God's Love and Our Response (Part 6)

In Ezekiel 16, God spoke a parable about Israel. He tells how Israel had been neglected and rejected as a child with no home and no parents to care for her. He saw her and cleaned her and eventually she became His wife. He gave her fine clothes and jewelry. He gave her lovely perfume. Yet, she rejected Him and became a harlot. She used the jewelry to make idols. She gave the fine clothes and perfume as sacrifices to the idols. She sacrificed the children that they had together to the idols. She had no sense of thankfulness or appreciation for what He had done. She forget how she had been rejected and left to die before God saved her. She forgot about all the things He had done for her.

How different am I. God chose to give me many wonderful things: a godly heritage, good  parents, a happy family, salvation and so much more. Am I living in thankfulness to God or ignoring His love?

Rejoicing in God's Love and Compassion (Part 5)

Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people
And will have compassion on His afflicted.

Isaiah 49:13

It is such a pleasure to live in God's love and blessing. When we can feel God's approval on our lives, we have peace and contentment. We should be sharing the joy. We should be praising God and telling other people. This is no normal song. It is shouting and rejoicing and joyful shouting. It is making a joyful noise to the Lord for everything He has done for us.

Dear God, thank You for the blessing of Your love. Help me to rejoice in Your blessing and share Your goodness with the people around me. I want to be known as someone cheerful and positive because of all the blessings You've given me.

Communion Examination

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God's Unconditional Love and Our Unworthiness (Part 4)

"But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend, You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.

Isaiah 41:8-10

Like Israel, God has chosen us and loved us long before we were able to choose Him. He loved us first. He took a risk that we would turn against Him and hate Him. And, many people did. Yet, He still loves them and extends mercy to them in many ways.

Thank You, God, that Your love is unconditional. Thank You that You extended Your love to us before we could love You. Even now, I am very unworthy of Your love. Yet, I want to give that love back to You and extend it to others the best I can.

Thinking on God and His Love (Part 3)

I'm reading through verses in the Psalms where God exemplifies His love toward us. Numerous times, David mentions in one way or another that, because God loves us, we should be thinking about Him often. He mentions that we should meditate on God during the night. He mentions how God is our guide. How could God be our guide unless we listen to Him constantly.

This is an area where I feel that I need a lot of improvement. My thoughts, so often, are about the trivial things around me. I spend too much time thinking about the here and now and not enough time focusing on eternity. I spend to much time trying to solve my daily problems and not enough time seeking God's solutions. I believe my life will improve as I focus more on God and less on myself.

Lord, help me to keep my eyes on You. Help me to have a heavenly perspective. Help me to remember that what matters in eternity is often not what seems the most urgently important now. Help me to take a long term view of life and death. Help me to seek Your guidance in all the big and small decisions of life. Help me to honor You by my life.

Love Results in Obedience (Part 2)

As I continued reading the verses about God's love, I was amazed at how many of them speak of our obedience to God as a direct result of His love for us. I'm trying to teach this concept to my son right now. He often tells me he loves me, and he also sometimes says that he doesn't want to obey me.

Jesus said in John 14:22, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." Because God loves us, we must love and obey Him in return. Because we love Him, this obedience we not be drudgery. It will be a joy and a blessing. I want to learn and exemplify this principle better, and hopefully that will help me teach it to my son.

Lord, thank You for Your unconditional love. Help me to believe it and accept it. Help me to live my life in thankful obedience and love. Help me to demonstrate that love to others so that they can experience more of Your love as well.

The Love of God (Part 1)

I've been reading all the verses about God's love in Nave's Topical Dictionary. Right now, I'm going through the beginning of the Old Testament, and I was amazed at how much love God displayed for His people even in the era of law and judgment. God chose His people and displayed His love for them for millenia. His love wasn't always giving them good things. Sometimes, in His all-wise love, He took them through some very difficult times. He led them through slavery in Egypt and years in the desert before He rewarded them with the Promised Land that was flowing with milk and honey. Sometimes, God does that for us in His love too. He sends difficult times to help us grow. This isn't always easy to accept, but we must realize His love even in the difficult times.

Lord, thank You so much for Your love. Thank You for the blessings and the difficulties You send. Help me to see the good in the difficult times. Help me to appreciate the growth that comes from hard times. Help me to become better instead of bitter. I want to become what You want me to be.

