Conscious of God

Posted on Jul 29, 2013 in Uncategorized |

Read 1 Peter 2:19, 23, 3:13-15; Psalm 9:7-10; Proverbs 3:5-6
“For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because
he is conscious of God.” (v 19)

Some Thoughts…

Recognizing God in every situation is a powerful thing. No longer is my focus remaining on the hopelessness of a situation where people seem to have so distorted God’s intentions that life seems pointless and a dead end, but to see God – to be conscious of His power and purpose and presence in every situation from the highest to the lowest – that changes everything.

Now I can (with joy) submit to authority, because out of my conscious acknowledgement of God’s over-riding activity to set up and remove worldly powers just as He sees fit, I find peace…I know this too shall pass – I’m confident in something bigger than the moment of injustice there is greater work in the mix – Eternal stuff…

Jesus recognized it in His most painful moments as He suffered on the cross; “Jesus entrusted Himself to Him…” He is my example, so I will entrust myself to God, the righteous Judge of all people and all situations.

My consciousness of God being very much alive and active in every situation brings a confidence and joy to my life. I can lift my head high and walk straight through the most crooked of moments because my eyes are on Him. He is at work and the worst people can do to me pales in comparison to the best God has in store for all who believe. He will never forsake those who seek Him (Psalm 9:10).

So, I will look for Him in everything…good or bad…He is there working to bring about His will… I will choose to keep that thought in the forefront of my mind – conscious of God.

A Prayer…

Father, the reality is that I do not remain conscious of You…I forget…I lose faith…forgive me and help me by the power of Your Spirit in me to keep my eyes on You…the author and completer of my faith.

A Reason to Submit

Posted on Jul 22, 2013 in Uncategorized |

Read I Peter 2:13-25

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men.” (v13a)

Some Thoughts…

I’ve always read this section of scripture and interpreted it as a directive on Christian duty (civic, occupational, and domestic), but as I’ve taken time with it here in the context of Peter’s letter I discover so much more than “duty” – I find God’s call to “the good life” lived out in front of non-believers in such a way that they are forced to reckon with the God I serve and have been saved by and changed internally and externally. It is God’s will that I live this good life! (v 15), and when I embrace meekness this way I find power to live in complete liberty and freedom (V16). To give an overview of this section I used Chuck Swindoll’s outline of this passage:

1) The Command (v13-14) – God expects me to submit to all authority (corrupt or honorable) as I seek to be a resident alien living and abiding by the laws and social standards of this word’s culture…not for me, not even for social stability, but for the Lord’s sake – not a duty as much as it is an act of faith and trust in God in bringing about justice on His time table (see Psalm 33:10 ff).

2) The Reason (v15) – God wants to silence the sounds of foolish folk who are quick to accuse people of faith falsely…we don’t need to give anyone more reasons to hate us…to misunderstand us – It is God’s will that our lives point to His grace…and when they do pursue us they will be at fault, not us because we pushed where God never told us to. (see v 20).

3) The Principle (v 16-17) – We are free! This is amazing! I’m not in bondage to any rank of man…yet freedom has a high price – self-sacrifice —willingness to put off selfish desires for the good of others – Honor, respect, holy fear…and love; That is our call and calling card.

4) A hard Example (v 15-20) – Slavery – The most unjust of all social injustices…and Peter refuses to see these people the way their culture did – 60 million strong they were people not property! And as God would have it in the mystery of His sovereignty, they were in a less than desirable position…and God calls them to submit out of love for God and faith in their true position as freed men…and as time has moved on, slavery still exists and God still hates it…when will we learn!

5) The perfect Example (v21-25) – Jesus – He relates to the slave – that is the form He took; a servant, and He submitted to the puppet powers of His day even though He possessed all power to end life as we know it – He submitted for our sake and salvation for His sake – He trusted the One who will judge injustice (v23b). He took my sin… He took our sin…He showed us how to live!

A Prayer…

Jesus, may I live today serving and submitting to those around me for your sake as you set me free to live fully alive until you return to set things right. Amen.

Living the Good Life!

Posted on Jul 8, 2013 in Uncategorized |

Read 1 Peter 2:9-12
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” (v 12)

Some Thoughts…

God has chosen me (just as He has chosen all who will believe) to be His…I find my heritage, my history, my meaning in His choosing. Now I’m part of an alien nation…told to make my temporary home here while we “await the day” (see V 9, 12). But while I wait for the train to take me home, I live “among the nations” – in the middle of people who have either chosen to reject their true identity in Christ or who have yet to see past this flesh and bone existence to find Jesus to be their REAL Life…

I live as an “alien priest” among the “ethos” of fleshly-minded nations of people; past, present and future. So, while I’m here, God wants me to offer some spiritual sacrifices (see v 5).

