Sunday Devotions: Key Keeper

Matthew 16:19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

I’m forever losing my keys, especially when I’m in a hurry to go anywhere. You’ll see me scrambling about each morning, going around the house, searching for my keys to get to work. I’ve usually left beside my home computer, but that’s upstairs in the house, so I look everywhere downstairs first.

I go through the same act when I leave the office to go home. My keys are not where I thought I left them last. I check under books, papers, and magazines. I look in the drawers and next to my office computer. That’s when it hits me; my keys are still in the lock of my office door!

I’m glad that Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom and not to someone like me. Peter’s dedication and devotion to Christ would not allow him to lose the authority of the church that Christ was establishing there and then. Some people think that the birthday of the church begins at Pentecost, but I think it started here, when Jesus transferred some of His authority to let Peter and the rest of the apostles ‘bind or let loose’ things on earth, which really means to permit or prohibit words and deeds that we say or do as human beings. It’s not so much that these things are the keys to our salvation, but they are the basic elements in holding the worldwide church together.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to understand that the keys of the kingdom are an important part of our lives. Grant us the gift of discernment to know what is permissible among us and what is prohibitive. Where we go wrong and walk outside the bounds of Your kingdom, forgive us and redirect us back on to Your path which leads us to heaven. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

An Easter Message for Our Town

The apostle Peter was one of the first witnesses to see Christ's empty tomb. it changed his life forever. Fifty days after Christ was resurrected, Peter preached a short sermon to the people in Jerusalem which caused thousands to repent of the crucifixion and accept Jesus as the Messiah. If Peter was alive in our town, what would he say to us today?

People of Our Town, pay attention to this: Jesus of the past was the Savior, given by God to us, who performed many miracles, who revealed mysterious and eternal things, and who taught us amazing truths about God, which we have learned through the Holy Scriptures since we were children.

This Jesus was handed over to humanity by God’s will, for the purpose of rescuing humankind from sin, but we humans, through our own wickedness, envy, and fear, tortured and executed Him, by nailing Him to a shameful and horrifying cross.

But God would not forsake Jesus, nor would He allow His body to decompose in death; instead God freed Him from the finality, loneliness, and darkness of death, and raised Him bodily, so that it was impossible for Jesus to remain dead.

A thousand years before Christ lived, the Holy Scriptures told this about Him: The Lord will always exist and because He sits at the right hand of God, He will never be overcome, cast aside, nor forgotten.

Therefore, all human hearts may be glad and sing forever; our bodies and souls will experience an everlasting hope, because God will not abandon us to our graves, to dust, or ashes; nor will God ever let Christ be diminished throughout history, and across all of Time.

For God makes known to us, through Jesus Christ alone, the paths that lie ahead of us, which will fill us with happiness and confidence; for throughout our lives, we will always be in God’s presence.

Brothers and sisters, let me tell you confidently that the old kings and writers of the past, all died, were buried, and returned to dust. But they were prophets and they knew that God’s words and promises were true. They believed, and waited for the Promised One to come and be the Ruler of the Earth

And all of these prophecies and promises were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who was resurrected from death; He was not trapped beneath the earth, nor did His body lie a-moldering in His grave. God raised this Jesus to real, abundant, and eternal life, and there were many witnesses to that amazing fact.

Jesus was totally honored by God for what he accomplished with His life, His death, and His resurrection. He is now enthroned with God, for all of eternity. His Spirit remains and influences the entire world. Billions of people on earth are changed by His power, presence, and personal connection to them.

Even although the people who lived before Jesus did not go to heaven before He came, they still believed that He would come and change the world. He would become the Lord of all God’s people. His reign would never end and those who opposed Him would never be able to overcome Him.

Therefore, people of our town, be assured and certain of this: God made Jesus, whom we crucified and killed, the Lord of all Creation and the King of the Universe.

As we hear these challenging words, our hearts should be pierced because of our faithless ways and unholy lives. We should be ashamed of our sins and fearful of God’s wrath. We should be perplexed about how we have often offended God by taking Him for granted and neglecting to honor His Son. And if Peter were actually here, we would be asking him, “What can we do?”

To which Peter would reply: be sincerely sorry for being disrespectful to God, get baptized, and truly seek to immerse your life in the knowledge, worship, and service of Jesus Christ. Without these, your sins can never be forgiven; with these, you will be sent the Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, and counsel you throughout your entire life.

And this promise of God’s goodwill, mercy, and grace will be for you, your children, and grandchildren, and for many generations to come. This is the calling of the Lord. Hear it and obey Him.

Peter would have us listen to his words, both encouraging and cautioning us at the same time. And above all, he would make this plea: “Save yourselves from this corrupt world.”

If we accept the message of the Gospel, by truly believing in Christ who was raised from the dead, then we will be eternally added to Christ’s Eternal Church and everlasting Kingdom on this Easter Day, and forevermore. Amen.

Sunday Devotions: Ordinary People with Extraordinary Messages

Our church members were studying Acts 12 this week in their daily devotions.

Podcast version here

Don’t you just love the honest reactions in this story from Acts 12? Christians are praying for Peter to be released from prison, and then when he turns up at the front door, no one believes it. Instead of thanking God for a miracle, everyone is quick to presume that it must be Peter’s ghost. I just love these first Christians – I can really identify with them.

I can imagine that just before Peter arrives, the people are very serious and highly focused with their prayers. “Lord, keep Peter safe and bring him back to us.” “O Lord, free Peter from the satanic authorities that have bound him.” “Lord, bring justice to us by letting Peter return among us.” I’ve been to those kind of prayer meetings myself. All the right words being spoken, but no real heart behind the petitions.

Acts 12:15 "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."

When Rhoda persists that Peter is back, they call her crazy and then tell her that she’s seen a ghost. They just don’t believe what she is saying, but why? Is it because she is just a servant? Is Rhoda a young person? Does her opinion count so little amongst the others?

It seems to me that God is doing His usual thing: He selects the weakest and the least to present the good news. Rhoda’s lowly position as house servant is exalted by God; she becomes His messenger, His herald of good tidings.

The world continues to think that Christians like Rhoda are crazy, unimportant, and insignificant. And yet God continues to use the lowliest amongst us to effectively get His message across. We may live in a society of mega-churches and famous church-speakers, but the real work of the Gospel still takes place in the everyday homes and workplaces of ordinary people. The Rhodas of this world may seem to be of little importance, but in the eternal scheme of things, it’s the ordinary Rhodas in the church that bring in more people to Christ’s Kingdom.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, use us in ordinary ways to present Your extraordinary message to other people. In the insignificant tasks and daily routines of our lives, grant us opportunities to serve You and to share the Gospel. In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen.