1 Peter.
{4:1} Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin
{4:2} That he no longer should live the rest of [his] time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
{4:3} For the time past of [our] life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries
{4:4} Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with [them] to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of [you: ]
*******
Arm ourselves like Christ, with the same mind as Christ. Suffer in the flesh and cease from sin. We should no longer live the rest of our lives in the flesh to lust but to the will of God.
It's so hard to tell people not to live life catering to their pleasures when that's what we grow up being told we should do. We do a lot of things in life geared toward our happiness. We tell our kids that they can indulge their self-pleasure, in fact we go to great lengths to see that they stay happy and are content as possible. Kids today have televisions, dvd players, mp3 players, cell phones, access to computers and the internet, video games, computer games, we make sure kids are given these 'toys' and tell them that if they want more 'toys' they have to work for them. We train our children to be adults that will grow up to work so they can continue their self-seeking pleasures.
Is it wrong to want to please ourselves? Is it wrong to desire happiness and things that contribute to our happiness?
What's wrong is turning all our thoughts inward to ourselves because when we are so caught up in ourselves there is no room for anyone else. The will of God doesn't come into play when all we care about is our own will.
Walking in the laciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings and abominable idolatries... this is most of our lives. Seriously. We don't call it such, but it is. It's all about self-pleasure in lust, in drink, in partying, eating, following our addictions whether they're as seemingly innocuous as watching tv shows regularly- something we wouldn't want to miss. We pay homage to our pleasure addictions even when we don't call them such. When our lives are centered on ourselves and things which bring self satisfaction, they are not centered on God. This is our life. This is most of our lives. This is what we do and when we stop doing these things and seek to follow God what do you think will happen? If you're not running with the crowd you're running against the crowd and when you run against the crowd often the crowd turns on you and begins to speak against you and separate themselves from you.
1 Peter
{4:5} Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
{4:6} For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
{4:7} But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
*******
When we are dead in our sins who judges us?
2 Timothy
{4:1} I charge [thee] therefore before God, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his
appearing and his kingdom
Jesus judges us all.
We are all sinners and we are all dead in our sinning unless we accept the live of Jesus as our own and cling to Him for our salvation from our sins.
The living God in the spirit shall judge us all. We have to remember this and be sober and watch unto prayer. If we are of the attitude it doesn't matter what we do, that what will be will be, then we are lost. We know that we will be judged for better or worse and the judgment isn't based on whether you're *good or bad* it's based on your love of Christ, your willingness to live for God's will and not your own. Judgment for all, there is no escaping it and those who live their lives in harmony with God, seeking to follow His will and not their own will prevail. Giving up of self and giving to God. And this is why so many people who seemingly are good will not be judged righteous- their goodness doesn't save them at all- it's their love of God that saves through the love of His Son's and the willingness of His son to die for us through that love.
By the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior, God's will be done now and forever.
Amen.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Arm ourselves likewise with the same mind
1 Pet.
{3:18} For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit
{3:19} By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison
1 Pet. {3:20} Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
{3:21} The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a
good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
{3:22} Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right
hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made
subject unto him.
Angels
Authorities
Powers
All these being made subject unto Jesus Christ.
{4:1} Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the
flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he
that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin
Christ suffered for us.
Christ took on humanity and submitted to all the temptations just like we are and He sinned not.
He willingly suffered.
Willingly!
We have to willingly suffer for Christ not that it will save us because only Christ's mercy can save us, but because we are called to live as He lived. Christ suffered in the flesh. What causes suffering?
DICT.
suffer (sùf´er) verb
suffered, suffering, suffers verb, intransitive
1. To feel pain or distress; sustain loss, injury, harm, or punishment.
2. To tolerate or endure evil, injury, pain, or death.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
So what causes pain, distress, loss, injury, harm, punishment, enduring evil, suffering to death?
You have to feel and feel acutely in order to suffer deeply. If you care much, you suffer much. Christ cared for us more than anyone possibly could. Care enough to take on humanity, to submit Himself to becoming flesh, bound by its limitations. And yes, you may scoff and say He had no limitations, but when he took on humanity He gave Himself limitations that would enable Him to be able to say the He was ...
