Valley Bible Fellowship » Sanctification

No One Remembered!

Eric Peterman — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:06:40 +0000

This entry in the June 22nd Our Daily Bread was so profound that it bears repeating here.

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In a commentary on Ecclesiastes 9:15, Martin Luther cites the story of Themistocles, the soldier and statesman who commanded the Athenian squadron. Through his strategy, he won the Battle of Salamis, drove the Persian army from Greek soil, and saved his city.

He by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man. Ecclesiastes 9:15

A few years later, he fell out of favor, was ostracized by his countrymen, and was banished from Athens. Thus, Luther concludes, “Themistocles did much good for his city, but received much ingratitude.”

The crowd, for some reason, seems to ignore or quickly forget the good that the poor and humble man accomplishes through his wisdom. No matter. “Wisdom is [still] better than strength” even if “the poor man’s wisdom is despised” (v.16). It’s better to be a quiet, honest sage who, though forgotten, leaves much good behind, than a swaggering, strident fool who, though many applaud him, “destroys much good” (v.18). Accordingly, what matters in the end is not the recognition and gratitude we receive for the work we’ve done, but the souls of those gentle folk in whom we’ve sown the seeds of righteousness. Put another way: “Wisdom is justified by all her children” (Luke 7:35). Whom have you influenced through your wise and godly wisdom? – David Roper

Help me to walk so close to Thee
That those who know me best can see
I live as godly as I pray,
And Christ is real from day to day. —Ryberg

A wise person sets his earthly goals on heavenly gains.

The stability that comes from assurance

Eric Peterman — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:14:11 +0000

A couple years back I experienced a weeklong bout of severe and debilitating vertigo, caused by a virus that attacked my peripheral nervous system. I awoke one morning to a world that was spinning so fast that all I could do was screw my eyes shut and half-crawl, half stagger to the bathroom where I clung to the fixtures in wave after wave of nausea. I’m a fairly strong, can-do guy and this experience left me weeping and helpless. It was such a terrifying and intimidating ordeal that it left me with a deep and abiding sense of compassion for anyone suffering from the condition.

Do you sometimes experience “spiritual vertigo”? What I mean is, are you sometimes knocked out of a sense of balance (shockingly so) in your walk with God in faith? Do you find that your response to a situation, or the inner workings of your thinking and feelings toward God and His ways is just out of kilter with what you know it ought to be? This instability, or disconcerting onset of vertigo, sometimes stems from the lack of a sense of assurance of our salvation. We think we need to perform to a certain standard to merit or deserve God’s approval and in so doing we fail that standard and lose our sense of assurance, and the spinning times of doubt, indifference and anguish begin. We fight all the harder to regain our balance, which often seems to make the problem worse.

Here’s some reading you might find encouraging, and a way out of the vertigo trap. It’s a gathering of short articles written by some careful Biblical thinkers around the world, and it’s called the Imperium Testamentum collection on Eternal Security (Vol 1). You can find the whole collection here. Also, scroll down on that page and find the article, #71, An Anchor for the Soul Hebrews 6:13-20, written by Eric L Peterman , or you can link directly to the article here. Do let me know what you think and may the Lord help you to regain your stability, in His grace.

Weds evening study: Changed into His Image – Jim Berg

Eric Peterman — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:02:05 +0000

January 16, 2008
7:00 pm	to	8:30 pm
January 23, 2008
7:00 pm	to	8:30 pm
January 30, 2008
7:00 pm	to	8:30 pm

On Wednesday evenings at 7pm we’re working our way through the excellent Changed into His Image book and video series, by Jim Berg.

Please join us for a truly life changing work in progress.