Shielded

DEVOTION 1 PETER SHIELDED 1 Peter 1:3-5 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. NIV Imagine being shielded by the power of God! Imagine having God stand guard as a sentinel upon the wall of his great fortress keeping watch over those who love him and are within his kingdom. What enemy could possible mound an effective attack against such a guardian? We must continue in the faith that God is our mighty fortress. Faith is one of the weapons, one of the armor God has equipped us with. One of those weapons is the shield of faith, which is what he is, the shield which extinguishes the flaming arrows of the enemy who is trying to destroy our souls. But we have nothing to fear from Satan for God stands watch and He guards us against such things. Although I once lived outside the walls of this great fortress and did not have the power of God guarding over me, now I cannot imagine how horrible it must be to live outside the walls of His kingdom without the power of his shield. I cannot fathom being under the deceptive power of Satan, being exposed to his evil influence. Why would anyone stay outside the protection of God’s powerful shield? He is keeping watch over us within His kingdom so we will be safe until the day He reveals the salvation He has prepared for the last time. He has prepared a place for us, as we finish this phase of life and step into eternity into His very presence within His paradise. It could also been seen as the Day of Judgment when all believers will be ushered into the new city of Jerusalem. Whichever it happens to be I am absolutely fine with that, it only matters that I am going to be way ever He is, as has prepared for me to be with Him. In the meantime I am under the most powerful shield in all creation. We all are guarded, under the watchful eye of God against anything which would destroy us. Satan has no offense against God’s power, against His shield.

Resurrection

DEVOTION 1 PETER RESURRECTION 1 Peter 1:3-5 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. NIV What other gods that people worship can say their god died for them and was raised from the dead to be a living Savior? This is the core issue of our faith. Jesus is the firstborn of the resurrection. True he resurrected Lazarus from the dead, but that was to prove it is within the power of God to raise all of us from the dead. OH death where is thy sting! It would seem to me that as much effort the human race exerts in trying to extent their lifespans, cheating death or at least prolonging life and putting off the inevitable, they would see the wonderful truth of the resurrection. Death is not the end of life, but merely the next step in eternal life. The main difference between believers and non-believers is that those who believe have already begun their eternal life, while those who do not believe are only living a temporal life that will someday end. It is beyond me why they cannot see that. Or is it they have been so deceived by Satan they are blinded to the truth? If our inheritance will never perish, spoil or fade, it is obvious that their will. If ours is kept in heaven, theirs is not. If we are shielded by God’s power, they are not. What a horrible existence they must live, knowing they have nothing awaiting for them at the end of their lives. Maybe that is why they spend their days trying to satisfy the desires of their flesh, they have nothing else. They have no hope, no peace, and no joy. They will not be partakers in the resurrection. We, the believers in Christ Jesus have a living hope, he is alive and is our hope, as the living savior of our souls. God has shown his mercy and given us this new birth, we have been born again a new creation in Christ. We have overcome the ways of the world and accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. We are once again in the paradise of God and able to eat from the tree of life, living forever. It does not depend on how good we are, or on how well we can keep from sinning, for that is impossible in these bodies we live in, yes we should try as best we can. But what it does depend on is our overcoming the deception of Satan and seeing the truth of God, accepting his mercy, accepting his salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. We are in the resurrection.

