A Gift of Laughter
Psalms 100 (MSG) 1-2 On your feet now—applaud GOD!
Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.
3 Know this: GOD is God, and God, GOD.
He made us; we didn’t make him.
We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.
4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.
5 For GOD is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.
I know this doesn’t sound the least bit familiar. “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands” is what comes to mind when we think Psalm 100. But isn’t this a great paraphrase?When we enter into the presence of the One, True and Living God what better way to show Him our love than to bring a gift of laughter!
We are invited into the presence of the One who created us and told to make ourselves at home. Can you think of a better way to be in relationship with our Father than to laugh with Him?
This world is not my home, but I know, believe and understand that in my Father’s house are many mansions, and one day He will call me home. And in that moment I will be united with the One who died for me and my joy will bubble over and my laughter will fill the rooms.
May we remember to laugh because God is good, and because laughter is a gift from God and that is the only reason we need.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dying to Sin and Living for Righteousness
1 Peter 2:18-25 (NIV) 18 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22 “He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
I once read that the four saddest words in our lexicon are “if only” and “next time.” We are unaware of how much of our lives are consumed by regret over yesterday and dread of tomorrow. Yet, the Shepherd of our Souls patiently waits for us to recognize the sound of His voice and follow.
What enables us to recognize someone’s voice? It is not just the tenor of the voice that becomes familiar, but it is the content of what is said. And it is by staying in close contact and listening, really listening, that we can discern one voice from another.
So it is with our Savior.
One of my greatest difficulties is my propensity to answer insults or slights rather than just letting go. God knows my heart, and He knows your heart. Perhaps today we can be intentional in not just following in the footsteps of Jesus but imitating Him in all we say and do.
May we bring honor to our Savior by both our words and our actions, and may we take the name of Jesus and share Him with all we meet.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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.
Seeking Holiness 