“The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:7-11 NIV).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary regarding 1 Peter 4:7-11 says, “The destruction of the Jewish church and nation, foretold by our Savior, was very near. And the speedy approach of death and judgment concerns all, to which these words naturally lead our minds. Our approaching end, is a powerful argument to make us sober in all worldly matters, and earnest in religion. There are so many things amiss in all, that unless love covers, excuses, and forgives in others, the mistakes and faults for which every one needs the forbearance of others, Satan will prevail to stir up divisions and discords. But we are not to suppose that charity will cover or make amends for the sins of those who exercise it, so as to induce God to forgive them. The nature of a Christian's work, which is high work and hard work, the goodness of the Master, and the excellence of the reward, all require that our endeavors should be serious and earnest. And in all the duties and services of life, we should aim at the glory of God as our chief end. He is a miserable, unsettled wretch, who cleaves to himself, and forgets God; is only perplexed about his credit, and gain, and base ends, which are often broken, and which, when he attains, both he and they must shortly perish together. But he who has given up himself and his all to God, may say confidently that the Lord is his portion; and nothing but glory through Christ Jesus, is solid and lasting; that abideth forever.” In a very broken and divided world, we have no choice but to accept solemnly the charge Peter gives us in the Scripture above.First and foremost, we are to pray. There is unimaginable power in prayer. Please don’t ever underestimate it. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to, “pray without ceasing.” Jesus prioritized prayer throughout His ministry and the Bible frequently mentions Him getting away by Himself to pray. The instruction that follows in 1 Peter 4 is not even possible without having a healthy and strong daily prayer life. In order to love like He loves, give like He gives, speak like He speaks and serve like He serves, we must be in tune with Him. Once we are in tune with the Lord, we can live out the life we were called to live. One that yields the fruits of the Spirit. One that brings glory to God. Our lives are our mission field. We are called to love deeply, be generous, serve others, and even when we so much as speak, we should be radiating Christ within us. This verse always convicts me. How many times have I complained about doing a service for others? How many times have I chosen arguments and hostility and anger over God’s powerful and amazing love that covers a multitude of sin? How many times have I spoken out in anger and not waited for the Holy Spirit to guide my words? Self-control is a crucial fruit of the Spirit and in our earnest attempt at carrying out instructions such as these, He must increase and I must decrease. I encourage you today to pray especially with this verse in mind. What are ways you can serve others today? What are ways you can love deeply today? What are ways you can steward your spiritual gifts well? Prayer: Father God, please help me to radiate Your Son within me to everyone I encounter. Guide my steps. Please use me today in any way You require and give me strength to serve you better and more completely so that You will be seen and glorified in all that I do. I surrender my life to You, Lord. Amen.
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Mark 10:13-16 says, “And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.”
I had often questioned what it meant to be childlike until one afternoon a few years ago that I had an extremely rough day. I remember crying and praying, “God, I know You can do anything, why is my fear so much louder than my faith?” And then I remembered that I had forgotten again. The God who has delivered me from so, so much will surely do it again. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). His love does not run out. (Romans 8:37-39 and Psalm 136). Believe me, dear friends, when I tell you that you are not taking a risk by trusting Him. You are taking a risk by not trusting Him. How many times have I chosen fear over faith? What would my life look like if I just trusted? I think it would look more like my children’s. They don’t question whether I’ll have food on the table for them. They don’t ask me whether or not I love them. They don’t question whether or not they have clothes fortunately. They know on a fundamental level, without even thinking about it, that my provision and love is constant as the sun setting in the west. Without fail I will provide for them, take care of them, give them shelter, calm their fears, and love them no matter what. Faith. Our relationship with the Father is just like that, regardless of how we feel, or how much fear we hold onto. He never changes. If you feel like God is far away, or if you feel that your problem is just insurmountable, that is how you feel. Human beings are fickle creatures. We have mood swings and we get scared. God is steadfast. Some days we will be sad, anxious, or upset, and our faith may indeed become small. If that happens, it’s so important to will our souls to remember everything He has done for us, and rest in the fact that if he can do it once he can do it again. How can you have a childlike faith? Is there something in the way of you trusting God totally with your whole heart? If so, make that a focal point of your personal prayer time with the Lord and ask Him to remove all distractions and hindrances keeping you from the freedom that trusting in Him brings. Something I’ve struggled with time and again in life is being bold. Have you? It’s an easy struggle to encounter, especially in a world where lately it seems Christians are viewed in such a poor light by so many. I didn’t realize this was an issue until middle school, because being a pastor’s kid, it seemed like nearly everyone we knew was a Christian. Once I approached my teenage years and had my own group of friends, it seemed I was part of a very small number of people who believed in God and attended church. I remember wanting so badly to make friends and hiding my zeal and love for the Lord a little bit more and a little bit more. I remember vividly when they would find out my father was a pastor they would act differently around me. They tried not to swear, they watched what they said. I should have been encouraging them gently and in love that we should not do those things anyway, but instead I felt embarrassed. I was worried they wouldn’t like me. We sang in children’s church, “This little Light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine...” and I remember that song coming to mind and convicting me so often. Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” You know who suffered the most for my choice of an ashamed heart, for my desire for the praise of men? It wasn’t me, although the Holy Spirit did convict me and correct me on this matter. No, it was my friends. I held within my heart the power of salvation. I had the Good News. And I didn’t love them enough to share it with them.
Now, in the age of social media, we are thrust into a world where people prioritize the number of followers we have. Everything we say and show has to be filtered to gain the likes. It is so easy to forget that WE don’t need followers, we are called to be followers of Christ. “Follow me” was what He said to the disciples and I believe that word choice had a generational significance to an all-knowing God. John 12 illustrates for us a group of people who had similar issues, “Yet at the same time, many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.” (John 12:42-43) Jesus spoke on this multiple times as well. John 12:25 says, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Dear friends, let your Light shine! Love your friends and family enough to tell them the Good News. Don’t get discouraged when you are rejected, disagreed with, shut down, or ignored. We always need to be planting seeds. Always. Only occasionally will we also have the privilege of watching them grow. A seed is never planted in vain. In Jesus’ comparison of the vineyard, we were never the vinedresser, it was God the Father. We can produce fruit (which has seeds inside) but we do not make it grow. (John 15:1-27). My favorite verse, one that my daughter has memorized and we talk about it at bedtime/Bible time each night is 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Don’t let the fear of rejection keep you from evangelizing. Don’t let the desire for the praise of men keep you from working toward the praise of God. You can only have one. I challenge you to ask yourself today ways that you can be bold in your faith! Ask yourself ways you can plant seeds this week, and spread the gospel. Ask yourself not how many followers you can get, but how you can better be a follower of Christ. Prayer: Father, we thank You today for the Good News! We thank You for Your great sacrifice. We thank You for your love. Help us be bold. Help us to seek out Your heart and Your will for every situation and help us to never shy away from speaking life into those situations. Guide us as we minister to all those we encounter this week. Help us to be better followers of You, we ask you to lead us in all we do, to guide our steps. In Jesus Holy Name, Amen. After stressful or tragic times, after heightened emotions like fear, anger, confusion, and questioning, it’s normal to feel drained. It’s normal to have days of uncertainty and emotional fatigue. The Bible addresses this by reminding us who our source is. Jeremiah 31:25 says, “I will refresh the weary, and satisfy the faint.” Do you need to be refreshed today? Is your spirit in need of recharge and renewal? Is your cup empty? Only God can satisfy you. Only He can renew your spirit.
The world will give you a thousand options. Selling relaxation is a big industry in this world. Every ad for things like skin products, vacation spots, restaurants, etc., they always use words like “relax” or “recharge”. We know being renewed is something we are in often need of, another result of sin and darkness in this world, but you cannot plug into a dead source. You can’t find it out there. The Bible encourages fellowship with other believers when we are feeling this way. Where two or more are gathered (even virtually in this time of social distancing!), the Lord is there in their midst (Matthew 18:20). You can find examples of this in Philemon 1:7, “For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.” 1 Corinthians 16:18 says, “For they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such men.” Romans 15:32 describes Paul feeling this way. He writes, “So that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.” The main mistake we make in feeling this way is we withdraw many times. Fellowship and having someone pray over you, inviting the Lord into your midst and spending time in His presence in corporate worship, can refresh us so much. When you’re weak, you can come before the Lord just as you are. You can ask your brothers and sisters in Christ for prayer. When you’re weak, all you need to do is get to that source. I love the sheep/Shepherd analogy in Psalm 23. Sheep are all-trusting to their shepherds. They follow him and trust that when they are in need He will meet that need. David writes: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) I encourage you today if you’re struggling with feeling drained or weak to connect to the true source of life, of restoration, of renewal. Trust Him alone to lead you to where you need to be, trust in Him by resting during life’s storms. The wind and waves still know His name. Wherever we go, we represent Jesus to a broken world. I remember being a kid and picking up WWJD bracelets at the Christian bookstore. What would Jesus do? How often do we ask ourselves that in the context of our everyday lives? What would Jesus post on social media? What would Jesus say? How would Jesus act? How would Jesus respond? What would Jesus do?
William J. Toms said, “Be careful how you live; you may be the only Bible some people read.” Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (NIV). How are you representing Jesus to others? I love the term “platform” our generation has for social media because it’s so true. We are on a platform and the world is watching. Now more than ever before our actions and words are recorded and seen. Use it wisely. The entire Bible is full of descriptions of God, who we are supposed to imitate. The very word “Christian” means “Christ-like” or “Little Christs”. He is rich in love, slow to anger (Psalm 145:8). He is patient and kind. He forgives and forgets (Numbers 14:18). This is how we are called to be. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel all the time, using words when necessary.” |
AuthorKatie Rusch. Archives
January 2021
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