Heb. {2:18} For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted,
he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Heb. {4:15} For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without
sin.
You cannot truly be tempted by anything unless you have the ability to fall to that temptation. It is no temptation at all to be offered chocolate when you have no interest in chocolate, and yet if you crave it beyond that which is normal and healthy for you and you are tempted with chocolate it becomes a source of temptation, of desire, something you have to resist and suffer if not physically then emotionally, mentally, to keep from giving into that temptation. Yes, you might argue that it's harder once you've tasted the creamy sweet richness of chocolate to resist it, but once you know that something isn't good and you feel the pull of temptation- even untested once it can be very strong. Sex for example. You may feel an intense desire for that physical pleasure even if you've never had sex. Temptations aren't unique to those who taste that which is tempting them. Desires can be very real, very hard to resist. Temptations can cause us to suffer greatly in ways that other might not understand suffering. Just because I'm tempted in one way doesn't mean you're tempted the same. My temptations are just as real and hard to resist as anothers, they are in that sense unique to us without being the same.
Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are, but without sinning.
You might think that impossible. You might say he never had heroin or the foods we have today and yet in principle He suffered temptation just as we suffer it, unique to Him as our temptations are to each of us only He suffered sinless. It is because He was able to resist temptations that He was able to save us who are born into sin through Adam.
1 Peter. {4:1} Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the
flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he
that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin
Suffering.
Arm ourselves likewise with the same mind.
We can't don armor and fight this battle of sin, this battle between good and evil, the battle in which we are each being fought for. We have to arm ourselves with the same mind as Christ. The same willingness to trust in God for everything in our lives. The same willingness that if we are called to suffer in the flesh, we embrace the suffering and we don't let Satan twist it into God's punishing us. We cling to Christ our Righteousness and we meld our mind to His and whatever our lots in life we holdfast...we suffer if we must knowing that our suffering cannot compare to the suffering of the most innocent of all, our Savior.
By the Lord's grace and mercy may we arm ourselves with the same mind as Christ- willingly suffering anything we need to suffer, and in anyway we need to suffer it so that we may cling to Him fully by His grace in love.
Amen
{3:18} For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit
{3:19} By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison
1 Pet. {3:20} Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
{3:21} The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a
good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
{3:22} Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right
hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made
subject unto him.
Angels
Authorities
Powers
All these being made subject unto Jesus Christ.
{4:1} Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the
flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he
that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin
Christ suffered for us.
Christ took on humanity and submitted to all the temptations just like we are and He sinned not.
He willingly suffered.
Willingly!
We have to willingly suffer for Christ not that it will save us because only Christ's mercy can save us, but because we are called to live as He lived. Christ suffered in the flesh. What causes suffering?
DICT.
suffer (sùf´er) verb
suffered, suffering, suffers verb, intransitive
1. To feel pain or distress; sustain loss, injury, harm, or punishment.
2. To tolerate or endure evil, injury, pain, or death.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
So what causes pain, distress, loss, injury, harm, punishment, enduring evil, suffering to death?
You have to feel and feel acutely in order to suffer deeply. If you care much, you suffer much. Christ cared for us more than anyone possibly could. Care enough to take on humanity, to submit Himself to becoming flesh, bound by its limitations. And yes, you may scoff and say He had no limitations, but when he took on humanity He gave Himself limitations that would enable Him to be able to say the He was ...
Heb. {2:18} For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted,
he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Heb. {4:15} For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without
sin.
You cannot truly be tempted by anything unless you have the ability to fall to that temptation. It is no temptation at all to be offered chocolate when you have no interest in chocolate, and yet if you crave it beyond that which is normal and healthy for you and you are tempted with chocolate it becomes a source of temptation, of desire, something you have to resist and suffer if not physically then emotionally, mentally, to keep from giving into that temptation. Yes, you might argue that it's harder once you've tasted the creamy sweet richness of chocolate to resist it, but once you know that something isn't good and you feel the pull of temptation- even untested once it can be very strong. Sex for example. You may feel an intense desire for that physical pleasure even if you've never had sex. Temptations aren't unique to those who taste that which is tempting them. Desires can be very real, very hard to resist. Temptations can cause us to suffer greatly in ways that other might not understand suffering. Just because I'm tempted in one way doesn't mean you're tempted the same. My temptations are just as real and hard to resist as anothers, they are in that sense unique to us without being the same.
Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are, but without sinning.
You might think that impossible. You might say he never had heroin or the foods we have today and yet in principle He suffered temptation just as we suffer it, unique to Him as our temptations are to each of us only He suffered sinless. It is because He was able to resist temptations that He was able to save us who are born into sin through Adam.
1 Peter. {4:1} Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the
flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he
that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin
Suffering.
Arm ourselves likewise with the same mind.
We can't don armor and fight this battle of sin, this battle between good and evil, the battle in which we are each being fought for. We have to arm ourselves with the same mind as Christ. The same willingness to trust in God for everything in our lives. The same willingness that if we are called to suffer in the flesh, we embrace the suffering and we don't let Satan twist it into God's punishing us. We cling to Christ our Righteousness and we meld our mind to His and whatever our lots in life we holdfast...we suffer if we must knowing that our suffering cannot compare to the suffering of the most innocent of all, our Savior.
By the Lord's grace and mercy may we arm ourselves with the same mind as Christ- willingly suffering anything we need to suffer, and in anyway we need to suffer it so that we may cling to Him fully by His grace in love.
Amen
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Eight souls were saved by water.
1 Pet. {3:18} For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit
{3:19} By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison
Our fate should be no better than that of Christ's. If we think we shouldn't suffer at all in our life, or suffer for our faith what are we saying? We're too good to suffer? We need some special dispensation so that we're exempt from suffering in our lives? We are good and faithful followers so we deserve no suffering at all. Those who understand that suffering is to be expected of those who choose to have hope in God are better off than those who wail and flail about when trouble comes to them. The 'why me' is popular? Why me, why am I to walk this hard road? Why should I suffer? What did I ever do to deserve to suffer?
We ask the whys and wherefores and all the while we know our Savior, the Son of God took on flesh and suffered tortures undeserved for us. He was just and He suffered for the unjust, we should do no less, we who are unjust suffer as well we should, and deserve.
Christ suffered and He was quickened by the Spirit and He went on and preached to the spirits in prison. So aptly put isn't it? We're born into sin...born with our spirits in prison. Christ alone can set the spirit within us free from prison, free to unite with His own. We can no more escape from this prison than a prisoner from the most secure prison in existence. Only Jesus can free us. We might think we are free but that's a mere illusion. We are, each of us, caught up in a prison- a prison few will ever escape from because we don't believe we are jailed and in need of a rescuer. We play at wanting freedom and yet we keep ourselves hidden from the One who would rescue us. True freedom is something we need to actively seek, to actively desire.
1 Pet. {3:20} Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Eight souls were saved from their spiritual prison in the days of Noah...eight.
{3:21} The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a
good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Baptism saves us. Baptism by water and Spirit...but it's not the dirt and sin washed from us, it's not the filth of the flesh that is put away that cleanses us and saves us- it's the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Being able to accept Christ so fully, to have faith in him to the point our conscience towards God is good.
God alone is worthy. God alone is our saving Grace. Christ's righteousness not ours in our filthy imprisoned bodies, bodies we try to wash clean never realizing all our trying is for naught. We must rest in the arms of the Cleanser, we must seek the freedom from our prison by the only One who can rescue us. Salvation isn't ours to give ourselves, it is Jesus' to give to us and we must let Him give it to us believing He and He alone saves.
By His grace and mercy now and forever.
Amen.
{3:19} By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison
Our fate should be no better than that of Christ's. If we think we shouldn't suffer at all in our life, or suffer for our faith what are we saying? We're too good to suffer? We need some special dispensation so that we're exempt from suffering in our lives? We are good and faithful followers so we deserve no suffering at all. Those who understand that suffering is to be expected of those who choose to have hope in God are better off than those who wail and flail about when trouble comes to them. The 'why me' is popular? Why me, why am I to walk this hard road? Why should I suffer? What did I ever do to deserve to suffer?
We ask the whys and wherefores and all the while we know our Savior, the Son of God took on flesh and suffered tortures undeserved for us. He was just and He suffered for the unjust, we should do no less, we who are unjust suffer as well we should, and deserve.
Christ suffered and He was quickened by the Spirit and He went on and preached to the spirits in prison. So aptly put isn't it? We're born into sin...born with our spirits in prison. Christ alone can set the spirit within us free from prison, free to unite with His own. We can no more escape from this prison than a prisoner from the most secure prison in existence. Only Jesus can free us. We might think we are free but that's a mere illusion. We are, each of us, caught up in a prison- a prison few will ever escape from because we don't believe we are jailed and in need of a rescuer. We play at wanting freedom and yet we keep ourselves hidden from the One who would rescue us. True freedom is something we need to actively seek, to actively desire.
1 Pet. {3:20} Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Eight souls were saved from their spiritual prison in the days of Noah...eight.
{3:21} The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a
good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Baptism saves us. Baptism by water and Spirit...but it's not the dirt and sin washed from us, it's not the filth of the flesh that is put away that cleanses us and saves us- it's the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Being able to accept Christ so fully, to have faith in him to the point our conscience towards God is good.
God alone is worthy. God alone is our saving Grace. Christ's righteousness not ours in our filthy imprisoned bodies, bodies we try to wash clean never realizing all our trying is for naught. We must rest in the arms of the Cleanser, we must seek the freedom from our prison by the only One who can rescue us. Salvation isn't ours to give ourselves, it is Jesus' to give to us and we must let Him give it to us believing He and He alone saves.
By His grace and mercy now and forever.
Amen.
Monday, May 11, 2009
That ye suffer for well doing
1 Peter {3:13} And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? {3:14} But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; {3:15} But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear
{3:16} Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
They speak evil of you as of evildoers.
Here we have people following Christ, believing in Christ, witnessing for Christ refusing to give into the local conventions that would give them a smooth, easy life, being persecuted as evil doers.
We know what evil people do, don't we? We know those that purposefully hurt others in any way are evil, right? If you were to give a definition of an evil person what would it be? Would it include someone who follows the principle of Jesus? Seriously? Would it? It's impossible for someone who has the love of Jesus in their heart, someone who has given their life to Jesus fully and is walking in the light of His love to be truly evil. Yet it's true...you will be considered an evil doer. You won't be an evil doer but you will be accused of being so, accused falsely.
1 Peter
{3:17} For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
Better to suffer for the will of God, for well doing, than for evil doing.
We need to remember this because people who are content to believe we won't suffer for our faith will be caught off guard. We need to be ready to give an answer to every man for the hope in us. An answer. We need to know why we have the hope. We have to be fully grounded in that hope.
May God Help us all to learn fully what the hope in us is so we may tell others. When we are suffering and being called evil we need to be ready.
By the grace of our Lord and Savior, now and forever.
Amen.
{3:16} Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
They speak evil of you as of evildoers.
Here we have people following Christ, believing in Christ, witnessing for Christ refusing to give into the local conventions that would give them a smooth, easy life, being persecuted as evil doers.
We know what evil people do, don't we? We know those that purposefully hurt others in any way are evil, right? If you were to give a definition of an evil person what would it be? Would it include someone who follows the principle of Jesus? Seriously? Would it? It's impossible for someone who has the love of Jesus in their heart, someone who has given their life to Jesus fully and is walking in the light of His love to be truly evil. Yet it's true...you will be considered an evil doer. You won't be an evil doer but you will be accused of being so, accused falsely.
1 Peter
{3:17} For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
Better to suffer for the will of God, for well doing, than for evil doing.
We need to remember this because people who are content to believe we won't suffer for our faith will be caught off guard. We need to be ready to give an answer to every man for the hope in us. An answer. We need to know why we have the hope. We have to be fully grounded in that hope.
May God Help us all to learn fully what the hope in us is so we may tell others. When we are suffering and being called evil we need to be ready.
By the grace of our Lord and Savior, now and forever.
Amen.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Do you know why you have that hope in you?
Speaking out against the majority
Standing up for what seems wrong.
