:13-14). You may have noticed the cost involved with redeeming in this chapter. If someone or something is going to be redeemed there is always a cost.

So if we are redeemed and if there is always a cost associated with redemption, then how are we to pay the cost? Fortunately, for you and I, Jesus paid the cost for our redemption (1 Peter 1:18-19). It is a cost far beyond what we could afford.