Peter's Twitter Page

June 30, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus walks on water; Matthew 14:24-27; Mark 6:48-52; John 6:16-21

What if they had Facebook or Twitter back when the disciples were around. I think I can see Peter's series of tweets...

Fishing_Pete: we are out on a lake rowing our backs out. Jesus no where around.
Fishing_Pete: getting real dark, storms coming
Jesus_loves_John: Thinks that we should turn this boat around.
Fishing_Pete: Story weather hits us
Jesus_loves_John: Thinks he sees the Ghost of Jesus
Fishing_Pete: Man am I scared.

John 6:19-20 CEV
(19) When the disciples had rowed for three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the water. He kept coming closer to the boat, and they were terrified.
(20) But he said, "I am Jesus! Don't be afraid!"

You see, it is possible to know Jesus in the deepest most wonderful way, as the disciples did, and yet, when Jesus comes to talk to you and get you through a situation you will be scared out of your wits.

Recently a friend changed his Facebook status to 'wanting to see more of Jesus in my life.' He is going through some tough times and feels he needs a touch from God. I wonder if he would see God move in his life if it were to happen. Or would he be afraid of it and try to push it back away from himself.

We have the advantage of the Word to follow every day, and 2000 years of history about Jesus. We should not fault the disciples when they were scarred, we most likely would react the same way.

Read for tomorrow: Peter walks on water, then sinks; Matthew 14:28-33

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Down time

June 23, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus prays alone; Matthew 14:22-23; Mark 6:45-47; John 6:15

Solitude, it is both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Because when all is quiet, there is no TV blaring, no radio telling us things, no MP3 players giving us the latest music, then we are by ourselves and without distractions, we have to look into ourselves, or talk to God. And either one of those can be scary.

When we take time to reflect who we are we may see someone who we do not really like. We may try to justify it, say it is the way we have to be to survive. Maybe even say that our life partner is not living up to their end of the deal so we have to be the way we are. But then we take the time to talk to God about it. God does not take the excuses we make. Sure we can make them explanations, but that will never justify behavior that goes against what God's Word teaches.

Matthew 14:22-23(NIV)

22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.

23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

Jesus knew that the importance of the time alone. He got away from the crowds and thought and prayed. He looked to His Father for guidance in what must be done. I am sure that there are times that he did not want to hear what he was hearing, but he did it anyway. Likewise, when God speaks to us in our time of quiet, we need to listen and do as well.

Read for tomorrow: Jesus walks on water; Matthew 14:24-27; Mark 6:48-52; John 6:16-21

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Food to eat?

June 20, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus feeds 5,000; Matthew 14:15-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:3-14

Matthew 14:16 (Amplified Bible)

16Jesus said, They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.


What was really going on in the mind of Christ here? We know he had been told that the people were hungry. But was that what he was thinking. Remember that just before this He had sent the disciples out to witness to the people. Now he was telling them to feed the people. Maybe he was telling them to feed them not food. but what they needed for their spirit.






Read for tomorrow: Jesus prays alone; Matthew 14:22-23; Mark 6:45-47; John 6:15
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Mega

June 19, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus teaches and heals the multitude; Matthew 14:14; Mark 6:33-34; Luke 9:11; John 6:2

Sometimes I wonder why churches were invented. I ponder it and say to myself that they were a man made creation. Maybe we would be better pursuing God on our own. One on one would be best, that way there could be no abuses of power and authority by church leaders. As I ponder these things often God will put verses past me like this one:

Mark 6:34 Darby
(34) And on leaving the ship Jesus saw a great crowd, and he was moved with compassion for them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Jesus very often had church. Now it was not the organized mega-church of today but it was probably a large service. But the reason He did was simple. The people were like sheep without a shepherd. A shepherd did many things for his sheep. He protected them, cared for them, taught them about dangers, made sure that they had food and water. Sure he was a leader, but in that leading he also served them as well. He met their needs.

I often hear complaints about the mega-churches of today. I think the reason that many got so big is that they know that the people need things and meet those needs, either by themselves, or most likely, by gathering staff around them that they know they can trust. Jesus followed the same model. He did not do all the work, He had 12 people he trained to do it with and for Him. And just like Jesus, an occasional bad apple may be part of the group.

There is a need today for churches both big and small, just as their was in Jesus day.

Read for tomorrow: Jesus feeds 5,000; Matthew 14:15-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:3-14

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R and R

June 18, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: 12 return and they withdraw; Matthew 14:13; Mark 6:30-32; Luke 9:10; John 6:1

Many churches use volunteers to do much of the ministry in the church. It seems to be a good thing, staff are not needed as much and cost can be kept down if the volunteers do most of the work. The problems happen though, when only a few people are doing a lot of the work.

