Mike Peek’s Blog: The Nurse Theologian

Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (Ex 34:6-7) For the past four weeks I have been working in the Cardiac Rehab department. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of aerobic excercise a week. Heart surgery, a heart attack or diagnosis of heart failure it is often an eye opening experience for some but for others it is not. During my time in this depart of the hospital I have seen lives changed. People severely weakened by a sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits and some sort of event involving their heart grow in strength and habits change. I saw on social media yesterday where a friend o…

The apostle Paul’s journey did not begin on the road to Damascus but began long before he started on that road. There was much preparatory work done in the life of Paul to put him in place to hear the gospel and be used by God as a missionary to the gentiles. The journey took him to Damascus where a brother in Christ (Ananias) meet him for follow-up. Ananias said to Paul, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:17, NASB) It seems to me that Ananias preached the gospel to Paul. He repented and believed, the scales fell from his eyes and he regained sight, was baptized by Ananias, was regenerated (filled by the Holy Spirit) evidenced by his strengthening. (Acts 9:18) Paul immediately began to bear fruit keeping with repentance, preaching the gospel in the synagogues. Paul was not a stagnant Christian. Like a new born baby, he was growing stronger all t…

God created everything including man; therefore, whatever God commands is law.1 Man rebelled against the law of God and has been in rebellion against the law of God from the time of the first man and woman and has continued in rebellion to this very day.2 The penalty for sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.3 God is gracious; therefore, he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.4 Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, fully God and fully man except in sin.5 Jesus lived a righteous life, as a man fully obedient to the will of God the Father.6 Jesus promised eternal life to all who would ever come to believe in him, then he died in our place for our sins. On the third day Jesus defeated death and bodily rose from the dead.7 After this Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father God and will return at a time of the Father’s choosing to judge the earth.8 When he does, all the dead will ri…

Whitney said, “Worship is focusing on and responding to God.”[1]I agree with him but think that I would state it in a different way. My favorite text of scripture is Exodus chapter 34 because the Lord has used this passage to help me understand all of scripture, especially the incarnation of his Word in Jesus Christ.  The Lord God told Moses to cut out two stone tablets like the former ones that Moses broke and bring them up to the top of Mount Sinai, there presenting himself to the Lord. (Ex 34:1-2) “The Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the Lord. Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third a…

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. (1 Cor 10:31-11:1)  I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Ch…