How can we see something and yet not really see it?
     Psychologists once ran a famous experiment. People watched a video of two teams passing basketballs and were asked to count the passes made by one team. In the middle of the video, a person in a gorilla suit walked right through the scene. Surprisingly, about half the viewers never noticed the gorilla at all. They were so focused on counting that they missed what was plainly in front of them.
     Something similar can happen in our spiritual lives.
     The Lord once lamented this about his people: “You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen” (Isaiah 42:20). God had revealed himself to Israel again and again. He had shown . . . . his power, his mercy, and his faithfulness. Yet many people saw the works of God without really absorbing them in faith.
     The same danger can touch us. We hear God’s Word week after week. We see evidence of his blessings in our lives and in his church. However, we can become so focused on other concerns like our schedules, worries, or plans. And we fail to truly notice what the Lord is doing.
     The good news is that God himself opens our eyes. Through his Word he promised to send a servant to open eyes that are blind (Isaiah 42:7). Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Spirit enlightens the eyes of your heart (Ephesians 1:18).
     Ask the Lord to help you see! God is at work all around you, showing grace to you and bringing others to faith in Christ. Give God and his Word your full attention, and rejoice in what he is doing.
20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.” 21 It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious. (Isaiah 42:20-21)

     We have some colorful place names here in our state. Last Chance, Colorado got its name because it was the final stop for travelers to get gas, food, and supplies before entering the long, empty stretch of the eastern plains. Steamboat Springs got its name when French trappers heard a chugging, whistling sound. They thought a steamboat was nearby, but found out the sound came from a natural geothermal spring. Independence and Independence Pass point to the discovery of gold in that area on July 4, 1879.
     Place names often tell stories. In Exodus 17, Moses gave a desert location two names: Massah and Meribah. Massah means “testing.” Meribah means “quarreling.” You can . . . . guess what happened there. The Israelites were desperately thirsty in the wilderness, and thirst is a real need. But the problem was not their need, it was their attitude. They demanded water and accused God of abandoning them. They asked, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
     Instead of trusting, they tested the Lord. We can fall into the same pattern. We test God when we expect him to act according to our timetable or our plan. We complain when life feels uncertain. We demand proof that God is still with us.
     Notice God’s response. The Lord told Moses, “Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” God provided water for his people—even when their faith was weak. That’s grace!
     We are invited to bring every need to God, not with demanding hearts, but with trusting ones. The Lord truly is among us. Through Jesus Christ, God has come to dwell with and save his people. Remember daily his promise: My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19).
5The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” (Exodus 17:5-6)

When a Gift Is Truly a Gift
     “Here you go. It’s a gift!” There is something beautiful about receiving a gift given freely, with no strings attached.
     But is a gift always a gift?
     In our world, it gets complicated. Courts debate whether certain “gifts” to politicians are really expressions of gratitude or hidden obligations. If something is given after the fact as a “thank you,” is it still innocent? If someone shows “personal hospitality” to a person whose influence could benefit them, is that kindness or a strategy? The line can feel thin. Much depends on the intentions of the heart.
     Even in everyday life, gifts can feel . . . . complicated. When a friend buys you coffee, lends you a tool, or watches your children, don’t you feel at least a little tug of obligation? “I’ll have to repay that someday.” We are used to a world where favors create debts and kindness creates expectations.
     Romans 4 speaks of a gift that truly is a gift: Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (v.3). Abraham didn’t apply for the promise or earn it. God simply found him and declared blessing over him. God promised descendants, land, and ultimately the Savior. Abraham had nothing to offer in return. He simply trusted what God said.
     Abraham must have been just as amazed as if someone found us and told us we’d be the first colonizers of Mars. “What, me? Why? I haven’t ever prepared for that mission, or even thought about it!”
     Paul explains: To the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation (v.4). Wages are earned. They are owed. But to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness (v.5).
     God justifies the ungodly. That includes us. If we are sinners, what could we possibly pay? What could we offer? Forgiveness and heaven are not wages. They are not payment for effort. They are a pure gift flowing from God’s heart of love.
     Christ died for us without being asked. Jesus paid what we never could. And now we simply trust and rejoice that his payment is enough.