My current church is good about that. They make sure that people get to go to church as well as serve and on the services that are missed because of schedules, the service is recorded and CDs are made available. At the end of the year an appreciation banquet is given to let all who serve know they are appreciated.

But it was not always that way in churches I have been in. I remember one that I was asked to do sound in. Since I knew computers I became the IT guy. I had some time on the weekends so I cleaned the church. In fact I can remember one Sunday when we had a meal to invite people in I came in at 8:30 AM and did not leave till 10:00 PM. And not one thank you from the people for all the work I had done, and in fact at points in time I was the only one there.

You could say I let my self be used, and you would be right. I learned one thing that year. Burnout is not good. In serving God, you do no good if you do not take care of yourself. In fact, for years afterward I was reluctant do volunteer much at all.

Jesus faced the same thing. At one point he sent the disciples out to do the ministry on their own. They did many great things. But when they returned Jesus made sure of one thing:

Mark 6:30-31 BBE
(30) And the twelve came together to Jesus; and they gave him an account of all the things they had done, and all they had been teaching.
(31) And he said to them, Come away by yourselves to a quiet place, and take a rest for a time. Because there were a great number coming and going, and they had no time even for food.


Notice, they had a time to debrief, tell Jesus what had happened. Then Jesus made sure that they got a little rest and relaxation. He knew that they would not be able to serve others if they were drained themselves.

As you get involved in ministry remember the sponge principle. A sponge must soak up water before it can give out any. If you squeeze the sponge out, it will be dry. Likewise, if you give out more than you take in spiritually you will be dry. Take some time to rest even in the middle of ministry.

Read for tomorrow: Jesus teaches and heals the multitude; Matthew 14:14; Mark 6:33-34; Luke 9:11; John 6:2

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Placeholders

June 17, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Herod fears John the Baptist has risen; Mark 6:14-29; Luke 9:7-9

Sometimes we like to think that we are important. That we are the only ones that can do God's work and the only ones that can do the job we are doing for others. Many times God will use people as placeholders, to tide things over till the right person can get there. That my case years ago. I never felt called to do anything in the church but a wise minister took me aside one day and saw the skills I did not see in myself. I took care of the sound in that little church and I was happy with it.

Then one day the person who ran the ministry for teens left for no real reason. The pastor and I prayed and I took on the job. I felt like I was doing too much but that God gave me the strength to do it. About six months later a man came in to the church. When I looked at him I knew that he was to be the new youth minister. There was nothing special about him that gave it away, just a knowledge that only could have come from the Lord. Two weeks later the pastor came to me and asked me to step back from the youth, he had found someone new to take the position. I could have fought and said I deserve this, I took a few kids and grew it to where it is now, but I knew I was not the one to do it. In the end, when they laid hands on him to put him into that position during a public service, I felt the anointing come off of me. God had told me that my time was up, and it was time to get on with my actual calling.

John the Baptist was a placeholder. He was not the one that was to be lifted up. He knew this and he willingly gave up his life so that he could point the way to Jesus. And it worked. After his death some things happened.

Mark 6:14-16 ESV
(14) King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him."
(15) But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old."
(16) But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."

We have to ask ourselves sometimes if we are placeholders in the things gave us to do. Even if what we are to do is our full calling, we need to look and see that if we were not there, could the ministry be taken over by others and run with. In our ministry, do we point to Jesus, or to ourselves?

Read for tomorrow: 12 return and they withdraw; Matthew 14:13; Mark 6:30-32; Luke 9:10; John 6:1

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Promises

June 11, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Death of John the Baptist; Matthew 14:1-12

Matthew 14:9 GodsWord
9 The king regretted his promise. But because of his oath and his guests, he ordered that her wish be granted.

Promises (or as the King James says, oaths) can be very strong things. They never should be taken lightly.

A few years ago I worked on getting my bachelors degree. Working two jobs, raising a family and school full time, that was too much and something had to suffer. The window of opportunity was thin for the education and I had to work to keep the family a float. So I turned to my family, and in particular my daughter who missed her dad a lot. I promised her that I would spend as much time with her as I could. I had one more year to go and if she would stay with me through that year, I would not neglect her again.

I graduated, she was so happy, pictures of her wearing my cap from graduation are in my scrapbook. A month afterward I had a chance to start work on Master's degree. I could do it full time and get it done or part time and take a while. I looked at my daughter and remembered my words. It was clear what I needed to do. Part time it was. My word was my bond and she was going to get her dad back.

We often look at the story from today and say that it is sad that John the Baptist had to die because of a drunken promise. I propose another way to look at it. It was a promise and it had to be fulfilled. The ideal thing would have been never to make the promise in the first place if he could not keep it. But he had made a promise and it had to be kept. Especially to children. They will remember the promises that you break more than the ones that you keep.

