"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."
Unlike those destined to stumble at Christ we are a chosen race. Christ, without any consideration of our lack of inherent value chose that we would be "a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession." I am not my own. I am Christ's possession. And I am to live to praise His name. He called me from guilt and darkness to liberty and light. I once was without identity and my life was without meaning, but now I am God's. Once I was the object of the Father's righteous wrath, but now I have received mercy.
How unworthy I am to receive such things. There is nothing in me that merits God's love. And yet I (who was an alien, a foreigner, and an enemy) am now a citizen who has been show great mercy and given many undeserved privileges.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
1 Peter 2:6-8
"For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do."
Christians are built on Christ, the cornerstone, the foundation. He is chosen and precious. If we believe in Him, we will not be put to shame. We will be given honor. But if we stumble and reject the cornerstone, we are without a foundation and without honor. This obviously has salvation as its primary focus, but I think that we can compare it to something else.
All that is for and through Christ has eternal value. That which is preoccupied with this world is fading and will be brought to nothing. If my treasure is here on earth, when I am with Christ, where will my honor be? I need to sacrifice the earthly for the spiritual. Perhaps that is what a spiritual sacrifice is. This thought occurred to me yesterday when I was reading in Matthew 6. We store up treasure in heaven, accounting things of this world to have little value. Thus we make spiritual sacrifices.
Christians are built on Christ, the cornerstone, the foundation. He is chosen and precious. If we believe in Him, we will not be put to shame. We will be given honor. But if we stumble and reject the cornerstone, we are without a foundation and without honor. This obviously has salvation as its primary focus, but I think that we can compare it to something else.
All that is for and through Christ has eternal value. That which is preoccupied with this world is fading and will be brought to nothing. If my treasure is here on earth, when I am with Christ, where will my honor be? I need to sacrifice the earthly for the spiritual. Perhaps that is what a spiritual sacrifice is. This thought occurred to me yesterday when I was reading in Matthew 6. We store up treasure in heaven, accounting things of this world to have little value. Thus we make spiritual sacrifices.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
learning to pray
Last night at church, my pastor preached a message from Luke 11. When we read the word's "Lord, teach us to pray." My mind became occupied for some time with a desire to learn to pray. The disciples observed Jesus praying, and they asked Him to teach them how. I have need of learning to pray. Jesus taught His disciples, and I can learn from that lesson. I must learn to pray.
1 Peter 2:4-5
"As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
Christ is a living stone. That is a strange title. But it likens a building's need for a solid foundation to our need for a spiritual foundation. Our foundation is Christ, a living stone. Christ was rejected by men. When Jesus came to earth, He was not truly accepted by the masses nor is He accepted by most people today. The Father, however, has not rejected the Son. The Son is the chosen, precious one.
As we come to Him, we too become living stones. Or at least we become "like living stones." We are being built up as a house is built. And houses are built with a purpose. We are being built up to be priests, offering spiritual sacrifices. These sacrifices are accepted by God because of Christ.
I want to think about the spiritual sacrifices some more. There is more to be understood there, but I need to pray and think some more.
Christ is a living stone. That is a strange title. But it likens a building's need for a solid foundation to our need for a spiritual foundation. Our foundation is Christ, a living stone. Christ was rejected by men. When Jesus came to earth, He was not truly accepted by the masses nor is He accepted by most people today. The Father, however, has not rejected the Son. The Son is the chosen, precious one.
As we come to Him, we too become living stones. Or at least we become "like living stones." We are being built up as a house is built. And houses are built with a purpose. We are being built up to be priests, offering spiritual sacrifices. These sacrifices are accepted by God because of Christ.
I want to think about the spiritual sacrifices some more. There is more to be understood there, but I need to pray and think some more.
Monday, February 19, 2007
1 Peter 2:1-3
"So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good."
I wasn't sure what the exact meaning of malice was, so I looked it up in the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. It defines the word as "1. A desire to harm others or to see others suffer; extreme ill will or spite. 2. Law The intent, without just cause or reason, to commit a wrongful act that will result in harm to another."
I think of this as a mean streak in someone. But it most likely goes beyond mere cruelty. Selfishness is involved in the malice. When someone wants to damage another because of envy, he can accomplish his goal through deceit. Lies are spread about people to damage their reputation. Often times the one spreading the lies maintains a friendly facade with the person he is spreading lies about. This adds hypocrisy to the sins of malice and deceit.
Christians are not to manifest this kind of behavior. In order to put avoid that bad behavior, we need to delight in something other than selfish gain. We need to delight in God's Word. We need to desire the word like newborns desire milk. I spent some time yesterday with a family that had a month old baby. The baby's schedule consisted of eating, being changed, sleeping, and crying. But it was driven mostly by it's desire to feed.
I am distracted by many things. But in my distraction, I rarely forget to eat. I am driven by hunger to consume physical food. I need to have the same desire for spiritual milk and meat. I need physical food to maintain my health. I no longer am growing, except to replace old cells, therefore, I don't need as much food as I did as a teenager. But spiritually, I am not to stop growing. I should seek nourishment ravenously, so that I might grow.
Growing and seeking the word is the natural response to salvation. If I've found the Lord to be good, I must seek more of Him. When I taste something delightful, I often want more right then. If not then, I'll want more of it later. What about God's word? I've tasted that the Lord is good, better than any culinary delight I could imagine. I must desire more. I do, but I must desire more all of the time. Everyday, not three days a week, not five. Food is less important. I must desire the word.
I wasn't sure what the exact meaning of malice was, so I looked it up in the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. It defines the word as "1. A desire to harm others or to see others suffer; extreme ill will or spite. 2. Law The intent, without just cause or reason, to commit a wrongful act that will result in harm to another."
I think of this as a mean streak in someone. But it most likely goes beyond mere cruelty. Selfishness is involved in the malice. When someone wants to damage another because of envy, he can accomplish his goal through deceit. Lies are spread about people to damage their reputation. Often times the one spreading the lies maintains a friendly facade with the person he is spreading lies about. This adds hypocrisy to the sins of malice and deceit.
Christians are not to manifest this kind of behavior. In order to put avoid that bad behavior, we need to delight in something other than selfish gain. We need to delight in God's Word. We need to desire the word like newborns desire milk. I spent some time yesterday with a family that had a month old baby. The baby's schedule consisted of eating, being changed, sleeping, and crying. But it was driven mostly by it's desire to feed.
I am distracted by many things. But in my distraction, I rarely forget to eat. I am driven by hunger to consume physical food. I need to have the same desire for spiritual milk and meat. I need physical food to maintain my health. I no longer am growing, except to replace old cells, therefore, I don't need as much food as I did as a teenager. But spiritually, I am not to stop growing. I should seek nourishment ravenously, so that I might grow.
Growing and seeking the word is the natural response to salvation. If I've found the Lord to be good, I must seek more of Him. When I taste something delightful, I often want more right then. If not then, I'll want more of it later. What about God's word? I've tasted that the Lord is good, better than any culinary delight I could imagine. I must desire more. I do, but I must desire more all of the time. Everyday, not three days a week, not five. Food is less important. I must desire the word.
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