"....Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts."
(2 Peter 3:3, from today's reading-- as always)
The word for, "lusts," can also mean, "passionate longing, eagerness for." The NIV says, "....following their own evil desires." Be encouraged today, my friend: "Scoffers," are driven by, "evil desires"; never doubt that. Their attack on you has nothing to do with intellectualism. Those who rail on us because we are Followers of Jesus are not smarter than us. Rather, "their own evil desires," rule. You and I are allowing, "The Word of God, to rule.
"Desires," will ultimately reveal a person and/or "ministry" rather than preaching, writing, "doctrinal stance." This is where the Biblical command to, "Make every effort to...be holy," becomes lifesaving. "....Without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is...like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance.....Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done." This will bring upon us, "the fear of the Lord," perhaps more than any other reality, "....he could not change what he had done."
Life is a heart matter. This is the reason the Blessed Trinity says in the Scripture, "My son, give me your heart." This is why Jesus said, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed[s] evil...." We can observe/see preaching, teaching, missions, giving to the poor, prayer "watches," etc. The heart, however, can hide, "a multitude of sins." After David descended into adultery and murder, he desperately cried, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Notice in the Hebrew passage quoted above that a, "bitter root root grows up to cause trouble...." We have heard the statement, "Get to the root of the matter," also stated as, "Get to the heart of the matter." This is exactly what our Lord Jesus taught which so upset the religious people.
Some deepest maladies are in that, "bitter root." If it, "grows up," it will surely, "cause trouble." What religious people of the First Century who encountered Jesus had allowed to "slip through" their religion was the heart. Yet what Jesus was teaching about the heart, "....from within, out of the heart of men," was not new. It pervades the Old Testament. It is always easier for religious people walk in the "without" than the, "within." The world system is driven by what man sees, and cares nothing for what comes, "out of the heart." This is the main reason Bill Clinton is still the most popular former American President in Europe. You and I are driven by what we cannot "see," by that which is, "from within.... Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day....We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that You can deal with, "the inward man." Amen.
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Berlin Mission: October 5-27, 2016
(2 Peter 3:3, from today's reading-- as always)
The word for, "lusts," can also mean, "passionate longing, eagerness for." The NIV says, "....following their own evil desires." Be encouraged today, my friend: "Scoffers," are driven by, "evil desires"; never doubt that. Their attack on you has nothing to do with intellectualism. Those who rail on us because we are Followers of Jesus are not smarter than us. Rather, "their own evil desires," rule. You and I are allowing, "The Word of God, to rule.
"Desires," will ultimately reveal a person and/or "ministry" rather than preaching, writing, "doctrinal stance." This is where the Biblical command to, "Make every effort to...be holy," becomes lifesaving. "....Without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is...like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance.....Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done." This will bring upon us, "the fear of the Lord," perhaps more than any other reality, "....he could not change what he had done."
Life is a heart matter. This is the reason the Blessed Trinity says in the Scripture, "My son, give me your heart." This is why Jesus said, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed[s] evil...." We can observe/see preaching, teaching, missions, giving to the poor, prayer "watches," etc. The heart, however, can hide, "a multitude of sins." After David descended into adultery and murder, he desperately cried, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Notice in the Hebrew passage quoted above that a, "bitter root root grows up to cause trouble...." We have heard the statement, "Get to the root of the matter," also stated as, "Get to the heart of the matter." This is exactly what our Lord Jesus taught which so upset the religious people.
Some deepest maladies are in that, "bitter root." If it, "grows up," it will surely, "cause trouble." What religious people of the First Century who encountered Jesus had allowed to "slip through" their religion was the heart. Yet what Jesus was teaching about the heart, "....from within, out of the heart of men," was not new. It pervades the Old Testament. It is always easier for religious people walk in the "without" than the, "within." The world system is driven by what man sees, and cares nothing for what comes, "out of the heart." This is the main reason Bill Clinton is still the most popular former American President in Europe. You and I are driven by what we cannot "see," by that which is, "from within.... Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day....We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that You can deal with, "the inward man." Amen.
*************************
Berlin Mission: October 5-27, 2016
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
