Bruce Collins, Evangelist

2 Peter 1:16-18
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a friend who is all powerful, all knowing and who is always available? Wouldn’t it be nice if this friend thought you were special and always made you feel worthwhile and loved? Well, the Lord Jesus is a friend like that and while many today would like to believe that He is just a make-believe friend for people who need a crutch to get through life, Peter tell us that He is real. Peter assures us that He saw Him on the mountain of transfiguration. He saw the Lord talk to Moses and Elijah, and he got a glimpse of His glory as he saw His face shine and his clothes glow.

Peter spent time with the Lord. He was part of the Lord’s inner circle of confidants. John also was one who had seen the Lord, who had heard the Lord, and who had touched the Lord. The Lord was a real person with whom the disciples spent time. And they came to the conclusion that He was the “Word of Life” in 1 John 1. Peter says he is The Christ in Matthew 16:16. He was not a figment of their imagination. He convinced the disciples that He was the Son of God who fulfilled the prophetic Scriptures concerning the Messiah Who was also to be our Savior.

This Book is a miracle of miracles. Written by many different authors who in many cases never knew each other and often lived at different times, this Book has a common theme. That theme is Christ. This Book has an object lesson to prove that God is on the throne and that He knows what is happening. That object lesson is the nation of Israel. What God predicted for them if they rebelled against Him has come to pass. Today they are still rebellious children who are trying to “make things happen” on their own (Isaiah 1:2). They are presently a picture of people who walk by reason and in their own strength rather than by faith in the Living God.

Some educated people believe that this Book is out of date and a collection of mythical stories. They say this Book is not relevant to our present culture. We are given the impression that Christians are the cause of this world’s problems. Yet Christians are not the cause of our drug and alcohol problems. Christians are generally not the ones who murder their neighbors. Christians are generally willing to pay their taxes and submit to the oder and authority of government. Christians have generally been hard working loyal people who have made society better, not worse. Yes, some so-called Christians have been tyrants and intolerant but that is not the type of person that Christ would call one of his followers.

I am confident in the testimony of Peter who says that we who trust in the Lord Jesus are not following cunningly devised fables. I personally would not want to bet against the message of this Book when there is such ample testimony that the God of this Bible is real, that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again, and that his next coming will be to judge rather than to save after protecting and removing His own from this world where they are are no longer welcome.

The Bible is Truth. It is not a cunningly devised imaginative story. The people who are arguing against the veracity and authority of the Bible are the ones who are dreaming. One day they are going to wake up and face the Lord Jesus, but they will have to face the real Lord Jesus as a judge rather than as a Savior. Those of us who have trusted Him will meet the One who was always there when we needed Him.

Bruce Collins