Eyewitnesses

Among the many highly valuable things I've learned by watching cop shows is the fact that investigators love an eyewitness. Other than DNA and the ability to track people through their cell phone GPS radios, the eyewitness is the most ubiquitous plot device there is.

There's a reason for that: Everyone knows that the best way to understand something is to talk to someone who was there. That's why reporters and police alike search for eyewitnesses.

I often forget this fact and undervalue the treasure we have in the Bible. You can get a couple of talking heads on a History Channel special debating if a certain Bible story ever happened; isn't it better to consult Moses or Isaiah or Peter, who was actually there and saw it with his own eyes.

So this morning, I was convicted again when I read 2 Peter 1:16-18: "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.' We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain."

I am so often attracted to the glib speaker or polish writer who tells me what scripture says. I like my R. C. Sprouls and Chuck Swindolls and C. S. Lewises. But even the best modern parable is a "cleverly invented story." 

Peter is anything but glib or polished. Peter is blunt, a blue-collar witness for a working world. But he was an eyewitness; he heard the voice from heaven because he was on the sacred mountain with Jesus. 

It's another reminder that there is no substitute for reading scripture. I wonder why I need so many of them?

Reminders

 2 Peter 1:12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

After 11 verses of talking about God's promises, our knowledge, and how we can participate in our own sanctification, Peter says something interesting. In effect, he says, "I know you already know these things, but I'm going to repeat them anyway." Why? Peter wants to leave a legacy. Peter is aging, and life as a fisherman has meant hard use of his body. He knows his time will come, and he says he expects it soon. 

So Peter's intent is to repeat himself so much that when he's gone, these crucial teachings will be remembered. Folks will say, "Peter always said . . . " Or maybe, they won't remember where they heard it but when the time comes, they'll know.

More than that, hopefully habits will remain. Peter encourages knowledge augmented by Christian virtues. His reminders probably induced more than one person to study and have daily devotions, and those habits would linger.

That's good news for parents, who repeat the same things over and over again with little apparent result. It's encouraging for pastors, too, for the same reason. 

And it's encouraging to me, on both sides. For one thing, I want to take Peter's words to heart, to be a part of his legacy of knowledgable believers. But I also feel strengthened to keep being a voice crying (or writing) in the wilderness, repeating over and over the great good news even if most days it seems these words vanish into the void. 

Peter sets a great example: I will continue to remind you of what you already know, so that you will remember it.

Never fall

 Peter continues to build his chain of logic, starting verse 10 of 2 Peter 1 with the word "Therefore" - substitute "Because of what I just said." And remember, he started the chapter by saying knowlege of God's promises gives us everything we need to live obediently, and if we add spiritual virtues - he listed 7 - to our knowledge, we'll be effective in pursuing holiness. 

Ande then, the sentence right before this one, he says without that you're like a blind man who forgot where His salvation came from.

So, because of that, he says, ". . . my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:10-11).

By God's grace, Paul says, I have the tools. I know what I need to do. To avoid the corruption caused by my sinful desires (v 4) and to avoid stumbling through life like a blind man, I should be eager to secure my place in the kingdom. Eager . . . Hmm, is that a good adjective for my pursuit of holiness?

At first this sounds like works-based salvation: do this, be saved. But the surety referred to in verse 10 is the surety of God's promises, I think. If we take these steps, we'll stay plugged into God's power, and if we do that, we can't fail. We will never fall, because God Himself will hold us.

And when the time comes, our first experience after death will be a "rich welcome" into heaven. All those pictures of soldiers coming home to their families from the war? It'll be something like that.

Every effort

 When someone starts a sentence with "For this reason," then you'd better take what they say next in the context of what they just said. Peter starts 2 Peter 1:5 with those words, so remember that verse 4 says if we live by the promises of God we'll be able to escape the corrupting influences of this world.

With that in mind, Peter says, "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins." (2 Peter 1:5-9 ).

