40 Days Closer to Christ

What if they decided to hold a concert and every member of the orchestra showed up with their instruments tuned anyway they wanted? I’ve been to a few middle school concerts and I have to tell you that it wouldn’t be good. There must be some standard to which all the instruments are tuned, or else you end up with a cacophony. But not only do the instruments need to be tuned, but they need to be tuned to a Master note.

In my house I have three guitars. (Actually since my kids played rock star with one of them only two are playable, but for illustration purposes lets suppose all three can be played.) If I tune one of them to with a pitch pipe or with an electronic tuner than I am pretty sure that it is conditioned for optimal performance. Now I can go to the second guitar and tune it by the first one. And I can get around to tuning the third one by using the second. Theoretically, all three should be tuned up just right. But if I strum a note on the third one, and check it with the tuner, more than likely it will be a little flat or a little sharp. It is just not quite in tune. No matter how good my ear is, a little variation sneaks in as they get tuned down the line. All three guitars have different tones and pitches but if they are all tuned with the electronic tuner and to the same standard then they sound good together.

It is the same way with us. We can get pretty close to where we should be in our spirituality, in our righteousness, and in our walk with God by sharpening ourselves against each other, but we will always be a little off. We need to go back to the Master to make sure that we are where we need to be. It is Christ alone who is the standard by which we measure ourselves. And it is by Him alone that we will be able to perform as we should. That is why we take forty days leading up to Easter and use it to draw closer to Christ and to reestablish our discipleship.

Forty days is the optimal period to form a new habit, to establish a new practice, and to change the pattern of your life. 40 Days – Closer to Christ is an activity (we won’t use the word program) that can change your life.

Forty is a significant number in the scriptures. When God brings about change, the scriptures often represent a significant event as having a forty day duration. Noah’s world was changed forever in forty days. Moses saw God face to face and in forty days received the word which is still the basis for law and government. The city of Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes and turned away God’s wrath in the space of forty days. David became a hero after all Israel cowered under Goliath’s forty day challenge. Elijah lived by faith for forty days after God sustained him with one meal. The disciples were given the mysteries of the kingdom as they were taught by the Lord during an intensive forty day seminar after the resurrection. Jesus prepared with a forty day fast for a ministry which culminated in the salvation of mankind.

We can grow closer to the Savior as we study His life and His appearances throughout scripture. We become the people we should as we strive to lead a life of diligent discipleship. In these forty days we can review and renew the vital things that bring us to the Lord. We can refresh our memories and recall the eternal truths of who God is, who we are, and how we can have a close relationship with Him. 40 Days – Closer to Christ is an opportunity to more fully develop that relationship, so that we may see as we are seen and know as we are known.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Day 30 ~ Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4)


After Jesus had resurrected He went to His disciples. He left no doubt in their minds that He was the Lord. He let them feel the prints of the nails, and the wound in His side. He did many signs and miracles and the disciples had no cause to disbelieve any of His words. They knew without a doubt who He was. But they were ships without a rudder. After three years of walking with the Lord it had climaxed in the greatest miracle of all. So, now what? Where should they go from here? It is easy to imagine Peter would feel the greatest sense of loss of purpose. Maybe he carried the greatest guilt. Jesus was about to solve both problems.

Peter declared he was going fishing. He was going back to the life he knew. James, John, and four others went with him. The night was fruitless, they caught nothing. At dawn they spied a man on the shore. The man asked if they had caught anything. They did not. So the man said to them, cast on the right side, and ye shall find. On the right side they caught so many fish they could not haul it in. A lightbulb went off in their heads – they had seen this before (Luke 5:4-7). John announced to Peter, "It is the Lord." Peter dove in and swam to Jesus. The Lord already had coals glowing and fish cooking. The rest of the story is in John 21:15-17.

Verse 15 - "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" The word Jesus uses for love is the word agapao {ag-ap-ah'-o}. It is a form of the word agape or charity, the pure love of Christ. It is the highest form of love. Christ is asking Peter if he loves him with that highest form more than anything else. Peter's response is measured and deliberate. "He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee." The word Peter uses for love is not agapao. Peter uses the word phileo {fil-eh'-o}. It is fondness, or liking, the brotherly love. From it we get the word Philadelphia - the city of brotherly love. Jesus doesn't respond to it. "He saith unto him, Feed my lambs."

Verse 16 - "He saith to him again the second time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest (agapao) thou me?" The question is deliberate, obviously born of Peter's first response. Again the word is agapao. All references to other things are left out. It is an interview question from the Lord. Deuteronomy 6:5 says, "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." There is no doubt what Jesus is asking Peter. But Peter won't say it. He cannot go where Jesus wants him to go. Peter "saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee." Jesus says to him, "Feed my sheep."

Verse 17 - Twice asked, twice responded, the Lord "saith unto him the third time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest (phileo) thou me?" Peter has refused to acknowledge the agapao Jesus has asked for the first two times. So the Lord asks for confirmation of the form of love Peter has already expressed. Peter picks up on the Lord's asking about the lesser form of love and "Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest (phileo) thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee." Peter appeals to Christ's omniscience, it is a careful answer. It seems to matter little for again "Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."

It is almost impossible to know exactly what transpired between Jesus and Peter in their conversation on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. They had their own relationship and it is hard for others to understand the dynamics of any relationship. The placement of the verbs for love in the narrative show a deliberate pattern on John's part as he witnessed the dialogue and certainly would have conversed with Peter about it as they were companions for many travels. But one thing Christ made certain – no matter what your relationship with Him, whether that relationship be at the beginning and still weak, or perhaps He has become your "magnificent obsession" – His command is the same "feed my sheep." All of us will be called to positions of leadership and service and all of us will have to report to the Chief Shepherd and give account of how we cared for His flock.
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