A Devotional Thought from Pastor Chris Peterson

Hello Mercy Hill,

Greetings to you from afar. It seems that way to me; that I’m far away from everyone. Proverbs 25:25 says this...

As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

In actuality, God was never that far from us. God was nearby our entire life before we embraced the Good News, putting our faith in Jesus who moved all our sins over to Himself, making us righteous and now true children of God our Father by the Holy Spirit. Read this...

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

"'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." 

Acts 17:22-31 ESV

Do you all remember the days of your life before Jesus? You may have been far from God, but He was not far from you. He has always setup life for people from the beginning with boundaries to dwell in so that, “in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.” Great news! Somehow, someway, by God’s design and His doing we repented and now know that we will escape the judgement that is certainly coming. We have been rescued by our God and know for sure that we will be raised from the dead one day to be with our Saviour forever!

Boundaries. God sets the boundaries for mankind to live in as part of His design to move people towards Himself so that none would perish. Our God is working in this world and is actually not far away from anyone. He certainly has re-set the boundaries recently in this world, hasn’t He?

Mercy, grace, & peace from your brother,
Chris. chris@mercyhill.org

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Fervent Prayer: Marriages (Families under attack!)

OUR ENEMY

Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn't come on My own, but He sent Me. Why don't you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to My word. You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Who among you can convict Me of sin? If I tell the truth, why don't you believe Me? The one who is from God listens to God's words. This is why you don't listen, because you are not from God."   John 8:42-47 HCSB

First of all, our enemy is the Devil. But secondly we ourselves are our own enemy when we cannot listen to the Word of God and will not believe Jesus and instead carry out the wishes of the enemy of our soul, the Devil.

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LIGHT

In Ephesians chapter 5 and the beginning of chapter 6 Paul is giving instructions to husbands, wives, children, parents, fathers, slaves (employees), and masters (bosses), to wake up.

Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and the Messiah will shine on you.   Eph 4:32 HCSB

The Holy Spirit wrote through Paul that in our past the Lord Jesus was the light that shined into our darkness. But now, today we are instructed to “walk as children of light” and to not “participate in fruitless works of darkness.”

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light— for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth— discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead, expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. Everything exposed by the light is made clear, for what makes everything clear is light.   Eph 5:8-14 HCSB

This blog is titled, “Marriages (Families under attack!).”  I suppose that is true but every one of us is under constant attack by that roaring lion – the Devil – who has been a “murderer from the beginning.”  Go ahead and read through Ephesians 5:1–6:9 and you’ll see what light vs darkness looks like in marriage, as a husband, a wife, a parent, a father, an employee, and as a boss. I think you’ll see what living in this life is really about.

Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and the Messiah will shine on you.   Eph 4:32 HCSB

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WAR

The Holy Spirit has acknowledged that the Devil is seeking to murder us but that our Lord Jesus has vast strength and has given us all we need to stand against the Devil’s tactics. Our God is clearly stating that we are in a war “against the world powers of this darkness.” So if this be the truth then clearly we must be a people who listens to our Lord Jesus for He said…

The one who is from God listens to God's words.   John 8:47 HCSB

So let’s do that please.  I understand that you are in a war. But sincerely I appeal to you to be one who is listening to the Word of God and are of the Light. Please do not give up the battle against darkness and let Light who is Jesus be lifted up for all to see. “Listen” to how the Holy Spirit finishes the letter to the Ephesians and to us.

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God's word. With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.   Eph 6:10-18 HCSB

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PRAY

Please pray for yourself and for your brothers & sisters that we are able to hear and listen to the Word of God. And pray too for the saints that may be “opposing themselves” and “that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.”

…be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.   2 Tim 2:24-26 KJV

Equip: Eschatology – The Man of Sin

"Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 ESV

Eschatology can be defined as a belief concerning death, the end of the world, or the ultimate destiny of humankind; specifically any of various Christian doctrines concerning the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, or the Last Judgment. Over time and on-going our God by the Holy Spirit teaches us directly and by others from the Scriptures. In the text before us, Paul went as far as to appeal to the church in Thessalonica to “stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” as to what he said about eschatology. Of course as most would point to, we all should follow the example of those noble brethren in Berea who received the word with all eagerness from Paul but they examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul had to say were actually so (Acts 17). Something I like to do along the way in my life is not to try to understand everything but to focus on one idea or teaching. All one has to do is look at the Scriptures, observe life and history while looking to the Holy Spirit our teacher. It’s for sure okay to read books or listen to teachers but always after such endeavors to then be like the noble Bereans. Little by little my Eschatology comes into focus from Him.

