In The Light

DEVOTION 1 JOHN IN THE LIGHT 1 John 1:5-7 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. NIV Simply be association the difference between light and darkness is day and night, or good and evil. The deeds done in the light are seen where the deeds done in the night are hidden from sight. Do we live our lives out in the daylight for all to see or do we live, at least a portion of our lives, in the darkness? Do we deceive even our own self thinking we are living in the light, but keep some thoughts, activities, behaviors that are done in the darkness? Now is this speaking about those individuals who simply claim the name Christian, but have not really been born again? They attend a church, on Sunday morning, they think that doing some good deeds will win them a place in heaven, but they simply live for their own human plans and desires. Maybe this speaks to believers who really have not changed their way of living, but claim they have. Could this be to believers that have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, but simply have had their thinking infiltrated by the concepts of human thinking? Maybe this speaks to believers who simply have never changed the way their think, and they still believe in the human effort, still trust in the flesh, in their own efforts to be good. All of those situations would be in some sense walking in darkness, not actually seeing the truth of the scriptures, not actually trusting God for every aspect of their lives as we are admonished to do. Surely no one thinks they have every lived or will ever live without sin in their lives, sin which could be defined as deeds of darkness, but it is not by any human effort that we can be free of all sin, for it is by the blood of Jesus Christ that we are cleansed of sin. That is what is truly meant by walking in the light, knowing it is Christ who has cleansed us. Even in the brightest of light we still fail to achieve perfection, but walking in the light exposes that imperfection, and so we can acknowledge the need for Jesus every moment of our lives and true fellowship, true koinonia means we cannot hide this from each other either. We cannot have those false fronts of perfection, but should admit to each other our inability to be perfect, and our need for Christ and his purification. We need to truly walk in the light.

Complete Joy

DEVOTION 1 JOHN COMPLETE JOY 1 John 1:1-4 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. NIV Here we have a firsthand account of the truth about the existence of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and that he is eternal, not just another great human being. Do we need more proof? It is clear that Jesus was with the Father from the beginning of what we know as time. It is clear that Jesus appeared to John, and that John saw, heard, and understood the truth which was revealed to him, and now he wants us to know all of it is real and true. If we have never had any actually supernatural event happen in our lives because of the work of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we could still believe without any doubt because we have the record of a firsthand witness to all this. Many of us have had supernatural events, healings, miracles, revelations, hearing the voice of God, or some other incredible experience with God. Some of us have never had an event like that, but we still can believe because of the testimony of John which was inspired his experiences with God. John knows that if we believe, we can have the same kind of fellowship he had with Jesus. We can have a partnership with Jesus as John did, we can participate with Jesus as John did. What better thing could ever happen in our life? Could anything this world offer ever come close to that kind of experience? Why we spend so much of our time involved with living life, in human terms, and spend so little time living life in Godly terms when it is the later which can bring us the greatest joy ever known is beyond understanding. Can we have nice things? Absolutely, but it is because God has provided them for us, not us, not our effort. All things accumulated by human effort do not fill our hearts with joy, but those same things when provided by God are evidences of his love for us and that brings intense joy. When we know we have eternal life, the greatest gift from God it is the total fulfillment of joy. Nothing could be greater, nothing could come in a close second, all else fades into oblivion in light of eternal life. My joy is complete.

DEVOTION 2 PETER STAY ON GUARD 2 Peter 3:17-18 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. NIV There it is, the whole letter in a nutshell, the completion of the idea, summed up for us so we cannot miss it. Be on our guard! There are people out there, wolves in sheep’s clothing attempting to set themselves up as spiritual leaders with masses of followers devoted to their teaching. We need to be on guard against such kind of people. We need to be able to see them for who they are. Their faith is false; it is not the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Their teaching is based on human desires, not upon the desire of God. It would appear that those who listen to them and accept their teachings have been carried away from their secure position in Christ, or do I dare say they have walked away from their salvation and are now among the lost. It is true that people can speak of God, speak of Jesus Christ, speak of religious things, even say they believe in those things, and not be born again, not be saved, not be among the body of Christ, not be a living stone in the temple of God, not be going to heaven, but in fact, will be destined for destruction. We need to be ever vigilant, ever on guard against such kinds of teachings and we can, because we have the Holy Spirit to guide us. One of his gifts is the spirit of discernment so as to be able to know and hear this false teaching and stay clear of it. Instead we should drench ourselves in the truth. We need to grow in grace, the divine influence on our heart, rather than growing in the influence of men. God, himself influences out heart, he teaches us directly, speaks right to us, and draws us closer to him. Those false teachers have human agendas, but God has a divine agenda and we need to grow in his plan. We should also grow in knowledge, always learning more about Jesus Christ, about God’s plan for us. We cannot ever be content with our once learned truth, but we should be growing daily. How could be say we know it all, we have all the answers, we have the truth and we do not need to know anymore? How can we say we are saved and that is all I need to know? If we ever start thinking like, becoming stagnant in our relationship with God, that is when we might let our guard down. The truth of the matter is we live to bring him glory and honor. Stay on guard! In the army men stand guard or watch against an enemy attack that would kill. We stand guard against the enemy who would destroy our soul. Stay on guard!

Patience

DEVOTION 2 PETER PATIENCE 2 Peter 3:15-16 15 Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. NIV It is not difficult to understand how ignorant and unstable people distort the scriptures for they truly cannot understand them, because of the absence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. It is true the God could have simply wiped out all of mankind, all of the universe and started all over again with another completely new system and a creation that is totally different with people of a different nature. But he did not and has offered a way of salvation, a way to restore our relationship to him to a rightful manner through faith in Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for our sin, our disobedience. Yes he did destroy most of mankind with the flood, but he kept his creation in tact with Noah and his family, with mankind still having the original nature he gave us, with the ability to be disobedient. And he waits, at least in the time frame of waiting as we understand time. He desires that all should be saved and none should perish. Could this actually mean that somehow in his divine way, he manages to get through to unbelievers just prior to their end? At least he manages somehow that they hear the salvation message, and they are offered peace with him, through the cross so they have the choice. The fact still remains that we who believe do understand what the truth is and our hearts and minds are illuminated by the scriptures. We are not distracted by the false words of men who distort the truth into something which can be used for their own benefit, which will ultimately bring destruction upon them. Because they refuse the truth, they make up their own truth. We do not have to make up any truths of our own for we have God’s and he has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us this truth, to guide us through it with understanding. Yet we should continue to endeavor to bring this truth to others, because we do not know the day when his patience will end. Yet back to that question, will he find a way to reach them before their end? Does the way include us? Are we the only way he has chosen to reach them before their death? Or does he use some divine method we are not aware of, and only those in the moment just before death can see? Either way, we need to do our part, as we are called to do, for it is because of his patience that we have the salvation we do. Had he come before we believed would we have been destroyed? Thank God for his patience. Even the patience he has with us during those times we fail him, when we act in a disobedient way. What would we do without the patience of God?

Be Diligent

DEVOITON 2 PETER BE DILIGENT 2 Peter 3:14-15 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. NIV Because we are indeed looking forward to the Day of the Lord, there are ways we should be living. If, however, we allow ourselves to become distracted by all the things of this world we may miss the mark we are supposed to be aiming for. We are admonished to make every effort, to exert ourselves toward certain qualities. This in itself would imply any distraction; any wavering from making every effort would insure our failure. So then when the Day of the Lord arrives will we be spotless? The only spotlessness we could ever hope to achieve would be in Christ. We need to make every effort to remain in him, to firmly ground ourselves in the gospel message. Can we ever be spotless without Christ? I think not. It would also seem rather foolish to think we could ever be with blame unless we are in Christ. That is the whole reason he died on that cross, so the Father would render us blameless, innocent of all charges for which we are indeed guilty. Christ told our sin, our blame for us and so in him we are indeed blameless. Being in Christ also is the treaty we signed with God. Anyone who has refused to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is, in fact, at war with God, and they are going to lose. Who in their right mind would ever think they could wage war on God and win? Satan has and we know even as powerful as he is, he is going to lose. So then we should not allow him to entrap us in his snare, but make every effort to stay close to Jesus, to keep ourselves drenched in his blood, clinging to that old rugged cross with all the energy we have. Will we still fail God? Will we still get catch up at times in thoughts, behaviors, reactions that are not acceptable? Unfortunately we will, not that being human is an excuse, for we should not make that excuse, but we are not divine, we are not perfect as Christ was, and that is the whole of why we needed him and that we still need him, and we will always need him. We cannot achieve salvation, nor can we achieve peace with God without the offering of Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for our sin. To this we must be diligent.

Live Accordingly

DEVOTION 2 PETER LIVE ACCORDINGLY 2 Peter 3:11-13 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. NIV It seems rather clear just exactly what kind of behavior is expected from those of us who claim we are born again, or followers of Christ, believers, or Christians. Holy and Godly lives are the words used here, which carry a whole lot of implications. If we were to open them up and see inside, we would think it is impossible. To be holy carries so much meaning in the sense that it could imply that we should live as one set apart for God, but in the sense of what is said, it clearly carries the meaning, in a moral sense, to live pure, sinless, upright, holy lives. Does that mean perfection? It certainly means we should not ever accept being less then holy, that we should make that our goal, or desired lifestyle. We will fail? More than likely, not that we should make excuses, but we will fail at times, yet it still remains our desire to be holy, to live in a manner which pleases God, not our self. That is how this godly living fits in as it implies living in respect of God, or reverence of him. People who do not respect him will not live a holy life; it will not be their priority as it is with those of us who call him Lord. So how do we speed the coming of the day of the Lord? The actually word here implies to desire earnestly its coming, to want it to hasten, to speed up. This would seem to be saying we should not get too comfortable with our lives here, getting all catch up in the pursuit of earthly things, earthly goals and ambitions. We should not be looking forward to the day we can have this thing or do that activity for the sake of self-gratification, but rather use our time for the benefit of the Kingdom of God, looking forward to the time when all this we now know in the physical will be gone and a whole new heaven and earth will be our home, for all of eternity. Now does God bless us with good things and a good life here on this earth? For the most part, at least for us who live in the United States, yes he does, but what about those who live in the 3rd world places, or in countries who persecute believers in Christ? They most likely look forward to the coming of the Lord more than we do, for we have so much of the creature comforts and freedom to worship God in the manner we do. But let us not get complacent in our behaviors. Let us focus on what is to come, and live accordingly.

The Day

DEVOTION 2 PETER THE DAY 2 Peter 3:10 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. NIV There are basically two types of people, those who are looking forward to the Day of the Lord and those who could not care anything about it, yet it is coming for certain. I am not sure what this is going to look like as far as the sky disappearing and the complete earth burned until there is nothing left at all. There is simply no other way to for all the elements to be destroyed by fire, nothing left, the whole of the earth gone, without a trace that it ever existed. It would seem to me that would include anything we have accumulated for our own comfort. But then we need this stuff at least until the Day of the Lord. A question follows as to what kind of people should we be, so I will leave that until then, but it does seem if this day of the Lord is coming like a thief, that is without any warning, just showing up, then it would also seem we should be looking for it. No one can prepare for the coming of a thief. Sure we can have alarm systems which might let us know when it is actually in our home, or even at the front door, but we cannot determine when he is actually going to show up. This is how it is going to be with the day of the Lord. We were already warning about the false prophets and teachings, and they surely must have been claiming they knew the time of this day. Even today the tabloids claim the end of the world is coming on this date or that. Some religious nutcases have claimed certain dates which have come and gone without a trace of this day of the Lord. It is clear not a single human being is going to know when this will happen. It does present us with a clear picture of what will happen when it does come, but then that would simply mean we need to be ready. There is a day coming and we should know about it, care about it, live for it, and tell others about it, so they too can be ready, for this day is going to be like no other day, it is the day of the lord.

It's Time

DEVOTION 2 PETER IT’S TIME 2 Peter 3:8-9 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. NIV After being warned about those who people refuting God because he has not come back yet, we now see the reason for His timing. Not that God even has to give us an excuse or reason for his timing, but because he loves us so much he wants us to know what he is doing and why he is doing it. We have to remember that God even created time for us, because he does not exist in time as we do. He limited himself to time when he came to die on the cross for us, but he does not need time nor does he live in time. This is why he explains this the way he does so we can have an idea of what he is and how he relates to time. Yet still it is a wonderful thing that he has allowed time to pass, in the human understanding of it, for the reason of giving people more opportunity to come to their senses and accept him as their Lord and Savior. The facts are the facts. Because he is God he gets to set the rules, we do not, but we must accept his rules, this is his planet, and we are his creation. Now it is true that some men have created their own god and have set the rules for their god to abide by, but then their god cannot save them from the fact that all who do not accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, will perish. God surely does not want this to happen, but those are his rules, and so we waits patiently for everyone to come to repentance. But some will never, and he knows that, yet he still waits and that is his right. We do not know how long he will wait, only he does, and that is alright, because he is God and we are his creation. All we can do is make sure we are ready for his return, and that we make every effort to tell as many people as we can to get ready to. God does not desire and should perish and if we are in agreement with him then we should not want anyone to perish either. So then why are we so silent? Do we expect just the preachers to announce the truth? Do we think it is the churches job? That is why so many false teachers are out there, making all the noise. We need to stand up and speak up for the truth of God, telling everyone that he is coming back and if they don’t accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior they are going to perish, and that is not burning in hell, but being throw into the lake of burning Sulfur which is the second death. God does not want anyone to be lost, never should we, so let us speak up, it’s time.

Deceived and Destroyed

DEVOTION 2 PETER DECIEVED AND DESTROYED 2 Peter 3:3-7 3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men. NIV Whenever people take God out of the equation they make a terrible mistake. It appears some might have been thinking that the days they lived in were the last days and now here we are some two thousand years later and we really have a whole lot of scoffers now saying just what those did in the day this letter was penned. They refuse to see the truth regarding the end result of their living for their own evil desires. They think if they refuse to accept the existence of God then they have to limitations on the way they live. It is as though we could say I do not believe there is a government in the country and therefore there is no law that I need to obey live by and so I can speed as fast as I want, I can take whatever I want from whoever I want to, I can kill whoever I dislike, and the such, but simply believing the law does not exist does not make it not there. This is how it is with their scoffing, or refusal to accept God, He exists even if they do not believe it. It is by design they forget the truth that God destroyed everyone once before because of they had allowed their evil desires to run rampant, unchecked and had been corrupted by them, with no conscience of God. Today this world is not much better, even in our country where people are attempting to remove any evidence of God from the public square, under the guise of fairness to all beliefs, but in reality they desire to live without what they believe are the restraints of the Word of God. If they think because they do not believe they will escape the end result of judgment and destruction they are sadly mistaken. It is clear the only escape is in Christ Jesus, as the ark was the only means of escape in those days. We must be diligent in our faith, not allowing the thinking of these people to infiltrate our thinking, our beliefs, and our church. It may already have happened to many believers, those who have not grounded themselves in the Word. They may have allowed their belief to be shaped or shaded by some silver tongued scoffer who is in disguise as a follower. We must all engage in due diligence regarding the truth, making sure we are not deceived, distracted and destroyed.

Remind and Stimulate

DEVOTION 2 PETER REMIND AND STIMULATE 2 Peter 3:1-2 3:1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. NIV There is the truth and then there is the truth. After spending so much time talking about those who spread other than the truth, here we understand the truth and already before us, from all the men in the past who God inspired to record His relationship with us since the beginning of our creation, to the present. God has used faithful men, not concerned about their own fame and fortune, but concerned about God and His values, His truth about what we are to believe, live and do for the benefit of His kingdom. We need constant reminding of this truth, because it is so easy to get so distracted by things of daily life. If we are to be stimulated to wholesome thinking, and that would surely be regarding the Word of God as spoken through the prophets, and the men of old, what would unwholesome thinking be? Surely the thought of enjoying a great cup of coffee while writing this devotion is not unwholesome, but then what is? Enjoying the pleasures of marriage would not fall into unwholesome thinking either. So what is? Having a hobby, enjoying the pleasure of God creation, thinking about doing a good job at work, tasting a great steak, as well as many good things are not regarding unwholesome thinking. But we all know what is spoken of here. The lust for what is not to be enjoyed. True we might refrain from the act of the forbidden, but what about the thinking of it? How do we live without being constantly bombarded with images promoting unwholesome thinking? Is a fleeting moment of thought considered unwholesome? Or would this be more applicable to being influenced in thought by those false prophets and teachers? Being lead into thinking a non-truth about God would surely be unwholesome. If we know the truth, which we all have a copy of, then how could we think anything but wholesome thoughts about God and His relationship with us? Looking ahead to what follows these words; it appears this is the way we should be heading. Yet the main thing here is we need reminding and stimulating to wholesome thinking, As well as we should remind and stimulate others.

No Wallowing

DEVOTION 2 PETER NO WALLOWING 2 Peter 2:17-22 17 These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity — for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud." NIV Here we see the last of the dissertation on the warnings and woes regarding the false prophets and teachers. Can there be any question about who these people are? Can we not see them all around us? It surely also warns us that we need to stay on the right path and not to get distracted by the things of the world, and since early that specific warning about greed, it would be wise for us to see the dangers in getting too involved in the way of the non-believers lust for the accumulation of money based on the trust their have in it for their future. Once we have become born again, do we not attempt to leave behind those bad habits, those sinful desires? We see in here the extreme danger in returning to those same old habits, those same old desires, and not giving any attention to whether that is displeasing to the Lord or not. This would include the act of wanting more and more money, investing in the work of the devil if he promises to line our pockets with gold. This would include returning to any old ways of living. It is certain these false teachers were using God for they benefit rather than being used for His benefit. When we use the scriptures to justify any behavior that is in any way similar to the way of the world, are we not doing the same thing? If we seek out one verse to show that it is alright for us to store up wealth for ourselves, for our old age, are we not in danger of being entangled in the world and overcome by it? There is so much warning in here about not returning to the same ways after being enlightened by the Word of God. It is surely just as the sow after being washed in the blood of the lamb, cleansed of sin, declared innocent but God, and then going right back to sinning, to wallowing in the mud and what is worse is when we use the scriptures to justify our wallowing. It is clear no more wallowing.