3What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. (Romans 4:3-5)

     The devil’s first words in the Bible were “Did God really say … ?” (Genesis 3:1). His initial temptation of the humans God created was to sow just a little doubt about the words of their Creator.
     God had spoken clearly. Adam and Eve enjoyed plenty of freedom in the beauty of the garden. Just the one boundary – honoring the Lord by following his command to avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
     God’s boundaries in the laws of Scripture are for our benefit. They guard a good and holy life that brings us joy and fulfillment. The same question of the serpent arises in all hearts, even . . . . those of Christians: “Did God really say that?” “Did God really mean it?”
     Beginning to negotiate with God’s clear words is the slippery slope that leads people, societies, and, yes, some churches away from God and true life. There has been so much playing with the meaning of marriage, sex, gender, family, eternity, wealth, and purpose in recent times. None of these “new” ways are bringing us a better life. They are bringing us instead more anxiousness, loss of direction, self-centeredness, and lack of hope.
     God also speaks words of promise in this reading. One from among Eve’s offspring would save. God did say how we should obey. And he also did say what he would do when we failed. He repeated that promise through the centuries and fulfilled it in Jesus Christ. On the cross the serpent struck his heel, but there the serpent’s head was crushed.
     When doubt asks us, “Did God really say?” we answer, “Yes. He did.” And his Word in both command and promise still stands.

Now the serpent … said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)
14So the Lord God said to the serpent, … 15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15)

Are you drawn more to a clever story or a true story? It doesn’t have to be only one or the other.

There’s no doubt the Harry Potter books are clever, whatever other opinions you might have about them. That’s a big reason they’ve sold millions of copies. You can even learn some life lessons about friendship and courage and the struggle between good and evil from them. Yet they aren’t the account of people who saw God in the world. They’re fiction, not eyewitness records.

Peter wants us to see the difference. He would not base his ministry and hope and endurance in persecution on a made-up story, no matter how clever it was. His whole life was guided by personally knowing and believing in his Savior.

One of the most impactful events he saw with his own eyes was the Transfiguration, when Christ revealed his glory as . . . . God on the mountaintop a short time before his death and resurrection. Some thirty years later, writing under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, he goes back to that moment. “We were there.” “We saw it.” “We know Jesus is truly God and able to give the only sacrifice for sin and then rise again.”

Your eternal hope in Christ, your whole reason for living, your persistence in trials, and your guide for morality are all in the Word. The authors tell us what they saw and heard from God himself. The greatest story is the one that is true in every letter – the account of Jesus Christ, our Savior. That’s a story you can build your life around.

16For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18)

      Have you ever spent time living in a place very different from where you grew up? At first it feels very disorienting. You have to learn new customs, new wa250pxys of speaking, new routines in daily life. Over time, though, that experience often gives you a fresh perspective, not only on the new place, but also on your old home.
     Peter tells us that something like this has happened to us spiritually. When God brought us into his light through Christ, he made us “foreigners and exiles.” We didn’t cross . . . . a border or move to another country. Instead, our whole way of life changed. Once we lived according to human nature, without lasting hope. Now we belong to God. In Christ, we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession (1 Peter 2:9).
     That word “foreigner” can sound negative. It can suggest not fitting in or being out of place. But for the Christian, this “foreignness” is a gift. It means we no longer belong to the darkness. Our values and hopes are shaped by Christ, not by the patterns of the world around us.
     Because of that, Peter urges us to take our souls seriously. Sinful desires are harmful. They wage war against us. This may sound obvious, but there are plenty of people who don’t pay attention to the condition of their soul. We care for our souls as the most precious thing God has given us in Christ, our Savior.
     So be thankful today. God has brought you into his light. Even if that makes you “foreign” here, you already belong fully to him. He has redeemed you for your eternal home.
 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11)

Of all the things we pursue, the greatest is life with the Lord. There is no more fulfilling or hopeful path than that of knowing God and his grace.

And along with seeking the Lord goes seeking humility. They belong together. The prophet Zephaniah joins them in the same verse for us: Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, … seek humility … (Zephaniah 2:3).

Ever wonder why God on so many occasions brings up his opposition to the proud and lifting up of the humble? It’s such a strong thread in the message of the . . . . Bible that a number of verses have become well-known sayings among believers:
 

• Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
• For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted (Matthew 23:12).
• God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble (James 4:6).

Those who are too proud in themselves don’t have space for God’s working, mercy or guidance. A humble lifestyle is one we seek out with the Holy Spirit’s enabling because it’s not the natural way.

How has the Lord led you to a more humble approach in your relationships, your job, and your life goals? Humility is not in any way weakness, but it does take us away from the need to serve ourselves and to a better attitude of putting others’ interests first.

In our life with God, a grateful and humble faith receives God’s grace in all its forms. Jesus taught and lived in a servant way as he took the path to set us free and give us eternal life.

It may go against the grain, but whatever others may tell you, humility is the way of blessing in God’s kingdom.

Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger. (Zephaniah 2:3)