Tag Christian

The Apostle Peter, Son of Gomer?

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Peter is one of the most fascinating characters in the New Testament.  His struggles and flaws are written for all to see, but so is the patience and love Jesus had for him.  In Peter’s two letters, we get to see examples of his growth and maturity.  One of Peter’s struggles was how Jews who had become Christian should treat Gentiles.  In Galatians 2:11-21 is a story of Paul rebuking Peter for his hypocrisy toward Gentiles, and in Acts 10 and 11 is a story of Peter receiving a vision from heaven telling him not to treat Gentiles as unclean, because God can make anyone clean.

Peter ponders whether the key is for letting people in or keeping them out.

In 1 Peter 2:9-10, he shares this lesson with his readers:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (emphasis mine)

The bolded words clearly call back to the story of the Old Testament prophet Hosea, who God told to marry a prostitute named Gomer to teach a lesson about idolatry.  Hosea’s children by Gomer are named in Hosea 1:6-9 –

“She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD said to him, ‘Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all.  But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.’ When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son.  And the LORD said, ‘Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.’” (emphasis mine)

As Peter grew in Christ, he learned the same lesson Hosea learned: that all of God’s people are like Gomer and her children. Both Jews and Gentiles were once estranged from God in spiritual prostitution and adultery, but are now a beloved people, betrothed to one faithful God.  Jesus, our Holy High Priest, made the necessary sacrifice for the salvation of anyone and everyone who will come to Him.  Those He saves join His “royal priesthood”, proclaiming His excellent work to all people who have not received mercy, but who His blood covers.

“Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” – Matthew 7:1-2

Zap! The Best Action Figures for Christmas

Todd R 2 Comments

Dear fellow travelers,

A hot Christmas gift when I was a kid were G.I. Joe toys.  These “Real American Heroes” were a line of action figures, vehicles and other accessories that fought against the evil Cobra organization which was trying to take over the world (of course).  In 1982, they were even hotter, after Hasbro added “Swivel Arm Battle Grip” to the design to differentiate G.I. Joe from the also-popular Star Wars figures.

Zap looks much better in action than in the box.

The swivel in the middle of the figure’s bicep allowed 360-degree rotation.  The swivel isn’t a shoulder, elbow, or hand, but without it, bazooka soldier (Code Name: Zap) can’t pose as modeled on the package pictured here.  I had “Zap” and tried it for myself.  It took some experimentation, but eventually the way the shoulder, swivel, and elbow were made worked together and Zap looked like Zap should look.

Why so much detail about action figures in a Christian blog?  Because the Christian church is described in the Bible as the body of Christ, and in 1 Corinthians 12:14-16, the apostle Paul assures us that, without every single member of the church participating, the body of Christ is incomplete:

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many.  If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body.  And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body.”

Like Zap without “Swivel Arm Battle Grip,” the church will not perform as God intended unless all parts of the body participate, but sometimes it’s not clear to each of us what part of the body of Christ we are.  To some of us, others may clearly look like a shoulder, elbow, or hand, but we don’t know our part.  To some of us, others may look like the “hands and feet of Jesus” (to use a common phrase), but people don’t say the same about us.  Remember that Paul says “that would not make it any less a part of the body.”

Today, let’s return to one of this blog’s key verses, Hebrews 10:24, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.”  When we don’t clearly know the specifics of our part, maybe we are the “Swivel Arm Battle Grip” – the innovative, new part with a weird name that helps the other parts fit together and work as God intended.  But also, when we do know our part, is the objective any different?

Bible in a Year: Week of December 2 – 8

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Fellow travelers:

Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings.  Follow along any way you want: you can just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, or read it all.  Whatever works for you and your schedule!  It doesn’t have to be Bible in a Year for everyone.

The morning readings for the rest of the year will alternate between the minor prophets and the last books of the New Testament.  In the evening, Isaiah will take a while at one chapter a day, and then we’ll finish the year with Daniel.