Because we want to be holy, Peter says, we need to work at it. Make every effort, he says. Not just a little effort. Not just some effort sometimes. Every effort, he says, which means if there's one more thing I haven't tried yet, I need to do that too.

We need to build on the faith we have, Peter says, by working hard to add this list of spiritual fruits. I once based a year's worth of church council devotions on these virtues. An interesting exercise: Ask, "What specifically would have made the people I met today call me . . . " and insert the characteristic. Would they call me good? Or self-controlled? Hmmm . . .

Remember, to start this book Peter said that knowledge of God's promises gives us everything we need to live right (see previous post "Everything").  Now Peter says (v8) that we need this laundry list of virtues or we will be "ineffective and unproductive" in our knowledge. In other words, just knowing won't do the trick.

So, in addition to knowing my Bible, I have a daily assignment to become more of each of these seven things. Without them, Peter says, I'll stumble around like a blind man, probably because I won't see the world like the Creator does.

Everything

It's one of my favorite passages:

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

I have everything I need for life and godliness. I have everything I need to participate in Jesus' divine nature and escape the corruption caused by my evil desires. Everything.

Everything comes from one source: knowledge. You expected me to say faith or hope or trust, didn't you? Or maybe to say God. But Peter says God gives me what I need through my knowledge of Him.

Why? Because God in his glory and goodness gave us, through the scriptures and through our pastors and parents and all those Sunday School teachers we didn't pay enough attention to, a lot of promises. If we know those promises, we have everything we need.

That's true because of who made those promises: The God who made the world, the one who made me. The God who not only is all-powerful and can do anything, but the God who loves me and wants to do what is good for me. He promised, and He can. Nothing will stop Him.

Those promises have the world's only completely iron-clad guarantee. Your insurance policy promises to cover you except for acts of God. God's promises are acts of God, and I'll bet He covers acts of insurance, or lack thereof.

Of course, sometimes I forget the promises, or I don't know the right one for the circumstances. That's why Peter zeroes in on knowledge. To trust God you have to know Him, and to know Him you have to know your Bible.

The Cliff Notes version: Read your Bible, and you'll grow holier. Not rocket science, but, considering most of us spend less than five minutes a day doing it, worth the reminder.

Precious Faith

 Peter begins his second letter this way: "Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." (2 Peter 1:1-2).

It occurred to me that Peter literally is writing this to me. It's like one of those letters a Grandpa writes to his newborn grandson, intending him to read it as an adult. Peter addresses his letter to the people who have been granted that precious faith in Jesus that only God can give. That's me.

Peter didn't know it would be me, so this isn't a personal letter. But Peter knew that his letter would be read by a lot of Christians he didn't know and would never meet. He didn't know his letter would become part of our Bible, but he did know it would be passed around.

So, today, I'm going to take Peter's opening blessing as my own. I will live today at peace, feeling God's grace and showing it to others, because I know that God loves me and that Jesus lives.

It's your blessing too. Don't waste it.

Greetings

I often wonder why God chose to use so many letters to communicate to us. And I wonder why, when those letters were canonized in scripture, all of the greetings, openings and closings were included.

Peter's first letter is no exception. He closes this way: "With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ." (1 Peter 5:12-14).

The close to Peter's first letter does a few things. First, he shares credit for the letter with Silas; that's a way of building Silas's credibility should he ever minister in the churches where the readers worshipped.

Second, he recaps his purpose: To encourage the Christians and remind them of the reality of God's grace in providing a Savior.

Third, he exhorts them one more time to stand fast in the faith - more encouragement.

And then he passes along greetings from others, an un-named Babylonian woman and Peter's son.

The final words are a blessing.

So, take it all together and I think this is a wonderful example of what Christian fellowship is all about. Build each other up, encourage one another, forge and strengthen the bonds between us, and bless each other with words and deeds.

That must have seemed pretty radical to converted Jews, whose worship community was built on the simple fact of who was ceremonially clean and who wasn't, and who expected to correct problems by killing animals. It also must have seemed radical to pagans, whose worship was all about the demands of their false god.

