July 12 thru 18 2009

Sunday, John 20:19; One of the greatest inhibitors known to the human race is fear. I’m not talking about the kind of fear that helps protect us from danger, rather about the condition that causes people to hesitate, procrastinate or stop short of some worthy goal. Such fear has a way of magnifying difficulties, building non-existent barriers and creating anxiety and tension. When this happens it is as if our spiritual insight and capacity to think creatively have been locked in a windowless room and we loose sight of the possibilities of an endeavor and we become paralyzed by all the bad that could happen as a result of trying. If you’ve prayed about what you were contemplating (or doing) and it is right, good and beneficial, then be aware that within that room there is another presence besides fear—it is the presence of the spirit of Jesus offering you the same confidence building assurance offered to the disciples. It is up to each of us to choose which presence we tune in to and acknowledge. The doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”


Monday, 2 Peter 1:5; I try not to get too technical in these daily meditations, but I feel that it is necessary today. We are urged to support our faith. These days when we hear the word faith, we usually hear it used in the sense of believing God for something, and indeed that is one of the definitions. But as used in this verse faith refers not to the depth of our belief but to the formal foundation of our belief system. I once heard a Christian attorney say that this passage sounds like something from a class in law school because the law gives us the basis for our interpretation of a principle but we must be able to validate or support our claims with facts, case law, etc. I like that, because it clarifies the fact that while God’s work in laying the foundation of our beliefs has been done, we are like the lawyer getting ready to go to court—we need to be able to validate the claims we are making, we have a responsibility to show evidence of validity. That’s why Peter urges us to validate (support, add to) the basic body or teachings of our faith by seeking excellence in our actions and dealings with others that are worthy of praise (not condemnation). Make every effort to support your faith with goodness and goodness with knowledge

Tuesday, 2 Peter 1:5b; I recall trying to help a struggling salesman acquire the skills necessary to become successful. He was a bright young man, he knew his product and he also was a likable chap. But he had one flaw, he felt that his personality and product knowledge would carry the day for him. When I would suggest that he rephrase certain things, his response was always, “I’m just what God made me to be and to try to be anything else would be play acting.” I wasn’t trying to get him to lie to customers or even shade his presentations with dishonesty. Far from it, I was trying to help him develop the social and professional skills necessary to achieve excellence. That’s what Peter is talking about in our passage today. We all have certain rudimentary understandings of our faith and what is involved in living by it, but we need to constantly be developing a keener awareness of excellence (thereby challenging ourselves to reshape our activities in a manner designed to attain it). This involves daily becoming more knowledgeable of the things that make for praiseworthy conduct. Support (validate) your goodness with knowledge

Wednesday, 2 Peter 1:6a; I arrived at a business luncheon and by my standards I was starving! I had been on the run and hadn’t eaten anything but a couple of candy bars since lunch the previous day. I sat down, glanced at the menu and ordered. When the soup arrived, I was tempted to turn the bowl up and drink it. When we entrée arrived, I was tempted to tear into it like my old dog going after a bone. But I didn’t drink the soup or wolf down the entrée, instead I allowed my knowledge of etiquette to govern my actions because I wanted to make a good impression on my dining companions. Among my companions that day was a very bright and articulate young lady. She too was trying to make a favorable impression but her approach had the reverse affect on those present. She had technical knowledge of the subject being discussed that far exceeded the rest of the group, but she used it in such a condescending way that even her boss became frustrated. I think my luncheon experience illustrates the message Peter is trying to convey. First, we should always apply self control guided by our knowledge of what is excellent regardless of our personal situation. Second, we should exercise self control when we are dealing with others whose understanding may not be as deep or as broad as our own (don’t become a know it all or self-righteous). (Support or validate) knowledge with self-control

Thursday, 2 Peter 6b; Some folks just don’t seem to get it, do they? We’ve all had the experience of trying to explain a proposition or idea to someone who seemed to be just plain antagonistic toward what we proposed or was lacked the mental agility to follow what we were saying. It is easy to become frustrated and give voice to the question we’ve probably been thinking “Were you dropped on your head as a baby or were you just born stupid?” In our personal quest for excellence, we can sometimes feel the same way about ourselves; we decide we can’t do it, we start telling ourselves we aren’t smart enough or strong enough to continue our journey. When this happens we can become discouraged, cynical and antagonistic. We begin to think that there is no use continuing to practice self-control or to strive for the vision of excellence that we’ve set our sights on. Peter’s early life experiences serve as a testimony to the disastrous results such attitudes can produce, so he encourages us not to loose hope when we experience such feelings of frustration. The word he uses is endurance (or patience) which means we deliberately pace ourselves in order to continue to make progress. Regardless of how frustrating our situation we keep the hope of attaining our objective fresh and alive by reminding ourselves of what we stand to gain. While it is true that we might have to slow down a bit, change our tactics or adjust our plans we keep moving forward. (Support or validate) self control with endurance

Friday, 2 Peter 1:6c; I once asked a gentleman who had achieved financial security after many years of setbacks and reversals how he kept from just giving up and settling for less than he had hoped for. His answer was simple, “My long-term goal was to provide a better life for my children than I had growing up. My love for my children and wife empowered me to keep my eye on that goal, even when things weren’t going well. Their faces motivated me to redouble my efforts and keep trying.” Peter has told us that our goal in Christian living is excellence in attitude and actions. He has indicated that on our journey toward this excellence we will have setbacks and reversals. But he tells us to keep the goal in mind and keep moving forward. Then he throws in the secret that he learned to help him keep moving toward excellence, he says to allow godliness to empower us to keep our eye on the goal of excellence. Godliness refers to an attitude of devotion and reverence toward God that impels us to act in certain ways. Having adopted God’s vision of excellence, we draw our motivation to keep moving toward it during difficult times from our attitude toward God (much like the man who drew his motivation to keep trying for financial security from the faces of his children). (Support) endurance with godliness

Saturday, 2 Peter 1:7; A very proper person once asked me to pray for him because “at the moment “my justifiable feelings of disappointment with my business partner have fester to the point that I no longer feel correctly disposed toward him”. My wise friend realized that feelings of animosity (regardless of how justified at the moment) must not be allowed to worsen because they will short circuit our attitude of devotion to God and thereby sidetrack our quest for excellence. This passage presents a dilemma that is familiar to all of us. There are people who continually prove themselves unworthy of our trust by letting us down or their double dealing. It is hard to build mutual affection with them (since mutual means the affection runs both ways). But when our best efforts to establish that mutual affection have failed, we aren’t supposed to just write that person off. While we might be more careful in our dealings with them (or try to avoid dealing with them), we don’t seek to harm them or cause them problems—instead we practice love toward them (love meaning we pray for them and seek the best for them). (Support) godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.