He Cares For You.

[1 Peter 5:7] He cares for you.

The little chipmunk is working furiously stocking up his supply for the cold winter months that are just around the corner. As I sat on the deck sipping coffee, listening to the birds sing and feeling the coolness in the air as the morning mist began to give way to the warming of the suns early morning rays; I watched him. He would run to the bird feeder and stuff his cheeks full of seeds then back down through the yard and under my neighbor’s deck! Squirrels were eating, birds were eating, and rabbits were grazing under the pines all the while as this little fellow was going on about his business. One cannot sit outside in nature very long without thinking about God. His invisible attributes are clearly seen by those things which He has created. The Scripture tells us that we are more valuable to Him than many little birds but when I observe the little creatures it is obvious that the Father is taking care of them.

Out of the group of men that Jesus chose to disciple I am always encouraged by the Apostle Peter. I even give him my last name sometimes when speaking about him because he and I share some virtues. I like to fish, he did it for a living. I speak without thinking, as did he. In his letter to the Saints, Peter could write these words with authority; He cares for you. No one knew that any better than Simon Peter. Jesus saved him from drowning, healed his sick mother-in-law, gave him nets full of fish after he had fished all night and never even got a bite, and did not have him arrested even though he cut off a guy’s ear. Peter had experience with the patience and love of Jesus but of all the things he remembered about those experiences I believe it was one of his last encounters with Him that motivated him, (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit), to put these words on the parchment; He cares for you. Peter remembered sitting around the campfire eating fish and bread days after Jesus had risen from the grave. I am sure he was hoping that Jesus had forgiven and forgot about his denial of him earlier. Jesus brought the subject up though by asking Peter if he loved Him. I believe Peter got nervous that day. I believe he thought Jesus was getting ready to give him the boot. “Depart from Me thou wicked servant,” I believe is what Peter expected to hear. What he heard though were these words: “I still care for you, Peter.” No, not verbatim, but in context. Friend, He cares for you too. In all your imperfections; warts and all; He cares for you! Always and forever; never, ever, forget that.

The Devil is a Bully

“Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” [1 Peter 5:8]

The devil is a bully. You know what a bully is and does. A bully has an inferiority complex and is insecure in their own existence so they are inclined to take their insecurities and fears and project them onto someone else. It causes a bully to feel better if someone is afraid of them rather than them having to fear someone else. So the psychologist would say. I am sure there are many reasons bullies are bullies but the motivating factor is control. They want their way and will do what it takes to try and get it. Enter the devil; not the tall skinny red figure carrying a three prong pitch fork with horns coming out of his head and a pointy tail but rather picture a bully on the playground. Now the difference in the bullies we know and him is that most bullies wanted our milk money. Satan doesn’t want our milk money but he does not want us to give it to Christ! The mission of the devil is to take from Christ what God has given Him; souls. Now the devil does not want our souls, contrary to popular belief, he just does not want Christ to have them. He does not gain anything by getting our soul; he will be destroyed in everlasting fire along with all the rest of those who have rejected Christ when all is said and done. Satan does not want Jesus to have us forever, which is why Christ died on the Cross. The devil will use any means possible to get what he wants. He wants Christ to weep over those who reject Him. The devil takes pleasure in seeing us suffer because it gives him opportunity to lie to us and tell us that there is no God. The devil uses tools such as fear and the wedge of discouragement. A roaring lion frightens its prey to the point that it shakes in its tracks or becomes confused and does not know which way to run. The devil will scare you with the thoughts of losing something; your family, your health, your wealth, and your life. When he sees a crack of doubt appear in our faith he will put the tip of his wedge of discouragement in it and begin to hammer on it. He wants us to split from Christ because he knows that’s where our security is rooted. He does his best to bully us because he hates us. He hates us because Christ loves us. He is not a force to be reckoned with but rather a real creature with influence. So, be sober and be vigilant; don’t let him confuse you and cause you to give up on Jesus. Regardless of how big or scary he may cause things to look; turn to Jesus. The devil hates Christ but has to listen to Him. You draw close to Christ and let Christ deal with the devil.

The Comforter. For Ever.

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” [John 14:16 KJV]

The words that stand out in this sentence for me are “Comforter and for ever.” For ever is a long time. Now none of us know just exactly long it is because we have never seen anything that has been around for ever. We see things that have been around longer than we have, but that still does not constitute for ever. No, my friend, for ever belongs to God. Only He understands for ever. He always is; not was or has been, but is. He did not just exist in the past and He does exist in the future; He exists, period. He is for ever, the Alpha and the Omega; He is eternal life; before we ever knew existence; He exists! Jesus said, “I Am the resurrection and the life,” when Martha said her brother would live on the last day, when the resurrection would occur. Jesus did not just exist in the past and He we do not have wait until the future for Him to exist; He is now!

The Comforter; this word is translated as friend, helper, counselor, advocate; depending on which version or translation you read. All are correct as the Holy Spirit is all these things. I call Him the Agent of Application. When I need help, He helps me to find it. When I need a friend, one that does not judge, criticize, or tell me what I want to hear; He reminds me that Jesus is with me and then He guides me into the Word. When I need advice He leads me to the Word and to the right people. I need an advocate for my sin and He comes to my rescue; He convicts (not condemns) me of my sin, testifies to me of Jesus, and helps me with repentance by interceding for me as I pray. Yeah, I would say He is The Comforter.

Now put these two paragraphs together; The Comforter for ever. Sent to me from the Father because Jesus asked Him to! Another Comforter; not a different One, just another One! Now I have two! Jesus is with me not in bodily form but in Spirit; The Holy Spirit. The Father is with me not in bodily form but in Spirit; the Holy Spirit! Not only that, but they will never leave me nor forsake me; for ever. Wow! The One who is Forever Himself now gives for ever to me; that I may be as He is! The Comforter Abides with me and He will abide with you; for ever!

Anything to Hide?

If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. [Psalm 66:18 NKJV]

In this age of information technology and social networking keeping our personal information secret is almost impossible. A good friend of mine that works on computers tells me that if I can see something on my screen, so can someone else. It is hard to hide things in airwaves. Therefore we have become pretty good in hiding our secrets. We have learned to keep our mouths shut and our thoughts to ourselves to be totally secure because no other human can actually read our thoughts.

Secret sin is the biggest issue within the Kingdom. It is nothing new as we can see from what David had to say. I saw a commercial on T.V. encouraging people to report child abuse. The actors were leading children and wearing a sign on their back that identified them as an abuser. We know they are not that easy to spot and that was the point of the whole commercial. The same applies to those who hide sin in their hearts. No one is immune; pastors, teachers, evangelists, deacons, the Pope; all have the ability to hide sin from the public eye; for a while. Sin will always find a way to surface; just like a backed up septic tank. The real danger associated with hidden sin is not the risk of someone finding it out, the real danger is not having God hear our prayers! He will not hear our prayer of repentance if we continue to regard the sin! One translation puts it this way; “If we are cozy with evil, God will not listen.” Yes, God is faithful to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness; but not until we are ready to let it go. God is not into excusing sin; He is into forgiving it. If we want Him to hear us then we first have to acknowledge our sin, confess it, and then release it.

Allow God to search your heart today just as David asked Him to do. “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” Should He reveal a sin that was tucked away in the dark corner of a closed compartment; lust, anger, hate, etc., then confess it, ask Him to forgive you, and then let it go. Allow Christ to dwell in your heart. Sin cannot live in the same heart with Jesus!