In Abundance

DEVOTION 1 PETER IN ABUNDANCE 1 Peter 1:1-2 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. NIV It is time to accept this grace and peace and to expect it receive an abundance of it. Of course this grace is that which is the one defined as the divine influence upon the heart and it reflection in the life of the one influenced. This has to be in a certain sense a partnership with the Holy Spirit. As much as he might be dedicated to influencing our hearts toward the truth of God, we must open our heart and receive or accept that influence. There is still a choice to be made each and every day of our lives as to whether or not we are going to paid attention to what he is saying. What greater influence could they be than his? It has to be clear that another is trying his best to influence us toward behaviors and beliefs that would offend God. He may be shorting loudly and is easy to hear, as the Holy spirit whispers softly and gently the right way to go. The picture of those two on each shoulder of a person giving advice as to which way to go, comes to mind. But they is only one good choice, accept the grace of God, resist the devil and he will flee from us. If conjunction which this divine influence comes peace or rest as well as a spiritual prosperity beyond anything the human mind could manufacture. Although people try to provide they own peace of mind or security by the accumulation of wealth for their future, it is a futile effort for they never have enough. The only true peace of mind comes from the knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ. The only future which is secure is that which is in Christ. This rest is a true rest, a reality in which a person can find freedom from worry, anxieties, stress, despondency and a host of other debilitating feelings. Why another would refuse should a wonderful state of spiritual prosperity is beyond reason. How could any amount of this worlds wealth and pleasures replace this incredible influence and peace which comes from knowing God has sanctified, made us holy, through the blood of Jesus? I will take this in abundance.

He Knows

DEVOTION 1 PETER HE KNOWS 1 Peter 1:1-2 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: NIV Having dealt with the elect I suppose it would only be fitting I should look into this word foreknowledge and of what. Of course there is nothing other than God already knowing everything there ever was, is and will ever be and that it can never be refuted he already knows what he is going to do and how he is going to do it. That is extremely difficult for the human mind to even comprehend because of our limits to a linear existence. We have a past, present and a future, remembering most of the past is not too difficult, being aware of our present is fairly easy, but it is absolutely impossible for us to know our future, with God that impossibility not only exists but He determines the future. He knows what he is going to do and how each person is going to react to his actions, of course still allowing each of us to make that choice as to how we react. Here in this passage he has declared that those Jews, his chosen people, although there is no word in the Greek text that could be translated chosen and most other translations do not include it either, will be sanctified by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of being obedient to Jesus Christ through his shred blood for their sins. Here it is in a nutshell, as we believers internalize this today. God had determined when he created man, knowing ahead of time that this complex being he created had to process through in order to understand his relationship with God. Adam simply could not just be a robot, God did not intent that, he gave him the ability to choose and choose he did as God knew he would. So God has already determined to lead his people through the process of sacrificing for disobedience so that when in the time line of our linear thinking, he sent Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice, so we would understand. He knew ahead of time how he was going to make a way for us to return to a proper relationship with him. How incredible our God is. How loving and caring of him to make this way. He also knows some will never accept his love, his care for them, his sending Jesus for them. He knows who will and who won’t. I wish he would make everyone accept his way, but then he would not be God, he would be an evil dictator forcing his plan on all within his power. But because he is God is allows each to decide their own future. I am eternally grateful for his plan, and that I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit and listened.

Strangers

Taking a break from devotion in Proverbs for awhile and getting back to the New Testament I thought it would be good to have a look at the letters God had inspired Peter to write. DEVOTION 1 PETER STRANGERS 1 Peter 1:1-2 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: NIV It might be a mistake to consider this as believers being elected by God, or special people being selected and others not. If this is viewed in the context of history it would be clear Peter is writing to all the Jews, who are indeed His chosen people, who were scattered throughout much of the known world because of the persecution of those Jews who had become believers that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. Peter was also including those gentiles who had become believers in those areas as well. It is well for all believers in Christ to consider themselves as strangers in the world, aliens, foreigners, not having a citizenship here, but in the Kingdom of God. There is another way I see this in the sense of the Greek word Ekelklois stands without punctuation directly between Christ and strangers. Could it be that Peter is simply saying “ Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ elect” meaning either Peter was chosen or that Jesus is Elect, special as this same word was used for angels. In either case is it well to know that God would have us all live as strangers here, not being a partaker in the customs of this world. If we were sent to a different country in the world to live as a representative or ambassador of our sovereign, our leader, we would be expected to remain faithful to the citizenship of our country, our cultural, our ways and not become as the natives of that foreign land. This is also true in the case of us believers and this world. How many of the ideas, the concepts of this world have believers adopted? Have we bought into the beliefs of unbelievers, accepting their ways as ours, justifying them in some manner? Perhaps this idea of being a stranger implies that we are not known by those in the world. This would mean we are not like them, not in the sense of values, morals, likes, dislikes, behaviors, or for that matter even in looks. We have a countenance which reflexes our Lord Jesus Christ which is surely missing in those of this world. We must live according to the standard of the Kingdom in which our citizenship lies. Strangers.