Read for tomorrow: Herod fears John the Baptist has risen; Mark 6:14-29; Luke 9:7-9

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Value

June 10, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: 12 sent out to preach; Matthew 9:35-11:1; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-6

Matthew 10:31 BBE

31 Then have no fear; you are of more value than a flock of sparrows.

I know that one of my greatest problems in life, and I would assume the same for a lot of other people, is that I have no worth in this life. When you work a lot of jobs and everything seems to be spent before you get it, you question what your work means. When there are troubles in relationships you wonder if there is much more in life if this is what those who love you are like. Even just the day to day grind of the same thing can get you down.

No enter Jesus. As He sends the disciples out to preach He tells them of their value. You are more value than a flock of sparrows. Now out of context that does not seem to mean much. But He had just said that not one of them dies that the Father does not let them.

On the college campus where I work we have a bunch of Canadian Geese that come in each spring and summer. At times they seem to be in a larger population than the students. As I look at them I see the eating grass and leaving messes behind all over campus. I think that they serve no useful purpose, save that a hunter might get one and have a good meal. But as I look on them, I can see, that as useless as I may think they are, they have value to God. My value, according to Jesus, is even higher.

So the next time you see something in nature that seems to have no value, think just how much more valuable you are and know that you are loved.

Read for tomorrow: Death of John the Baptist; Matthew 14:1-12

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Those around you

June 9, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: The 2nd rejection in Nazareth; Matthew 13:54-58; Mark 6:1-6

Mark 6:2 BBE

2 And when the Sabbath day had come, he was teaching in the Synagogue; and a number of people hearing him were surprised, saying, From where did this man get these things? and, What is the wisdom given to this man, and what are these works of power done by his hands?

So they could not understand Jesus. Do you think they will understand you. The late Keith Green did a song where he used these words, 'I only want you there'. In it he is trying to tell his family of his salvation and what it means, and all they can do is reject him. Why? Because they knew what he was underneath. They had seen him grow up. Now he was trying to tell them that what they believed in all those years was wrong.

People who know you are not going to understand when you try to tell them about Jesus. They know you and how you act. They know the 'hot buttons' that will get you very un-Christian like in a hurry. Do not ever give up talking gently to them about Jesus, but pray that the 'Lord of the harvest' will send laborers to them.

Read for tomorrow: 12 sent out to preach; Matthew 9:35-11:1; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-6

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For and against

June 8, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus heals a mute demoniac; Matthew 9:32-34

Matthew 9:33-34 ESV 

 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”

34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.” 

Do you know that no matter what you do for God, there will be some that are for you and some that are against you.  It always is going to happen, just as it did for Jesus. The people loved what they saw, but the leaders thought He did things through the power of Satan.  

Does this mean that if people are against you that you must be doing something right. No. Just know that not everything will go smoothly. We seem to think that all is going to be a bed of roses when we become Christians. It is not. 

Read for tomorrow: The 2nd rejection in Nazareth; Matthew 13:54-58; Mark 6:1-6

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A question for faith

June 5, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus heals two blind men; Matthew 9:27-31

Matthew 9:27-28 ESV 

 27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”

Here is a thought for you.  These blind men had been following Jesus according to what we read.  But Jesus did not heal them until after He got to the house that He was staying at.  How come?  I mean, they were crying for help.  Why did He ignore them for what ever distance was involved in going from Jairus house to here?

Jesus asks them if they believe He can do it and they say yes so He heals them. He must have know they believed that, they had been yelling it at Him.  So He knows they believe.  What was He up to?

Matthew 9:29 ESV 

 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”

There is your answer.  Their faith.  Him asking them if they believed was just the final test.  When did they have the faith that they could be healed?  Was it they said they believed.  No, it was when they asked for it in the first place. Why do I think that? Because in verse 27 they were recognizing Him as the Messiah.  Their faith was established then.  Your faith will get questioned from time to time, just as these men had their faith questioned.  In the end, you need to say 'Yes, I believe.'

Read for tomorrow: Jesus heals a mute demoniac; Matthew 9:32-34

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Do they laugh at your faith?

June 4, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus raises Jairus' daughter to life; Matthew 9:23-26; Mark 5:37-43; Luke 8:51-56

Luke 8:53 WEB 

 53 They were ridiculing him, knowing that she was dead.

Now is a time that Jairus faith was really being put to the test. The daughter sick and near death. He then shoves his pride away and goes to Jesus.  He agrees to come but has a healing and testimony service for the woman with the issue of blood.  On top of all that they come and tell him that she is dead but Jesus tells him to have faith.  

Now he is face to face with what he has had his faith on.  Jesus tells them that the girl is asleep and they ridicule Jesus for it.  What would you do if you were Jairus?  All these people cannot be wrong.  One man is standing up against them.  Sure he has healed others, but bringing someone back from the dead, can even this man do that?

To Jairus credit, he kept his mouth shut.  He could have said to Jesus to pack it up and leave.  But he did not.  Because of that a wonderful thing happened.

