Ponderings

Ponder: To reflect or consider with thoroughness and care.



1. Jesus is my Savior. Is he my Lord?

2. I love Jesus. Under my own terms or under the gospel?

3. I'm all convinced that God is Sovereign. Am I just as convinced that he is good?

4. Sundays: entertainment-oriented or Bible-oriented worship?

5. Paradoxes in Christian living: suffering and comfort, humility and glory.

6. Government leaders : rant or pray?

7. AND LASTLY....

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."

-2 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)

Indiana Jones got his theology right. It's the carpenter's cup that is able to bear God's glory. Not the golden chalice of kings. Why? Because God doesn't want you to keep staring at the cup.

Video is in Spanish...can't find the English version but you'll get the story.

A Sign You Are Growing in Grace....

    Compiled by Timmy Brister, these are a series of tweets by Scotty Smith on "signs that you are growing in grace". I've selected a few that made me laugh and repent. For more go to Timmy Brister's blog.

How little we know and how much we still have to learn about living in the grace of God!

A sign you are growing in grace is that you are more disgusted with your critical spirit than offended by others’ sins.

A sign you’re growing in grace: As intriguing as iPhones, iPads and all things “i” are, only Jesus is compelling to you.

A sign you’re growing in grace is a commitment to pray for people you’d really rather gossip about.

A sign your’e growing in grace: If you don’t know, you don’t pretend you do.

A sign you’re growing in grace. The gospel still astonishes and humbles you. It’s not just cliche or the name of your tribe.

A sign you’re growing in grace is praying for our government rather than simply being cynical about our government.

A sign you’re growing in grace: The time span between your foolishness and your repenting has gone from days to hours.

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Perspective on Failure Part 3 - Jesus Turns Failure Into Good

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean."


But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean."


And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth."


And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man."


After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you."


Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man."


And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

-Matthew 26:69-75 (ESV)

    Peter, the loyal, passionate, temperamental, impulsive, and quick-tongued disciple had indeed denied his friend. Jesus turned and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61) and when their eyes met, the disciple immediately remembered Jesus' words. In despair, Peter went out and wept bitterly. The number one ranked disciple had failed!

     Previously, I quoted Pastor Dave Harvey,"If God is truly sovereign, there must be a place for our failures in his plan." Truly this is the case for in Luke's version of the story, we see Jesus saying to Peter this:

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

-Luke 22:31-32 (ESV)

Sean MacEntee

    Peter's failure had a purpose. Satan was going to sift Peter like wheat. Sifting is the process of separating the true wheat from the chaff. In other words, Satan wanted to test Peter in order to prove that this disciple wasn't real about his faith in Christ. He did it by exploiting Peter's weakness,his pride and bravado. Yet Peter's failure wasn't going to accomplish what Satan had hoped. Peter had Jesus on his side, praying for him and assuring him that he was going to survive this test. In fact, this failure didn't end Peter's apostolic call. Rather, he would come out of it stronger in faith and would in turn strengthen the other disciples. I can imagine Peter saying to his brothers, "If Jesus can redeem a failure like me, surely he will redeem you!"

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