So let’s see what the Scriptures say about one particular event. I place this topic under the category of Eschatology because most views teach that it is yet a future event for us today but for sure it was a future event for the Thessalonians Paul was writing to. First I’ll write a question and then let various Scriptures present answers. Then after that I’ll make some observations and a little history.

QUESTION

Is there a man coming who will:
enter the temple at Jerusalem,
go into the holy of holies,
and declare himself to be God?

…the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,  4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God… from 2 Thess 2:1-11

…So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), from Matt 24:15-28

…But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), from Mark 13:14-23

…And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate… from Dan 9:24-27

…Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate… from Dan 11:29-35

…and the abomination that makes desolate is set up… from Dan 12:5-13

and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Rev 13:14-16

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. 1 John 2:18

OBSERVATIONS

A popular view is that the abomination of desolation already took place in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed the temple. It’s hard for me to match up what the Scriptures say with what happened there in history. I think what I’d point to is that John wrote his letters and the Book of revelation 10-30 years after 70 A.D. meaning that John was writing about a future event. That’s too much to overcome for me by itself and when I add-in that the historical facts that took place in 70 A.D don’t exactly match the Scriptures then I take a pass on that view. I always keep in mind the prophecies of the first coming of Jesus. Without question all those prophesies were fulfilled exactly in the view of historical facts. Therefore, I live in the principle that in the same way biblical prophecies concerning the second coming of Jesus too will be fulfilled exactly in the view of history future. Also, here’s something interesting as well historically. The Pulpit Commentary discusses that many of the early church fathers spoke of and taught about a coming man of sin yet future.

THE external evidence in favor of the authenticity of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians is even stronger than that in favor of the First Epistle. In consequence of the prediction of the "man of sin," contained in the second chapter, which prediction made a great impression on the early Church, it is more frequently referred to and quoted by the Christian Fathers. The testimonies of Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clemens of Alexandria, and Tertullian may all be appealed to. Justin Martyr (A.D. 140) unquestionably alludes to this Epistle when he says, "When also the man of apostasy, who speaketh great things against the Most High, shall dare to commit unlawful deeds against us Christians" ('Dial. cum Tryph.,' c. 110). And the following direct quotations are found in the writings of Irenaeus (A.D. 178): "And again in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, speaking of antichrist, Paul says, 'And then shall that wicked one be revealed whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the presence of his coming' (2 Thess 2:8)" ('Adv. Haeres.,' 3:7, 2). And again: "Concerning whom the apostle in the Epistle which is the Second to the Thessalonians thus speaks: 'Except a falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition: who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped' (2 Thess 2:3,4)" ('Adv. Haeres.,' 5:25, 1). (from The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Something else I observe, is that Paul taught the Thessalonians when he was there in person and again later in his letters to them about the end of days and a man who would come who “takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” In fact Paul was only with them for weeks in person and he made sure to teach on these matters. I encourage all to include all of the Scriptures into our thinking and theology. But in particular, I give personal attention to any topic that Jesus spoke about, Paul taught about and in this case John the Apostle discussed along with Daniel in the Old Testament. This topic about this man of sin must be important for all believers to know about and learn about. Therefore, my fellow “Bereans” I suggest over time we include all of the topics of Eschatology along with all of the Scriptures into our growing understanding of what we believe the Scriptures speak about and teach us.

Fervent Prayer: Sing

"Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive. Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God." (Colossians 3:12-16 HSCB)

In this text from Colossians and from Ephesians 5:19 as well, singing with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs are mentioned. A word study brings out these ideas:

"Whereas a psalm is the story of man's deliverance or a commemoration of mercies received, a hymn is a magnificat, a declaration of how great someone or something is."

"Of things spiritual, communicated or imparted by the Holy Spirit, meaning those things pertaining to the Spirit; "spiritual songs," meaning those composed in the Spirit on spiritual and instructive subjects."

(from The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament © 1992 by AMG International, Inc. Revised Edition, 1993)

When I read the Colossians text, I see what led up to all this singing.

God chose us and then the message we received from God was Jesus. In Jesus the Messiah we received from God our Father heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. He accepted us through Jesus and forgave us for all the wrong we have done and will ever still do. Through Jesus we have forgiveness and peace with God our Father and are put together with others in Christ’s body, the Church. And what are we the Church doing? Singing, singing, singing songs that teach and warn leaving us very grateful to God our Father through Jesus our Messiah.

