2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We know that the early church didn’t meet in buildings specifically designed for that purpose as we so today; its meetings were held in the homes of those willing to host them. In Jewish culture, demonstrating hospitality has always been important and still is today. That concept was something that the Jewish Christians of Peter’s time were raised with. The main point of today’s passage, 1 PET 4 :7-11, is the concept of putting one’s service to God in line with His teachings and to make it one’s first priority. “The end of all things is near. You must be self-controlled and alert, to be able to pray. Above everything, love one another earnestly, because love covers over many sins. Open your homes to each other without complaining. Each one, as a good manager of God’s different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God. Whoever preaches must preach God’s messages; whoever serves must serve with the strength that God gives him, so that in all things praise may be given to God through Jesus Christ, to Whom belong glory and power forever and ever. Amen.”
When Peter spoke of “being self-controlled and alert,” he was directing his remarks to the responsibility we all have as believers to respond to God’s sovereignty. I have often cited RO 12: 2 which tells us something about the mechanism of coming to faith. This “transformation” is accomplished by the “renewal of one’s mind.” The only way the mind can be renewed by the Holy Spirit is if the person is willing to open it to this. I love the hymn, “Open Our Eyes,” because of the attitude expressed in its words. “Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus. To reach out and touch Him and say that we love Him. Open our ears, Lord; help us to listen. Open our eyes, Lord; we want to see Jesus.” In my case, that prayerful request would include my desire that my mouth should be guided to speak only the messages God gives me and my hands should be guided to only write the truth from His word. We all have gifts, and mine are no more important than yours. What really matters here is that we have present our minds and hearts to the Lord without them being filled with self-centered human agendas. We make ourselves vulnerable by opening our “vessels” as an act of trust in the Lord. By doing this, we have make it possible for God, through Christ, to fill them and for the Holy Spirit to have a place within us to dwell, so He can guide us and do His work through us. One doesn’t have to be a teacher, writer, and public speaker to convey God’s message with great effectiveness. He simply has to be open to allowing God to transform him by the renewal of his mind.
What I’ve said above is only the first step. The next step is to quiet one’s spirit and listen for God’s direction and commands. PS 46: 10, “Be still and know that I am God, supreme among the nations, supreme over the world.” It is so much easier for me to write about side-lining our human agendas and so hard for us to do. I know this, because I struggled terribly with this issue for many years and am still not entirely out of the woods with it. The eighteen months that Peter was searching for a career position was God’s time to really confront me on this subject. With His help, I’ve made some progress, but am certainly far from perfect. We experience God’s impact on our lives when we really trust and obey Him. The world we live in is one that places a lot of demands on our time. My personal surprise came when I heard God’s directives for me during that time of extraordinary stress, acted on them, and saw how all the other things that I had been worrying about got managed. When you put God first, things fall into place.
When Peter speaks of “loving one another, because love covers many sins,” that is a simple message with very complex and huge implications. We know from LV 19: 18 that God has wanted us to do this right from the beginning. Christ repeated the same message in LK 10: 27, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and will all your mind; and love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Paul wrote about it in RO 14: 13, “So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should never do anything that would make your brother stumble or fall into sin.” John wrote about it in 1 JN 4: 7, “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God.” I have seen this work in my own life. This attitude (transformation by the renewal of my mind) helped me to stop holding grudges against people who had done wrong in my life. It has taken the burden of judging others off my very inadequate shoulders and placed it where it belongs, on Christ’s. The attitude of love toward one another frees us, empties our vessels, so that God can work through us.
Verse 11 takes up the issue of serving God with the strength God gives us. A prominent artist was in a terrible auto accident, one which rendered her a quadriplegic. She can only move from the neck up and is confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her physical life. This woman learned to paint with the brush in her mouth and to sing about God with the voice of an angel. She designs greeting cards which she sells to convey God’s word and sings at meetings of Christians and on television. God gave her the strength to do this. PHIL 4: 13, “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power Christ gives me.” Dale Evans, the widow of Roy Rogers, is another example. She has lost her beloved husband of over 50 years and has been confined to a wheelchair for the last several years due to a stroke. In spite of that, this enormously gifted octagenarian, continues to do a ministry to the Lord with her TV program in which she sings and interviews guests bringing out their testimonies in the Lord. We all know her song, “The Bible Tells Me So.” God never asks us to do a job that He hasn’t equipped us to do.
To God belongs the glory for all that we are all that we have, and all that we can do for Him. My personal testimony is that we are given a wonderful reward on earth that is a foretaste of what those who serve God faithfully will receive in heaven. It is rest, the peace that goes beyond human understanding. [see MT 11: 26-28 and PHIL 4: 7]. Part of that reward is the utter joy of knowing and conveying His word. This is the “Balm from Gilead” which soothes the once sinful soul. Before you turn to your secular work of the day, give yourself the same treat that I just did. Read Psalm 33 in its entirety. Your heart will sing as mine is singing now.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have given each of us gifts and equipped us to do the work that is Your will for us to do. No one person’s task is more important that any others’. You need us all to heed Your call and carry it out. Last Saturday, You prompted one of my readers to send me a warning about the evil message of the Harry Potter books so popular with so many children. This coupled with the Dungeons and Dragons and Pokemon fads alerts me to the need for all believers to be willing to open their minds to Your guidance, quiet their spirits so Your direction can be heard, and be willing to take the action You command. When the early church believers were asked to open their homes to each other, You were also asking us to do the same. That gives You the chance to communicate to us through the words You put in their mouths to say to us. You ask us to study the Scriptures, give us the Holy Spirit for understanding of them, and call us to holy lives in Christ. All of this is not only to accomplish Your work, but it is also to further our own sanctification. To You, Dear Lord, belongs the glory, honor, praise, adoration, worship, trust, obedience, thanks, and loyalty forever. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at what Peter has to say about suffering as a Christian from 1 PET 4: 12-16. This is the first part of a passage on that subject that will be further discussed in the next day’s message. Our Lord deserves nothing less that our total love and loyalty. When we are willing to open our minds and hearts to Him, He rewards us abundantly with His heartfelt love, protection, and provision. We are truly a blessed people! My husband, Peter, and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn