Living With Eternity In Sight

How to get through this world while you wait for Jesus return.

1 Peter 5:6-11  So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor.

7  Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you. 8  Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

10 In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. 11  All power to Him forever! Amen.

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As Peter comes to the close of his letter to the churches in Asia Minor he gives them a summary of how to live and what their attitude should be as they wait for Christ return. It is a message that is just as relevant to us today.

Humility

One of the biggest struggles that we have is with humility, God knew that we would have a challenge in this area, so the importance of humility is taught throughout the Bible. Humility is required for salvation, we need it in order to see ourselves the way that God sees us, without humility we will not turn to God and ask for help. From that point on our lives should be known for humility, once we see ourselves the way that God sees us, we should find it difficult to view ourselves as much without him.

Isaiah 57:15  The high and lofty One who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: "I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.

It can be difficult to yield to God's plan and humbly allow his power to work in your life, he may bring calamity and difficulty for a season in order to bring glory to himself or the hard times may be there for your spiritual growth, sometimes it might look easier to take the controls and do things our way.

Here is a statement that I found in a commentary on these verses: "If we do not humble ourselves under God’s grace then he will humble us under his judgments." Either we will humble ourselves voluntarily or the day will come when we will be humbled by God.

Trust

It is difficult to trust in this world that is full of selfishness and pride, we all try and get our way and look out for ourselves but there is a place and a person that you can put your trust, a place where we can unload without fear. We can go to the cross where we are completely accepted by God and we can trust him to lighten our load.

Psalms 55:22  Give your burdens to the LORD, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

What more can anyone wish for than to know that the great and merciful God of the universe thinks about you? Not only does he think about you but he also cares! Amazing thought isn't it?

Stay Alert and Stand Firm

Watch out! Satan will try to use any opportunity to make our lives useless for God. Initially he is out to destroy you by making you a prisoner to death but once you are a child of God and you are no longer under the curse of death his next plan is to make you useless for God.

James 4:7-8  So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

Satan will try to make you fearful and ineffective but we can stand our ground if we stay alert to his schemes. Our best defense against that "roaring lion" is to stay close to God. It seems to me that the devil must hate God and be repulsed by him and the last thing that he wants to do is hangout close to him. So if I am staying close to God then the devil won't want to come close to me.

Perspective

It is best to live with your long term goal in site. Do you have a long term goal? Every child of God has one but too often the stuff of this world will try and take our focus from the eternal glory that we will share with Jesus and get our focus on the short term problems around us.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18  For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!   So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

God has called me to greater things than I can imagine! God will take care of every need for this life and he will provide for my eternal destination. The devil will use the pain and trouble of this world to try and get me off track but I will choose to "fix my gaze on things that cannot be seen."

Thank you Lord for teaching me how to get through this world, thank you for loving me and giving me a new perspective on how to live, help me to keep my eyes on the eternal.

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The Church Needs Good Shepherds

Shepherds have a difficult task but the rewards are awesome.

1 Peter 5:1-4 And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you:  

2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.

4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

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The secular example of leadership in world history is one of domination, from the Philistines to the Babylonians to the Romans, they all ruled with an iron fist. Even the Jewish religious leaders took up this autocratic leadership style of force and intimidation. Authority was not usually associated with concern, forgiveness or mercy.

Peter is writing this book to the persecuted church, the leaders in Judaism and the Roman government are intimidating the followers of Jesus to try and get rid of this new movement, Peter is telling the church leaders that in the face of persecution the church needs leaders to lead.

Peter found out the hard way that leaders are made and they are proven when times are tough. Peter failed when the pressures was on, he blew in no time right after boldly announcing his allegiance, Jesus forgave him and he also gave him a fresh mandate to take care of the flock. After that Peter went on to become the solid rock that Jesus had said that he would become.

Matthew 20:25-26 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant.

The world had never seen leadership done the way that Jesus did it, the world had never seen a servant be a leader, the only thing that servants did was perform the jobs that nobody else would do. Jesus example shows us that we need to take care of the flock that God has placed in our care and serve them with the right attitude, cheerfully eager to serve God with Christlike humility, self-sacrifice, and affection for the sheep.

Psalm 23:1-3 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

If you read the entire twenty third Psalm you will catch a glimpse of the perfect shepherd, one that supplies every need, one that leads his sheep to safety, feeds them, brings them through the darkest days and prepares a place for them to live with him in his presence for eternity.

We must remember that the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ, will one day return and review our work. Will you be found following his example?

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The Believer's Survival Guide

How to live in this world while you are looking forward to eternity.

1 Peter 2:12  Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world.

1 Peter 3:13-18 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good?

14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.

15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

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It is important for God's children to behave differently than the rest of the world, Peter tells us to live "properly" in front of our unbelieving neighbors, they are watching you and you need to be concerned about what they see.

Peter has been telling the recipients of his letter that they will suffer, as an alien in an ungodly culture, there will be attacks. The ungodly will harass and persecute believers and so we need to be ready for it and know how to defend ourselves and we need to know how to cope with not fitting in.

Be Careful How You Live

Survival Guide Tip #1

There is a pretty good chance that if you do the right thing then very few people will try and harm you or give you a difficult time. Being passionate about living with the fruit of the spirit will silence most of your critics.

This isn't always true, your passion for goodness will be more than some people can take, sometimes a righteous person will suffer at the hand of godless men because your virtuous life will irritate them.

Worship God Constantly

Survival Guide Tip #2

Instead of worrying about it we should be worshiping and honoring God. Our concern should be with God and his desire for my life but instead we take our eyes off of him and worry about what man can do and what they may think about us.

Jesus is Lord and we need to remember that is sovereign and he is in control. It takes a total surrender to God to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord in the midst of your pain and suffering. If God's plan and purpose is to work through you in your suffering then you should rejoice that he is working his plan out through you.

Be Ready To Explain

Survival Guide Tip #3

Your godly living will make a stir and people will probably have some questions for you. After you have their attention you should be ready to tell them why you are so strange. We should be able to give a polite, biblical answer to explain the motivation for our lifestyle and the reason that we are a Christian.

You may think, "How will that help me?" The fact is if you don't fully understand what you believe and why then there is the possibility that you will doubt what you believe when the pressure is on.

A Pure Conscience

Survival Guide Tip #4

You have to rely on your conscience when the accusations and insults are flying at you, your conscience is a device that God gave you to keep you out of trouble, it is a source of conviction or affirmation.

If the conscience knows that we are in sin, it will nag at us. If the conscience knows that we are living in obedience, it will affirm us and help us realize that our accusers are wrong.

It is up to us to decide why we are suffering. Are you suffering for doing good? Are you suffering because God is trying to correct you?

Thank you Lord for giving me hope and encouraging me with the wisdom found in your word.

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Living The Good Life

Loving what the world has to offer is contrary to being in love with God.

1 Peter 3:8-12  Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.

9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.  

10 For the Scriptures say, "If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.  11  Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.  12  The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and His ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns His face against those who do evil."

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Just about everybody that you know is trying to live the good life, some people like to say that they are "living the dream," there is a lot of effort made everyday to make the day that you have the best it can be. Too bad that effort isn't being put into something that will last.

This world is full of ideas about what the good life looks like and how to achieve it. Everywhere you look you see plenty of ideas on how to make it happen. The television, magazines, radio are full of programs that want to help you know what the good life looks like and the advertisers are ready to sell you all of the stuff that is required to make it happen. They feel like they are doing you a favor by letting you know how to be happy.

Let's be honest, the world has some pretty cool toys but loving what the world has to offer is contrary to being in love with God. If anybody should have been happy with the world's toys it should have been King Solomon. At first he was so in love with God that he didn't desire the world and all of it's riches and toys and so it was very commendable when he asked God for wisdom instead of riches. Too bad he left his first love and allowed the things that the world has to offer to get in the way.

1 Peter 4:1-5 So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. 2 You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. 3 You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. 4 Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. 5 But remember that they will have to face God, who will judge everyone, both the living and the dead.

The people that Peter is writing to do not have any of those good things that the world has to offer. They are poor and they are being persecuted and harassed for their departure from Judaism to follow Christ. Don't think that this is a problem for the rich and famous, we can all get caught up in the deception that the world has something meaningful to offer.

Loving what the world has to offer is contrary to being in love with God and loving God means that I need to love what he loves. I should be anxious to do what pleases him. I am finished with the lust of the old sinful life that I once lived, I have figured out that there isn't any long term enjoyment in those things, they only lead to heartache and sorrow.

Satan never shows you the discontentment and the eternal consequences that his plan has to offer. He tries so hard to keep it upbeat and positive but despite all of the spin the discontentment of living by the world's standards shows up when we loose our joy and get angry, bitterness and resentment creep in and we overindulge.

1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.

This is not my home and the philosophies of this world are not acceptable to me as a follower of Christ. My happiness is not found in the places that this world is telling everybody to look. My happiness is found in living for the one that changed my life and gave me the riches of eternity spend with him.

Thank you Lord for changing my life here on earth and for changing my eternal destiny!

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Playing Well With Others

Authority, everybody likes to have it and nobody likes to yield to it.

1 Peter 2:13-14 For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority—whether the king as head of state, 14 or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.

1 Peter 2:18 You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.

1 Peter 3:1-2 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over 2 by observing your pure and reverent lives.

1 Peter 3:7-9 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.

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Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has tempted us by questioning authority, he lied about God and Adam and Eve began to wonder about God's intentions and whether the rules that he gave them were fair. God's commandments have been questioned every moment of everyday ever since and we see the consequences all around us but we still want to live life our way.

Accepting authority and being submissive is required of every child of God, it is necessary in our relationships, starting with God and going down the line to every other relationship that we have. From government, the work place and our family, there is an order that God designed to help us live together in harmony.

We see the idea of submission demonstrated in the Trinity, all of them working together in unison, each of them fulfilling a role and each of them bringing glory to the other and doing what is beneficial to the Trinity.

