Tag: Merry Peterson

We Believe It!

Romans 4-7

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”  (NKJV)

Devotion by Merry Peterson (Canada)

In the part of Ontario where I live there is a museum called ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not’.  Inside there are lots of strange and unusual items and displays about occurrences that are most, well, quite frankly unusual!  The sign says it all – believe it – or not. Some things in that museum I find really hard to believe.  

Faith is really about belief.  Our belief that God is who He says He is, and will do what He says He will do.  That’s the tenet of having faith – those beliefs about God.  His existence as the supreme ruler of the universe and that His declarations of what He will do He follows through on. 

In the previous chapter we see that Abraham was justified by his faith even though the whole salvation plan through Jesus dying on the cross for our justification hadn’t happened yet in his time.  It was Abraham’s belief that God was in control and able to do what He said He would do that brought him justification.

We as Christians have received justification through Christ’s sacrifice because we live in a different time frame than Abraham.  Christ, the promised savior that God declared would become the sacrifice for sin has indeed died, and risen again, and our justification comes through that fulfilled promise. 

Notice that the fulfilled promise brings peace.  We have peace with God through Christ.  We have peace knowing that our sin is covered by Jesus’ blood, that we are no longer God’s enemies because of our sin.  The blood of Christ washes away the debt of our sin.  We become in good standing with God.  How is this achieved – by our belief that God is in control and follows through on his promises.  He said that Jesus would be the once for all atoning sacrifice for mankind bringing us justification with Himself.  We believe it! 

For Reflection:

Do you have friends or family members who have a hard time with faith?

When did you first start to have faith and believe?

Was there something or someone who helped you truly believe?

Are there ways that you could help guide another person to belief?

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Encouraging Fellowship

Acts 20:1-3, Romans 1-3

Devotion by Merry Peterson (Canada)

Have you ever wondered what makes Christian fellowship oh so sweet?  Paul in this passage has expressed his earnest desire to be among his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  His heart aches to be present with them, instead he finds himself writing a letter to them.  He states in Romans chapter 1, verse 12 so “that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith”.  What he is expressing is his desire for the encouragement that comes from fellowshipping with one another.

When we get together as Christians to worship, sing, hang out together, share a meal, or other activities where we truly interact is when fellowship is sweetest.  For an extended period of time I lived on the west coast.  Let me tell you it is a very long way away from most of our churches in our conference of churches.  I loved our 2 local congregations but it was ever so sweet when I would get to attend a camp or conference activity with other like-minded believers back east.  I always found it encouraging and always had the opportunity to encourage and minister to others as we fellowshipped together.  It was rejuvenating.  The Apostle Paul is longing for that same rejuvenating fellowship. 

Notice he mentions by mutual faith – that is why it is so important that we should fellowship together as believers.  In Proverbs 27:17 we read “As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”  To sharpen iron it must be rubbed against another piece of iron.  This picture reminds us that by fellowshipping together – sometimes literally rubbing elbows – we are strengthening and encouraging one another providing the most mutual benefit. That is why Paul in other writing mentions not to forget the assembling of ourselves together – so we don’t lose the mutual benefit of encouraging one another.  In our technological age of on-line church and digital meeting spaces let’s not forget what the Apostle Paul really yearned for, and felt was most beneficial – fellowship with other Christian believers.  Let’s remember that meeting together is for mutual benefit in the faith – uplifting, encouraging, and helping to rejuvenate our brothers and sisters in the faith so they too can have joy for the journey.

For Reflection:

 How can I be more diligent in taking part in opportunities to fellowship with other believers?

Have I taken this sweet, refreshing gift for granted that Paul longed for?

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Riddle: What is Made Perfect in Weakness?

2 Corinthians 10-13

Devotion by Merry Peterson (Canada)

Is there something that is holding you back in serving the Lord?  We are unclear what Paul’s infirmity was but we know that it was troublesome to him.  Some have suggested it may have been an eye condition or some other physical issue that plagued him.  We don’t know for sure but we do know it bothered him!  However, he refused to let whatever his personal issue was to hold him back from serving the Lord fully and completely as best he was able.

Some of us have hindrances that hold us back.  Maybe like me you are friendly but incredibly shy. Perhaps you have issues with self-esteem, or a physical issue that makes you self-conscious, or some other issue that holds you back from fully serving the Lord.  The apostle Paul is a good example of what the Lord can do through someone, when they are willing to be used of him.  Paul brings out in this passage that it is Christ who works through us to do his will and work in the world and he is able to work through, and past, our own thoughts of inability.