Luke 8:54-56 WEB 

 54 But he put them all outside, and taking her by the hand, he called, saying, "“Child, arise!”"

55 Her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately. He commanded that something be given to her to eat.

56 Her parents were amazed, but he commanded them to tell no one what had been done.

He got his daughter back. 

The time for digging in with your faith is when all seems to be going against you. That is not the time to run away from God but to run to Him. 

Read for tomorrow: Jesus heals two blind men; Matthew 9:27-31

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How big is your test of faith?

June 3, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Daughter's death is reported to Jairus; Mark 5:35-36; Luke 8:49-50

Mark 5:35-36 BBE 

35 And while he was still talking, they came from the ruler of the Synagogue's house, saying, Your daughter is dead: why are you still troubling the Master?

Put your self in Jairus place. As a ruler he had lowered himself to Jesus, showing that Jesus, a carpenter, had the authority and he did not.  Jesus goes with him to heal the girl and what happens?  We get a healing service (the woman with the issue of blood) and then a testimony service about what happened. And now what happens. His daughter is dead.  His lowering of himself seemed to do nothing at all.  He had faith in this man and nothing happened. 

36 But Jesus, giving no attention to their words, said to the ruler of the Synagogue, Have no fear, only have faith.

Jesus knew what was going through this man's thoughts as He does with all of us. He looked at the man and said do not fear, have faith. He says that to all of us.  He wants us to have faith.  As you go through life and begin to have faith in things, like Jairus your faith will be tested.  And it will seem that the bigger your faith is, the bigger test of faith you will have.  What looked like it was impossible, Jesus asked this man to have faith in.  

So, how big is your test of faith?

Read for tomorrow: Jesus raises Jairus' daughter to life; Matthew 9:23-26; Mark 5:37-43; Luke 8:51-56

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Where is your faith?

June 2, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Ill woman is healed by touching Jesus; Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:24-34; Luke 8:42-48

Mark 5:28-29 BBE 

 28 For she said, If I may only put my hand on his robe, I will be made well.

29 And straight away the fountain of her blood was stopped, and she had a feeling in her body that her disease had gone and she was well.

Mark 5:34 BBE 

 34 And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be free from your disease.

As a young Christian I had to try to understand what seemed a contradiction to me.  I had come out of a church steeped in its worship of relics.  Yet I came face to face with faith healers like Oral Roberts.  I wanted to believe that God could heal but had problem with the use of their 'gimmicks' like prayer cloths.  But looking at this verse I can see where they came from.  Her belief, her faith, was in touching the hem of God's garment.  It was not however, Jesus clothes that healed her, it was her faith.  Jesus even said it. 

Now that faith has to be in the right place.  God can work with you where you faith is.  For some, that faith may be in a piece of cloth that appears to have been anointed by a preacher.  The next step however is not to keep your faith in the item, but to move it to the Father God and His Son Jesus.  Jesus through this event, and the healing of Jairus's daughter coming up, took the time to teach the people to move their faith to a higher place.  But he met each one where their faith was at. 

Read for tomorrow: Daughter's death is reported to Jairus; Mark 5:35-36; Luke 8:49-50

Faith in your beliefs, or God?

July 1, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jairus asks Jesus to heal his daughter; Matthew 9:18-19; Mark 5:22-23; Luke 8:41-42

Mark 5:22-23 BBE 

 22 And one of the rulers of the Synagogue, Jairus by name, came, and seeing him, went down at his feet,

23 And made strong prayers to him, saying, My little daughter is near to death: it is my prayer that you will come and put your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and have life.

Sometimes in reading the Bible we miss some of the small things because we are not familiar with the culture.  So many times we read about how a person bows reverently before another.  It starts in Genesis and happens all through the Bible.  By the time of Jesus however, things had changed.  In earlier years, this had been a sign of respect one to another.  By now it has become a sign of respect for the lower class to the upper.  

So here is Jesus, an preacher who travels from town to town. Coming to Him, the leader of the synagogue, one who, by his title demands respect from the likes of people whom Jesus appeared to be like. This is different however.  Jairus comes to Jesus and bows low to Him.  He knows where the power is in life and he realizes he does not have it.  So even though the leaders are teaming up against Jesus, Jairus knows that the only hope for his daughter lies in the one who he is supposed to speak against.  As we will see in the next few days, He has reason to believe that his faith in Jesus will be misplaced, but for now he goes with his faith. 

So often we are faced with speaking out against things that may be beneficial to us.  So often people say they have no need for God when in fact, that is what they really need.  I am not talking organized religion here.  While there is a need for religious organizations and denominations, too often they get in the way of true faith in God.  Are you letting your beliefs get in the way of your relationship with God?

Read for tomorrow: Ill woman is healed by touching Jesus; Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:24-34; Luke 8:42-48