Grains of Sand

Pixabay Submission is one of those thorny aspects in Scripture that prompt, "But you don't know what I'm dealing with!" In 1 Peter 2:13-17 Peter addresses the issue of submission to authorities. He is writing to those who have been, and are being, persecuted for their faith and who may have wondered why Peter was asking them to respect and honour those who nursed hate in their hearts for all those who followed Jesus and who demanded that they recant or suffer the consequences.  " Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether it be to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will  you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, h...

oodaloop.com (Google Images) “ ‘But what about you?’ he asked, ‘Who do you say I am?’ ” (Matthew 16:15) It seems like an easy question to answer, and Simon Peter certainly answered it correctly. His response was: “ You are the Christ, the Son of the living God ” (Matthew 16:16). I can’t say whether or not this was your experience but I remember cramming for exams. I’d study diligently, packing into my brain anything I thought might be a potential question to which I could, hopefully, deliver an adequate response. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn’t. It worked enough times to guarantee graduation. The issue always was: How much actually stayed in my long-term memory after I pounded it into my short-term one? Not much. Having the right answer when the question is asked is important. But what is even more important is whether or not the right answer has a lasting impact on one’s life. Many of us can answer correctly the question that Jesus asked His disciples. Many of u...

Google Images John the Baptist gained fame along the Jordan. People came for miles around to see this eccentric wild man and to hear his message. Some came out of curiosity—and John certainly was a “curiosity.” Others came because they were waiting for the kingdom John announced. Some came to criticize and other came out of conviction. “ Repent and be baptized ” was an “in-your-face” message at the best of times, but what we find in Matthew 3:7-10 would have had the PC police knocking on John’s door (if he had had one!). The religious leaders of the day also arrived at the river’s edge and John pierced them with a steely gaze, pointed a bony finger at them, and declared: “ ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every ...

Google Images Compartmentalize. That’s a good word. It means: categorize, pigeonhole, group, classify, characterize, stereotype, label, brand; sort, rank, rate. At the top of the first landing in our church building we have a wall full of boxes. Anyone in the church who wants to, has a box assigned to them. Anything belonging to that person goes into the appropriate box. Everyone is effectively “pigeonholed.” That’s great for mail, but not so great when it comes to our spiritual well-being. We tend to compartmentalize our lives. A portion belongs to...... Another part is given to.... A third part is dedicated to.... A certain amount of this “sorting” is necessary to keep our lives as organized as the vicissitudes of life will allow. But however we compartmentalize life, there is an overriding truth that needs to be applied to every area. Here’s how John describes it: “ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoe...