Be Ready

Are you ready? Can you defend your faith? Can you explain why you have hope? Can you tell others why you act differently than everyone else? Will you explain to them in a gentle way? Is your conscience clear?

We defend ourselves in many ways. Sometimes we defend our bad decisions or behavior. Other times we explain what went into making a good decision. We may patiently explain our position or defend it with vigor.

The Apostle Peter instructs us to be ready to defend our faith and hope. We are not to do so with anger but with gentleness. We are to take time to explain why we have put our hope in Jesus. We are to be gentle and reverent in our explanation.

When we are maligned, and we will be, for our faith, we are to not only hold on to our faith but be able to defend it. This means we must know with all our heart and mind that we have chosen the truth. We must believe that Jesus truly is our Savior and trust that He will reward us for holding onto our faith.

There will be times when we will be asked how we can withstand a tremendous trial. We may be asked why we are always joyful. Someone may want to know how we can forgive. We must be ready to speak of our faith in Jesus.

I pray we all are ready to defend our faith. I pray we can explain our hope in Jesus. I pray each one of us will give an accounting of our hope with gentleness and reverence. Be ready. Be prepared. Defend your faith. Withstand the trial. Explain your hope. Be gentle. Be reverent.

1 Peter 3:15b-16 Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.

Do Not Be Intimidated

How eager are you to do good? What if you were to be persecuted for doing good? Would you continue to do the good you desire to do? Would you attempt to do it without anyone knowing for fear of the persecution? Would you count it as a blessing if you were persecuted for doing good?

Many of us desire to do good. We want to help others, especially those who are in need. We also fear being persecuted. We want to belong to the group rather than be an outcast. We have no desire to be singled out for being different than everyone else.

Think about this, Jesus was persecuted for doing good. He healed people. He raised people from the dead. He fed people who were hungry. He taught many lessons. He even made the day of the groom on his wedding day by turning water into the best wine. He performed many miracles. For all of these wonderful things He did, He was sent to the cross.

If we are persecuted for doing good, we are no different than Jesus. Yet, we should not fear doing what is right. We should not fear doing good. We should not be intimidated and kept from doing good. Instead, we are to feel blessed for suffering for doing good. We are to commit ourselves to Christ and see Him as our Lord. Being our Lord, we should follow His example.

I pray we all continue to do good. I pray we are not intimidated from doing good. I pray each one of us follow Christ’s example and declare Him our Lord. Do good. Do not fear. Do not be intimidated. Commit yourself to Christ. Declare Christ as your Lord. Follow His example.

1 Peter 3:13-51a Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord.

Accepted

Do you like to feel as though you belong? Do you like to be accepted? What type of group do you want to belong to? Is it a national organization? Is it a local organization? Is it a certain group of friends? Is it your family? You can belong to the best family.

We are made to be in community. We are made to be social beings. Therefore, we long to belong. We try to fill this longing by joining a variety of organizations and groups. We join organizations our friends join. Sometimes, we force our way into families.

The desire to belong can drive us to join bad groups. It is one of the reasons many join gangs. They are accepted and treated well…for a while. It is only later, when it is determined they can be trusted, that they are tasked with carrying out nefarious acts. Unfortunately, at that point, they feel as though it is too late to escape.

We also join a variety of other groups. Some are associated with our workplace. Some are simply organizations that focus on social mingling. Other organizations may be focused on our physical or mental wellbeing. But family is the most important group we can be part of.

We can be part of the family of God. Jesus tells us that He is in the Father, the Father is in Him, He is in us, and we are in Him. This may sound confusing, and it may be something we do not fully understand. However, the simplest way to view it is God’s family. Once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we belong. Jesus accepts us as we are, even if others in the family do not. As human beings, we are imperfect, and therefore, the family of God is imperfect as it stands on earth. However, the day is coming when we will be perfect, and God’s family will be perfect.

I pray we all desire to be part of God’s family. I pray we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. I pray each one of us will accept others as they are into God’s family, just as he accepted us. Be part of God’s family. Accept Christ as Lord and Savior. Accept others into God’s family. Love as Jesus loves.

John 14:20 “On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”

The Advocate

How well do you execute requirements? Are you eager to follow them? Or do you prefer to buck the system, to do your own thing? Would you like to have help in adhering to the rules? Are you seeking to know the truth? Do you know help is available?

There are laws, rules, and requirements in our workplaces, homes, cities, counties, states, and nation. Most of us try to follow them, but it can be challenging at times. We may not fully understand them or may not even know what all of them are.

Jesus simplified God’s commands. He knew that we cannot begin to remember the thousands of laws across our land. He also knew that legislating morality with a plethora of laws doesn’t work. He simply stated that we should love God and love our neighbor (Matthew 22:38-40). If we apply these two commandments to everything we do, our behavior, and the way we interact with one another, we will follow His commandments.

But loving others can be a challenge. People will treat us badly and do things we don’t like. We need help in carrying out Jesus’ commands. Jesus provides that help through the Holy Spirit. He states the Advocate is given to us. The Advocate not only pleads our case before God, asking for forgiveness, but helps us understand others so that we see them as God sees them.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. He reveals the truth of Jesus’ statements. We can only accept the guidance of the Holy Spirit if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When we accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. Our next task is to learn to listen to him.

I pray we all love God and love one another. I pray we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. I pray each one of us seek to hear and listen to the Holy Spirit as he provides guidance to us. Follow Jesus’ commands. Love God. Love your neighbor. Accept Jesus. Listen for the Holy Spirit.

John 14:15-17 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”

Loving Discipline

Have you experienced hardship? Have you considered it to be discipline? Do you like to be disciplined? Has discipline done you well in your life? Did your parents discipline you? Have you disciplined your children? Have you thought that God will discipline his children?

We often do not like discipline when it is initially dished out. It does not matter whether we are being disciplined or having to discipline someone else. Yet discipline is necessary for us to grow. We do not typically consider hardship to be discipline, but it can be.

Lest we mistake the meaning, discipline does not mean punishment, although it may include punishment. Discipline is training someone. It may include training for a sporting event. It may include training for a job. God disciplines us for a life spent praising and loving him.

Often, we learn our most important lessons through hardship. It is when we experience difficulties that we learn to adapt or grow. I can remember times of going through training exercises while a Marine and learning that I could go a couple of days without sleep. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t comfortable. It wasn’t what I wanted to do. But it was training and taught me the discipline to push myself to new limits when it was required.

God may use hardship to teach us, or discipline us, to depend on him. It won’t be easy. It won’t be comfortable. It will stretch us to new limits. It will also force us to depend on him to see us through whatever the situation is. We must remember that God knows what is ahead of us. He knows what we will face later in life. He loves us so much that he prepares us through discipline to be able to withstand what is ahead.

I pray we all know that God will discipline us. I pray we know that God loves us. I pray we see discipline as training and preparing us for something later in life. God loves you. God will discipline you. See discipline as training. See discipline as preparing. Thank God for his discipline.

Hebrews 12:5-7

And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, 

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, 

and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 

because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, 

and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children.

Children by Faith

Are you proud to be a child of your parents? Do your parents make a significant difference in who you are? Do you have inherited traits from them? Are there certain behaviors you have because of them? Are there phrases you speak that you have learned from them?

Many of us are like our parents. We may look very similar to one or the other of them. We may do things in the same manner. We may speak like them. We may think like them. However, we are still a different person, and we have the opportunity to change, to be completely different.

Having the same behavior as our parents comes natural for many of us. Yet not all of us have those same behaviors. We are genetically different. We may be predisposed to follow them, and we may not. Some of us will specifically make attempts to be different. We may rightly do so, if our parents have had challenges with alcohol, drugs, violent behavior, or any other abuse.

When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have God has our parent. We become his children. He desires us to change our behavior, speech, attitude, and outlook on life. He wants us to be at peace in knowing we will spend eternity with him. He wants us to love as he loves. He wants us to know he is always with us in the form of the Holy Spirit. He will strengthen us. We are to be not only his children but his ambassadors.

Our faith in Jesus Christ is the difference maker. Having been clothed in Jesus, we put on a new person. We may or may not feel different, but we are different. We may or may not immediately change, but we will change if we continue following Him. Our faith will continue to grow. We will find comfort in Him. We will experience joy and peace. We will love as God loves.

I pray we all accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. I pray we know that God is always with us. I pray our faith continues to grow and we show the love of God to everyone we encounter. Follow Jesus. Know you are a child of God. Experience joy and peace. Love as God loves. Grow your faith.

Galatians 3:26-27 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Stand Up For Your Faith

Are you fight or a flight person? Are you willing to fight for what you believe? Have you taken hold of your faith? Is your faith evident to anyone who encounters you? Are you willing to be ridiculed, ostracized, or even beaten for your faith? Will you die for it?

Most of us do not like confrontation. Even if we like to argue, it is not a true confrontation as we see it, but more of a debate or contest we want to win. When it comes down to a true test of wills, many of us will back down or at least will not take pleasure in it.

There are many things in this world which are not worth fighting over. It doesn’t really matter what color a room is painted. There is no long-term effect on whether we eat green beans or peas with our supper. But there are a handful of things we should stand up for.

We should be willing to stand up for our faith. It can be challenging. We may be ridiculed by others for it. We may be ostracized for it. We may even be beaten for it. Experiencing any of these can make us shy away from standing up for our faith. This is especially true if we are seeking to be accepted by a certain group of people.

Yet, as the Apostle Paul encourages Timothy to stand up for his faith, we also are encouraged to stand up for ours. How can it be easier for us to do so? It is easier if we fully understand who Jesus is and if we have a community of believers we belong to that support us. It is through the church that we belong to a community of believers and we can gain a better understanding of who Jesus is.

I pray we all stand up for our faith in Jesus. I pray we belong to a community of believers. I pray each one of us will seek to better understand who Jesus is and the importance of what He has done. Stand up for your faith. Take hold of eternal life. Be part of a community of believers. Support one another. Confess your faith.

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Royal Priesthood

Have you ever thought of yourself as chosen? Have you thought of yourself as a priest? Do you consider yourself to be part of a holy nation? Do you proclaim the mighty acts of Jesus?

I dare say many of us often do not feel as though we are chosen. We may even feel as though we have been left out. The world may have seemed to pass us by, leaving us in its dusty trail.

The Apostle Peter had a different outlook. He tells the followers of Christ he is writing to that they are chosen. He tells us we are chosen. God has specifically chosen each one of us for a reason and for a purpose.

Peter goes on to tell them they are a royal priesthood. This would have been an outrageous statement. It is an outrageous statement today. But that doesn’t make it any less true. We are priests, ambassadors, emissaries, and representatives of Jesus Christ.

God chose us because he loves us. He loved us enough to send his Son to be our Savior. He loves no matter what we do or say. But he does have a purpose for us.

Our purpose is to proclaim the mighty acts of God. Many of those acts were performed by Jesus. We are to tell others about Him so they will believe and commit themselves to Him, just as we have.

I pray we all believe we are chosen. I pray we act accordingly as priests of Jesus Christ. I pray each one of us proclaim the mighty acts of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. You are chosen. You are a royal priest. You are part of a holy nation. You belong to God. Be a good ambassador. Be a good representative.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Living Stone

What does it mean to you to live? Is living having a good job? Does it include having a spouse you love dearly? Does living mean doing exciting and joyful things? Is it having enough money to take vacations to foreign lands? Have you thought it is being part of God’s church?

We hear some say they want to truly live. They may mean to live a life that has meaning. That may include helping others. It may mean making a difference in the world. They might mean living includes creating something useful. Or it may simply mean they want life to be one long party.

When we look at Peter’s instruction to his audience, it means none of those. He states that we are living stones being built in God’s church. It means we are being put together with other living stone, other people, on the foundation, or cornerstone, of Jesus Christ. What does that mean?

It means no one can be a lone ranger Christian. It means we need to be in community with other Christians. It means we have a place where we fit, where we fill the gap. Each one of us was created for a purpose. The big picture is God is creating his church by putting us together. He is arranging the pieces as he sees fit. He has designed each one of us to fit in a specific place to fill the gap that would otherwise go unfilled.

In layman’s terms, that means we should seek to discover our place. We should evaluate the skills, talents, and gifts God has blessed us with and discern how we can use them in his church. Being a living stone that is being placed firmly on the foundation of the cornerstone is a wonderful place to be.

I pray we all know that we are living stones. I pray we know that Jesus is the cornerstone, the foundation. I pray each one of us will seek to find our place in God’s church and be willing to fill the gap. Jesus is the cornerstone. Jesus is the foundation. You are a living stone. You are being built into the church of God.

1 Peter 2:4-5 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Be Prepared

Have you ever felt you were walking into a trap? Have you unexpectedly walked into a trap? Have you been blindsided by bad news? Where do you turn when you feel trapped or bad news comes? Do you have friends, family, or co-workers you turn to? Do you turn to God first?

Whether we expect it or not, we all will experience something bad in our lives. Whether we are prepared for it or not, something will go wrong. Whether someone intentionally sets a trap for us, or we naively fall into one, we will step into a situation that entraps us.

The question is not ‘if’, but ‘when’ will something bad happen. We need to prepare as best we can for it. We need someone we can count on. Some of us have amazing families who stand by us and will do whatever it takes to help us. Some of us don’t. Some of us have wonderful friends who will stick with us through thick and thin. Some of us don’t. Some of us work for good companies and have great co-workers who will support us in our time of need. Some of us don’t.

If we choose, all of us can go to God. But notice the Psalmist’s request. He is asking for help before he is trapped. This is preparing for bad things to happen before they happen. This is leaning on and trusting God before we have stumbled and fallen. Make no mistake about it, God will always be there, even if we grow distant or do not lean on him beforehand. The difference is, rather than reaching out in desperation after something bad has befallen us, we are proactively reaching out to God for his hand of protection and preparation. Our trust and faith in God before something bad happens may eliminate the bad, but minimally reduces its effect.

I pray we all reach out to God every day. I pray we build our trust and faith in God before something bad happens. I pray each one of us will seek God each day and make him our rock. Build your trust in God. Build your faith in God. Seek God out each day. Ask for his hands of protection. Be prepared.

Psalm 31:3-4

You are indeed my rock and my fortress; 

for your name’s sake lead me and guide me, 

take me out of the net that is hidden for me, 

for you are my refuge.