4 Minute Devotions: Just Stories

Some people say that the Gospels are just mere stories. Peter, however, declared that they were eye witness accounts of what truly took place in Christ's lifetime. Our challenge today is this: do we accept Peter's testimony?

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I love making up stories, especially for the children of our church on Sunday mornings. I guess I started telling stories for my brothers late at night when we were kids. Three of us shared the same bedroom and each of us had to deal with my mother’s insanity in different ways. At night time, sleep never came easy for any of us, so I would tell stories to my younger brothers and eventually they would sleep peacefully. I can’t really remember what any of those stories were about – it all took place about forty years ago – but those storytelling skills have stayed with me, which is why I enjoy giving the kids sermon during worship.

Some people believe that the Gospels are just made up, and have become stories that people must accept or they will experience the Church’s wrath. Eckhart Tolle in his book, “A New Earth” makes such a complaint. He writes about the Bible being a collection of stories with morals within them that are imposed upon the readers or hearers. What he is trying to do is to undermine the value of the Bible and diminish the faith of Christians.

2 Peter 1:16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

Peter, in his second letter, faced similar opposition, which is why he reminds his readers that the events he relates about Jesus were not just stories, but eye witness accounts of what actually happened. Peter insists that he was there when Christ was transfigured. It is not a magical story, which is meant to charm the listener; it is an actual reporting of what truly happened.

Tolle may wish that the Gospels were mere stories so that he can pursue his own misguided philosophy. Peter, however, was willing to die for what he knew to be true, so for me, his testimony has more authenticity than anything Tolle can make up.

The question for all of us today is this: are the Gospels mere morality tales to help us through life, or are they God’s truth to lead us to eternal life?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your life is so different from all others and Your messages are meant to challenge our lives and change our ways. Some voices in the world would have us believe that Your teaching, Your existence, and Your purposes are just mere myths. Help us to hold fast to Your ways and keep us from falling into the temptations of unbelief. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

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2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

I’ve almost completed John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” for the fifth time. I love the way Bunyan mixes the stories of Christian, the pilgrim, with verses and promises from the Bible. Page after page, the book overflows with words of encouragement and caution, inspiration and instruction. At one time, it used to be required reading in some schools. Sadly, a lot of people don’t know that it even exists.

John Bunyan was imprisoned for his faith, just like the apostles Peter and Paul from the New Testament era. In his day, preachers were required to obtain a license in order to preach the Gospel. Bunyan refused to do this and so he was treated as an antagonist. He went to jail several times, but he persevered in his faith.

Pilgrim’s Progress was mostly written during his times in prison. Being unable to preach on the outside of his captivity, he wrote the book to reach the hearts and minds of people that he never met. His book influenced more lives than his itinerant preaching ever did. His prose and poems are almost Shakespearean. What began as a project to help him get through the tedium of being in prison became a vehicle for his faith to inspire the same in others. The book has been translated into many languages and it still touches the hearts and souls of thousands of Christians throughout the world today.

In today’s passage, Peter emphasizes that God secures all that we need for life and promises an enrichment of godly knowledge, both of which enriches our hearts and souls. It reminded me of Bunyan because he lived a simple life, devoted to God and enhanced by faith.

In our rush to succeed and to obtain all that we Westerners can, we sometimes forget that life is for living and giving, not for getting and collecting. Perhaps if we enjoyed the simpler things of life, we would discover a brand of happiness, health, and hope that would completely satisfy our hearts and souls.

There’s an old chorus that perfectly sums up these thoughts:

“He is all I need, He is all I need; Jesus is all I need. He is all I need, He is all I need; Jesus is all that I need.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we complicate our lives by surrounding ourselves with many possessions that end up possessing us. Help us to let go of the things we have, and to let God have a hold on us. Grant us the discernment and wisdom to dedicate our ways to You alone. You are all that we need. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.