✔ Jesus sought to bring glory to God the Father. (John 15:10)
✔ Jesus willingly died for us. (John 10:17-18)
✔ The Holy Spirit gives Jesus glory. (John 16:13-15)
✔ God the Father gave glory back to Jesus. (John 8:54, 17:24)
✔ The Holy Spirit didn't refuse when he was sent to us. (John 14:26, Acts 1:4-5)

Too bad we do not get to enjoy this oneness and cooperative spirit from the people that we relate to.

Philippians 2:3-8 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Jesus is our ultimate example of submission and looking out for the needs of others. Deserving glory and honor yet he came to us selfless and humble to take care of us. We all need to follow Christ example and look for ways to bless others.

I need to yield to authority, give up my own authority and be submissive to others in my country, my workplace and with my family and friends. 

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Jesus Changed My Destiny

I was on the road to ruin until Jesus paved the way to a new life.

1 Peter 2:22-25  He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.  23  He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered. He left His case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. 24  He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed.

25  Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.

Philippians 3:19-20  They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.  20  But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior.

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The common ground that all of mankind has is the headache of sin, all around the world we are all looking for a way to handle the effects of sin, we are all missing the world as it was before the fall. Man has devised a lot of ways to try and put a bandage on the wounds but none of them change the end result of my sin.

There is only one way to deal with sin successfully, a ransom has to be paid to cancel our debt but who could possibly have enough assets to liquidate so that you could pay it? Fortunately I have someone that loves me that has the resources to pay my debt. 

The heartache and misery of my sin was placed on Jesus, something that he had never felt before, he was the perfect sacrifice because he did not sin, he did not tell a lie or get revenge or fight back, he trusted God when somebody treated him wrong.

I couldn't change my destiny

Psalms 49:6-9  They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches.  7  Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God.  8  Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough  9  to live forever and never see the grave.

The punishment that I was headed for has been avoided, Jesus put a u-turn sign up, the road to the grave and judgement doesn't have to be my destination. The gods that the world has created cannot change my destiny and so the world wonders around like lost sheep looking to satisfy their appetite for the temporary as they head to destruction.

John 3:16  "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Thanks to Jesus payment for my sin I am a citizen of heaven and I am on the narrow road that leads me home. I have been redeemed, cleansed and given a new life and now I am under the loving care of the good Shepherd.

Thank you Lord for changing my destiny!

Pleasing God Even In Suffering

How I behave when I suffer is a testimony.

1 Peter 2:18-21  You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you--not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.   

19  For God is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and patiently endure unfair treatment.  20  Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.   

21  For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps.

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The frequent mention of slaves in the New Testament shows that many of the first Christians must have been slaves. There are a lot of guidelines for how a slave should behave in the writing to the early church. (Ephesians 6:5-7)

What a strange state for a believer, to learn from Jesus and from the apostles that all men are created equal and yet many of them are living as slaves, they must have had a difficult time accepting the position that they were in. Yet they were told to respect the authority that they were under when they came to Christ, their lives should follow Jesus example and show love, patience and grace so that they would be a good witness.

What pleases God? Most of us know the answer, it is to do what is right, but it doesn't mean to do right only if the circumstances are good. We are told to do what is right even when we are not treated well, it doesn't get you off the hook, you can't stop living by God's standards just because of pain and trials.

You suffer? God blesses.

Matthew 5:10-12  God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.  11  "God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers.  12  Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

Trouble is going to come your way even if you are living for God and even if you are working for peace. Jesus told us that God blesses those that work at being peaceful but he also warned us that we will have trouble in this world. (John 16:33)

Jesus didn't tell us to endure through suffering and whine and complain, he said that we should be happy about it, God's ways are so unnatural for us.

God promises blessings upon his children but we may not receive them until we arrive at out eternal home in heaven. Those blessings can be difficult to wait for but if we really take an honest look at our lives we will have to admit that living with God in control and going through hard times is a much better life than going through those difficult times without him.

I am called to do good, even if it means suffering, I need to do what God calls me to do. How I behave when the pressure is on is a testimony to the power of God in my life. (1 Peter 2:21)

Living With Honor

Honor and respect are not very popular in these days of entitlement and selfishness.

1 Peter 2:13-17  For the Lord's sake, respect all human authority, whether the king as head of state,  14  or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.   

15  It is God's will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.  16  For you are free, yet you are God's slaves, so don't use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.  17  Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king.

1 Samuel 2:30  "But I will honor those who honor Me, and I will despise those who think lightly of Me."

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Honor and respect are not very popular in these days of entitlement and selfishness, there are not very many people that are willing to deny themselves and live by a higher standard. There is a great need for authenticity and high moral vales in our country today.

It seems that the only time that honor is popular is when a con man is trying to benefit from lying about having a military award. The Supreme Court has even said that the right to free speech includes the right to lie about being a honored military vet.

Our government doesn't care so much about honor and valor but the Bible teaches us that we need to cooperate with God and value what he values, his agenda should be our agenda and we should be pleased to do his will. We should revere God and respect the standard that he has set for our daily lifestyle.