Being placed in the midst of those who hate you because you are out numbered, unfavored, reviled, and ridiculed.
The time is fast approaching and so very few will be standing.
The trials will be of the sort that those who are seemingly of fable, those of legend, and yet are very real, endured.
Will you stand?
The pressure to give in will be tremendous. You will seem wrong. You will seem crazy. You will seem to be against all that is good and right. How will you react?
This is something you need to think about. Or maybe you don't need to, maybe it's something you are of the opinion that you'll face when and if it happens to you, no planning needed.
Do you have an answer for your faith, for your hope?
******
1 Peter {3:13} And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
We like to imgaine that none will harm those who are followers of good, right? We're sickened when we read of abuse against those only seeking to help others. It's an atrocity to us when the good are targeted for harm, when the innocent are stricken purposely. Who harms those who only do good? Who? We want to believe only sick, twisted people but that's not always true in the sense they are noticeably aberrant people. A shock comes to many when they find out some seemingly wonderful people are the very ones harming others. Regardless of who they are the fact remains there are those who do harm followers of good.
1 Peter {3:14} But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled.
Suffering for righteousness sake.
The good that are harmed are suffering for righteousness sake aren't they? If those good people weren't so good maybe they wouldn't have suffered. If the good were inclined to give up their goodness so they wouldn't be harmed maybe things would go easier. No one wants to suffer and yet ... 'But and if...ye suffer for righteousness' sake...' it's better to suffer for righteousness than to give into evil, right? If we do suffer then we are told not to be 'afraid of their terror, neither be trouble'.
Afraid of their terror.
If we're not to be afraid of something that is ready to inflict terror upon us then what in the world are we to be afraid of?
It's normal to be afraid of someone or something that is terrorizing us, right? And yet we are told not to be afraid. In fact we're not only told *not* to be afraid we're told *not* to be troubled.
Righteousness stands on its own so to speak. Righteousness backs itself up. Being on the side of the righteous leaves no real cause for fear or worry. The unrighteous are those that will inflict terror and trouble upon the righteous. As long as the righteousness remains in us, that righteousness being Christ's Righteousness, then we truly have nothing to fear because nothing done to us can take that from us and the greatest loss comes if we lose our Righteousness which is Christ in us. We can't let fear strip us of that love of Christ's. We truly cannot allow ourselves to be afraid.
We are told to...
1 Peter {3:15} But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear
Sanctify the Lord God in our hearts.
God has to fill our hearts, God has to live in our hearts. God has to be the reason we do live, the reason for the life in us, the hope in us. Jesus has to be so real to us that we couldn't imagine living without the hope of God in us. The thought of living without the hope of God in us has to be what terrifies us, nothing else. That hope when it is alive and real in our hearts gives us the very life we live. We have to sanctify-- make holy -- the Lord God in our hearts! We have to...
1 Peter {3:15} ...be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear
Be ready always!!!! How long? Always. Does always include right this moment? Does it include tomorrow? What about a year or two from now? Yes, yes, yes, always means just that. We have to be ready at all times to give an answer to every man. How many men? How many people? Every man, every one, we have to be ready always to answer any one who asks why we have any hope in us and we have to answer humbly...meekly... with fear...with meekness and awe, not the fear in the sense we're scared to answer. In meekness and awe, humbly, quietly, reverently reveal why we have hope in our hearts. Why we can be abused physically, or mentally, maybe emotionally or possibly all three or any combination, why we can be harmed and yet still hope and not give up that hope in us. To give up that hope is to give up Jesus Himself.
People will want to beat that hope out of us. They'll want us to cry uncle. They'll want to hear us renounce the hope in us. But if the hope in our hearts is our very life we know that to renounce it means death and not from those that harm us but from the Eternal One.
We have to be ready always to give an answer to anyone who asks us why we have the hope in us that we do.
Do you know why you have that hope in you? Could you tell someone meekly, reverently why you have hope in your heart? What keeps you going, why aren't you succumbing to the abuse, even under the threat of death?
Could you?
Standing up for what seems wrong.
Being placed in the midst of those who hate you because you are out numbered, unfavored, reviled, and ridiculed.