Christ can do more through us than we can imagine if we remain open and willing to serve him in the ways he calls us to.  So in spite of our personal issues he works through us!  This is where we should rejoice – that we can be useful for service no matter what situation we are in.  This brings even more glory and honor to our Lord; when to the human train of thought we could be rendered useless, and yet, he uses us in a special, wonderful, effective way for him.  You see it is not our ability, but Christ’s ability, through an open and willing heart that is ready to serve.  Isn’t it wonderful to know that we have a Lord who is willing to use us even if we consider ourselves not ‘perfect’ for the job.  He can take someone like you and me and through his strength and power, work in and through us to accomplish his kingdom purposes.

For Reflection: 

What is made perfect in weakness? What weaknesses/hinderances to serving the Lord do you have?

Are you willing to allow the Lord to work through you with his strength to accomplish great things for him?

How could you encourage someone who may be struggling with allowing the Lord to use him or her?

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To Pursue Holiness

2 Corinthians 5-9

2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (NKJV)

Devotion by Merry Peterson (Canada)

Do you remember the Sunday school chorus you may have learned when you were young that went something like this: ‘O be careful little eyes what you see, O be careful little eyes what you see.  There’s a father up above who is looking down in love. O be careful little eyes what you see.’ This simple song with several more verses served as a reminder to us that what we take into our minds and what we allow our bodies to do can either lead us in good directions or bad directions and that God was looking down on us lovingly wanting us to make the best choices for ourselves. 

There are bad directions we can go in that cause us to become filthy before God both in our inner spiritual life and how we outwardly conduct ourselves.   In this verse we, like those first Christian believers, are being encouraged to pursue holiness in a world that is full of temptations that bring filthiness before God.  In Corinth idol worship, temple prostitution and general perversion was normal in that day – all things that would be part of everyday life and could be a temptation to take part in unless you were of the new Christian faith. 

Unfortunately, we live in a similar kind of culture today but the temptations are different.  Today virtual reality, artificial intelligence interactions, violent gaming, tik-tok influences the whole pandora’s box on the internet present the most daily temptations to succumb to filthiness instead of pursuing holiness.  Don’t get me wrong – you are reading this on the internet so not everything is an invitation to filthiness – congratulations on choosing to view something that will encourage you to pursue holiness!  The Corinthians, and we, are faced with the same challenge.  To pursue holiness.  What does holiness look like in body and spirit anyway?  Glad you asked.  

Holiness means to be set apart – to choose differently.  Part of holiness is choosing to fill our hearts and minds with the things that will draw us closer to the Lord and to use our bodies in ways that would be pleasing and honoring to him.  A good way to keep your mind focused to pursue holiness is to follow Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy- meditate on these things.”  If we follow this advice we are less likely to fall into the trap of allowing ourselves to become filthy before God in our thoughts and consequently our actions. 

For Reflection:

Are there ways that I am allowing myself to be influenced towards pursuing filthiness before God instead of holiness?  Are there habits that I should give up?

What plan can I put in place to help myself pursue choices that will help me to live a life that points towards holiness in choosing God’s best in my life?

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In the Same Shoes

2 Corinthians 1-4

Devotion by Merry Peterson (Canada)

2 Corinthians 1:3-4  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (NKJV)

Been there, done that.  Experience is a wise teacher.  We wish we didn’t have to go through trials because let’s face it – they are trying times!  But what if your experience through trials was meant to help someone else when they are going through a similar trying time?  The Apostle Paul in this verse is bringing to light the fact that we go through trials and afflictions with God’s help and comfort so that we – in turn can be of help and comfort to others who are going through something similar.

Think about all the afflictions the Apostle Paul had gone through when he was writing to the believers at Corinth.  He had been blinded and received back his sight, he had been rejected by fellow believers, he had been through scary situations with mobs, and had misfortune while out at sea.  He had even been stoned, and left for dead!  God brought him through all these trials and strengthened him by each one.  Paul is writing these words to encourage the Corinthians because he knew they would face trials as well.

 People love to give advice – whether you asked for it or not!  When you are going through a trial it’s most comforting to receive counsel from someone who has gone through the same situation as you.  They’ve been there, they know the perils of the situation, the inward turmoil that happens and how God was there helping them through. I found comfort in talking with other people who have been in the same shoes.  They blessed me with insight from their past experience, and their unwavering faith during the situation. I was comforted as I talked with those who like myself had been caregivers for their parents as they fought cancer.  Little did I know that just a year later I would be the one giving counsel to a dear friend whose parent was fighting cancer.     

When we go through trials it develops empathy within us to be able to understand what others are going through when they face similar trials.  Our trials are not in vain – they are meant to be growing experiences so that we can help others through their trials.  They find encouragement by our ability to endure, and, with God’s help, they too feel like they will make it through.  It is a beautiful picture of building one another up in the Lord and encouraging one another.  One might say that going through a trial can become a blessing in disguise.

For Reflection:

Have you been able to encourage someone who is facing a challenge that you had to face?                    

How did God help you and how might you seek to help others in the same situation?

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Changed: Sown in weakness, raised in power!

I Corinthians 15:43            “It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.” (NKJV)

1 Corinthians 15-16

Devotion by Merry Peterson (Canada)

This is such a beautiful passage concerning the resurrection.  It brings a beautiful picture to my mind. Here’s the reason why – in my previous church I was privileged to work with a wonderful group of elders, one of whom had disabilities.  He didn’t let his disabilities hold him down, with a great sense of humor he navigated life around them. 

As a young man Boyd had the misfortune of contracting Polio.  He spent time in the infamous iron lung equipment for treatment.  As a result of this he was never able to stand up straight and tall again, and had troubles with his legs. He was stooped over and had to use a walking stick for assistance, and in later years ran around his expansive ranch on a motorized scooter.  It was difficult to watch him navigate the stairs at church one step at a time, as best he could – he was determined. It took him a little longer to do the normal things in life, but he navigated around his inabilities, ran his ranch well, had a large family and kept the faith. 

Boyd was an inspiration to all of us.  When we laid him to rest at the end of his life’s journey we were all encouraged by this thought:  In the resurrection our dear friend Boyd will stand straight and tall and will never have to use a walking stick or scooter ever again.  In fact – he’ll be able to run, skip, dance, and leap for Joy to his heart’s content!  His body was sown in dishonor, in weakness, broken by the ravages of illness.  He will be raised to a glorious, whole, fully functioning new body.  He will have the power to do what he couldn’t do before. He will trade his weakness for the strength he was meant to have.

At the Resurrection we too will be able to trade weakness for strength because of Christ and the resurrection power to bring wholeness to broken-ness.  Each one of us suffers brokenness in some way. Through Christ our once brokenness will be made whole. When we are raised in the Resurrection whatever we struggled with will no longer be an issue – we too, like our friend Boyd will be made whole.  What a glorious thought of how tremendous the resurrection will be! 

For Reflection:

Are there disabilities or weaknesses that you struggle with? 

Have you fully contemplated how wonderful it will be at the Resurrection when we will leave the old hinderances behind and go on to our new fully whole life with Christ?

What a joyful, glorious hope we have!

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Gifts for the Body

I Corinthians 12:7  “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:” (NKJV)

1 Corinthians 12-14

Devotion by Merry Peterson (Canada)

Did you know you are a gift to everyone?  We are all given certain gifts for the common good of all believers.  God by His Spirit enables us to do different things but it is for a purpose – to benefit those whom we are in Christian fellowship with. As Paul was writing to the church body in Corinth he was letting them know that they all had various spiritual gifts.  They were the emerging church at the time, still getting established in the ideas and practices of the Christian faith.  Paul was reminding them of their individual gifts and that those gifts were to be used for the common good, edifying their brothers and sisters in Christ.

 Do you have a certain gift that God has given you?  I have a friend who has a God given gift of artistic ability. She blesses and encourages others with her drawings of Bible scriptures surrounded by scenes from nature.  I find encouragement each time I see one of her illustrations.  Sure, I can draw a stick figure – but I can’t meticulously draw the intricate details of a flower or butterfly that inspires the soul like she can – that is her God-given gift. 

Each one of us has a different gift and we are to use it to benefit our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Some people are empowered with prayer abilities, others give good Godly advice, others are good at teaching.  Some have the gift of evangelism or hospitality, and some are just plain the most helpful people you know.  These are all gifts that are given to us by God’s Spirit and they are all different.  My abilities are different than my friend’s abilities.  God doesn’t skip any one of us in the giving of these gifts – he wants us to use our specific gift for the benefit of everyone.  No one can say that one gift is better than another because all of these gifts were meant to be used together to make a complete picture for how a body of believers should function together building each other up.  Just imagine if your Christian fellowship group didn’t have anyone with a musical gift – the worship service might sound terrible!  We need each person to exercise their spiritual gift so that we all can be enriched and God can be glorified. 

For Reflection:

  1. What gifts has God given you to help enrich the lives of those you are in fellowship with? 
  2. How have you been enriched by the gifts of others recently?         
  3. Have you thanked God for your gifts and the gifts of others?

Merry Peterson pastors the Freedom In Christ Church in Welland, Ontario, Canada.  She has enjoyed being in pastoral ministry for many years and has worked on the side in education in both public and private sectors in various capacities.

