This World is not my Home
1 Peter 2:11-17 (NIV) 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 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.
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
Only two generations ago many people lived in the same area most of their lives. Some lived in homes passed down from family to family. It was not uncommon for a family to have just one car. But things have changed.
The more mobile our society has become, the more families are spread out. The places we find ourselves may not feel like home, yet in order to be productive and fulfilled we are expected to fit in to the culture. Even in Peter’s time, Christians felt like foreigners in a foreign land. The saying supposedly originated in 383 AD with Bishop Ambrose advising St. Augustine regarding fasting that “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
In much of history, however, many of the problems arose with the people of Israel becoming assimilated into foreign cultures. Being holy as God is holy means to be set apart. Instead, intermarriage led to worshipping foreign gods, which then led to eating forbidden foods and taking part in ceremonies that defiled the One, True God.
Peter recognized the dilemma, and his advice was essentially as Jesus said: render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. But by no means use the freedom we have in Christ to do evil.
We should each understand that everything we do is a reflection of Jesus Christ. May we purpose to help others and glorify God every day or our lives.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A Cornerstone OR Stumbling Block
1 Peter 2:4-10 (NIV) 4 As you come to him, the living Stone —rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”
8 and,
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
How can Jesus be both a cornerstone and a stumbling block? I suppose it all depends on your perspective.
For those who believe, Jesus is the very foundation of our faith. If, however, we do not embrace Christianity then the cornerstone juts out like a misaligned section of wall. We can either build our hope and confirmation upon the most solid of rocks, or we will surely fall.
If you have ever lived in a house whose foundation is not firm, you begin to notice cracks appearing in the walls. The doors may not close properly or perhaps there are gaps in the the floor boards.
May we build upon the Solid rock, now and forever.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
FOR YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN
1 Peter 1:22-25 (NIV) 22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable
seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
In yesterday’s Scripture, Peter reminds his readers that Jesus was chosen to be the spotless lamb from the very foundation of the world. If anything makes us feel safe and secure, it is knowing that nothing is by chance or happenstance. Instead, God has a plan. And that plan includes a pathway to salvation.
In the Bible, salvation is equated with being born again. You remember how the Pharisee Nicodemus came to Jesus asking what he must do to be saved. Jesus said very simply, you must be born again.
The new birth through Jesus is the most life altering event we can ever experience. Peter says our love for others is sincerely, deeply and from the heart.
So how does being born again enable us to love so deeply? When we give our lives to Jesus, and we begin to practice being intentional in our discipleship, we are transformed into people who can love even those who have hurt us to the core.
I recall watching a clip of a serial killer being sentenced to death for his crimes. The victims’ families issued scathing comments, cursing him to having unbearable pain. But one man stood up and said you are making me prove my faith in a way no one should have to do. I forgive you.
When we can forgive others who have hurt us, maligned us, taken something precious from us, made our lives generally unbearable, then we are living out our faith.
May we never forget the life affirming power of the enduring Word, and may we allow that power to change us from the inside out.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Redeemed by the Lamb
1 Peter 1:17-21 (NIV) 17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Repentance, redemption, restoration—oh how I love those words!
Repentance is more than being sorry, it is turning away from our sins and toward the One who exchanges our sin for our salvation.
Redemption is the act of Jesus buying us back from our sin-state with His very own blood.
Restoration is the act of Jesus bringing us back into a right relationship with God our Father.
And here is the defining moment—all of this was established before the earth was even created. God made a way for each of us through Jesus Christ, who was “born to live, born to die, born to sacrifice His life, born to be the spotless lamb that would save the souls of man.”
May we turn each day to the One who loves us completely, knowing and believing that only Jesus can bring the peace we need, only Jesus can bring healing and restoration.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A Life Blazing With Holiness
1 Peter 1:13 (MSG) 13-16 So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”
I started a blog in 2009 called “Seekingholiness.blog.” You see, I have been an intentional disciple for many years. I understand when God said “I am holy, you be holy” it was not just a suggestion. And I also understand that attaining such perfection is not within our reach while in our mortal bodies. But that doesn’t mean we should quit trying.
I love, love, love the way “The Message” interprets these instructions: “roll up your sleeves and get your head in the game.” We roll up our sleeves to engage in heavy work, and we get our head in the game so that we are completely present and aware of what is going on around us. If we are not attentive, we will be in danger of returning to a lifestyle that does not glorify God.
May we who know better, do better, and may we hunger for a life that is truly energetic and blazing with holiness.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 