The Christian's Armor

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Using Our Gifts to Serve Others

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4:10

Amazing, isn't it? God gave us our spiritual gifts for the good of others. I Corinthians 4: 12 says "So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church." Our gifts aren't to be wasted on ourselves. We shouldn't be displaying them for our glory. We should be using them to bless other people. This concept is fundamental to Christianity, but I feel that it is often very poorly practiced.

Lord, help me to use the gifts that You've given me to bless the people around me. Help me not to be proud of them, and help me not to hide them. Help me to use them for Your glory.

Be Hospitable

Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

1 Peter 4:9

For the most part, Christians are known for their hospitality. I believe this is wonderful. We should be showing God's love to other people. We should be friendly. We should welcome people into our homes. We could, of course, always improve. We should be willing to welcome people whether we know them or not. We should invite them into our homes whether or not it is all cleaned up.

However, the second part of the verse is what I believe we need to most work on: "without complaint." Do we complain when someone never returns the favor? Do we complain about the takers that gladly receive hospitality but never give it? Do we complain about the extra work it takes to be hospitable? I hope not. May God help us as we do our best to be hospitable without complaint.

Fervent in Love

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8

In the previous verse, Peter warns us that the end of the world is coming. He tells us that the most important thing to do is fervently love each other. There are many things we must be doing, but this is the most important. This is more than surface pleasantries. It is a deep, unfailing love. It does not go away in difficult times. It does not lessen if the other person sins. It is not a love that overlooks sin, but it sometimes makes the difficult choice to speak the truth in love. It is a love that is self-sacrificing. It is humble and treats others better than ourselves. It's the kind of love that Jesus displayed to his disciples, to people seeking truth and to the Pharisees who were openly hostile. His approach differed widely. Yet, he loved them all.

Lord, help me to have fervent love to those around me. Help me to know how to display that love to them. Help me to understand when people need encouragement, compassion, appreciation or confrontation. Help me to always forgive people who wrong me. Help me to willingly give of myself for the good of others. Help me to live out Your plan in my life. Help me to be the person that my friends, family and coworkers need me to be. Help me to honor You in it all.

Do I Speak for Jesus?

always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

1 Peter 3:15

How ready am I to defend the Gospel? Do I readily speak up when someone wants to know why I'm a Christian. Do I defend God's name when someone takes it in vain? Or, do I avoid the subject? Do I shrink from conflict or confrontation? I know that I should be more ready to speak in defense of Jesus who died for me. Yet, I don't like conflict. I don't want to push people away from me. I want to draw people to God. I don't want people to think of Christians as people who shove their theology down other people's throats. I believe we have the solutions in this verse. We must always be ready to speak in defense of the Gospel. Yet, we must do it with gentleness and reverence. We must be gentle and considerate. If we are filled with Holy Spirit, we will draw people to God, not push them away. As we have a proper fear of God, we will always speak with reverence and respect.

Lord, help me to balance truth and gentleness, honesty and love. Help me to be willing to speak in defense of You. Inspire me with words that draw people to You. Help me not to be afraid of people and what they may think. Help me to instead, fear You. I ask You to give me opportunities to boldly speak for You. And, then, I ask You to help me to take those opportunities so that You would be honored and people would be brought to You.

Relationships in a Nutshell

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing

1 Peter 3:8

How much different would our families, our churches, our communities and our governments be if everyone followed the instructions in these verses?

Harmonious: if everyone got along, didn't pick fights and submitted to each other for the good of the whole.

Sympathetic: if we all gave sympathy instead of judgment.

Brotherly: if we all were willing to lend a hand, to give each other the benefit of the doubt.

Kindhearted: if we all practiced random acts of kindness and specific acts of kindness towards those we loved.

Humble: if we all esteemed each other better than ourselves. If we didn't fight to dominate and win.

Gave blessings for insults: if we blessed and honored those who insulted us.

Peter says that we are all called for this purpose, to live out these traits. This is the responsibility of Christians. I know that I need to practice these traits more than I do. I struggle to be sympathetic. I tend to judge instead. I don't always remember to be kind to strangers and those I love. Humility is something I need to grow in as well. I tend to feel that I've earned the blessings that God gave me. Of course I didn't earn them. So, I have no right to be proud of my accomplishments.

Lord, help me to take this passage to heart and put it to practice. Help me to live harmoniously, give sympathy, be brotherly, kindhearted and humble. Help me to return good for evil.

Understanding Your Wife

You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way

1 Peter 3:7

Maybe that's an inflammatory title. Most people say, "It's impossible to understand my wife. She's complicated. Men can't understand women." I agree. It's difficult, but I don't believe it's impossible. It's only impossible if we're unwilling to deny ourselves. We can do it if we're willing to let go of our egos, our preconceived notions and our pride.

How can it be done? Think of how you would start with anything else you wanted to understand. You would probably begin by examining it, taking to time study it and maybe even reading the manual. Our wives are the most intricate piece of "machinery" (This is guy terminology. Don't be offended women.) we've ever studied. So, it will take more time than we've ever put into studying anything else. We need to put lots of time into communication, quality time, and asking her about herself. We'll need to read the manual (the Bible and maybe a few marriage books). How long has it been since you read a marriage book? Maybe you should even read it together. I find this difficult, but very insightful. As you put time into your relationship. You will find that you begin to understand her, but that's only half the work. As you understand her, you need to unselfishly serve her in the way she wants to be served. Your immediate response might be, "but I'm the leader." Jesus said, "whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant." That's what He's called us to be. If we can humble ourselves, study our wives, understand them and serve them, it will have a huge positive impact in our homes, communities and churches.

Lord, help me to understand my wife. Help me to be willing to take the time to study her. Help me to unselfishly serve her. Help me to live with her in an understanding way as You've asked me to.

The Power of a Vision

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A Gentle and Quiet Spirit

with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

1 Peter 3:4

In this chapter, Peter is speaking to women, but I believe this verse applies to men as well. In the previous verses, he is warning against all kinds of external adornments. And he then says that we should instead have the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit. We live in a world dominated by bold, loud people who sing their own praises. Politicians make bold promises and praise themselves. Advertisements encourage us to be selfish. We see very few servant leaders. When was the last time you heard of a leader who took Jesus for his role model? Serving other people is nearly a lost art. Yet, this is what God wants us to do. He wants us to have the servanthood traits of gentleness and quietness.

God has taught me many things about serving in the past several years. It's been a great blessing to me. Yet, it hasn't always been easy. Giving up my desires to be served, to lead, to be on top, to be heard came hard. But, in giving up these things, I've been blessed with better relationships with God and those around me. I'm not finished with this journey, but I'm looking forward to where God wants to take me next.

Lord, thank You for the lessons You've taught me. Thank You for being patient with me when it took a long time to learn. Help me to continue to be open to learn and to teach others what I've learned. I praise You for  the blessings that this has brought in my life.

Thank you also to Benjamin Lichtenwalner at modernservantleader.com for his frequent inspiration on the topic of servant leadership.

Called to Suffer

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,

1 Peter 2:21

In the previous verses, Peter is speaking about suffering unjustly. He explains how it brings glory to God. Then he says, "you have been called for this purpose." We've been called to suffer? Why? I don't like to suffer, especially unjustly. Yet, that's what it says.

So, am I not following God closely enough? Is that why I suffer very little. As a whole, Christians in American don't suffer much. Why? Have we lost our passion? Aren't we following God closely enough? Are we afraid to speak up? Many Christians in other parts of the world suffer and die for their faith. How could I follow God more closely? How can I prepare myself to suffer if God calls me to.

Lord, You've called us to follow You in Your unjust suffering. Yet, I suffer very little. I ask You to show me how I can follow You more closely. I want to be willing to suffer when you call me to. I don't want to fear anything that you've called me to. Help me to have faith that You will give me the strength for anything You call me to. I am all Yours. Use me, lead me and help me!

Free Men

Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God

1 Peter 2:16

We have been freed from bondage! Christ has delivered us from sin. He has also delivered us from the law. We are now free in Christ. What does this freedom look like? How should we exercise it? Does this mean we may do anything we want? Peter tells us that we shouldn't use this freedom as a license to sin. When we are in Christ we have voluntarily made ourselves slaves to Him. Paradoxically, this is the ultimate freedom.

We really cannot serve ourselves. Either we will serve God or Satan: Someone who loves us unconditionally or someone who hates unimaginably. We can choose God, who wants to have us live with Him in heaven or Satan who wants to destroy us. I choose God!

Dear God, help me to choose you always. I want to serve You with my entire being. I ask You to help me be a bondslave that is completely given over to Your service. I thank You for the freedom that You have given to me. May it be something that blesses You and those around me.