God has placed gifted individuals among us to both teach and to play music for our songs. From the pulpit some sing songs that teach us. From the stage some play instruments for the songs we sing. Next to us many are gifted with beautiful voices that sing blessing to those around them, while the rest of us may sing silently in our hearts. We all sing to our great God and we all sing to one another of His wisdom and His great works. We all teach and admonish each other to sing.

May God help and bless those among us who help lead us to sing; and may God’s grace and wisdom bring us all into a life where we sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

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Fervent Prayer: Day 4 - "Forgive us our debts"

"and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Matthew 6:12

Immediately following the ‘Our Father’ model prayer that Jesus gave in Matthew chapter six He adds, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Most of us would respond to this with wonder at how this can be. We understand that God can forgive but can I? I trust in God but I do not have that same confidence in me that I will forgive. I needed to be saved from my slavery to sin and I need help. Can I really forgive?

In Luke we learn more about forgiveness from Jesus where He says, “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him." The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" ---Luke 17:3-6

Okay, now I’m seeing a connection to a brother who repents to me I must forgive. If my brother sins against me over and over again then I must forgive over and over again. But let’s pay attention here to what Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him.” Jesus is telling me to go to the one who sinned against me and tell him about it. Then if my brother receives it and repents to me then I must forgive my brother. I must admonish the one who sins. I have a step to take to rescue my brother! We don’t just forgive over and over again only, we correct over and over again and if my brother repents of the sin, then I am to forgive every time.

So if you are holding back forgiveness from someone ask yourself, “Did I tell them what they did wrong to me?” Think about our salvation we have freely received from God our Father through Jesus by the Holy Spirit. The Lord told us we sinned and needed to repent. We then accepted the truth, repented, and our God forgave us.

The apostles said, “Increase our faith!” in response to instruction on forgiving others. Let us trust in our God, consider the forgiveness He has bestowed on us because we repented, and obey His instruction to correct those who sin against us. Then if they repent, we are in debt to extend forgiveness back to them.

Let the mercy, grace, and peace of God be with us all through the Lord Jesus Christ!

Fervent Prayer: Health & Healing

"Praise the Lord! 
For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure."  Psalm 147:1-5

Because the people had rejected God and had turned away from His Word they were exiled out of Jerusalem and out of all the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Psalm 147 is a song the people sang in the days of Nehemiah. They rejoiced and were in awe of their God who brought the nation back to the Promised Land and to Jerusalem. God did not just bring them back but built them up again as seen in the story of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, in spite of many enemies and obstacles. God did it! So the people rejoiced with a great celebration and praised Him who did this wonder. They realized their own sinfulness and rejection of God in their past. They realized they were here because of God’s great love and power:

they were here, in the Land again,
they were here, in Jerusalem again,
they were here, with their God again.

Let’s read now from Luke similar words Jesus spoke to the people of God at a much later time than the days of Nehemiah.

"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 

And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself.' What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well."

And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."

When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away." Luke 4:16-30

At Capernaum, Jesus healed the sick, the lame walked, and the blind could see. Here in Nazareth Jesus knew they did not believe in Him; they wanted signs and miracles, not Him. His first words were favorable, but then Jesus went on to tell them about two individuals. God performed signs and miracles for Zarephath the Sidonian and Naaman the Syrian but no one from Israel. The dark hearts of those in Nazareth were then revealed in their fury and murderous intent because no signs or miracles were going to happen for them.

So what is health and what is it to be healed? Let’s say we were in great health plus all our wants were fulfilled. Would that be health? What is the healing that God the Father brings to His people? These verses from Hebrews might help us understand a little better what being healed and having health looks like.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also 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. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives."

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy…" Hebrews 12:1-16

So what is health and what is it to be healed? To endure our Father’s caring discipline, so we will lay aside the weight of sin that is clinging to us so closely, that we may see God and share in His holiness. Through our Father’s discipline, we are being healed to not only walk, but run with endurance the race that is set before us looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. 

So like those in Nehemiah’s time, we are aware of our past sins and failures and even our present ones. And yet, we realize we are here because of our God’s great love and power:

we are here, saved into His Kingdom,
we are here, with brethren loved by Him,
we are here, with our God.

So it is good that we lift up our hands and stand strong and walk straight by His grace, with His peace, and in His holiness. We are in awe of our God who brought us to this place where He is. Therefore, let us…

"Praise the Lord! 
For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure."  Psalm 147:1-5