DayBreaks for 07/04/12 – The Rock Who Became a Sandpile
(NOTE: Galen is back from his trip to India, is recovering from the removal of his gall bladder, so one more week of archived DayBreaks! New DayBreaks starting again next week!)
Matthew 16:18 – “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
“What makes authentic disciples is not visions, ecstasies, biblical mastery of chapter and verse, or spectacular success in the ministry, but a capacity for faithfulness. Buffeted by the fickle winds of failure, battered by their own unruly emotions, and bruised by rejection and ridicule, authentic disciples have stumbled and frequently fallen, endured lapses and relapses, gotten handcuffed to the fleshpots and wandered into a far county. Yet, they kept coming back to Jesus.” Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel
We know the stories from the bible of the men and women of God. Abraham – father of the faithful. David – the shepherd who became Israel’s greatest king. Peter – the simple fisherman who became one of the greatest fishers of men. Yet we need to remember that Abraham was a liar – and a doubter of God. David was king – but also struggled with his sexual passions that spun out of control and led to murder and punishment on his people. Peter, for all his greatness, will also be remembered for the three-fold denial in the hour of Jesus’ greatest need. But Manning’s point is well made – all the men and women who are “great” found themselves often on the shoals of a shipwrecked faith as the result of their failings. Listen again to Manning:
“The portrait of Peter, the rock who proved to be a sand pile, speaks to every ragamuffin across the generations. Lloyd Ogilvie notes: ‘Peter had built his whole relationship with Jesus Christ on his assumed capacity to be adequate. That’s why he took his denial of the Lord so hard. His strength, loyalty, and faithfulness were his self-generated assets of discipleship. The fallacy in Peter’s mind was this: he believed his relationship was dependent on his consistency in producing the qualities he though had earned him the Lord’s approval.
“Many of us face the same problem. We project into our Lord our own measured standard of acceptance. Our whole understanding of him is based on a quid pro quo of bartered love. He will love us if we are good, moral and diligent. But we have turned the tables; we try to live so that he will love us, RATHER THAN LIVING BECAUSE HE HAS ALREADY LOVED US.”
How many of us have erected our own “systems” which we believed would placate the wrath of God and make us “acceptable” to Him? Do we really believe we can earn his love by being “good”? Perhaps for you, it is your dedication to your family which you believe will put you in good stead with God. Not so. Maybe it is the years of faithful ministry that you hope will get you through when you stand before Him. It won’t. You could bake twelve dozen turkey meals and day and feed the poor, but that won’t do the trick, either.
We try so hard to “live so that he will love us”. When will we catch on and REALLY start living with the full assurance and boldness that he has already, and does forever, love us?
Matthew 7:24-27 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Copyright 2002 by Galen C. Dalrymple. ><}}}”>
PRAYER: Lord, crush us and grind us down until we are fit for Your use! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Copyright 2012 by Galen C. Dalrymple.
I Am 2 has just launched another project: to put in a water system for what will be the only pediatric hospital in all of Rwanda! If you are interested in learning more, go to our blog: http://iam2.org/blog to read about it and learn how you can help! We are trying to raise up a massive army of compassionate people who will each contribute whatever they can – even $5-10 each, to help us deliver this water system through our partner, BeyondPoverty.org. The budget for this water system is $8300. Every gift matters…and every gift is appreciated! They ALL make a difference!
Also, don’t forget our other project, Bright Future Children’s Home. You can read the latest update about them at the blog, too, and can help us move forward with the feeding, clean water and protection these 37 kids in Kenya need to not just live, but grow!!! We still need to raise a bit over $4000 to fulfill our mission. Donations are tax deductible for 2012. If you prefer to send a check rather than give through PayPal, write it and mail it to: I Am 2 Partners, Inc., c/o 3678 Creekstone Drive, Norcross, GA 30092.
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