Ben and Bush

 
 

maris is mine

maris is mine

Peter's betrayal

It turns out that Peter's betrayal of Jesus may be more devastating than I first thought. The other disciple that was with Peter was able to enter the court of the high priest because he was known to the high priest. Peter is the lesser-known of the two if you will. This disciple then graciously came back to get poor Peter. Then Peter was met at the door by a girl with this question. "You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?" This implies that the other disciple had already admitted to being one of Christ's disciples. So Peter's friend was able to acknowledge that he followed Jesus while Peter gave into the pressure, and that in front of a girl. Seems pretty weaksauce to me. Peter goes on to deny Christ two more times in front of servants and officers. Jesus even told him beforehand that he would deny Him (John 13:38).

This man, Peter, hardly seems like the Rock that Jesus was to build His church on. That's good news for you and I because I doubt that we are that wonderful either. Yet Christ wants to do great things with our lives, after restoring us to Himself of course as He did with Peter (John 21:15-19)

Read this story in John 18:15-27 at biblegateway...
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2018:15-27&version=47

Here I am at the Hardback Cafe learning from the Word (thinline English Standard Version). 

What I'm learning in the Word...

The following is my feeble assessment of a situation familiar to many of us. This may or may not be accurate. You can let me know how you feel about it. At any rate, here 'tis:

A common question in Christian circles (esp. collegiate ministry circles) is, "What are you learning in the Word?" It is understood in this question that the Word is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, commonly known as the Holy Bible. I think many believers tend to freak out just a bit when they hear that question, esp. if they don't have something clever to say right away. Then they usually search the vast recesses of their mind until they come up with something that sounds amazing or is at least suitable for the present conversation. Sometimes a brave soul will admit that they haven't been learning a great deal in God's Word recently. At other times, however, God really has been blessing our time in His precious Word and we have a great deal to share. Often in these moments, though, there isn't the time or really the interest to hear what God really is teaching us. Catch my drift?

Another part of the situation is often the question being posed back to the original question-poser. Now, depending on the level of friendship and trust, and maturity of the individuals, this may lend itself to one-upmanship. I've been a part of this art of one-upmanship before. I don't want to be caught with my pants down not having anything awesome to say from the Word of God so I have to come up with a worthy response. I've even found myself making sure beforehand that I have something to say about God's Word before I enter into situations where I anticipate this question being presented. That makes my manner of conversation more of a rehearsed show than a dialogue.

Still another part of the scenario is when we aren't even reading or thinking about God's Word. Then we really don't have anything to say and should probably spend our conversation talking about why God's Word isn't precious to us. His Word speaks of Jesus, the Christ, who is our salvation. If there is no interest in the Words that point to Him then we do need to talk about that. I pray that the Holy Scriptures never become distasteful to you or me and if and when they do that God would bless us with a fresh desire for His Word.

Maybe my observations or intuitions here are way off base or are just of myself. Maybe some of this resonates with you a bit. I love the question, "What are you learning in the Word?" and I love talking about it with people. I just don't want to feel like I'm rehearsed or part of the one-upmanship game. Maybe this is just a matter of me checking myself and putting away falsehood and loving with that sincere brotherly love that Peter speaks of in the first chapter of his first letter, verse 22.

I might just post some of what I'm learning in the Word and have people go check it out when they want to know. That might be kind of fun.

Any thoughts?

Here's Abe again. He's opening presents that he gave to himself for student teaching. 

Here's my best man, James Robert Beecher....and a big ol' fish.  

Hey guys, here's my beautiful sister, Emily, my lovely mother, Karen, and my amazing grandparents, Herman and Sarah at Maris and my wedding. Check out Grandpa's tie. I gave that to him. 

My bigger, little brother, Daniel, enjoys his new cellular telephone. He's been hittin' the weights. I still hold the mental upperhand though I've been thwarted physically. 

My father, Rev. Terry Von Deaver, is very kind and wise. I love him a great deal. We like drinking gallons of decaf coffee together. 

Yes, she is beautiful. I know. I'm fairly handsome if I don't say so myself.  

These guys are vicious. Ask where the name came from and I'll tell you. 

Here's Jitsuya, a great friend from Japan. As you can see, my name is still Ben... 

Here's our sushi party crew from way back in September. Mmm...sushi is finger lickin' good!!!