It’s All in Your Mind

the fellow who was so bull-headed and always seemed to have his foot in his mouth! It seems that if there was a chance for Peter, there is a chance for any believer. You might even dare to pray, "Lord, mature me as you matured Peter.» Peter's one-mindedness produces "~ o,u o/. anodta." Again, remember that in the original, these are unique words used singularly. The writer of Hebrews says, 14 1(/e lunu nDl an lw;1t p.,inf uJuJ,, emmol 6R. i.MuJ,.,J tollh llte /,ulin.g, o/ oa,, in/inni.f.in_" (Hebrews 4:15). We, as Christians, do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with us. We have a High Priest who has compassionate regard for us. Our one- mindedness is going to produce sympathy for one another like our High Priest sympathizes with us. Peter had mellowed. He had become a sweeter Christian. The writer of Hebrews 10:24- exhorts believers, "..l!d. u.,, t!D# 'U.i.du . (JH£ an.olJtu. bJ.- pRJ.odu tu. bJ. ion.Land fa gMJ-d t.OO#h" This verse is connected with Hebrews 10:25 and the exhortation to saints to assemble themselves together. The purpose of saints fellovvshipping together is not to provoke people to enmity or division or strife but to encourage them to love and to do good work. This is the sympathizing, compassionate result of a one-minded group of saints. Peter exhorts Christians to "l.otM tU hnlhnn." Some translate this as, "loving each other as the same family."" This kind of love will never be produced without the saints breathing together. It will never come without the saints having consideration, compassion, and sympathy. Peter then says, "(Be piJi/aL" This word is in one other place in our Bible- Ephesians 4:32. "dln.d lu ,µ, kind tJn£ ti,. mu,.f/wr., fm.dnlt.1mhtl .. " The word tenderhearted is the same as the word pitiful in Peter's text. Tenderheartedness is the believer's trait as attached to the Holy Spirit. Pitifulness is the believer's trait in relationship to other human beings. Our heart attitude and mind attitude are not always the same. We will look and act differently on the outside than what we feel on the inside. Believers who breathe together will have a heart attitude that manifests itself in their outward attitude without any falseness. In Mark 3:25, we are reminded that, "a. lww.e diiJ.uud ag.,aim1 ihJJ.. . e.an.nol ,lmld. " We often relate this verse to the family as well as to a church, but we as believers are called a house. Paul wrote, "-;}/. Oll¥- en,JJ,4 lwa.u o./- dti.,_ lah-l'llllllle tMn di.uol»d, we luuu a huildin.g, o/ . (j.od , an lwau ntd nuuh toi1h luuub., d.nna1 in /Ju hllmnu." (2. Corinthians 5:1). A believer can be divided in his own body. This will always cause trouble. The heart, head, and action must agree. Now we come to a word in Peter's list that is used only three times in the New Testament, "he e~ » It's hard to understand Peter. He pushed women out of the way to get to the tomb; he was always saying something with his mouth that didn't sound very good; he criticized Christ. He did mature, however, because he breathed right, to the point where he was a courteous Christian. The word courteous comes from the Latin word that illustrates the manner that was demanded when appearing in the court of the king or queen. Can you see Pete acting that way? Peter's unique word here is a bit different from the other times it is used in the New Testament. Peter uses the word that means, "'If I walk in to the king, I would not put out my hand and shake hands with him, but I would get on 68 r