“The soldier, above all other men, is required to practice the greatest act of religious training – sacrifice. In battle, and, in the face of danger and death, he discloses those divine attributes which his Maker gave when He created man in His own image. No physical courage and no greater strength can take the place of the divine help which alone can sustain him.”  - General Douglas MacArthur

God made the ultimate sacrifice and in doing so he has given us the highest honor that we could ever have. The cross should be a reminder of the greatest act of honor that has ever been done, God showed us how to sacrifice, he showed us how to stand up for truth, justice and purity.

Honoring God? Make it real!

Isaiah 29:13-14  And so the Lord says, "These people say they are Mine. They honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. And their worship of Me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.  14 Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders. The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear."

History is full of people that pretended to honor God and the consequences for their insincerity are very high. In the Bible the nation of Israel shows us over and over again what it looks like when a nation doesn't honor God and live by the standards that he has set. Their false teachers and immoral government leaders took the people away from God and into ruin.

God gave us his commandments, he gave us an organized society with leaders to govern us and he gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us so that we can be members of society that live orderly, respectful and quiet lives.

Honor in the Proverbs:

Proverbs 3:9  Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Proverbs 18:12  Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor. Proverbs 20:3  Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. Proverbs 21:21  Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor. Proverbs 22:4  True humility and fear of the LORD lead to riches, honor, and long life. Proverbs 26:1  Honor is no more associated with fools than snow with summer or rain with harvest. Proverbs 29:23  Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.

Humility, avoiding a fight, fear the Lord and pursuing righteousness are the characteristics of a man that God will honor. I want to be found faithful, to live with authenticity, to live without compromise and serve others so that my Savior will say "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

That is the highest honor possible!

Excuse Me, Coming Through

Just passing through on my way to glory.

1 Peter 2:11-12  Dear friends, I warn you as "temporary residents and foreigners" to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.  12  Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world.

1 Peter 1:17  And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as "foreigners in the land."

Philippians 3:20  But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior.

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Going home is something to look forward to with great excitement. It means that the work day is finished or a vacation is over and you get to relax. As good as going home is here on this planet it isn't anything like the home that we will go to some day in glory.

God's children know that Jesus went back to his home in heaven to prepare the place for us (John 14:2-3, Hebrews 11:16), what a glorious place that must be, as wonderful as our world is, it only took six days to create it so just think how amazing heaven will be after all this time that Jesus has been gone.

The best description of heaven is found in Revelation 21-22. It is a place without suffering, a place that won't have any tears (Isaiah 25:8, Revelation 7:17), a place without hospitals where all of the people that live there will have brand new bodies (2 Corinthians 5:1-8) and a place without graveyards or funerals. In heaven there won't be any sin, suffering, sorrow, or pain and we will never do anything to displease God.

Choose which kingdom you love

1 John 2:15-17  Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.  16  For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.  17  And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

This world has a lot of beauty and it has a lot of cool toys and good times but none of those things should be our true love. If I love this world and it's pleasures and begin to allow it's pleasures to rule my life instead of God then those worldly desires will start to change my thinking and I will start to look just like the people of this world instead of the people in the new world. The people that are citizens of the land that I am going to behave differently and I should look like them.

The Bible cautions us that the love for the world is in conflict with our love for God, they cannot coexist, it is a contradiction to say that I love the sinful pleasures of this world and that I love God and what he loves.

I need to love like God loves, the only thing that I am to love in this world is people, they are the only thing of this world that I can take to my new home in glory. I need to tell as many people as i can so that they can go to God's eternal home that he has made for me. (John 5:28-29, 2 Peter 3:10)

Privileges Of God's Children: Chosen

So unworthy yet God picked me.

1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. 10 Once you had no identity as a people now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy now you have received God’s mercy.”

John 15:19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

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Choosing teams for sports was a very humiliating experience for many people growing up. If you are in the first fifty percent of the class that was picked you were okay but if you were standing there for too long then it started to get embarrassing. As far back as the Old Testament God has had a chosen people, it is clear throughout the Bible that some are picked and some are not, it is a difficult concept for our little heads to understand.

There must have been thousands of people on earth but God chose Abraham, out of Abraham's two sons God chose Issac and out of Issac's two sons God chose Jacob, it had nothing to do with the individual that's just the way God wanted it to be. Even Paul said that he was the least likely person to be picked to be an apostle. (1 Corinthians 15:9)

It doesn't seem fair to us but just because we don't understand doesn't mean it is wrong. God is not to be measured by our understanding of what is just and fair. There are so many things that we do not understand about God and his ways but we do know that he is right and just in every decision that he makes. I am glad that God's wisdom and intellect is so much larger than mine, it makes a problem for me when I insist on trying to be a know it all, still I am glad that God is that big. (Psalm 89:13, Isaiah 55:8, Romans 11:33)

Before Christ came the nation of Israel was God's chosen people but now the body of believers have become a nation of chosen people, regardless of race or ethnic background, we have become members of God's kingdom. We are the kingdom of people that have been saved from the kingdom of darkness and now we have a new home which we haven't seen yet. (Exodus 19:4-6, Colossians 1:13)

God's chosen people should look like God

Colossians 3:12-14,17 Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each others faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

All of the blessings and privileges that have been given to such an unworthy person that God chose for himself should have an effect on me and cause me to live for him. If I am truly grateful for God's mercy that I have received then I should be willing to show others the goodness of God. His goodness toward me showed me how to love, how to be merciful and humble and I should be willing to do the same for those around me.

I praise you Lord that you chose to save me, that you gave me a clear picture of how depraved that I am and that you gave me the ability to believe in faith that you love me and died to redeem me.

Privileges Of God's Children: Security

God is my rock in this crazy world.

1 Peter 2:6-8 As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”

8 And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.

Romans 5:8 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

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We see so much insecurity in the economy, dishonesty in our government, and even churches that don't believe things that have always been taught. There is no solid ground in this godless society, moral values are constantly being changed. Isn't there something that we can hold onto and depend on?

Disappointment has the idea of being deceived or being caught off guard, it may be people or it may be circumstances that are beyond our control, our lives are full of disappointments. The more you try to control people and circumstances the more disillusioned you will become.

There is one place to find a lot of promises that have never failed, the Bible is full of promises that God has made to his people and his people have found out that they have never had a reason to be disappointed or ashamed, we have found that the one that we put our hope in is trustworthy.

My God is Faithful

Isaiah 50:7  Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do His will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.

God is our rock when people disappoint us, God is our rock when life's trials and heartaches get us down, God is our rock for our eternal security! There cannot possibly be a stronger foundation to build your life on.

Our God's faithfulness to his children is beyond comprehension, no wonder the prophet Isaiah said that he would "set his face like a stone, determined to do His will." He knew that he could trust the Lord to be his all in all, he knew that God's power and faithfulness were in his favor and that his problems and disappointments and eternal security were all covered by one person.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

What do you hold onto when your world is unstable? I hope that it is the God of the universe that has revealed his love for us in the Bible. There isn't a person, an organization or a philosophy that will prove to be better to get you through the storms of life.

Privileges Of God's Children: Access - Part 2

It's your job to offer a sacrifice but it's not a dead animal that God wants.

1 Peter 2:4-5 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for great honor.  5  And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What's more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.

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In part one of this post about our privilege of having access to God I learned that we are all priest and that we have direct access to God ever since the temple veil was torn at the time of Jesus death. (Matthew 27:50-51) Christ was an acceptable sacrifice and he makes us acceptable so that we can have access beyond the veil directly to God.

Now instead of a priest at the temple I am personally responsible for offering sacrifices to God! One of the jobs of the Old Testament priest was to make sure that the sacrifice met the requirements to be pleasing and acceptable to God and now that I am a priest that is my job. The question is: "How can I know whether my spiritual sacrifices really honor God and what kind of sacrifice does he want?"

Romans 12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Present your body as a living and holy sacrifice.

Because of God's great mercy I should be willing to give God everything about my body and my mind, I should be keeping my mind clean and my body in good shape so that I can offer a pleasing sacrifice. I should use every part of my body for his glory and his service. (Romans 6:13)

We are to sacrifice ourselves, not by climbing on an altar but by submitting our lives to God, our thoughts, words and actions should display a willingness to let God be in control. We need to be willing to deny self to serve God and people. The apostle Paul was a great example of this, he said "my life has already been poured out as an offering to God" and he told the church in Philippi that their service to God is an offering. (2 Timothy 4:6, Philippians 2:17)

Sacrificing self comes down to whether I have given my whole mind and body and all my faculties as a living sacrifice to God to do with as He will? All my hopes and dreams included?

Hebrews 13:15-16 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to His name. 16 And don't forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

Bring the sacrifice of praise.

A phrase that can be over used in church circles is "praise the Lord." Bringing a sacrifice of praise goes a lot further than that. The book of Psalms shows us a great model for praising God. The praises focus on who he is, what he has done or they focus on thanksgiving for who he is and what he has done.

Romans 15:16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.

The sacrifice of new disciples.

Paul told the church in Rome that his work which created many new Christ followers was done so that he may present the new converts as an offering to God. Paul had a huge offering of new converts!

This must be the most neglected offering that we give, there are a lot of good Christ followers that are doing well in the areas of praise and living good clean lives but most of us don't consider the importance of this offering. It has been too long since I have lifted up the sacrifice of a new disciple to offer to God.

The only reason the church exists is to stimulate your priestly function. The church is not the end in itself. If all you do is come and go, that's not it. Unless you go out of this place to offer up spiritual sacrifices, we have failed and you have failed to respond.

-John MacArthur 

What are our spiritual sacrifices? Our whole self, praise, good works, sharing, generosity and the souls of redeemed people.

Privileges Of God's Children: Access - Part 1

Don't think that you are much as a child of God?

1 Peter 2:4-5  You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for great honor.  5  And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What's more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.