Be Aware

DEVOTION 2 PETER BE AWARE 2 Peter 2:13-16 13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed — an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey — a beast without speech — who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness. NIV More continuation of the past statement regarding these false prophets and teacher, with an even clearer picture of what these people are like is recorded for our insight. It would seem it does not require a whole lot of discernment to pick these people out from the real and true followers of Christ. Yet I find it so difficult to understand how so many supposed Christians are deceived by these people. Why are their churches jammed full, their auditoriums packed to capacity with all the big multi-media screens and televisions cameras recording their every expression, their every word as if they are some god. All the while they have become experts at fleecing the flock, extorting as much money as possible from each of their followers. Phrases like, “Trust God, he will provide for you”, while they depend on you to provide for them, certainly shows their true colors. They quote that those who serve the church are due double honor, especially those who teach and preach, but they say nothing about what kind of lives they live, as some have been catch doing. We who know God and love him and desire to live in a manner which pleases him should be extremely careful not to be dragged into believing and of their empty words. We need hear the voice of the Spirit instead of their voices. Sure they include some of the truth of God, just enough to make it sound right, but if we listen with a discerning ear, a discerning spirit as powered by the Spirit, we will hear the heresy in their words. The warning to us here is to stay clear of them, keep our distant, for they will not escape the harm which is in store for them. The warning here is for us not to be unstable which are the ones who they seduce. These unstable do not have a full understanding of the truth of God; they are simply not grounded in the Word of God. How has this happened? Has the true church, the real body of Christ failed in bringing them along in the right path? Perhaps they were never a part of the true body of Christ. Perhaps these who have been seduced were unbelievers from the beginning and were seduced into thinking they are believers. But it does not appear this warning is to them, but to us. This encourages us to make sure we are stable and secure in the truth of God so we can know these people for who they are. The truth of God has not deception, not one word. So once again be aware.

Be Alert

DEVOTION 2 PETER BE ALERT 2 Peter 2:10-12 Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. 12 But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish. NIV The continuing saga of those false prophets and teachings and how they are. It is a shame that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is slandered and shamed by this people who use the Gospel for their own gain and edification. It would seem that at least for the moment, however long that is, the angels will not intervene in this matter. Even through it would appear these people speak evil about the celestial beings. Perhaps maybe they include themselves, as being so spiritual, that they are a part of the celestial membership. This might imply these are men who are wolves dressed in lambs clothing, difficult to distinguish from true men of God, true pastors, shepherds of God’s people. It is only with the help the Holy Spirit that we are able to see them for who they really are, brute beasts, wolves of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, and they will perish. It is a warning also not to presume to be a teacher or a preacher of the Gospel message unless called by God to do so. If for any other reason, danger might be at the door of our life someday. If people elect to become a prophet or teacher of their own will, their own choosing based on ideas of born from their own mind; danger lurks just around the corner. We need to be ever diligent to hearing the call of God before presuming to speak for Him. God has spoken of this through James when He says that not many of us should presume to be teachers because God will hold us to a higher standard, we will judge be more strictly. It would also serve us well to consider the angels do not even accuse these people before God, so neither should we. But that does not mean we should accept what they have to say, or follow after them, supporting their shameful behavior against the Kingdom of God with our money, acting as if there are one of us, and all the while being on the road to destruction. God does call us to spread the Gospel, but for His benefit, we are to serve him, not ourselves, we are to be His ambassadors in a foreign land, we are called to be his people, doing his will. Those who serve self will fail, they will not last, and they will not join us in the everlasting city, the paradise of God. So once again, we should be alert.

Choose Wisely

DEVOTION 2 PETER CHOOSE WISELY 2 Peter 2:4-10 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. NIV This simply cannot be broken up in parts for it speaks of but one thing and one thing only. There is a difference between how God deals with the believer and the non-believer. One will be rescued and one will be destroyed. It is also clear that the choice is up to each one as to whether they decide to follow after God or follow after the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise the authority of God. We all can either be spared like Noah, which the Ark is a perfect picture of the cross or like lot, which Sodom and Gomorrah are a great picture of Hell or we could be a part of the those who died in the flood or the fire sent be God to show us the result of refusing his authority in our lives. Does that mean that us believers never fall to the temptations of the sinful nature? We would all have to say not really, we still fail to be absolutely perfect and without any sin at all, but we still respect the authority of God and feel the remorse and seek forgiveness for our failures. The ungodly simply do not care about God and his authority; they pursue at full speed all the pleasures of their sinful nature. Does that mean they are bad people, not at all, some are nice loving, caring, giving people, doing good things for their families and friends and even giving to society having a certain moral center of their own. But they do not accept God, and his standards, his authority, his requirements and provisions for salvation. There is no middle ground here, no fence riding, either one is in the camp of God or in the camp of the enemy of God. Yes it is possible for a person to stand on a state line with one foot in Ohio and one in Indiana, but that is in the physical realm, where as in the spiritual realm, it is all in one or the other. The sad thing is, unlike the ark which had limited space, the cross has unlimited space, all can enter, all can be saved, not one has to be held in a gloomy dungeon until the day of judgment, then cast into the lake of burning sulfur and perish as those in Sodom and Gomorrah did. There is a choice here, choose wisely.

True or False

DEVOTION 2 PETER TRUE OR FALSE 2 Peter 2:1-3 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them — bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. NIV A sad commentary on the condition of the human heart is expressed here. False prophets and teachers were then and surely are here now. How do men expect people to believe the truth of God when then live such lives as they do? It is fairly clear these people who use a form of the Gospel of Jesus Christ use it for their own personal gain rather than for the benefit of the Kingdom of God. It is because of greed for the ways of the world, greed for money which drives them to exploit others taking their money, not for God, but for themselves. They are shameful; they cast a horrible image to the non-believers of what followers of God are. We cannot allow ourselves to be influenced by these people. We cannot allow them to distract us from the real truth. Although they have taken in enough money to afford multimedia coverage of their supposed ministries and flood the market with hordes of material spewing forth their doctrines, we cannot be taken in by them. Maybe some of this types have good intentions, but that is why we have been given the gifts of the Spirit, one of them being the gift if discernment. If we simply allow the Spirit to speak to our hearts and minds we can see these false prophets and teachers for who and what they are. God will deal with them in all good time, but we have to be vigilant in not letting them fill our minds with their false teachings in the meantime. This might even apply to all the denominationalism in the world today. But the main focus is on those who use the Gospel for their own edification, gaining glamour and fame and glory for their dynamite personalities and flamboyant styles of preaching or entertaining the masses of people who gather around them. Carefulness must be the key word for the true believer in Christ, staying close to the Spirit, hearing the harkening to stay clear of such false teaching. The truth is clear, God has established this truth for us to understand and know deep within our spirits. We know when we hear anything else but the truth, even when these people include just enough of it, just a portion of the truth, to make their words sound good. We can hear the rest of their story and know not to listen, not to be taken in, not to subscribe to their words. We know what is true false.

