A New Book

Good morning, friends!

Thank you so much for reading through 1 Peter with me. It proved to be more inspiring, challenging, and humbling than I first thought, which is good. I don't know why I am surprised by all the ways God meets us through his word, but it always comes new and fresh and holds great promises and guidance for us, even when we don't expect it.

So now we must start a new book, and I've been thinking about reading through Luke, and then possibly on to Acts, since it is kind of a sequel to Luke. I loved reading through another gospel (John) last year, and since Luke is said to be the most beautiful book ever written (which sounds like a good endorsement to me), I think it would be a good way to spend our mornings. So how about it? Will you pray with me that God will guide us through this, and give us the strength and wisdom to grow in the knowledge of Him?

Humility

1 Peter 5

If some of you know me well, you'll know that one of my all-time life-changing verses speaks about being humble, and how that has rocked my world many times over. I'm telling you (and myself) right now that if you want God to move in you and in your life, seek humility... get down on the floor, flat on your face, and humble yourself before God.

"God opposes the proud..." Ever thought about what a life would look like if The Almighty God is in opposition to it? Could anything really succeed? Would there be any fruit in one's labor, or in one's life in general? I have a picture in my mind of a child pushing with all his might to get somewhere and God's parent-like hand on his forehead, stopping the child from moving even an inch. The actions of the child might be for very noble purposes, but God is in opposition to him and his desires simply because of the pride in the child's heart. How can we expect to succeed in anything, either getting what we want or finding satisfaction in what we get, if God opposes us? We will meet frustration after frustration until, hopefully, we get to the point where we fall to the floor in exhaustion and give in. That kind of humility comes the hard way, so wouldn't it be best to fall to the floor first?

"... but gives grace to the humble." The humble don't necessarily have an easy way of it either, but at least God is not opposing them. And they have this one all-powerful factor in their life: GRACE. What's so special about grace? It is all the goodness we can receive, all the provision, all the gifts, culminating in the most awesome display of grace this world has ever seen: Jesus dying for us. It is God FOR us. It is rest, peace and joy in the midst of any circumstance. Who wouldn't want that?

The price? Your pride.

So my question today is, what does your pride look like? If you want to make some sort of progress in your life, first look to see if your pride is causing God to place roadblocks in front of you. Pride is one of Satan's favorite tools, and he loves to hide it from us, masking it or justifying it with some dignifying term, so it won't be an easy search. But if that first step in removing your pride is a humble one, God will help you through it. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts."

For added help, there is another passage that goes so well with today's reading (and uses the same quote from Proverbs!): James 4:1-10.

Join with me in this act of surrendering pride and seeking humility. Trust me, it will rock our world.

Christian Suffering

I apologize for not writing anything here during the last week. I admit, I've been sort of avoiding it. The passage that was up next didn't feel like it spoke to me and I wasn't sure what to write or say or ask you. Of course, I knew that God's Word can always speak to us, no matter what our circumstances may be. But I just felt a little removed from once again reading about suffering for being a Christian. Not that I didn't stop thinking about it, though. Part of me wanted to thank God for the religious freedom we experience here in the US. Part of me imagined that freedom slowly disappearing, and wondered about the strength of my faith (of course, and unfortunately, I didn't dwell long on that. Much more pleasant to just remain in my comfort and pretend that it's normal). Part of me thought of all the Christians, past and present, that have suffered simply because they loved Jesus and wouldn't deny him... even if it meant a life of suffering. Dying for Christ is the ultimate sacrifice, but living for him, and daily or hourly suffering because of him, is truly the greatest sacrifice.

Peter said "don't be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering." The fact is, Christians will suffer. We will go through trials and will be insulted because of the name of Christ.

Did any of you see Evan Almighty? The scene that still stands out in my mind is the one of Evan standing among all the government officials and in front of TV cameras, looking like a fool with his clothes and crazy hair and having to stand up for what he absolutely knew was true, knowing the mocking and humiliation he would face. NO ONE believed him. He was a fool in their eyes, and they had no compassion for him. Did you see the humility it took for him to take all of that? I think the actor portrayed it perfectly, because he wasn't proud and defiant. He humbly held to the truth and took the emotional berating with no defense of his own character.

Maybe I'm starting to see how this whole book fits together. Peter talks about suffering and trials in length at least three times. He tells us to "prepare our minds for action" and "arm ourselves with this attitude [of Christ]" because living for God is a battle and includes trials. He talks about being humble and being submissive because this is the best attitude to have when going through difficulties. And he lists so many reasons, purposes and beneficial outcomes of suffering (but makes it clear that he is referring to the suffering from doing good, not the suffering that results from our sin or misbehavior). But to top it all off, he reminds us that "Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow in his footsteps." When all the words and theology of suffering rings hollow in the midst of pain, we have someone who can say "I know what you are going through. Put your feet in my footsteps and I will lead you through this."

Showing Love

1 Peter 4:8-11

"Love each other deeply..."

Jesus said loving -- loving God and others -- is the greatest command God gives us. But He wouldn't have to command it if love came naturally to us. So there must be things that keep us from loving.

Sometimes there's a struggle to show love when we don't want to...

"... love covers a multitude of sins." Even if someone has hurt you or done something foolish and you can't seem to focus on the person, but keep seeing the sin they've done, Love casts a blanket over their sin.

And sometimes we just have to be reminded to wake up from our self-centered lives and show love...

"... serve others." When we look up from our own needs and see the needs of others, we can practice loving each other deeply. But it's easy for showing love by serving others to become just about serving, just another job or obligation to fulfill (Peter told me I should serve, so I'd better serve), and not about love.

Read verses 9 through 11 again, and look at what else is involved when we show "God's grace in it's various forms." (There's one of your answers right there!)

How to Pray

You may have heard that prayer is our lifeline to God. Or that it's the most important thing we can do as believers. You've probably felt or seen it's real-life affects. We are driven to it in desperate moments, even those who don't fully believe. And yet, I don't depend on it enough. Sometimes I just take for granted that God knows what I need (even before I ask, right?). But there is something that happens when I ask. The simple act of verbally talking (or writing) to God changes things, makes things happen... in me, and in the world. But prayer is not a magical act that will enforce my will on my circumstances, because -- above all -- one should try to fully comprehend WHO we are praying to, and who we are in relationship to Him.

That said, I think Peter... let me stop right here for a side bar... I was just reading an article that reminded me that when we read the Bible, we should remind ourselves that all of it is God's words to us. Even though there are many authors over thousands of years, their words were inspired by God. So when we read, remember God is talking to us. And when I say that Peter wrote or said something, his words are something that God is telling us. Okay, back to my original thought...

That said, I think Peter is telling us in 4:7 what we should keep in mind so that we can pray. What are these things (there are 3) and how do we apply them to our lives?

For more on how to pray, see Jesus' instructions here.

Living for God

I'm struggling with how to understand this passage for a couple of reasons...

The first is that I fear when one reads "he who has suffered in his body is done with sin," one might picture the albino monk from the Davinci Code, or performing some kind of painful penance. But this whole passage is about suffering for doing good. And that's what Jesus did. It was by doing the ultimate good that caused his suffering in the body. So that's the attitude we must arm ourselves with. By the way, have you ever thought of arming yourself with an attitude? Preparing for war with an attitude as your weapon? And with this weapon of attitude (the attitude of Christ), you won't live for evil human desires, but you'll live for the will of God. This sounds a lot like Romans chapter 6.

The second struggle I have is that verse 6 flies way over my head. It's referencing verses 19 & 20 in chapter 3, which talks about Jesus preaching to spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago, before the flood. In 4:6, we read that he did that because they will have to give an account when they are judged -- but it's that last part, the division he makes in regard to the body being judged, but the spirit living according to God. Hmm. Not sure if I'm grasping this... any help?

Suffering for Doing Good

I don't know about you guys, but I don't think I can say I've suffered much for doing good. Life has been pretty easy for me, and I don't feel like I can relate to some of what Peter has been saying. But there are many, many Christians who can relate, and probably count these passages as precious promises that keep them going. If you want to read their stories, you can find some of them on The Voice of the Martyrs website, persecution.com. I need to be reminded more that Christ is worth suffering for, even dying for. I need that broader perspective of "suffering" in my life.

Please pray with me that God will help us understand how suffering works in His kingdom, because we've got a tough passage coming up: 1 Peter 4:1-6. We'll tackle that Monday, okay?