The time is fast approaching and so very few will be standing.
The trials will be of the sort that those who are seemingly of fable, those of legend, and yet are very real, endured.
Will you stand?
The pressure to give in will be tremendous. You will seem wrong. You will seem crazy. You will seem to be against all that is good and right. How will you react?
This is something you need to think about. Or maybe you don't need to, maybe it's something you are of the opinion that you'll face when and if it happens to you, no planning needed.
Do you have an answer for your faith, for your hope?
******
1 Peter {3:13} And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
We like to imgaine that none will harm those who are followers of good, right? We're sickened when we read of abuse against those only seeking to help others. It's an atrocity to us when the good are targeted for harm, when the innocent are stricken purposely. Who harms those who only do good? Who? We want to believe only sick, twisted people but that's not always true in the sense they are noticeably aberrant people. A shock comes to many when they find out some seemingly wonderful people are the very ones harming others. Regardless of who they are the fact remains there are those who do harm followers of good.
1 Peter {3:14} But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled.
Suffering for righteousness sake.
The good that are harmed are suffering for righteousness sake aren't they? If those good people weren't so good maybe they wouldn't have suffered. If the good were inclined to give up their goodness so they wouldn't be harmed maybe things would go easier. No one wants to suffer and yet ... 'But and if...ye suffer for righteousness' sake...' it's better to suffer for righteousness than to give into evil, right? If we do suffer then we are told not to be 'afraid of their terror, neither be trouble'.
Afraid of their terror.
If we're not to be afraid of something that is ready to inflict terror upon us then what in the world are we to be afraid of?
It's normal to be afraid of someone or something that is terrorizing us, right? And yet we are told not to be afraid. In fact we're not only told *not* to be afraid we're told *not* to be troubled.
Righteousness stands on its own so to speak. Righteousness backs itself up. Being on the side of the righteous leaves no real cause for fear or worry. The unrighteous are those that will inflict terror and trouble upon the righteous. As long as the righteousness remains in us, that righteousness being Christ's Righteousness, then we truly have nothing to fear because nothing done to us can take that from us and the greatest loss comes if we lose our Righteousness which is Christ in us. We can't let fear strip us of that love of Christ's. We truly cannot allow ourselves to be afraid.
We are told to...
1 Peter {3:15} But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear
Sanctify the Lord God in our hearts.
God has to fill our hearts, God has to live in our hearts. God has to be the reason we do live, the reason for the life in us, the hope in us. Jesus has to be so real to us that we couldn't imagine living without the hope of God in us. The thought of living without the hope of God in us has to be what terrifies us, nothing else. That hope when it is alive and real in our hearts gives us the very life we live. We have to sanctify-- make holy -- the Lord God in our hearts! We have to...
1 Peter {3:15} ...be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear
Be ready always!!!! How long? Always. Does always include right this moment? Does it include tomorrow? What about a year or two from now? Yes, yes, yes, always means just that. We have to be ready at all times to give an answer to every man. How many men? How many people? Every man, every one, we have to be ready always to answer any one who asks why we have any hope in us and we have to answer humbly...meekly... with fear...with meekness and awe, not the fear in the sense we're scared to answer. In meekness and awe, humbly, quietly, reverently reveal why we have hope in our hearts. Why we can be abused physically, or mentally, maybe emotionally or possibly all three or any combination, why we can be harmed and yet still hope and not give up that hope in us. To give up that hope is to give up Jesus Himself.
People will want to beat that hope out of us. They'll want us to cry uncle. They'll want to hear us renounce the hope in us. But if the hope in our hearts is our very life we know that to renounce it means death and not from those that harm us but from the Eternal One.
We have to be ready always to give an answer to anyone who asks us why we have the hope in us that we do.
Do you know why you have that hope in you? Could you tell someone meekly, reverently why you have hope in your heart? What keeps you going, why aren't you succumbing to the abuse, even under the threat of death?
Could you?
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Campaign for Jesus
1 Cor. {15:10} But by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain.
The grace of God.