Pay Attention

DEVOTION 2 PETER PAY ATTENTION 2 Peter 1:19-21 19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. NIV Besides the eye witness testimony of Peter we also have the word of the prophets made more certain. If someone spoke about an event that was going to happen years before it was to happen today it would be in the tabloids at the checkout counter, but this is would be of human invention or perhaps of demonic influence to distract from the real prophets of old. Here we see Peter as inspired by God giving credence to the word spoken by those men who lived hundreds of year ago and spoke of the Christ, and what he would have to endure and how the people of Israel would respond to hi message. This is addition proof God is real, Christ is real, and it is all true. We also would do well to pay attention to it, being focused on the truth in the same way a person would focus on a beam of light in the absolute absence of all other forms of light. We cannot be distracted by false lights that lead down wrong paths, but must be focused on the true light, Christ. He said he was the way, truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me. But he also said He was the light of the world. Those prophets did not invent their words on their own, but were inspired by the Holy Spirit to tell a story that was to happen. God was warning his people to pay attention, something wonderful was going to happen, their redemption was drawing near. We have that same warning all throughout scriptures, we do not need only to pay attention to the eye witness accounts of Jesus, but we can see him in the words of the prophets as well. More proof of the existence of God, and of Jesus Christ, and of God’s plan for man. We cannot simply accept Christ and then slide through life going our merry way, doing our thing, just being a Christian. We must pay attention, be focused on the light, examining all the proof, living accordingly, recognizing we are part of a body, each with a task, each with a purpose, each with a role to play in order that we all in concert, united in spirit, can benefit the Kingdom of God. We need to pay attention.

Speak Up

DEVOTION 2 PETER SPEAK UP 2 Peter 1:16-18 16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. NIV What more proof could we ask for? We have the words of an eye witness who is testifying as to what he saw and heard. This is not hearsay, or a third party report, this is what Peter actually experienced himself and was inspired by God to record it for all to read and understand to be the truth. Why would he lie? To what benefit would it bring to Peter to lie about such a thing? Being a follower of Christ was not a very popular lifestyle at that time, considering the religious leaders of the Jews had Jesus killed. Yet because of the power of the Holy Spirit Peter was a changed man filled with power to testify to the truth about Jesus Christ. This is not some made man religion, or cleverly invented belief system in order to control a certain about of individuals with rules and regulations or even with fear, but this is the truth about God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. When it comes down to it, there is the truth and then there is all else, which of course would be non-truth, or lies. If this is the only truth that all believers can experience unity in the Spirit then at least we have this. We might argue over such small details, rules and regulations, methods of being able to experience salvation, how to live a holy life and an array of other little different ideas about what God said and what He meant by it, but at least we should all be able to agree that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He is the Savior and by His death on the cross of Calvary we are saved. Now of course we did not see or hear what Peter did, and we cannot testify as an eye witness, but we can testify as to how God has charged our lives, and that it is the truth, because of the testimony of eye witnesses. We who, like Peter, were once in denial of Jesus, now can stand on a soap box in the center of life, and preach a sermon to all who can hear our voice, because of the power of the Holy Spirit. If we what to be heard, we need to speak up. God spoke up and said, “This is my Son whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We can speak up and say, “This is my lord and Savior whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We just need to speak up.

Reminded and Reminding

DEVOTION 2 PETER REMINDED AND REMINDING 2 Peter 1:12-15 12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. NIV Once knowledge of the truth has been received it is apparent we should continue to remind others as well as ourselves of this truth on a regular basis. Hearing the truth again and again serves to keep us on track and we are less likely to become distracted by the ways of the world. Although I think way too many believers think we can do both, live for God and for the world. Yes we should live in the world but not be of the world, so we need reminding to keep it simple and focus our attention on God. What really strikes home within these words is Peter was absolutely convinced he was not his body. Peter spoke of living in this body, surely God had inspired these words to assure us that this body we currently live in is not who we really are, but merely a body in which we temporarily reside. We are a spirit who dwells in this body. The body may be laid to rest in the grave, but we will not be with it, for we shall ascend into the presence of God. As we put it aside and leave it beyond, do we have an obligation to leave a legacy for others? What will others remember about us? Will they have anything to remember about the truth of God that we have told them? Have we told them anything about the truth of God? Have we reminded them? Have we written anything for them to reread after we depart so they will always have something to remember about God that we have shared with them? True Peter and the other disciples were a unique group of individuals who God used to record all that He desired for generations to come to know about Him. Yes, God saw fit to have men save and compile all these letters into one volume so we all would have something to remind us of the truth of God, but does that relieve us from any responsibility to share this truth and to remind others of it? I can’t help feel this is why He has inspired me to write books and these devotions which others can still read well after I depart this body, leaving it behind to join my Lord and Savior in the presence of God the Father, to sit on His throne with Him, to wear the white robe with a new name written on it, and to wear the crown of life, enjoying the fruit from the tree of life. As Peter reminds others, I believe we are to do that as well. We should always be reminded and reminding.

Eager

DEVOTION 2 PETER EAGER 2 Peter 1:10-11 10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Surely this falling does not include the continuation of failing perfection, for who can gain absolute perfection. But rather this speaks to the falling in which Israel did, falling away from God, from accepting the Messiah, accepting Jesus Christ as the Son of God and their Savior. Their disbelief did lead to the offering of the Gospel to the gentiles, to us, but to make Israel jealous, so as to bring them back. At least that is what God said through Paul in his letter to the Romans in chapter 11. We need to make sure we are eager to continue in the pursuit of God. Not to get catch up in religious activity, not to get distracted by tradition rather than truth as Israel did. We need to keep on track with faith in Jesus Christ for our salvation rather than in how good of Christians we are. It is so easy to make our faith about being good, about being proud that we do not commit certain sins. In some this means no drinking, no smoking, no dancing, no movies, no bowling, and no, no and more no. For some their faith is but a list of no’s they can check off as not doing, and thus may have been distracted from the truth that salvation comes from Jesus Christ and Him alone. For some their faith is all about staying to the traditions of the past, only certain styles of worship are acceptable, only certain translations are to be used, sanctuaries should only look a certain way, the color of the rug and pews, the color of the walls, the lighting, and whatever else they can think of that is more important than remaining in Christ, or for them these things are their way of remaining in Christ instead of through faith. Nothing is more important than faith in Christ for our salvation and faith in Him alone. Yes we should attempt to add to our character all those traits spoken of before. Yes we should attempt to live in a manner which is pleasing to God. Yes, we should turn from those desires prompted by temptations offered by the devil. Yes, we should do all we can to live a holy life, but how is that defined? Is it by serving religion, or serving God? Is it by abiding in rules or in Christ? Perfection will always elude us, but Christ will not. Religion will always fail us, but Christ will not. Rules will always fail to save us, but Jesus will not. Be eager for Jesus.