Is it radical to me? Not really; I see this kind of thing go on in my church all the time. But do I do it myself? Sometimes. But honesty compels me to admit, sometimes not.

Timing

My time will come.

There will be a day when my struggle with sin maybe isn't over, but is easier. When temptation hardly tempts. When my devotion to God is unwavering. But not yet.

When? Only God knows; what I do know is there is pain yet to come. In 1 Peter 5:10, Peter writes, "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

After I have suffered a little while, God's going to make me strong and steadfast. That doesn't sound so bad, except for one thing: I'm not given a good unit of measure for my allotted time of suffering. What's "a little while" to me can seem like a long time to my grandkids; for God, who exists outside of time, I suspect the question is much more complicated than how many minutes or hours or days.

What I do know is that I will suffer the exact right amount. God's timing is perfect; He won't quit before I'm done, but He won't prolong things one second beyond what's necessary for my spiritual development. Not knowing is probably part of the spiritual maturation process; you need faith if you can't see what's coming or even know if it's good or bad.

It's a good thing I don't control the timing. I'm convinced that not only do I learn quicker than everyone else, but also that I don't need to be taught as many things. I'd find a shortcut, for sure, and would only hurt myself.

 Maybe that's why Peter follows with verse 11: "To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."

Roaring Lion

The Army used to use the term "imminent danger" to describe any situation where something bad could be lurking around the next corner. Sometimes you could see the bad thing; sometimes you just knew it was out there somewhere.

The few times in my military career I found myself in imminent danger taught me some things. For one thing, unless you have to, you don't go looking for it. In fact, you avoid it if you can, and hope it doesn't find you.

Second, when you're aware there's something nearby that can and likely wants to hurt you, you start being really careful. You pay attention. You move cautiously. You look at everything. You get your business done as quickly as you can and then skedaddle back to safety.

I wonder, then, why I can be so casual about sin? After all, Peter tells us. "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:8-9). If that doesn't sound like imminent danger, I don't know what does.

Self-controlled and alert is a good description of an infantry squad on patrol in Helmund Province, or a team of firefighters entering a burning building, or police responding to a domestic disturbance call. Those folks are ready; they've practiced what to do if things go bad, they have drills memorized that allow for instantaneous reaction, and they're watching.

And that's how I should be, each day but especially when I approach those tempting danger spots. The devil wants to eat my soul, and I need to be ready to resist and stand firm should I encounter him. I should memorize the scriptures I'm going to use, and think through in advance how I'll defend myself. And, if the moment comes, I should act immediately, in that first second, without thinking or hesitating.

Imminent danger has a certain feel; you kind of know when you're heading someplace that isn't good. I think the same thing is true of sin; we can tell when we're getting close. We can sense when a few more mouse clicks or one more flirtateous comment or one more drink is going to invite badness. When we feel that, we need to turn around and run, just like we would if we heard a lion roaring.

Because the best defense is to guard against getting into a defensive situation at all.

Humility

1 Peter 5:5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

You'd think humility would be a lot easier for me than it is.

After all, look at me. If not daily, then certainly multiple times a week I repeat sins I swore I was done with. At least that often, I fail to do things I decided I need to do. I miss devotions often enough to feel guilty about it; I sneak sweets, skip my workouts, forget to floss. Or, sometimes, remember I should floss and decide not to anyway. And, I've seen me in my underwear.

Yeah, I have overwhelming cause for humility.

How can it be, then, that I struggle with it so much? The first thing I thought when I read the above passage from 1 Peter was, "Glad I'm not a young man anymore." I didn't like that word "submit." But Peter doesn't let me off the hook: "All of you," he says, leaving no room for misunderstanding.

God opposes the proud; I know that. This isn't the first time I've read it, yet I can be awfully proud. Other than peacocks, few are as prone to pride as men at the peak of their careers. As if I did it all myself.

