GOD’S WORD FOR JANUARY 18

We have finished Erwin Lutzer’s book, CHISELED BY THE MASTER’S HAND, and have hopefully learned about the Lord of the Universe, and about ourselves and our walk with Him.  Dr. Lutzer sums it up nicely, as usual, in his epilogue to the book.  The next three days we will see him pack it up for us to remember in our lives.

EPILOGUE

THE LEGACY OF ONE LIFE

If we want to leave God’s fingerprints on what we do on earth, it only stands to reason that we must put our life in His hands! 

ONLY HE CAN TAKE WHAT WE DO AND MAKE IT LAST FOREVER.

God has put eternity in every man’s heart.  Intuitively we seek both for meaning and value, hoping to leave a legacy that will continue long after we have departed this earth.  Apart from our relationship with God, no such impact is even remotely possible.  Only the  Creator can confer dignity upon us, and only by His grace can we hope to make a contribution that lasts.

Peter the fisherman had an influence that continues until this day, and only heaven will reveal the full impact of his faithfulness.  Because Peter stood as he did with Christ at the beginning of the church, we have all been positively affected by his life, witness, and writings.  The Christ who used the chisel to sculpt Peter, now uses Peter to sculpt us.  We also are now being fashioned by the Divine Hand.

Let us never forget that we, like Peter, can also make a lasting contribution to the service of
Christ.  True, not one of Scripture; probably not one of us will live a life that will be the subject of sermons and books; not one of us will influence untold millions through our knowledge of Christ and our example in martyrdom.  But God does not expect us to do what Peter did.  He only expects us to serve with the same single-mindedness, and faith.  The consistent teaching of Christ is that those who have few talents can receive the same reward as those with many.  Indeed, a cup of cold water given in Christ’s name will not go unnoticed.

We can join Peter if we follow his lead in obedience and love.  We can, in our own way, do what he did and receive the same reward.   His influence, like ours, will go on forever because of:

WHAT WE BELIEVE

Let us join Peter in his confession that Christ is “the Son of the Living God.”   If we do, the same miracle God wrought in Peter’s heart has taken I ours.  With our faith we become members of the church that Christ promised to build.

Peter had the privilege of being on the Mount of Transfiguration where he heard the voice of the Father say, “this is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” (2 Peter 1:17).  How we might wish that we could have joined that small company!  Yet, Peter himself taught that, though we were not with Christ on earth, we have not missed anything that would hinder our walk with Him.  His experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, he says, only makes the prophetic word “more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”   Through the Word, we can have an experience that is just as certain as his!

North of British Columbia, the Fraser River rushes down a mountainside, then separates into two powerful streams, one going to the Atlantic and the other to the Pacific Ocean.  This point in the river is known as the Great Divide.  Christ also is a GREAT DIVIDE, a Man who separates humanity into two separate groups – heaven and hell; eternal life and eternal misery.

Our faith is just as firmly rooted as Peter’s was in Christ’s deity and in His death for us.  In believing what Peter believed, we share his reward.

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Genesis 1:27

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

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Ecclesiastes 3:11

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

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Philippians 2:14-16 (New King James Version)

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

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Psalm 15:1-2

Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?   Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

He who walks uprightly,   and works righteousness,   and speaks the truth in his heart;

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Psalm 25:5

Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.

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Psalm 25:10

All the paths of the Lord are faithfulness and truth To those who comply with His covenant and His testimonies.

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Psalm 79:13

So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations.

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