Increasing Measure

DEVOTION 2 PETER INCREASING MEASURE 2 Peter 1:5-9 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. NIV This certainly sounds a lot like a list of the fruit of the Spirit and yet we are admonished to make every effort to possess these in increasing measure. Now it seems the phrase increasing measure is the key. If we can do nothing apart from Christ, he being the vine and we being the branches and it is indeed the God through the Spirit who prepares, provides and powered the fruit of the Spirit in us, then our task, our calling here is to never stop allowing the Spirit to increase the number and the effectiveness of the these qualities in us. We need to make every effort to remain attached to the vine, to be humble before the Lord, to submit to his will in our lives. I know within our own human effort we can do nothing, just as Jesus said we could not, therefor we cannot possess or increase in measure these qualities by our self. It is quite apparent that once we are saved, we cannot just go forward with the same kind of living for that would be nearsighted and blind, but we must go forward with learning how to allow God to do a work in our life. Sure He began a good work by saving us, but we just can’t stay there, simply saved. We must grow, we must mature in Him. We must allow Him to complete that good work He began in us. We cannot grow if all we are is Sunday believers, we must be in His word on a daily basis, meditating on it day and night, growing in the knowledge of Him. How else can we have these qualities in our lives unless we are with Him every moment of every day? This is our calling here, to grow in increasing measure. We can never say we have enough of faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love, we must always be gaining more, in increasing measure. increasing increasing

Escaped

DEVOTION 2 PETER ESCAPED 2 Peter 1:3-4 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. NIV If His divine power has given us everything we need for life, why then do we strive so much to get more of the stuff of this world? Or is it His divine power which gives us the ability to pursue and accumulate so much of this stuff? Isn’t this the stuff which is the corruption in the world caused by a longing for them? It is only through the knowledge of God that we have escaped perishing. That is the original language word translated corruption. We have escaped ruin, decay, perishing because we learned about God and His great power to save us from this destruction which is caused by living without the knowledge of Him. Since we learned about God and spend our lives trying to learn more and more about Him and His ways we are able to participate in His divine nature. That phrase of wanting to be more like Jesus has great bearing here. It is obvious there can be no fence riding; either we live for God or for the world. God gives us eternal life, the world gives us destruction. Why would we want to have the world, or for that matter both? How can we say we love God and desire to live for Him and still want so much of the world offers? Either we have escaped or we haven’t. It is far better to be a part of His divine nature, living as a member of the body of Christ, being a citizen in the Kingdom of God, a foreigner, a stranger, alien to this world and its corruption, its destruction, its perishing which is certainly the end it will experience with all of its inhabitants which refused to acknowledge God. That is the greatness and the preciousness of this promise. Once we were prisoners of this world, chained to it, enslaved to it and its ways, under the horrible control of the evil one himself, but because of God, and His glory and goodness He has set us free and once we have been freed from that bondage why would we ever want to return to it. We have escaped.

In Abundance

DEVOTION 2 PETER IN ABUNDANCE 2 Peter 1:1-2 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. NIV There is an exceptional complication surrounding this word faith. When examining the original language it carries so much meaning way beyond the simple word faith. It is because of God, because of Jesus Christ and His intervention into our lives that we received a persuasion, a moral conviction of religious truth or the truthfulness of God, especially the reliance on Christ for our salvation. This is all wrapped up in that word faith. What a blessing to be able to be persuaded in such a truth. How so many people are doped by the devil into believing anything other than this truth is beyond comprehension. God is far more powerful than the devil, yet He allows people to make up their own minds as to who will persuade them. God’s offer is open and available to all who would accept it. He is willing to extend this faith, this truthfulness about him to everyone, but unfortunately some just refuse to listen because they have been deceived by the devil into thinking that believing, trusting in Jesus Christ is foolish. He tried to deceive Jesus into thinking it was foolish to go to the cross by offering all the riches of this world. Jesus turned him down, but some people have not. They have accepted his deception, but we who trust in God have turned down the devil and have turned to God, accepting all He has to offer. Just a portion of this offering is an abundance of grace and peace. Consider that it is not just a sampling of grace and peace or just a little of it, enough to get by, but it is an abundance, an overflowing, a continual multiplying of it, becoming more and more each and every moment of our life. God’s grace and peace, his influence and spiritual prosperity continue to increase in our life every moment. We are growing in Christ every day we live, gaining greater insights into the truth of God. We do not just learn a few basics and then are expected to live for God; no we are always being given more and more, constantly increasing in the knowledge of Him. The deceptions of the devil that we once were under has been stripped away and replaced with the wonderful truth of God and in abundance. God is not cheap, His is not stingy, and He does not hoard His truth, His gifts, His fruit, His grace and peace. He does not keep them to Himself thinking He needs to be a good steward of His grace and peace, no He freely gives it, as much as we can receive. He gives in abundance.

How Are We Doing?

DEVOTION 1 PETER HOW ARE WE DOING? 1 Peter 5:12-14 12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. NIV A fitting conclusion, a fitting ending salutation of encouragement to stand fast in the true grace of God is what all of us should do. I think it is interesting this grace is once again the divine influence upon our hearts and how that is reflected in our lives. We should stand fast, not be moved, not be distracted by other things, not be influenced by anything other than God. In a world which spends so much money and energy in an attempt to sway our thinking to be in agreement with them, we are to stand fast to the true influence of God in our lives. Why should we buy gold when we have God? Why should we put any of our trust in the system of this world when we have the truth of God, His grace, His influence in our lives? Why should we believe the unbeliever when we have the grace of God? God has a plan for us, and He who started a good work in us will complete it. We are going to step into eternity right into His presence someday, which is the absolute completion of His good work in us. So why would we want to be influenced by anything which only leads to death, including the second death? No we need to stand fast as well as encourage each other to do the same. We need to testify to this true, telling others of it, bringing encouragement and even as in the original language implies exhort one another in this truth. Maybe there is just not enough brotherly love within the body because too many have forgotten this truth and have been influenced by the social graces of society. Surely if we were truly influenced by God we would greet each other slightly different then we do. What happened to this holy kiss of greeting? Just a thought, yet without question we need to express the peace of God to each other in our greetings and our farewells. How are we doing?

