Judgment. [ 1 Peter 4 v17 -18 ]

One of the earlist Christian books I read was on Elijah by ,Pink, I cannot remember much about it,but one thing I do know that a study on the prophet Elijah ,is always profitable. We read about him first in 1 Kings 17,he just suddenly appears, we are told where he came from, but we dont know anything else about his background. He was called by God to speak to an ungodly king, called Ahab,he suddenly and dramatically appears to him, with a word of judgment. The message he brought was, that there would not only be no rain ,but there would also be no dew, Not a drop of dew or rain, this would last for about three and a half years, we are inclined to complain if we get rain, we want sun and more sun. This was not happening so the people could enjoy the sun, it was a judgment upon a nation , led by king Ahab , who had forsaken God, had turned to vain idols.God will chastise His people,none of us will escape that, but a more serious thing is when God judges His people. It is Peter who writes of judgment beginning first on Christians [1 Peter 4 v17 ], and it is A M. Stibbs who comments on this, he writes,/ For if God , the righteous judge, so hates sin [and He does ]that He judges His redeemed people[not with hell ],what will be the fate of unbelievers, when His full wrath against sinners is revealed./ Christian let us not take a light veiw of sin, let us take sin as serious as God does.[ God and Father help us to see that sin is repulsive ,and evil, and to play around with it will bring Your judgment down upon us, in Jesus name we ask this Amen.]

He is merciful. [ Ephesians 2 v 4 ]

Continuing on in Luke 22, let us consider v 62,/ And Peter went out,and wept bitterly/,here was Peter in blind panic deneying his Lord,then we read v61,/ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. That look stopped Peter in his tracks, he suddenly remembered what his Lord had said,and immediately he left ,and he wept bitterly.We can I am sure imagine how Peter must have felt, that look ,must have cut into his heart, he must have felt a utter swine,would he have been ever able to look at himself in the mirror again?. So thats the end of Peter,no , he would be forgiven and restored as our Saviour said he would[ Luke 22 v31-33]. Christ came to save sinners,the Peters,you and I,we may fall morally, spiritually, but Jesus still loves us, will forgive us ,and even restore us, and use us. Charles Wesley wrote,/ I know Thee ,Saviour ,who thou art. Jesus the feeble sinners friend.Nor wilt Thou with the night depart, But stay and love me to the end. Thy mercies never shall remove, Thy nature and Thy name is love/. [ Dear God we thank You for being merciful to Peter, and to me,we thank You in Jesus name Amen ]

Forgetfulness [ 1 Corinthians 10 v12 ]

In Luke 22v61 we read ,/ And Peter remembered the word of the Lord/, our Saviour had warned him, that he would fail, Peter had dismissed the idea [Matthew 26 v 33-35 ]. It is Shakespeare who said man know thyself,very few of us know ourselves, we are told that none of us know the sinful depths of our hearts [Jeremiah 17v9 ]. Really godly people have acted in most ungodly ways at time, King David is a prime example [2Samuel 11, and his son Solomon 1Kings 11]. Peter was a man of God but what him made a man of God was God, Peter like all of us was also a sinner saved by grace. We learn from these things that we will only be godly people as we rely on the Lord, and we remember and practice what He says unto us. Peter failed because Peter forgot what the Lord had told Him, what the Lord had told him should have put him on his guard but it didnt, and so he fell. Let us take the following words to heart,/ Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. [1 Corinthians 10 v12 ][ Dear Lord help us not to be be forgetful of Your word, its warnings and instructions,help us to stand in our hours of temptation, and trials, in Jesus name Amen ]

The wrong company. [Psalm 1 ]

The next thing we read about Peter is,/ Peter sat down among them [v 55 ],in doing this he was asking for trouble, these where the people who had been baying for Jesus blood. If you mix with that crowd ,then you will find things becoming difficult and even dangerous,as Peter was going to find out. The enemies of Christ will not love His followers, and will not take kindly to their presence. In Psalm 1v1 we read ,/Blessed is the man, who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners/. If I am a Man U fan I dont go to the football match and stand with the opposing fans,if I do I will be risking life and limb. There are situations and people we need to avoid,the sad thing about Peter is, he begins to identify with these people. He finds himself saying things which he would regret for the rest of his life, He denied the one person he loved more than anyone else, Jesus. He denies his Lord not once but three times,he is filled with panic and with fear,and He lets himself down and His Lord down.[ Dear Lord guide my footsteps this day ,help me not to be like Peter, and deney Thee, in anyway. Amen ]

Following at a distance [Luke 22 v 54 - 62 ]

Let us consider Peter on the night of his Lords betrayal as is recorded in Luke 22, our Lord had just been arrested, and we read, Peter followed afar off v54. Now it is understandable that he followed at a distance, in fact there was not much else he could do, at this stage he was doing his best, to keep in touch with his master, so let us not point the finger at him. In fact mybe that is a practice we should stop doing altogether,there are those who are like Peter, and to us they appear to be following afar off, but the Lord knows their hearts. He knows the whole story and understands their difficulties,emotional,intellectual,or whatever,He knows that they are trying to follow Him, in their weakened condition. And they more than likely know where they are at,in Ecclesiastes 9 v 11, we read ,/ The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong/. I have known Christians who were leaders in the church of Christ, but are now away from God. Peter may have been following afar off, but he was still following,in his weakness ,dear weak child of God, press on in your weakness,even if it is at a distance. [Dear Lord so often we are like Peter, following You at a distance, struggling ,stumbling, we thank You, that You still love us, and would encourage us to not give up . Amen ]

Bin Laden .[ Luke 13 1 v1- 5 ]

So Bin Laden is dead the man behind the murder of thousands of people, many of us remember that day when those planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York, the wickedness of such and act. The sorrow it caused, the pain which many feel to this day, to some extent justice has caught up with him, I dont rejoice at any persons death, be it Hitler, or Bin Laden. But evil must be judged, those who do wrong must be held to account, it was our Lord who spoke of certain people who died in Luke 13 v1-5. He spoke of two lots of people,who had died violent deaths, the general consensus was, that they had died because of their wickedness, and deserved what they got,but Jesus turns this into an opportunity, to tell His hearers an important truth, here is what He said,/ Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem.? I tell you no, but unless you repent you will all likewise perish./Bin Laden was a sinner, but so are we, everyone of us,we need to appreciate that we will all be judged by a Holy God, unless we repent of our sin , and trust Jesus to forgave us. Here is a prayer you may pray. [ Dear God I acknowledge my sin , grant me the grace to repent,and to trust Jesus as my Saviour. Amen ]

Eternity . [ Hebrews 11v 13 - 16 ]

As I sat down to write I hear the words of a song,/ a stranger, in a strange land/,these words remind me of Hebrews 11v13, which is about those believers who died in faith. These people of faith saw beyond this world to a heavenly homeland, a place more excellent than planet earth. This faith vision filled their lives, and hearts, their focus was not on the temporal, but on the eternal . In chapter 12 we are exhorted to look to Jesus, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. In exhorting us to look to Jesus we are being encouraged to follow His example, to look beyond this life , to a glorious homeland,where we will live and reign with Christ. None of these people sought to escape this life, nor should we,like them we have been brought into exsistence for a purpose,to glorify God. May all of us live in the light of eternity, glorify God in the light of eternity,honour God in the light of eternity. Eternity is not an escape clause,but rather a reason for living ,for Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us , even our blessed Lord Jesus.[ Father in Heaven, help us to glorify You in the light of eternity in Jesus name. Amen ]