Month: October 2013

Re: Verse reading–1 Peter 1:1-12 (day seven)
Thanks everyone for being a part of RE Verse.  One of my favorite parts of FBC!  “Us. . .who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”  (v 5)  It is a confidence that came to Peter after years of knowing Christ.  He was protected.  We all are.  He didn’t have to rely on his own strength.  No swords drawn in futile attempt to keep himself or his loved ones safe.  God protects His own people.  From what?  Not from suffering.  Not from temptation or sorrow or difficult assignments or even failure.  Peter’s discovery comes close to the words of Paul.  “Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”  (Romans 8)  Through faith, God employs His power to guard, forgive, restore, encourage and discipline us toward the future.  Great comfort!  We do not rely on ourselves.  God is protecting us.

Re: Verse reading–1 Peter 1:1-12 (day six)
“obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”  (v 9)  What is the outcome of faith?  The result?  It a question that needs to be clear for every believer.  Peter says the promised outcome of faith is salvation.  Not success. . .for some will experience criticism and public shame for the sake of Christ.  Not comfort. . .for all will be called to bear a cross of pain or grief.  The only promise (and the only one that ultimately matters) is salvation.  “I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish”  (John 10:28)  In a materialistic age, we must carefully consider.  Am I willing to follow Christ with eternal life as the promised outcome?   If life is hard and the road narrow, am I still glad to follow the Lord under these gracious terms?  “What shall it profit a man, if he gains the world and forfeits his soul?”   (Matthew 16:26)

Re: Verse reading–1 Peter 1:1-12 (day five)
I Peter 1:1-2 “To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces …, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood”
Because of my ministry with teenagers, I know the answer to this question is HUGE. Identity formation is the major task of adolescence. Getting this right is crucial to SO many aspects of our lives. Mark Driscoll writes, “How you answer that question has far-reaching, belief-revealing, life-shaping, and identity-forming implications.” I believe we wrestle with this question and answer it everyday, even as adults. It seems fitting that Peter starts this letter by addressing the question. The answer (that ultimately and completely brings power and joy to the human heart) to “Who am I?” is found in the One who says He is the “I Am”.

Re: Verse reading–1 Peter 1:1-12 (day four)
Peter writes of a living hope…through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  One of the greatest promises we have in scripture is also found in our passage this week.  Verse 4 says that our inheritance in heaven is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away.  The last phrase of verse 4 says, it is reserved in heaven for you…reserved…reserved and protected by the power of God through faith!  Our salvation is reserved, sealed, protected, and promised by the power of God.  In Baptist circles, we call this doctrine ‘once saved always saved.’  What a freeing promise!  We do not have to earn our salvation…our living hope…every day.  We cannot lose our salvation.  We receive it through the work of Jesus by faith and it is protected by the power of God.  Romans 8:39 says, “nothing can separate us from the love of God.”  Thank you God for this enduring promise!

Re: Verse reading–1Peter 1:1-12 (day three)
“You believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”  To believe something is not to close your eyes against reality and pretend that it is true. Rather, it is to order your life according to that which you believe–actually to live as though it were true. If you believe Jesus Christ is alive–bodily resurrected and soon to return–you will live as if all will be well, because for those who count on Jesus Christ, all will indeed be well.  And that is what joy actually is: the all-surrounding sense of well-being.  For the Christian, everything ends with well-being.  The one who counts on Christ knows that promise.

Re: Verse reading–1 Peter 1:1-12 (day two)
I was reading this morning the words of the Prophet Jeremiah who spoke of hearts that are beyond cure. (Jer. 17:9) A very grim assessment, but so very true.  Where then is our hope if we are beyond cure?  “In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection.” (1 Pet. 3)  This isn’t about fixing what is broken, it is about newness of life.  We are granted a new heart that longs to know Christ more.  This doesn’t absolve us from suffering or the refining of our sin nature, but with a new Spirit guiding us, we now have the Hope we could never have with our diseased former hearts.  Press On.

Re: Verse reading–1 Peter 1:1-12 (day one)
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets. . .searched intently. . .trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing. . .Even angels long to look into these things.”  (v 10-12)  It is hard to appreciate the privileges we have as Christ-followers.  Hard to realize the honor it is to serve Him in this day, to be included in His mind. (1 Corinthians 2:16)  Scripture describes the prophets searching intently for the truths that we now take for granted.  Even angels, says Peter, long to look into these things with the free access that we have as children of God.  This being true, how do we justify the excuses we give for not learning God’s word, walking with His Spirit?  How ungrateful of us! . . not to dig into His word, not to learn obedience by the things suffered. (Hebrews 5:8).  Salvation is not a path to avoid.  It is a privilege to embrace.

Re: Verse reading–Hebrews 12:25-29; 13:1-9, 20-21 (day seven)
“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” (13:4)  In Matthew 22, the Lord says that marriage is not part of God’s eternal plan for the human race.  It is a creation ordinance.  For earth not heaven.  So, why does the writer of Hebrews, while listing the commands of God to which we owe particular attention as we receive an eternal kingdom, mention marriage?  The answer? Marriage is not eternal but morality is!  God judges those who defy His law by sexual activity outside of marriage.  Sexual expression outside of marriage between consenting adults is not morally neutral as people of this age claim.  Both adultery (in marriage) and immorality (before marriage) are rejections of God’s holiness and authority.  No nation/no individual can ignore His law without experiencing the instability  that will come as an expression of His righteous wrath.

Re: Verse reading–Hebrews 12:25-29; 13:1-9, 20-21 (day six)
“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.  Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  (13:7-8)  In Hebrews 13, the writer does an interesting thing.  He asks his readers to remember their leaders.  Former missionaries, pastors, teachers who brought the message and helped them grow in the early chapters of their faith.  Either to death or a new assignment, now gone.  And what do good leaders do for us?  They speak God’s word to us.  They help us hear the instructions of the Spirit.  So, the writer quickly finishes his point (and helps them/us learn a New Testament confidence).  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  Leaders come and go.  Disconcerting!  Christ never leaves and never changes.  Confidence building!  Remember Moses turning leadership over to Joshua?  The stability of the church is always God Himself!

Re: Verse reading–Hebrews 12:18-13:25 (day five)
Verse 25 “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking.” The pattern of the Lord is that He communicates His promises, character, and purpose through our eyes and ears and into our hearts (Isaiah 6:9-10). It’s a big deal. “That which Jesus speaks concerns your soul, concerns your everlasting destiny; it is God’s wisdom; God’s way of mercy; God’s plan by which you may be saved.”- C.H. Spurgeon. I/we must “see to it” that we can hear. I/we must continually ask God to help us be: still, teachable, humble, and obedient. Moment by moment how do we answer God’s question of “Can You Hear Me Now?”