Glorify God

they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God

1 Peter 2:12

Our purpose in life is to glorify God and cause other people to glorify God. So, everything we do should be centered around that purpose. People who observe us should think of God. This is something that I need to be reminded of frequently. I believe that as I come closer to God in my Christian life, this will happen more naturally.

Lord, help me to stay close to You. Help me to point people to You in everything I do. I want to make You look good by my life.

Rejected by Men

a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,

1 Peter 2:1

Jesus is our chief cornerstone, the foundation of our faith, the rock of our salvation. Yet, he has been rejected by men. The religious leaders of His day rejected Him and most people today still reject Him. But, more importantly this rock is choice and precious in the site of God, and He should be that to us too. We must value His example, treasure His words and follow His lead. He needs to be the One we depend on in good times, and the One we run to in bad times. We must keep Him as the foundation of our faith. As long as we build our lives on Him, we cannot be moved.

Yet, if we follow Him, we must expect to be rejected by many people. He was rejected, and if we follow Him faithfully, we will be too. But that won't matter because our confidence and assurance comes from God's approval, not from human approval.

Lord, help me to be founded on the rock, Christ Jesus. Help me to be firmly anchored and not swayed by people's opinion of me. Help me not to be bothered by the rejection I face. Help me to only live for Your approval.

Putting Aside

putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,

1 Peter 2:1

This verse gives us plenty to work on in one concise package. We are to put aside:

Malice

Any evil or wickedness, anything that we would hold against someone else, God asks us to lay it down. We are to move toward Him in His goodness and holiness. The more time we spend with God, the more we will be like Him.

Deceit

Any trace of dishonesty, trying to take advantage of someone else. God is truth, and He wants His people to speak truth. He wants us to be completely genuine and transparent in all we do.

Hypocrisy

Acting like something we are not, pretending to be good for nefarious reasons, trying to look good without being good. Some of the most strong, angry words of Christ were in His denouncing of the hypocrites in His day. God despises hypocrites.

Envy

Desiring what other people have, being dissatisfied with what God has given us. It is really doubting God's wisdom. It's telling God that He made a wrong decision when He decided what to give us.

Slander

Speaking evil of other people around us. It's disrespectful to them and it dishonors God. It is criticizing what God made. Every person is very special to God, and He wants us to treat them that.

Lord, help me to lay aside all these things. Help me to be completely honest and forthright. Help me to live a life of truth and holiness. Help me to be content with what You've given me. Help me to speak kindly and respectfully of others for Your glory.

Jesus-Our Cornerstone

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The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

"The word of the Lord endures forever."

1 Peter 1:25

Politicians make empty promises. Spouses are sometimes unfaithful to their marriage vows. Advertisers make outrageous claims. We live in a world where people's word often cannot be trusted. Yet, in the middle of all these lies and empty promises, we can trust that God's Word will never change. He is truth. We can safely bet our lives in His truth. We never need to have any doubt about what He says.

Lord, thank You that Your Word never changes. Thank You that You are completely trustworthy. Help me to trust You completely with my entire life.

Love One Another

fervently love one another from the heart,

1 Peter 1:22

What could be different if we all followed this directive? What arguments and disagreements could we avoid? How much better would we treat each other? This love is not a brief burst of passion, but an enduring, fervent love from the heart. This is a self-sacrificing love. The Greek New Testament calls it agape. It's a choice of the will, a love that doesn't wax and wane. It doesn't depend on circumstances. It gives without asking in return. It serves without asking to be serves. It leads by example. It's leadership is the role of a servant. It puts others before itself. This is the kind of love that God demonstrates to us. It's the love Jesus displayed while here on this earth. It's the love that we must have.

Lord, help me to have this pure, fervent, selfless love. Help me to display love every day to everyone in every situation. Help me to never tire of serving. Forgive me where my love has been selfish. Help me to see where I need to improve, and by Your grace make a change. I want the people around me to see Jesus' love in my life. Thank Your for the love You have displayed to me.

" You shall be holy, for I am holy."

" You shall be holy, for I am holy."

1 Peter 1:16

Much has been made of how God wants the best for us. He wants us to be happy. He wants to have a relationship with us. He loves us. All of these things are true. However, we must not forget that He also calls us to be holy. Living in holiness is not a popular subject today. Many people value freedom from restrictions more than holy living. They don't realize that living God's way is true freedom. A holy life isn't boring. It pleases God, and when God smiles on our lives, good things happen!

Lord, help me to live a holy life. Help me to remember that Your approval is most important. May my life point other people to You.