What is the grace of God? We know that if you're given a grace period for something you've bought it usually means that for that period of time you don't have to pay interest on a debt. If you're given a grace period for six months or so on your insurance that means for those six months you haven't been able to pay but the grace is extended to you until you can pay again. If that grace period runs out they you have to start paying interest on your loan, or you have to start making payments on a bill or risk losing all insurance coverage. There are many different ways to get across what a grace period is but that's not the grace of God. The grace of God is something much more special and everlasting.
The grace of God is giving us undeserved mercy that through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ we are given grace that allows us to claim eternal life so that we will not suffer the penalty for our sins- the penalty being eternal death.
You can see how much more God's grace is that a little grace people might show to one another.
By the grace of God, Paul says he is what he is and that God's grace which was bestowed on him wasn't in vain.
Is the grace of God bestowed upon us in vain?
Are we true laborers of Christ, living members of the body of Christ working together to bring Christ's message of salvation to all those we can?
To be a Christian means that we are Christ-followers. If we follow Christ we need to be bringing His message to all we can. A follower of someone is a supporter of that someone. If you support a certain politician you might go about campaigning for that politican in various way. Are you as a Christian campaigning for Christ? Are you ready to answer anyone for the reason of hope in you? The hope being the message of salvation given us through Jesus' sacrifice.
When you support a politican you might be asked what things that politican stands for, what are that politician's policies, what sorts of things that politician will hope to accomplish if elected and so on. Having just recently been through a presidential year unlike any other most people know what I'm talking about. However, if you don't know what your politician stands for are you really a true follower of them? You might give that politician your vote but what substance the politician holds is lost to you.
There are many professed Christians, many, many, and yes, many! Yet they follow along blindly. They call themselves Christians but aren't even fully aware of who Christ really is beyond God's Son who died and rose again. Do Christians need to know more than that? I say no, not if their knowing that is known with a conviction of heart making it a truth they cannot keep to themselves but need to share.
To nonchalantly say you're a Christian... is that something Jesus wanted, something Jesus promoted? Can God's grace be given in vain?
1 Cor. {15:10} But by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain.
I believe it can be. God's grace is something so amazing and so special, so real and so alive that it's something we shouldn't be able to hide or deny. Being saved from eternal death, being given eternal life to fully realize the love of God through Jesus Christ our Savior is something we need to be in awe of and not take for granted.
No, we're not all preachers, prophets, teachers and so on, but the lives we lead need to be such that we are professing Christ and His gift of Salvation.
May the Lord help us all be true campaign workers for Him and that the grace bestowed upon us, not a single bit of it, is in vain.
By His love and mercy!
Amen.
The grace of God.
What is the grace of God? We know that if you're given a grace period for something you've bought it usually means that for that period of time you don't have to pay interest on a debt. If you're given a grace period for six months or so on your insurance that means for those six months you haven't been able to pay but the grace is extended to you until you can pay again. If that grace period runs out they you have to start paying interest on your loan, or you have to start making payments on a bill or risk losing all insurance coverage. There are many different ways to get across what a grace period is but that's not the grace of God. The grace of God is something much more special and everlasting.
The grace of God is giving us undeserved mercy that through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ we are given grace that allows us to claim eternal life so that we will not suffer the penalty for our sins- the penalty being eternal death.
You can see how much more God's grace is that a little grace people might show to one another.
By the grace of God, Paul says he is what he is and that God's grace which was bestowed on him wasn't in vain.
Is the grace of God bestowed upon us in vain?
Are we true laborers of Christ, living members of the body of Christ working together to bring Christ's message of salvation to all those we can?
To be a Christian means that we are Christ-followers. If we follow Christ we need to be bringing His message to all we can. A follower of someone is a supporter of that someone. If you support a certain politician you might go about campaigning for that politican in various way. Are you as a Christian campaigning for Christ? Are you ready to answer anyone for the reason of hope in you? The hope being the message of salvation given us through Jesus' sacrifice.
When you support a politican you might be asked what things that politican stands for, what are that politician's policies, what sorts of things that politician will hope to accomplish if elected and so on. Having just recently been through a presidential year unlike any other most people know what I'm talking about. However, if you don't know what your politician stands for are you really a true follower of them? You might give that politician your vote but what substance the politician holds is lost to you.
There are many professed Christians, many, many, and yes, many! Yet they follow along blindly. They call themselves Christians but aren't even fully aware of who Christ really is beyond God's Son who died and rose again. Do Christians need to know more than that? I say no, not if their knowing that is known with a conviction of heart making it a truth they cannot keep to themselves but need to share.
To nonchalantly say you're a Christian... is that something Jesus wanted, something Jesus promoted? Can God's grace be given in vain?
1 Cor. {15:10} But by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain.
I believe it can be. God's grace is something so amazing and so special, so real and so alive that it's something we shouldn't be able to hide or deny. Being saved from eternal death, being given eternal life to fully realize the love of God through Jesus Christ our Savior is something we need to be in awe of and not take for granted.
No, we're not all preachers, prophets, teachers and so on, but the lives we lead need to be such that we are professing Christ and His gift of Salvation.
May the Lord help us all be true campaign workers for Him and that the grace bestowed upon us, not a single bit of it, is in vain.
By His love and mercy!
Amen.
Friday, May 8, 2009
By the grace and mercy of Jesus may we be prepared.
John
{1:32} And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
{1:33} And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
{1:34} And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
God sent John to baptize with water.
God told John that the Spirit would descend and remain on the one which would baptize with the Holy Ghost.
Picture it...
God called John to baptize with water. To make way the coming of the Lord. He called to repentance.
Matt.
{3:1} In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea
{3:2} And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
John was preparing people telling them something was coming, something was happening and they needed to be ready for it. All their lives they lived with the need to repent of their sins, they were raised with the sacrifical services part of their every day life. But now they were being told something more was happening. They knew their sacrifical service was pointing to something else. They knew a Messiah was to come.
Hope was revived with John preaching in the wilderness. Hope was come to them that the Messiah was indeed on His way. Hope was to be realized and people needed to be ready. They needed to realize their sinfulness, to understand that the Messiah was coming and they needed to be ready.
John did what he was told to do and then one day as he was baptizing people what he was told would happened- happened.
The Spirit descended and remained upon Jesus, upon the Son of God.
Can you imagine the awe! The wonder as John saw what he'd been told come to pass? It's amazing when predictions come to pass, amazing and awe inspiring. God's wonder is amazing, His love for us is unbelievable.
Jesus Himself told us He would come again for us and He will. The people of Israel had to wait thousands of years to see the realization of the Messiah's coming. The people of the world over have been waiting for thousands of years to see the realization of Jesus' return. God's promises are realized. We must believe, we must have faith, we must have hope.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus may we be prepared.
Amen.
{1:32} And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
{1:33} And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
{1:34} And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
God sent John to baptize with water.
God told John that the Spirit would descend and remain on the one which would baptize with the Holy Ghost.
Picture it...
God called John to baptize with water. To make way the coming of the Lord. He called to repentance.
Matt.
{3:1} In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea
{3:2} And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
John was preparing people telling them something was coming, something was happening and they needed to be ready for it. All their lives they lived with the need to repent of their sins, they were raised with the sacrifical services part of their every day life. But now they were being told something more was happening. They knew their sacrifical service was pointing to something else. They knew a Messiah was to come.
Hope was revived with John preaching in the wilderness. Hope was come to them that the Messiah was indeed on His way. Hope was to be realized and people needed to be ready. They needed to realize their sinfulness, to understand that the Messiah was coming and they needed to be ready.
John did what he was told to do and then one day as he was baptizing people what he was told would happened- happened.
The Spirit descended and remained upon Jesus, upon the Son of God.
Can you imagine the awe! The wonder as John saw what he'd been told come to pass? It's amazing when predictions come to pass, amazing and awe inspiring. God's wonder is amazing, His love for us is unbelievable.
Jesus Himself told us He would come again for us and He will. The people of Israel had to wait thousands of years to see the realization of the Messiah's coming. The people of the world over have been waiting for thousands of years to see the realization of Jesus' return. God's promises are realized. We must believe, we must have faith, we must have hope.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus may we be prepared.
Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)