One or the Other

DEVOTION PROVERBS ONE OR THE OTHER Prov 15:21 21 Folly delights a man who lacks judgment, but a man of understanding keeps a straight course. NIV It certainly would appear the lack of judgment is all about accepting God, His Word and His provision for the salvation of His creation. With every article of knowledge a person has to judge whether to believe it or not. With every idea, theory, or concept a person needs to judge if they are going to accept it as true or false. In many cases people make judgments but lack the understanding to make a correct one. In this case it is incorrect to judge the ways of this world as good, reasonable and worthy of adopting. It is also poor judgment to dismiss the Word of God as an invalid source of truth inspired by God to men of faith so they may record it. When these types of judgments are combined, as they usually are, it provides the open door for folly to enter. God would consider those who make those kinds of judgments simply lacking in the ability to make judgments at all. They have no wisdom, no knowledge of the facts, no solid patterns of thinking and processing information, they are in essence filly with folly or silliness, as the Hebrew would imply. The Holy Spirit is here and is working in the lives of all mankind trying to reveal the truth to them, but some simply refuse to listen because the delight in the silliness of their lives. Others, however hear the calling of the Spirit and gain an understanding of how silly life is without God. They see the truth of the ugliness of sin as revealed to them by the Spirit, and repent, accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. They have an understanding of the truth of God. The Spirit leads them into all truths about God and his plan for their lives and in doing so He directs their steps. Once a person has an understanding, having seen the Kingdom of God, he keeps a straight course set for that kingdom. Nothing will prevent those with that of understanding from their course. They have judged correctly because they have the understanding to do so. They have left behind the folly of this world and will not be distracted by it on their course of life now set. They will not waver in their faith, their belief in God. Nothing can persuade them from their course. It may be true the better they become at staying the course, Satan will try even harder to push them off course. But it is a worthless effort for these of people of understanding, knowing the truth, having the judgment to see reality. This is the good life. Everyone will have one or the othe

Bring Joy

DEVOTION PROVERBS BRINGING JOY Prov 15:20 20 A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother. NIV It would seem this saying deals with the relational behaviors within the family structure. But why wouldn’t a wise man also bring joy to his mother as well as a foolish man despising his father? One commentator of the eighteenth century would suggest young men despise their mothers because of the weakness of the feminine mind. This of course is absurd and could only be said because of the cultural views of men in those days. This only proves this has a meaning far beyond the earthy family relationships and how they have been perceived in certain times throughout history. I am confident God would have believers to honor both their parents equally and bring joy to both as any righteous child would. But as there is also a contrast between wise and foolish and father and mother there is also a truth about the creator and the created. There seems to be no question about those who do not believe being foolish by despising the true parent, God. They despise His truth because it exposes their disobedience. His Word shines the light into the darkness of their hearts and they cannot tolerate forsaking their passions so they despise Him. Because they hold Him in contempt they endeavor to remove any sign of Him from their view. They refuse to accept His very existence so as to be able to continue in their self-gratifying pleasures without any shame or guilt. But the believer who honors God, who honors the true parent of all mankind, brings great joy to the Father of us all. It is only the foolish who despise, while the wise that honor God. When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives it brings a great joy to God for now he knows we love him and desires to live according to His plan for us. When we accept Jesus into our lives we are returning to the original desire of God to be in fellowship with His creation. We are once again able to walk and talk with Him in the cool of the day. We experience His care and concern for our well-being because He is a loving parent. It is truly a foolish thing to hold God in contempt as that will only result in a horrible unhappy life as well as a horrific ending to that life. Give God Joy and live!