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Do Your Homework

Eagerly Examine Every Day

Acts 17

Do you do your homework? This may seem like an odd question to be asking but that’s exactly what the people in Acts 17 were commended for doing. When Paul and Silas went to a place called Berea they were teaching the word of God to people in the synagogues. The people had never seen the scriptures in the light that Paul and Silas were teaching it to them, they had never recognized the truths that were being shared. So rather than just believe what they heard they went ahead and studied it in the scriptures for themselves to see if what Paul and Silas were saying was true. Essentially they were ‘doing their homework’. They found that what was being taught was true and so came to salvation. We refer to them as the Bereans. The term may sound familiar to you as many church youth groups have held the name Berean in their names. This is a reference to that noble group that studied the scriptures for themselves to see if what they were being taught was true.

In our society today there do not seem to be enough people who display Berean like qualities of ‘doing their homework’. Why were the Bereans noble – because they searched for the truth and they found it! Truth is important to us, but today the truth seems more, and more difficult to unearth. There are many newscasters, commentators, teachers, and yes preachers too who would all benefit from doing a little more homework before presenting information to the public. This would prevent a whole host of misinformation from circulating about. Many people would be better able to discern the truth if they did their homework. If you know the truth of a matter then you will less likely fall for anything false. We should all strive to be like the Bereans and desire to know the truth for ourselves, through diligent research especially when it comes to the word of God!

-Pastor Merry Peterson

Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – 2 Samuel 15-16 and Acts 17

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When the Good News is Misunderstood

Acts 14

There’s nothing quite like being misunderstood! Have you ever felt that way – misunderstood? It happens to all of us and usually things sort themselves out one way or another but being misunderstood really put the apostles in danger in Acts 14. Along with the gospel message that they were to share, God had given them a portion of His holy spirit to be able to work miracles in those who would believe. Innocently enough the apostles began to share the message and then a lame man was healed and made strong again in the presence of all the people. This could have resulted in many more coming to belief in Jesus but instead the miracle resulted in the people thinking that their false gods were responsible and that they were manifesting themselves in Barnabas and Paul.

Talk about misunderstanding! Barnabas and Paul were mortified that the people were attributing greatness to them and thought that their false gods had done the miracle instead of the Almighty God of heaven and Earth. It became such a terrible situation that they even dragged Paul out and stoned him! What a terrible misunderstanding.

Have we ever tried to share the gospel with someone or a group of people and it went terribly wrong – with people ending up with wrong ideas or wrong impressions of what you said or did? Just remember you are not alone – the disciples had the same experience. Thankfully in our day and age stoning has gone out of fashion but tabloid lies and rumors abound. Social media can quickly make or break people’s opinions and ideas whether they get the right idea or the wrong one! Speaking from experience I had something I said unfortunately taken in the wrong way on social media due to how I phrased my response – oh the backlash! Live and learn. We must season our lives with prayer and ask God to direct our words and actions so that they will be taken in the correct manner. My prayer is that we would always be understood clearly whenever it comes to the gospel so that the work of the Lord may abound.

-Merry Peterson

Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened at BibleGateway here – 2 Samuel 9-10 and Acts 14

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Gaining God’s Guidance

Acts 13

I am continually amazed at the way God directed the steps of the apostles through the direction of His Holy Spirit in the days of the formation of the early church. The apostles had the message to share that through Jesus there was forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to the Father. They were given the opportunity to share this message in very public places and many came to believe in Jesus. Can you imagine speaking in one place and then being asked to speak again the following week and almost the whole town shows up?

We as Christians have been given the same message to share – that there is forgiveness for sin through Jesus Christ resulting in reconciliation with our heavenly Father God. This is the greatest message of hope there is. Do we share it as often as we can? Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were asked to share and a whole town full of people showed up and came to believe! We realize that the apostles were filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do amazing things, and make amazing inroads in the gentile world for the gospel of Christ to be shared and accepted. If we want to be successful like they were notice what they did at the very beginning of Acts chapter 13 – the men fasted and prayed for direction and it was given to them.

As we attempt to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world do we go about it in our own way or in God’s way. Do we remember to pray for God to lead us by His Holy Spirit to know where and when we are to share the message? Do we ask for the opportunity to share and do we ask for the correct words to say as the opportunity presents itself. The apostles were successful in their mission to share the gospel in Antioch because they had prepared the way ahead with prayer, and diligence to listen to where, and when God was directing them to speak. All of this leaves me wondering – would we be much more successful in our sharing of the Gospel if we spent more time in preparation with prayer and listening for God’s directives? Give it a try and see what happens!

-Pastor Merry Peterson

Pastor Merry Peterson lives in Ontario, Canada and pastors at Freedom In Christ Church.

Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – 2 Samuel 7-8 and Acts 13

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