Hebrews 10:19-22  And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.  20  By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.  21  And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house,  22  let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

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In the last post I learned that because of Jesus work on the cross I have the privilege of being joined with Christ as a part of his church, I am one of the living stones that he is using in the construction of the building, but that's not all, I am also a priest in the temple.

Most of the religions in the world have some person that is on a pedestal above the common man, he is the person that has the privilege to be closer to God and speak to their followers on God's behalf, that's not what God has in mind. Even the man made gods that we invent are indifferent and apathetic to our situation, it is usually a relationship based on fear, there isn't an invite from those god's to draw near to them.

I have always heard that we are priest and that we do not need to go through anyone else to have access to God but I have never had a clear picture of what it fully means to be a priest. This study by John MacArthur tells you what it meant to be a priest in the Old Testament as the Bible shows us in Exodus 28 and 29, Leviticus 8 and 9 and Malachi chapter 2.

What A Priest Is

Chosen by God - No volunteers or applications or committees Cleansed of sin - Washed to symbolize the work of Jesus Clothed for service - Their garments symbolized purity Anointed for service - Symbolizing the Holy Spirit on their lives Ordained to obedience - They blew it right away (Leviticus 10:1-7) Walk with God - "they walked with Me, living good and righteous lives" (Malachi2:6) Have an impact on sinners - "they turned many from lives of sin" (Malachi2:6) A high regard for the word of God - People should go to him for instruction (Malachi 2:7)

When the Bible tells us that we are priest that's what it is calling us. We have been chosen by God to be cleansed from our sins and to have the righteousness that comes through Jesus. We have been anointed with the Holy Spirit to have gifts that we should use to serve the body of Christ. We have been called to obedience and to walk with God, meditating on his word so that we can have an impact on the sinful world around us. What an interesting picture from the Old Testament of what I am supposed to be in Christ!

God uses ordinary people

1 Corinthians 1:28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.

Do you think that you are unworthy of being a priest? Did God ever choose anyone other than the weak and the under qualified? When he chose the tribe of Levi, he wasn't choosing the nicest, most holy bunch to be his priest, God did what he always has done, he selected one of the most unlikely tribes in all of Judah. (Genesis 49:5-7)

I have the privilege to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ and I have direct access to God to offer the sacrifices. It doesn't make any difference who i was before I came to Jesus and chose to follow him.

Thank you Lord for choosing me to be a priest, to be clean before you and able to come directly to you, help me to never take my privileges for granted.

Privileges Of God's Children: Union With Christ

I am blessed to be a part of God's temple.

1 Peter 2:4-8 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for great honor. 5 And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple.

What's more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say, "I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced."

7 Yes, you who trust Him recognize the honor God has given Him. But for those who reject Him, "The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone." 8 And, "He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they do not obey God's word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.

Ephesians 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

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When we think of being a Christ follower or of being religious we usually think of things that we have to do and how we are to behave and how much we will have to struggle with the flesh in order to live a godly life. Duties are what we think of, similar to the ones that we have seen in 1 Peter 1:13-2:3 in my previous post, but now Peter shifts gears and talks about some of the privileges that we have even while we are still here on earth.

The corner stone set the standard it had to be perfect in it's placement and it had to have perfect angles. It had to be the perfect angle from the left wall to the right wall but it also had to be perfectly straight from bottom to top so that the walls would be perfectly straight up and down.

Most people did not see any value in Jesus, the religious leaders didn't think that he measured up, they would never use him to build a temple, but God is building a temple and Jesus is the cornerstone that he started building with.

“The irony is that while God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time.” -Francis Chan

After God put the cornerstone in place he continued building his house of worship with each of us, we are a part of the building, stones are the building materials for this great building. Just like Jesus most people don't see any value in us either but God has given us worth as his children.

We are God's temple

Ephesians 2:20-22 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

God's people used to have to travel great distances to get to the temple but now the temple in Jerusalem isn't necessary anymore, God has built a new temple that is universally located, it is the body of believers all around the world.

When you became a Christian, the first great spiritual privilege is that you are now in union with Christ. What does that mean? He lives in you as an individual and he lives in his church. That means that you have an awesome resource to meet every need. He is with us always and he is available for every need, every trial, every possible circumstance of life.

Other world religions are busy trying to appease their gods but our God's judgement has been handled by the power of Jesus blood offering.

Ephesians 2:6-7 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

I am one with Christ and I should allow him to love others and work through me. Jesus life in me should control me and conform me to me more like him everyday. I need to join Paul and say "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20)

Time To Grow Up

God's blessings and benefits should motivate us to live for him.

1 Peter 2:1-3 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness.

Ephesians 4:30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

1 Timothy 4:8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

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In chapter one Peter wrote about the new life in Christ that the church in Asia Minor had, he told them of all of the benefits that they inherited as a Christ follower. Peter wrote about the blessings, the ability to go through trials with joy, about Christ payment for their sin and about the way that Christ showed us how to really love.

