1 Peter 3:8
We live our Christian lives under intense scrutiny. 1:12 – angels, 3:12, the Lord; 2:12 the world.
What astonishes the angels, delights God, and convicts the world, more than almost anything else? To see the followers of Jesus Christ living in harmony with one another.
Five qualities. Apple pie & fatherhood?
This is addressed to ‘all of you’.
1. Harmony
‘Like-mindedness’. Unity of thought, purpose and action.
It is a unity in diversity. …
Peter’s purpose in writing was to encourage persecuted Christians to stand firm in their faith, 1 Pet 5:12. Accordingly, he repeatedly reminds them of the blessings that belong to those who belong to Christ: so much so, that this letter has been called ‘the epistle of hope’. Moreover, he instructs them in the behaviour that Christians should exhibit in the midst of suffering: what kind of relationships they should have with the world in general (1 Pet 2:11f), with the state (1 Pet 2:13-17), within the home (1 Pet 2:18-3:7).…
Do you long for more in your Christian life? Paul did, Phil 3:10-14 –‘Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.’ So, evidently, did the Colossians.
False teaching in Colosse. Its general description, v8 – ‘hollow and deceptive philosophy’, ‘human traditions’. In particular:-
(a) Christ plus ritual, v16, ‘religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day’. …
Ethiopian eunuch, Acts 8:27ff. He asked, “Of whom is the prophet speaking?” He might also have asked, “To whom is the prophet speaking?” The answer is here.
Last section of Isaiah – addressed to those returning from exile.
Addressed to all (v1-2), but specifically to ‘eunuchs’, v4, and ‘foreigners’, v6.
Gen 12:2 – “All people on earth will be blessed through you.”
Rahab, Ruth.
Cf. Deut 23. ‘Special measures’, cf. Ezra, Nehemiah.
Jn 10:16 “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.…
Joshua 1
It’s taken us millions of years to discover it, but four days ago it finally became official. This is the way Reuter’s agency broke the news:-
They were huge, lumbering and certainly not the most graceful of creatures, but when they had to dinosaurs sure could run, scientists said on Wednesday.
Using prints from a fossilised dinosaur track in a quarry from southern England, scientists have calculated that bipedal theropod dinosaurs could run at speeds of up to 30 kilometres (19 miles) per hour.…
Is there any one day that stands out in your life?
For Zechariah, that day had arrived. Except that it would turn out to be far more outstanding than he can have ever imagined.
1. Ordinary people
A humble couple, from the Judean hill country. Of priestly stock, but did not belong to the corrupt aristocracy of Jerusalem.
Childless. Elizabeth’s ‘disgrace’, v25.
Getting on in years, v7, must have given up all hope
Faithful, v6, not bitter. …
Text: Acts 4:32-5:16
It’s a shocking story. What is our gut reaction?
Disbelief? (a God of love wouldn’t do such a thing)
Dismay? (I’m no better than this pair. If only you knew what impure thoughts, what insincere prayers, what resentful attitudes I’m capable of…)
Collusion: they had hatched this plan together v2.
Deceit: their sin was not in keeping some of the money back. (Selling off houses and land was neither universal nor compulsory). …
Summary so far
Ch. 1 (questioning, listening, disputing)
We left him (Hab 2:1) watching and waiting.
V2 – Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.”
This word is to be preserved, published and proclaimed
God reveals his word progressively – within Habakkuk; the OT, from OT to NT.
Bud/flower, shadow/substance, foundation/building, promise/fulfilment.
The later revelation completes the earlier.…
Habakkuk 3
Psalm 65:9-13 – God has given us many material blessings. And we have as many reasons to be thankful.
But what if there is nothing? What then?
Ch 1 – Habakkuk’s complaint. The Lord’s reply. Habakkuk’s further complaint. 2:1 – He sets himself to watch and wait for what God will say.
Ch 3 – Nothing in Habakkuk’s circumstances has changed. He is still facing an appalling prospect: the ravages of war, the horrors of invasion, the devastation of resources, the removal of all basic necessities.…
Text – 1 Samuel 1
I wonder if you have heard of the ‘Great Prayer Experiment’?
Some while ago, doctors from Duke University Medical Center devised a test to see whether heart patients recovered more readily if they were prayed for. The three year study involved 750 patients from throughout the USA and 26 prayer groups from different part of the world, including Christians in Manchester, Buddhists in Nepal and Moslems in America. The findings suggested that prayer made no measurable difference to the long term health of the patients involved. …