But God, in His grace, gets my attention once in a while with things I can't control or take credit for. When he does that, I remember that I am nothing without Him. I remember, too, that I can't serve Him faithfully without my brothers and sisters alongside me. It makes me want to apologize for my inattention, my pride, my self-centeredness.

I guess that's a kind of humility. It's a start.

Elders

Confession time: I hated being an elder. I've served two terms now, and I struggled through both. And I wonder if that fact itself calls into question my fitness to be an elder.

Peter has pretty clear directions for elders: "To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." (1 Peter 5:1-4).

Be shepherds of the flock, serving not because I must, but because I am willing . . . But I'm not. I wasn't. And today that fact shames me, because Peter notes that God wants me to be willing. There's no escaping it: My attitude towards being an elder disappoints God, because I am the least willing elder you'll find.

I could bore you with my reasons (long, ineffective meetings; an archaic, non-functional governance system; the tendency to reverse past councils' work and the accompanying knowledge that some future council will just reverse ours). None of that matters.

God's people need leaders. I'm good at it; I've led thousands of people over my life, soldiers, employees and volunteers. I even do leadership training and mentoring. I'm God's man, He gifted me to lead, He wants me to do it and do it willingly. I do it, but with less enthusiasm than Archer at bedtime, and about the same amount of noisy complaining.

There's some small comfort in the rest of this passage: I don't think I lorded it over anyone, I wasn't greedy, I tried to be a good example. But I did it all because I felt coerced to do it, not because I wanted to.

I wonder if more people feel that way, about serving on council, or teaching Sunday School, or organizing the Angel Tree ministry? I hope not; if they do then we're a church full of miserable people.

If God wants me to serve again as elder, I will. I have between now and the time I'm asked to figure out how to do it willingly. Serving God in any task is a privilege; being entrusted to lead His people is a high honor. And grudging service brings no glory to God.

Suffering

We used to say in the Army that you don't have to practice being miserable -- you'll be able to do it when the time comes. That's a way of expressing what we all think, that there's not a lot of point to suffering. But isn't there?

Hey, Peter says. So you have trials? You think that's abnormal? Well, guess what. "Dear friends," he says, "do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." (1 Peter 4:12-13).

Everyone will suffer in this world, and, despite what prosperity theology proponents say, Christians might suffer more than most. In fact, Peter says in the following verses, you'll likely be insulted at least, and expect more than that. But hey, he says, if you're going to suffer anyway, it's best not to do it for some crime, but instead for the glory of God.

We read in other places in scripture that suffering builds our faith, and it's true that faith must be tested to truly be faith. But another purpose of suffering is that we demonstrate that faith by remaining true to God, so that He is glorified by it.

So, while we don't have to volunteer to suffer, neither should we fear it. God will be with us; we'll be fine. We can take it, and it's to His glory that we do.

Peter gives us the right response, in verse 19: "So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." Keep doing what you were doing, even though it has temporarily brought you suffering. Keep your commitments to God; you know He'll keep His to you.

Above All . . Love

Above all . . . It's an interesting phrase. It means more than anything else; it means higher than anything else. Nothing is more important or should receive more attention.

So when Peter uses this phrase, after 4-plus chapters of amazing insight and guidance, I pay attention to what's next. And what's next is . . . Love.

1 Peter 4:8: "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

Hmmm . . . Whose sins? Mine? If I love my brothers and sisters deeply, does that hide or minimize my own sins? If so, is that just the sins I commit against that person, or any sins? It makes some sense to me that my loving behavior toward, say, my wife would counter-balance some of the sins I commit against her.

But maybe my loving behavior will cover the other person's sins. Maybe love enables me to overlook the bad in someone and see only the good. Maybe by loving them, I make their sins not matter, in the sense that those sins will not result in broken fellowship among the believers.

I think both are probably true. I think we have no idea how powerful love really is, for both the giver and receiver.