Chapter two starts out by suggesting that because of all of the those blessings and benefits that we have received we should be motivated to grow up and the internal change in our lives should make a difference to our external. People should see a difference in us, instead of "deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech," they should see people that exercise self-control and are striving to be holy through being obedient to God. (1 Peter 1:13-15)

Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

As a new Christ follower you are probably well aware of how much you have failed to live up to God's standard. it isn't easy to change your lifestyle, it will take training to get rid of the behavior that is unpleasing to God. A new born babe needs the basic milk of God's word to get them started in growing up to be the person that God wants them to be.

Job 23:12 I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food.

The desire for the Word of God is a very effective indicator of a person’s spiritual condition. The Bible has been the best selling book for a long time but it is also the least read book. We need to have a passion for God's word and take delight in learning about him and his desires for our lives. A new babe in Christ will have the same instinct to take in the "pure spiritual milk" that a new born infant has to nurse on his mothers milk.

Too many of God's children get stuck in the habit of showing up at church and having the Bible read and explained to them. It's a great place to start but that's not the only time each week that you should get fed. We need to be digging deeper into the word for ourselves and meditating on it in personal quiet time and in small group Bible study.

I need to be in in Bible study and personal quiet time in order to grow up in Christ. God expects us to move out of the milk years and move on to eating meat, being lazy about your spiritual development isn't a good idea, it is a dangerous condition that Satan will try and take advantage of.

Thank God For A New Life

My God is eternal and so am I.

1 Peter 1:23-25 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

24 As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass;their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. 25 But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

John 3:16  "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

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The miracle of life is worth celebrating, everybody likes to see a new born baby, all of the friends and relatives of the family have to go see the baby. It is time to have a party! Life is fragile and so very temporary, that is the reality of our sinful condition, it doesn't take long for the party to end.

The good news is that there is new life that will never end. Our time on earth passes so quickly, the Bible often compares our existence to plants in the field, human life is compared to the plants in the field, they look pretty for a season and then they fade away.

Have you had a spiritual birthday?

John 3:5-6,16 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life."

When we are born into God's family we gain this life that never ends, Jesus said, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish" (John 10:28) God loves us so much that he wants to spend eternity with us! If people that are fading away celebrate new life which will also fade away then how much more should we celebrate new life that will last for eternity?

God promises that eternity for me includes:

✔ Eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9)
✔ Eternal prize (1 Corinthians 9:25)
✔ Eternal glory (1 Peter 5:10)
✔ Eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:15)
✔ Eternal home (John 14:2-3)

Best of all you can have all of this for free! Thank God, I didn't have to pay for this gift with money, or by being good enough, it is mine through having a relationship with Jesus. (Romans 6:23)

Thank you Lord for giving me a new life that will never fade away. Thanksgiving time is a great time to remember your blessings.

God's Children Should Love

Who you please is proof of who you love.

1 Peter 1:22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.

John 13:35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

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There have been a lot of books written about love, from romance novels to books on how to improve your love life, there probably isn't another topic that has been written about. Of all of those books there is one that stands above the rest as the greatest love story.

We have all heard that phrase "God is love" but have you thought about what that means? God is so full of love that he is called love, he is the source of love and everything that he does is done out of love. (1 John 4:8)

From the book of Genesis all of the way to Revelations the Bible is the story of God's love for his creation. Each day of creation he paused and checked it out and said that it was good, he loved the work that he did that day, he especially loved the work that he did when he created man and woman. God spent time with Adam and Eve because he loved them and he desired for them to know him and to know his love.

Exodus 15:13 “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home."

Moses and the nation of Israel sang those words to God after he delivered them from Egypt, he proved to them that he loves them and that he has a plan for them, just as he does for all of his people. god's people don't always have the easy life but that doesn't mean that God has failed to love them as he promised.

Have you experienced God's love?

Ephesians 3:17-19 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

If we love ourselves then we will live for ourselves, if we love our spouse then we will strive to please them. If we love God then it will show in how we live, Jesus told us that the proof that we have experienced God's love is that we will live to please him, it will be very obvious if you love him or if you do not. (John 14:21-24)

God is love, he loves everyone of us, the question is: Have you experienced God's love? There could be no sadder existence than the one that doesn't know that they are loved by their creator. God's children are on a mission to make sure that everybody knows about this love. We should show love the way that God has showed love to us.

Lamentations 3:22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.

Thank you for your love that never ends Lord! Help me to love big so that people will know that I am your child.

Running On Empty

Are you attempting to fill your life with anything other than God?

1 Peter 1:17-20 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as “foreigners in the land.”

18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.

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The symptoms of the empty life: depression, anxiety, loneliness, unforgiven, hurt and a lack of purpose, that's what the pleasures of this world have to offer you.

“In all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other.”

― Carl Sagan

That's a sad way to deal with the emptiness that we all feel, even a follower of Christ can feel empty, the world doesn't have much to offer you. When Jesus came to earth he found a world full of empty people, the government of Israel had been overthrown, the Roman government and the religious leaders were oppressing the people, they all seemed to be like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)

Some of the people that Jesus met that needed to be "filled up" include:

✔  The Samaritan woman that needed more than just her jar filled (John1:1-54)
✔  Matthew the despised tax collector (Matthew 9:9-13)
✔  The woman that was healed from touching the hem of his garment, (Mark 5:25-29)
✔  The rich man that wouldn't give so that he could get (Luke 18:18-25)

The reason that life seems empty is because of sin. For those that are still seeking for a way to deal with guilt, those that don't know about grace and forgiveness, it can be very difficult to find meaning and purpose in life.