Monday, December 2
Morning: Zephaniah 1-2
Evening: Isaiah 49

Tuesday, December 3
Morning: Zephaniah 3, 1 Peter 1
Evening: Isaiah 50

Wednesday, December 4
Morning: 1 Peter 2-3
Evening: Isaiah 51

Thursday, December 5
Morning: 1 Peter 4-5
Evening: Isaiah 52

Friday, December 6
Morning: Haggai 1-2
Evening: Isaiah 53

Saturday, December 7
Morning: 2 Peter 1-3
Evening: Isaiah 54

Sunday, December 8
Morning: Zechariah 1-2
Evening: Isaiah 55

Faith: A Practical, Living Teacher

Todd R 3 Comments
Photo by Thomas Somme on Unsplash

Years ago, I saw a drawing of a child suspended in the air, clutching the string of a single balloon, with the caption: “Faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’re holding on to.”  It was a very simple picture, but it made me think: Where does this kind of faith come from?  A faith that turns intellectual trust into action, especially potentially dangerous action?

One way is that we can learn it from others.  I’ve read a lot of Christian apologetics – or writings in defense of Christian faith.  Writers such as Josh McDowell and Ravi Zacharias were held in reverent awe by many in my college years, the logic being that “if someone that smart can be a Christian, it must be reasonable to believe!”  While there is definitely value in learning from others, there is also the hazard of learning to trust our teachers (instead of our Teacher).  Then when they fall, it hurts us personally and can damage our witness.  We know what ended up happening to Ravi Zacharias[1].

There is also the testimony of the Bible.  In the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 chronicles the faith of many in the Bible, and Hebrews 12:1 calls these our “cloud of witnesses.”  We can learn a lot from these people, but they don’t just teach us facts about God.  The writer of Hebrews adds that because of these witnesses, we should “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, 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.”[2] He is our Lord, and these witnesses tell us to follow Him, not just be able to describe Him.

One of the best lessons on this comes from G.K. Chesterton, who is well-known for his arguments in defense of the reasonableness of Christianity.  However, near the end of his book Orthodoxy, he says that he has a better idea: “And that is this: ‘that the Christian Church in its practical relation to my soul is a living teacher, not a dead one. It not only certainly taught me yesterday, but will almost certainly teach me tomorrow.’”  Apologetics is not about winning arguments, but about growing our ability to trust Him and learning to explain that to others.

While we can learn from others and from the Bible to build up our faith, what God has done for us personally is the best testimony because it is the most real to us.  Everything else is hearsay, as they say in court.  We are all learning to let Him tell us where to go and what to do.  To discern not only His truth, but His will, in the testimony of modern apologists and in the Bible.  To make our own Ebenezers, or memorials to His faithfulness to us when we’ve acted in faith in Him, even if it meant holding on to nothing else.  Therefore:

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” – Psalm 34:8

The best way to know that He is good is to try for ourselves, even when it’s hard or doesn’t make sense.

[1] If you don’t know, after Ravi died it was revealed that he had inappropriate relationships with massage therapists and others.  A once-influential ministry ended up in tatters, and some of Ravi’s followers ended up embarrassed and wondering what to believe.
[2] Hebrews 12:1b-2

Thanksgiving is Good and Fitting

Todd R 1 Comment

Since 1942, the United States have celebrated a holiday for Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of every November.  For Christians the holiday is a time to remember the source of their blessings, regardless of how large or small those blessings seem.  In Ecclesiastes 5:18-19, the Preacher recommends celebrating and enjoying our material things, and recognizing God as the Giver of them all, including the work needed to produce and prepare them:

“Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.”

Photo by Pro Church Media on Unsplash

However, as the Preacher wrote, even those with good jobs and plentiful possessions may find it difficult to truly enjoy them.  It is “good and fitting”, but it is also “the gift of God” to find joy in the now instead of chasing things we don’t already have.  It does not come naturally.

For many, time and events make each Thanksgiving different.  The company around the table may have changed.  The meal may be different.  The means of providing the meal may be different.  The familiarity of tradition may have been shaken by the pandemic and other circumstances.  Much has changed, and much will change.

Therefore, focus on the Giver behind the gifts you have, and seek contentment with thankfulness that He has provided everything you need. For now, and in eternity.  You are in good company.