God Has The Power

DEVOTION 1 PETER HE HAS THE POWER 1 Peter 5:8-11 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. NIV Perhaps within the context of this statement, suffering might be defined as something other than being under some form of persecution from non-believers, or those who violently oppose our faith. Maybe, just maybe this suffering is being exposed to all sorts of temptations from the devil. Temptations which are so desirable that it actually causes us to suffer in the sense of wanting, but knowing we should not, and then when we fail to resist and give in, having such a guilty, ashamed feeling that we suffer within our own self, thinking how could we have done that, and will God punish us, or not forgive us for being so weak. Maybe this is the common suffering of all the brothers throughout the world, no matter what cultural or society they live in. Whether we live in a free society where we can openly express our faith or if we live in a society where Christianity is opposed and oppressed, we all are tempted by the enemy of our souls. He certainly does not devour our bodies, but rather our souls, our spirit, trying with all his power to cause us to turn from God. Even if we do fail, and give in from time to time to temptation, we are still to stand firm in our faith, resisting that guilt and shame which the devil delights in, and stand knowing God is on our side, and his love and forgiveness will be everlasting. If we do not lose sight of our position in Christ, even in the midst of failure, God will restore us and make us strong and steadfast. It does matter what the devil attempts to do in order to get us to turn away from God, if we resist him, he will flee from us. Yes we fail, yes we are not perfect, yes we still need to always be aware of the devils plot to destroy us, yes we need to resist as much as we can, but it is for certain we will not be able to attain perfection and be completely free of sin. That is why God will restore us. He knows our weakness, our inability to sustain a live without sin, but restoration puts away guilt and shame. Restoration defeats the devil and his schemes to destroy us. God has the power, forever and ever. We are his children and he will protect us, even in those situations when we are weak, for he has the power.

The Better Choice

DEVOTION 1 PETER THE BETTER CHOICE 1 Peter 5:5-7 5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. NIV Pride is an awful condition for a believer to find themselves in. Pride says I can do all things by myself. Pride says I am so much better then all you others. Pride says I know more about it then you do. Pride says I am capable of judging behaviors and attitudes in others. This idea of clothing ourselves with humility toward each other is foreign to the human nature we came to Christ with, that is might be one of the difficult changes in our thought process. Yet in and of ourselves we know it is an impossible task and that we need to work of the Holy Spirit in us to accomplish this behavior. That is why we must humble ourselves before the Lord. We must admit to him our total complete failure to be able to do this on our own. We have to humble ourselves in the sense we are worthless without him, we have no value without him, we are lost and without hope of escaping death without him. There is no righteousness in us, without him. He is everything, all we will ever need for everything in this life. Nothing we can do is good enough to meet his standard. If we think we can overcome sin on our own we are filled with pride. That is why we must cast all our anxiety on him. Even those day by day needs we have a tendency to worry about. Worry says we do not trust him to care for us. Worry says we do not think he will actually take care of us. Worry says we do not believe. Worry says we think we can actually find the solution on our own because we are concerned and am trying to do something about it, which is also being prideful because we are not looking to him, but to us for the answer. Who here is greater than God? Pride says, “I am”. If we actually humble ourselves before Him then we will be able to exhibit humility toward each other. So we choose who to believe in, Him or ourselves. We choose humility or pride. Humility is the better choice.

Examples

DEVOTION 1 PETER EXAMPLES 1 Peter 5:1-4 5:1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. NIV As this is speaking directly to a certain group of individuals it seems only right to just pass over it for whom, but those few, would benefit from this? Yet could this apply to every husband and father? Maybe it could even apply to women and mothers, especially in a society where so many women are single parents. Surely those who serve as shepherds, overseers, pastors have read this and know it applies directly to them and certainly are people who are not greedy for money. They surely serve only because of the call of God in their lives. It may be true there are some who have turned a calling into a very lucrative business opportunity making the most of their position, as well as deriving a great deal of pleasure being in front of large crowds who hang on every word they say. These same people live in abundance abusing those who they are supposed to serve, but for the most part the pastors of today meet these requirements because they are not just serving their congregations but they are serving God. So having said, it may also be wise for us who serve as spouses and parents to consider how we live our lives in front of those God has placed in our care. Should we not be examples to our children, and for some of us, grandchildren? Surely they learn far more from our lives then they do from our words. If we live trusting in money rather than God, are we not teaching a whole new generation a wrong way to live? How can we tell our children to do as I say, not as I do, Or do it because I say so? What kind of examples are we living as? Do we demonstrate unconditional love, forgiveness and without favoritism? Surely those men and woman of God who serve as pastors live in that manner. Surely they treat every member of their congregation equally. Does that sound like sarcasm? Perhaps it is, just a little, but still it might behoove all of us who have people God has entrusted us with to examine our lives, our motives, our purpose, seeing what kind of examples we are and adjusting accordingly not just to receive that crown of glory, but because that is what would please God. Be an example. Yes, we cannot all be perfect people, showing perfection as the example of being a good believer. But we can demonstrate the traits God desires in our lives, especially the trait of faith, for without faith no one can please God. Do those who God has entrusted in our care see us as people of faith? Do they see us believing in God with all our heart, our mind, our soul, and our strength? Do they see us living for God rather than for the ways of the world? What kind of examples are we?

Stand Up and Speak Up

DEVOTION 1 PETER STAND UP AND SPEAK UP 1 Peter 4:12-19 12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" 19 So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. NIV I just cannot break this statement apart for it is one continuous thought about suffering as a believer in Christ and the manner in which we should accept such suffering and the result of doing so. Granted we are not being burned at the stake as those believers were in the time this was written, at least not here in the United States. We cannot be sure if any believers are going through painful trials in other parts of the world for their faith. This again is the key phrase, “For their faith”. So for us believers in a free society where we can practice our faith openly we have nothing to fear from those in authority, yet in some sense we might be the recipient of some forms of persecution in a social sense. We might suffer at the hands of a mean or vindictive employer, but it only counts if that treatment is because of our faith, not because we are a lousy employee. We might be shunned socially by certain groups of people, even from groups within the church. I remember a time when at a group gathering of believers, a man was talking about how fast he drove at three in the morning on a new expressway and I commented or asked isn’t that sin. I was never invited to be a part of the group again. We cannot ever forsake the word of God, even when it costs us something. What good would it be to remain silent in order to not suffer? Would that be like denying our faith? It is far better to be faithful to God, to His word not matter the cost, for who here on this earth can give us eternal life? What man can save us from the wrath which will be poured out from the throne of God upon those who are considered ungodly? It is only through the blood of Christ that we will escape real suffering, that which can destroy our very soul, the second death. We need to trust God in all situations, in all kinds of suffering, whether physical, emotional, mental or even spiritual. That suffering can only be due to our faith, not because of any other reason, but silence in not an option. We need to stand up and speak up.

Bringing Attention to God

DEVOTION 1 PETER BRINGING ATTENTION TO GOD 1 Peter 4:9-11 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it 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. NIV I think being fond of guest meant a lot whole more than it does now in the sense guests stayed a great deal longer than. It would not be uncommon for a guest to stay months rather than a couple of hours as is most cases now. But once again this section speaks to more than being hospitable, as it includes all idea of all gifts of the Spirit. Whatever God has bestowed upon each of us we need to be using it for the benefit of the kingdom of God by serving others. What good is a gift unless it is used? Why would God bother to give each one of us one of the gifts of the Spirit if all he wanted was for us to be gifted for our own sake? I suppose I could be very hospitable to myself, or I speak to myself, I could serve myself, but that would be rather pointless because God would not get any glory at all. So it would seem we need to be gracious to one another and when we speak we should not just utter words of nonsense or talk about the stupid stuff of the world, but we should be speaking the very words of God. How offer does that happen? Maybe that is just for use who have been called to preach or teach and the rest of us can just go our merry way talking about dance with the stars, American idol, or some other stuff. Of course each of must put aside self if we are going to serve, now again maybe that is just for a select few who have been called to serve, the rest of us can simple forget about it. But then what do we do with each one should use the gift he has received unless of course God simple does not give everyone a gift, but we know that is not true, because he does. So we are still left with this command from God to use our gift, whatever it is, for the benefit of others and thus bring honor and glory to God. However, we need to do it in such a manner that it is with the power of God and not from our own abilities. How does God get the credit if all we do is what we have studied to do? Maybe we have to be willing to serve in areas where we have no abilities, but only a gift from God so He would be glorified and not us. Just a thought, but maybe he gifts us from birth and has us learn skills and knowledge so we can use that for his Kingdom also. Either way we have to be careful not to bring attention to our own self, but to bring attention to God.

Left With Love

DEVOTION 1 PETER LEFT WITH LOVE 1 Peter 4:8 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. NIV This would mean there can be no judging at all, no criticism, no being critical at all, not a single shred of plunking splinters from another’s eye, not even a hint of any of this, if love covers a multitude of sins. Maybe we use that excuse, “Because I love you, I have to tell you what you are doing wrong”. Maybe it is just our nature to find fault with others while overlooking our own. That is the splinter and log thing. Maybe we just enjoy having a critical spirit and derive some pleasure in looking for ways to make others feel guilty. Maybe it makes us feel a bit superior, more spiritual or a better Christian because we don’t do those things, or have those faults we find in the other person, of course that is thinking more of ourselves then we should, and that is sin also. Back to that splinter and log thing. So we have to be left with love each other deeply. This is the Agape love not the Agapao love. The Agapao love is in a moral of social sense, but Agape love is benevolent, love feast sort of love. This is the type of love which God loves us with and of course we know that He has covered the entire multitude of our sin with the blood of Jesus. He has forgiven us completely, holding nothing against us at all, because He has forgotten our sin. That is far more than we might say about our dear brothers and sister in Christ. It seems forgiveness does not always include forgetting, for we might well what to remember just in case we need to bring it up again at the appropriate time in a heated discussion. Should we not just love, and cover all those faults, those sins with the blood of Jesus? Should we not start each day as if all our fellow believers have never ever sinned and are not going to either today, but if they do, no big deal, because we love them and we have the covered, as well as we sure are perfect either and we what them to have us covered. Why would we want them to criticize or judge us? So then why we do that to them? Should we do onto them as they do unto us? Or should we do want we want them to do unto us? Therefore we are left with love.

Get On With It

DEVOTION 1 PETER GET ON WITH IT 1 Peter 4:7-8 7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. NIV Certainly Peter, the man, could have been thinking Jesus was coming back in the next few years, but as being inspired by God, this is God’s warning that the end of all things is near. But this was penned some two thousand years ago and near or at hand or approaching is taking some time. I am reminded that God is not limited by time, and so even now, this time in the history of man, is still consider near to God. Yet in another scene every individual living but only a few number of years here on earth, their end is near. In relationship to eternity even living one hundred years, death is near. But the point here is not so much when near is, as it is to be clear minded and self-controlled. We will never know the hour or the day when the end, either our own death, or the second coming of Jesus will happen. Therefore we should live accordingly. Having stood at deaths door, but having God allowing me to stay, I understand how near the end could have been, at least for me. So what does clear minded mean? What does self-controlled mean? We can see why it is so important, so that we can pray, but what effect do these tracts have on prayer? Clear mindedness is the opposite of confused, not knowing what to do, having no mental direction, wandering through life, aimlessly, without purpose. Being clear minded we understand who we are and what are purpose and then having the self-control to act on it. We do not allow circumstances to control our thoughts, our actions, but we control our self to do the will of the Father, no matter what the situation is. Our minds are clear and focused on the direction He has sent us. Then when we pray, we pray with understanding and wisdom. If we were confused about what we were supposed to think and do, what good would prayer be? What would we ask? What would we say? It might actually be pointless. We have only a few years to do the will of the Father and we need to be clear minded about what we should be doing, we should be in control of our own self so that we are focused on the task at hand. Simply said, get on with it, for time is short.