Jesus saved me from the empty life of sin

Romans 8:31-32  What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  32  Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won't He also give us everything else?

The good news is that you can get beyond the guilt if you have the right lawyer. God is a fair and impartial judge and there is only one lawyer that can possibly get your past erased, if you don't have him then you are in trouble. (1 John 2:1)

Christ paid a high price to redeem us from our hopeless, empty existence that we had before we came to know him. The sin nature that we inherited from our ancestors is powerless against what Christ has done. The lamb that was put on the altar for our sins was the first and only sinless sacrifice that the world will ever know. It is amazing that God has always planned to send his son for our benefit, there wasn't any last minute change of plans, this is still Plan A. Our imperfections didn't catch God off guard and force him to create Plan B.

We have a lot of potential in Jesus, he has a fulfilling life in mind for every one of us, but we can all experience emptiness when we allow worldly pressures and pleasures to get a foothold. Our life will feel incomplete when we fail to make time for intimate fellowship with Christ or when we put him in a box.

I need to make the time to draw near to God so that I will remember how well he has treated me. (Psalm 103:10-11)

Get Out Of The Milk

Selfish living dominates our life when God isn't allowed to be in control.

1 Peter 1:13-16 So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

1 Peter 2:1-3 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

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If you received the good news and became a Christ follower like Peter has talking about in the previous verses of this chapter then there are some things that will naturally change in your life as a result. As followers of Christ we should be having an exciting time looking forward to the day when our salvation will be revealed to the world. Our salvation should be a great source of joy in the midst of this world full of tragedy and injustice.

Here is a word of warning for those that are trying to live to please God, you should beware because the old ways will try and take you back, Peter said that "living to satisfy your own desires" will creep back in the door if you are not careful. It's all about making choices, all day long we are constantly making choices, it is difficult to control ourselves and make the choices that please God, it requires us to take on the mind of Christ. The desire to please ourselves is a battle that we will fight until Jesus takes us out of this world. (Romans 7:15, 1 Corinthians 2:16)

Have you outgrown the milk diet?

Hebrews 5:12-14  You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.  13  For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right.  14  Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

You start out as a baby in God's family, just like you did in your human family, but you shouldn't stay at that stage of your spiritual life forever. You should have a good appetite, one that is anxious for more milk and then progressing to eating cereal and then moving on to solid food.

God wants us to be like him, his number one character trait is his holiness the moral excellence of God, sounds like a tall order that we can't possibly attain. It is an attribute that we are to strive for, God tells us to be holy just like he is, we need to look like a part of God's family. We will not fully achieve our goal but if you are a follower of Christ then you will start to look like him, it can't be any other way, following Christ will always have an outward expression, actions that can't be covered up. 

God has revealed himself, his character and his desires for his children through his word. We need to be students of his book and let him "teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives" so that we will know how to become more like him. (2 Timothy 3:16)

Prophecy Confirms Who Jesus Is

Look to the prophets for proof about Jesus.

1 Peter 1:9-12  The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.  10  This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you.   

11  They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when He told them in advance about Christ's suffering and His great glory afterward.   

12  They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

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Salvation by grace is here! Peter told this good news everywhere that he went and to everybody that would listen. This good news had been anticipated for hundreds of years has finally come to pass. People were having their doubts but the events that had just recently happened in Jerusalem were the fulfillment of prophecy.

God had revealed a lot of the details about the coming Messiah long before it happened. The events surrounding Jesus birth, lifetime and his death authenticate his identity. If you just look at the prophecies concerning Jesus birth in Matthew chapter one and two you will see significant details that prove that the Messiah had arrived. Starting with the proof of Jesus lineage as a descendant of King David, Matthew continues to tell us that Jesus was born of a virgin, he would be born in Bethlehem, called out of Egypt and he grew up in Nazareth. (Matthew 1:1-2:23)

Peter told the Jews

Acts 3:17-18, 24  "Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. 18 But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah--that He must suffer these things. 24 Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today."

After Peter and John healed a man at the temple gate Peter jumped at the opportunity to tell everybody that was there about the source of the healing. The power of the Holy Spirit gave Peter the ability to fearlessly explain the events that had just happened a few days ago. The people that killed Jesus were right there when he accused them of killing God. (Acts 3:15)

Peter told the Gentiles

Acts 10:42-43 "And He ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the One appointed by God to be the Judge of all--the living and the dead. 43 He is the One all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name."

Peter didn't want to go to Cornelius' house but God didn't give him much of a choice. Peter needed to learn a lesson about the Gentiles being included in the good news of the gospel, he would tell them about the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. (Acts 10:34-35)

There should not be any doubt about who Jesus is or why he came to earth and died, the prophets make it crystal clear, Jesus claims to be God should be indisputable.

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