Peter gives some great advice on how to love (vv 9-11): "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

Note the end of the passage, the reason: so that in all things, God may be praised. The sole purpose of anything we do, even our love, is that God be glorified. We will sin, but if we can love each other anyway, our fellowship remains unbroken, the family of God remains strong, and He is glorified. 

Clear-minded

1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

The verses just preceding this one warned not to go along with worldy pressure - Peter told us it was time to be done with sin. Here he gives a reason, and it's literally the end of the world. All things will pass, he says, and then whatever we've invested here on earth will be worth nothing.

Therefore - because of that fact - I am challenged to be clear minded and self-controlled. 

A clear mind is necessary for sound reasoning and good conclusions and decisions. Without a clear mind, I won't be able to discern the things of the Spirit. With a clear mind, I will be able to see temptation for the bad bargain it really is.

Knowing the right choice doesn't help me, though, if I don't do the right thing. That's where self-control comes in. Self control enables me to say no to bad things, and to discipline myself to do the right things.

So I need a clear mind to know what's right, and self-control to do it. It's a critically important thing, because something precious depends on it: my ability to pray.

The connection isn't completely clear to me, but here's what I think it means: If my mind is clouded by sinful thinking, and I indulge myself in whatever worldly thing catches my fancy, I won't be able to pray according to God's will. I'll pray about things that are unimportant, and I'll ask for things God won't grant. God's wisdom will seem like foolishness to me, and I'll think my own foolishness to be wisdom.

So, a clear mind and self-control - without them praying is just wasted breath. Looks like a good New Year's goal to me.

For This Reason

It's time to quit.

Peter says (1 Peter 4:3) "For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do–living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry."

For Christ-followers, the time has come to be done with sin. Enough time has been wasted already, going the wrong direction, doing things that only take me farther from God. That's what unbelievers do, and it's what they'll pressure me to do: "They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you." (v4)

Peer pressure, in this world, will be to sin. It's that invitation to go for drinks after work on Friday. It's the suggestion that I already pay too much in taxes, so cutting corners on my return is a good idea. It's the water cooler talk that bashes bosses and the buddy talk that bashes wives. It's the approval given to those who make fun of the weak, who take advantage of the slow, and who cut with sarcasm instead of nurture with kindness.

And if I don't go along, the world will mock, Peter says. And oh, how I hate being mocked.

But there's a good reason to heed Peter on this, and it's found in verses 5&6: "But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit."

So it's time for me to think before I do what the world does. Those movies look like a lot of fun, and so do the parties. A little fling can look harmless, especially if no one finds out. Focusing on building wealth is only pragmatic. At least, if I think like the world does. 

But Peter says it's time to stop trying to fit in. It's time to quit living as though this life were the point. It isn't, and if I want eternity to mean anything at all, it's time to be done with a lot of things.

Done with Sin

Oh, how I would love to be done with sin.

Peter tells us (1 Peter 4:1-2), "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God."

Today, I'm suffering in my body. My back is killing me. Partly old injury, partly too much sitting and not enough activity lately, partly something I lifted wrong, but the pain is constant. But I don't think that's what Peter is talking about when he says if I suffer in my body I could be done with sin. My self-pity seems to rule that out.

Maybe he means that if we can discipline ourselves to accept physical hardship, it will enable us to have the discipline to resist temptation. I used to tell young people, my kids included, that discipline is simply the ability to make yourself do, or not do, something. So a physical fitness routine is a good way to develop self-discipline.

But even that seems too easy. I think maybe there's a clue in the phrase "same attitude." Christ's attitude was one of love and self-sacrifice. So there's something about physical suffering done out of love and self-sacrifice that will enable me to be done with sin.

I confess that I don't really get it - this needs more thought. There's value, though, in the reminder that this Christian walk is something that will take work, and there will be some pain involved. There's a reason that the words "disciple" and "discipline" are as closely linked as they are.

This year, as I try to make progress on my own sanctification, I need to watch for my tendency to like things easy. Walking with God will be many things - joyous, rewarding, uplifting - but over the long haul I shouldn't expect it to be easy.