The mindset that I find myself slipping into way too often is equating my identity as a Christian to trying really hard to follow rules, criteria, and principles alone. Now I don't think that this is completely off the mark. But the problem is that in distilling Christianity into a set of credal beliefs I ignore the truth that my devotion and allegiance is to a person: Jesus Christ himself.
That's what I was thinking about as I was reading today's 40D2D passage from Apostle Peter's letter. He clearly says that he doesn't follow cleverly packaged myths, but the majestic Savior himself, Jesus Christ. He was an EYEWITNESS of the fullness of God's glory encased in flesh and blood. Peter recalls the time that he, along with John and James, accompanied Jesus up to a mountain and Jesus "transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light" (Matthew 17:2). This was one of many formative experiences that Peter had with Jesus that made him totally convinced that Jesus was the Savior and Lord of the universe!
Interestingly, he also points to the Scriptures as the other reference point that he anchored his faith in Christ. In fact, Peter says that the Word of God offers even greater confidence in his commitment to follow Jesus. I guess that just goes to say that the way that we will learn about this person that we follow and entrust our lives to is through the Bible. Jesus becomes a true reality- not just his teachings, but Jesus himself- as we learn about him through his Word.
I can feel Peter's urgency in his words in the verse before: "And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things" (2 Peter 1:15). He was burdened that future generations would have these FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCES OF THE GLORY OF JESUS in the same way that he did! In this season of our church and my own personal life, I am feeling a greater hunger for this as well. I want to bear witness to the greatness and goodness of Jesus Christ in my personal life as I get into the Word and seek him in prayer. I want to experience his constant presence and power as I continue his mission on this earth. And as we embark on this journey together as a church, I want our whole church to experience the glory of Jesus in a fresh and greater way!
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I have been focusing more on the latter portion of this passage. The topic of prophesy has always been controversial in the Christian circles, but one thing we have to keep in mind is that "prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (v. 21).
If we are serious about hearing from the voice of God then we have to be in tune with the Spirit and not allow things to hinder us from Him to work. The Apostle Paul clearly reminds us that we are able to "grieve the Holy Spirit" (Eph 4:30).
As we walk in the Spirit, we will be able to make the best decisions in our lives, hear God's voice, be burdened with God's heart, etc. This is what we need in these 40 days.
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