1) Declare the praises of the One who called me and chose me out of the ethos of darkness into the alien land of His light (v9) – So I will use my words like a town crier announcing the coming of my King!

2) Abstain from some of the pleasures in life that trigger desires in me that will seduce me to exchange my heavenly green card for worldly citizenship papers (v11). – So I will choose to say “no” when many say “yes”. I’ll determine to be a fool in my innocence while many would see the path to maturity as a walk on the wild-side.

3) Live a good life (v12) – I will attempt to live a simple life that just might be Beautiful, vivacious, win-some, and valuable to this world that is not my home…So that when those who stumble over the Rock that has become my foundation; when their guilt has turned to resentment and hatred and they can only see me as criminal, or closed minded, and just WRONG… That in those moments, as they point the finger of accusation at me, they may only find a hand of loving helpfulness attempting to treat their wounds that they suffered in their fall as they stumbled over Jesus. All in the hope that some may stop their slander and see what we’ve seen as we’ve been adopted by God the Father…and they will in turn exchange their hate speech for praise and eternal conversations.

A Prayer…

Father, Please keep alive in me a home-sickness for heaven so that my heart will be warm with Your grace and Your beauty so that when a watching world looks closely they see You. Amen

Chosen to be a “go-between”

Posted on Jul 1, 2013 in Uncategorized |

Read I Peter 2:4-8

“As you come to Him, the living stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood…” (v4-5a)

Some Thoughts…

We are entering a rejected relationship; we follow a way of life that is repulsive to many who have rejected it. For what is foundational, indispensable, and precious to God is forgotten, despised, and rejected by most of humanity. The very Onewe are running to for our life and salvation is anything but precious and “choice” in the world in which we live.

Yet we “come to Him,” and as we come, God takes us as His very own, adopting us into His family…yes, we are being built into a spiritual household…and the family business is the priesthood – we are now the go-betweens…the ones standing in the gap between the hopelessness of a sinful humanity (a group we identify with all too well) and the HOLY God of Almighty…

We are no better than those outside the walls of this spiritual house. The major difference between us and them is that we simply chose to come in. God chose us, and we accepted His offer…So now we have become the ones that God would use to stand as ambassadors to those who rage against God. And we stand calling for a cease-fire and asking folks to accept what they have been passionately rejecting for years.

Some will hear our pleas and see the compassion in our eyes and they too will “come to Him” becoming part of His family of priests…But many will not…they will continue to be offended by Him who is the anchor of our lives…He is a stone that causes people to trip and fall…they can’t see His effort to stop their running as a kind gesture or a saving act…for they truly believe they are running the right way. They can’t see that what is precious to them right now will one day destroy them and wipe out our most compassionate efforts as God’s go-betweens. They will never find the treasure of Jesus…they are “destined for it”… disobeying God’s most elementary message of grace and love…they reject Him – the precious One.

This truth of Scripture is hard to swallow and I’m thankful I’m not the judge. I don’t know another person’s destiny, so I will keep hard at the work of “the priesthood of the believer” doing and saying all I can to call out just ONE MORE chosen soul for the miracle of salvation.

A Prayer…

Father,

I don’t understand this…why choose me? I’m not worthy or worth it…why not choose someone with better talents of persuasion and compassion. But, before I go too far with that line of thinking…Thank You for allowing me into Your household…Help me live my life with my mind on “the priesthood” and do all I can to win more souls into Your house of love. Amen.

Deep LOVE…

Posted on Jun 17, 2013 in Uncategorized |

Read I Peter 1:22 – 2:3
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply from the heart.” (v 22)

Some Thoughts…

Peter reminds us that living a life of Christ-like purity can never excuse us from caring for others. He calls us to love one another deeply. I must never forget that it is necessary for me to love my fellow believers (yes, loving them all – even the strange ones, the loud ones, and the overly religious ones. God calls me to love them all deeply) with brotherly (family) love.

Here are Three Reasons to Love like Family:

1) (V 23) We have a totally new life – We are born again – we’ve been implanted with eternal seed – God’s powerful Word – that was and is and is to come – more than just letters on pages – it is Jesus alive in our dead souls slowly bringing to life the eternal people we were originally made to be. We are made to live forever – one family, one Father, for eternity. I am alive in Christ. And I am learning that to love my fellow man is to breathe His life into them.

2) (V24-25) We only have a short time to live out our fleshly existence – We are grass-like…every one of us, if time continues, will wither and die and be forgotten, but while we have breath and the leaves of our life are still green, we must produce fruit that points folk to the One who is eternal – God’s Word that He planted in us is eternal – we must choose to live the Spirit-life over and against the grass-like- flesh-life we used to know. And that life must be rooted and established in love.

3) (2:1-3) If we are born again, we will only find true nourishment in the milk of God’s Word and not in the relational sins that tear lives apart. Peter calls believers to take off the old clothing of self-preservation – you know those things we do to protect and insulate ourselves from the pain caused by others…we all have our own way of dealing with conflict and difficult relationships. Many times we feed off our feelings of anger, resentment and pain; we act out in all kinds of ways. Peter lists several in this passage, but he turns our attention to a better way to live, a better way to feed our inner self… It is the same way we have begun the purification process of salvation – we crave God’s Word like a baby cries for milk…We’ve tasted God…His grace and patience, His unexplainable and confounding patience with the human race…He is good…and we need more and more to be like Him…We love like brothers out of an overflow of God’s goodness growing in us as we learn more everyday about this mysterious and amazing salvation…as we obey the truth!

A Prayer…

Father,

Help me love like You do…and live my life hungry for You and Your will and for the fullness of Your Kingdom that is full of brothers and sisters in Christ moving day by day one step closer to You. I’m praying for maturity, but I still have such a long way to go…and I ask you to help me embrace my personal responsibility to grow up…to set aside childish attitudes and actions of selfish deceitfulness and live the life of love that I’m called to. Amen.

We’re Not Home Yet…

Posted on Jun 12, 2013 in Uncategorized |

Read I Peter 1:17-21

“Since you call on a father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.” (v17)

Some Thoughts…

Peter calls us to a life of a “resident alien” – we are “in” the world but no longer “o”f the world because of our rebirth into the Family of God – “In spite of their humanness, Christians are “extra-terrestrials” at heart. Or better, they are “neo-terrestrials”, representatives of a new humanity in Jesus Christ.” (Edmond Clowney).

And, the great apostle breaks down the why, how, and what it means to “live as strangers here.”

Why?(v 17) We have a new Father that is all-powerful and all knowing and is impartial to Judge each person…His Judgment is my constant reminder that He cares. He cares about what I do, what I say and what I think… My salvation is sealed by the blood of Jesus, but my choice of actions in life are not…that is my choice – God calls me to live as a stranger to the ways of living that most find very familiar…and the reason is simple. His ways are different (holy) and He calls me to be like Him – for His glory and the salvation of those around me. (See Ephesians 2:1 ff, I Corinthians 3:11-15, Ecclesiastes 11:9)

How? (v 17b-20) I am to live life in the tension of what seems like polar opposites – in fear of God’s wrath and yet at the same time at peace in the face of God’s love (expressed in Jesus voluntary sacrifice for me – see Philippians 2:5-11)… I never for a moment take for granted the power and wrath of God. Like handling fireworks, I respect the destructive power of what is awe-inspiring when handled correctly. I fear a Mighty Maker who calls me son and tells me to call Him Father, and I love a humble Savior who took on Himself my pain and punishment…and I live in the last times like there will not be another day. I love God and love people because I can see clearly (as best I can in my humanity) the power that He has and the desperation of those living comfortably at home where now I find myself feeling much more like an outsider or foreigner.

What?(v 18) 1) From what am I a stranger? From an earthly way of living that seeks self-fulfillment over truth and looks to make my own ways work over and against the higher ways of God…my “faith-fathers” have passed them down to me, but now I am calling on a greater Father – my Maker (see 1 John 2:15-17, Colossians 3, 1 Peter 2:11-12). 2) To what am I now a citizen? My name is written on a doorpost in a place I’ve never been, yet I feel its beckoning call. A home where God dwells in His fullness…no more need for faith or hope because I’ll see and feel and rest there…but for now I lean heavily toward faith and hope that rest solely on the shoulders of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

A Prayer…

Father, help me live today as a stranger – a sojourner making my way home. Amen.

God’s Gift and My Response

Posted on Jun 4, 2013 in Uncategorized |

Read I Peter 1:13-16

…for it is written: “Be holy because I am holy.” (v 16)

Some Thoughts…

“After the indicative (revealing) of God’s mysterious salvation comes the imperatives (commands) of Christ-like living…” (Downey), Peter tells us that because God has done such an indescribable thing by granting forgiveness and salvation to any of us who would turn to Him, that there are some things we need to do; things we could not do without God first acting on our behalf – for without salvation, Godly living is impossible!

There are at least 4 commands, or imperatives, for those of us who have crossed from old life into the new life, being reborn in Christ:

1) Clear your mind of clutter, be sober in your thinking, and get ready for action (v13a). We are in the middle of a spiritual war for souls. There is no time for passivity or laziness. We must be thinking straight so we can be ready for the day’s battle to love, forgive, and stand for what is right and just for all people. We must be ready (see Ephesians 5:15ff). And this readiness is born in the mind that is sober in it’s ability to see and understand that this world we live in is passing away – or giving way to a greater existence (see Luke 12:38ff).

2) Have a firm grip on Hope (v 13b)– Our clarity of mind comes from the firm grip that we keep on our HOPE. And what is our hope? It is the powerful conviction that our Savior will return and take us to our true home. And if we die before that day, we will be ushered into that unknown/yet strangely familiar place in the presence of Jesus. Hope gives us the power we need in our present attempts at readiness. “The plain fact is that no man sees the greatness of the present, unless he regards it as being the vestibule of the future” (Alexander Maclean).

3) Do not conform to the world system, but obey God’s system (v 14) – We are reborn in Christ or as Peter worded it in the original Greek: we are “children of obedience.” We have a new capacity because of this great salvation that has regenerated the image of God in us to live life the way God originally intended us to live. Instead of living in rebellion to God, we find ourselves obeying those holy laws we once rejected as closed-minded and out-of-date. And now our hope is confirmed and strengthened as we obey and we become more like Jesus (see Philippians 2:5 ff) and we live to imitate our Maker (see Ephesians 5:1; Matthew 5:48; 1 Thessalonians 2:12).

4) Be holy as God is holy (v 15-16) – This is the goal for all believers. We were created in the image of God to be like Him in His love, grace, mercy, power, justice, etc… Holiness can be defined as a person who is different from the average and set apart for God’s special use – We are not better but we are no longer the same…When Christ enters a life, that life is forever changed… We now live as “resident-aliens”… We’ve got our “heavenly green card” and we spend our time making this place better as we wait for our eternal homecoming.

So the mystery of salvation comes full circle. We are saved by grace to live fully in God’s plan and presence – it is born in an uncluttered mind, spurred on by an unexplainable hope, fleshed out in faithful obedience, and lived out in divine distinctiveness…

A Prayer…

Father, may I prepare my mind to think Your thoughts to focus my attention on the hope that Your grace is all I need and because of that amazing grace live like a child in total obedience to You so that You can make me like Your Son, Jesus – for Your glory and kingdom’s sake! Amen.

This is a BIG DEAL!

Posted on May 28, 2013 in Uncategorized |

Read I Peter 1:10-12

“…Even angels long to look into these things.” (v12)

Some Thoughts…

As Peter starts to wrap up his introduction he begins with the phrase, “Concerning this salvation…” The first few paragraphs in this letter to suffering Christ followers are filled with words of encouragement to a group of people who are undergoing pain and persecution and are attempting to continue to live within the gospel when all they seem to experience is grief and pain…

So he gives them (and us) one more note of Joy to sing…This salvation that you possess is not some weak religious experience. It is not some short-lived notion contrived by some crazy fishermen and zealots…No! This mysterious historical force has been driven by Jesus from the beginning of time…the prophets didn’t understand all of it even though the spirit of Christ was dictating the truth to their hearts…with diligence and fear, they sought to gain understanding of it all, but it has only been made clear by the very act of the “Jesus event” – His life, death, and resurrection, ascension, and eminent return…This is profound!

God’s mercy born from the dawn of time to bring the remedy for sinful man; a remedy that comes in stages – beginning often with “sufferings” and ending in “glories” (v11b). And as the life of Christ is truly lived out in the heart of every believer, we are living out the greatest story ever told! It is so great that all of heaven is straining to see it. “Angels peering, as it were, over the battlements of heaven to behold what God has done in Jesus Christ.” (Edmond Downey). Or as Eugene Peterson puts it: “Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!”
(The Message – 1:12),

Oh what a great salvation! Oh what a great God! The very worst moments in our lives will shrivel and fade in the light of Jesus and the salvation that He has come to bring.

A Prayer…

Father, I don’t understand much, but I can get this…What You have done to bring salvation to the world is colossal…It is so much bigger than me and my small-minded constructs of what I assume about Your Kingdom and Your ways. This is such a great mystery that not even Angels are insiders on Your plan…this is big…real BIG…and You have allowed Your children to experience it – Salvation in Christ Jesus …Thank you for such a great salvation. Amen!

Rejoicing in trials…

Posted on May 20, 2013 in Uncategorized |

Read 1 Peter 1:6-9
“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (v6-7)

Some Thoughts…

Rejoicing in trials has never been my thing. The least little inconvenience can cause a faith-crisis and bring me to my knees in tears. So, when I read this passage I feel less than Christian, but today I see it a little differently – my joy is not present because of trials or difficulties that this broken life throws at me. No, my joy is present before the bad times come and after they go away, because of Jesus. Because He has done for me what I am powerless to do for myself – He has given me salvation – an eternal inheritance.

He has given me a glimpse into the end result (see v9)of my pilgrim’s journey through this life, and when my mind stays focused on that reality, the knot in my stomach relaxes and the tears in my eyes turn to sparkles of joy; a joy that can’t be explained or packaged or marketed or recreated in an instagram. It is intangible. And when I live life in that frame of mind, the worst that this life has for me becomes bearable. And the various pains I may suffer become dips in the road that jostle my journey and simply serve as reminders that people around me hurt and struggle and question just like I do.

And God has called me to be His light in darkness, His hand of healing for the sick, His arms of comfort of the broken, and His ambassador in the war for souls…such a high calling leaves no room for self-pity only an expectant joy that God is about to do something with my mustard-seed faith that has to grow in the dirt of earthly struggles! I must never forget that following Jesus is an exercise in seeing the invisible God working His will in a very visible and broken world. For it’s in those moments that I learn to love Jesus more and He can enable me to love others like He loves me.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” (v 8)

A Prayer…

Father, things always change the moment I lift my eyes to the unseen…when I again feel the embrace of Your love relationship. That’s where my perspective is re-oriented to Heaven and my eyes can see clearly the soul right in front of me that is in need of Your salvation… Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation to that Your glory can be revealed in me. Amen.

“Let the bones you have crushed rejoice! (Psalm 51:8b)

Kept Secure in Chirst

Posted on May 13, 2013 in Uncategorized |

Read I Peter 1:3-5

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In his great mercy He has given us new birth…” (v3)

Some Thoughts…

Because of what God has done, not what I have done, I am born into a new existence; a new family; a new future and a new present. “God caused us to be born” is the literal translation. He has done it! And offers this new life to anyone who will stop long enough to receive it…but what exactly am I born into?

· I’m born into a living hope, because Jesus is living and not dead. I live daily with a living Savior who is alive in me in the form of His Holy Spirit…My outlook is motivated by this reality. My restoration is driven by His living presence in me. I have nothing to fear, no one to impress with a contrived façade that is not me. I’m alive and will live on beyond this reality because of Him — and when I take hold of that truth, and I allow it to take hold of me, my soul wells up and my life praises God, weather I use words or not.

But that is not all – I’m born into an inheritance that cannot be diminished by the ebbs and flows of economic inconsistencies, or passing fads, or the latest publically endorsed lifestyle. There is something so much better that is being kept secure for me; better than the best things I can know now. This is something eternal and wonderfully unimaginable that God has waiting for me at the end of this broken earthly journey (see Romans 8:1 ff). I am His adopted child, a child of the King…and there is an inheritance that is mine and it is now ready for me, but I’m not ready for it yet. So, I keep walking in this living hope…waiting with anticipation.

But, I realize something else as I read Peter’s words: Not only is this amazing inheritance being kept secure for me, I am being kept secure for it by God’s indescribable and unexplainable power… Peter says the saved “are shielded by God’s power” (v 5). Literally this speaks of a guardian or a protective custody. I am “kept under guard” by God’s power…a power that does not look like humanity’s power. It whispers instead of shouts, it hides in a field waiting to be found, It speaks through “foolish” prophets of old and makes little sense to an economy of “me first” and “more is better”. I am secured by God, not by my abilities…so I rest in that truth… I take comfort in that reality when praise is hard to come by and hope seems hopeless.

I must own up to my new life – Born anew:

Now Not yet, but already

A Living Hope An Eternal Inheritance

A Prayer…

Father, I am living from a heart of hopelessness way too much…forgive me. Help me to see the true reality of my life – a new life – re-born in You, and by Your power! Fill me with Your Living Hope today and when things seem dark, help me feel your powerful hand holding me still, safe, and secure for eternity. Amen.