Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,”
and,
“A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Submission to Rulers and Masters
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
My Understanding: Peter began this section of his letter by exhorting the believers in Christ to rid themselves of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind. The Lord led me to read a news story this morning about the political race for president of the U.S.A. The article used such terms as “aggressive attacks”, “coordinated criticism,” “targeted,” “fight,” “for show,” “hammered,” “castigated,” “possible threat,” “went after,” “flatly countered,” and “destroys” to describe the interactions among the Republican candidates, in their race for the White House. Yet, as the Lord has done many times before, he also showed me the hypocrisy in it all, as he helped me to see the candidates as one individual, all doing the same thing, with little difference among them, and that so much of what they do is really just for show, i.e. it is politics at its worst.
I believe there is a warning here for all of us who claim to have faith in Jesus Christ, that we not get caught up in all of this infighting among our fellow citizens, but rather that we focus our time and attention on what is really important, and that is craving (longing for; desiring; having a passion for; hungering and thirsting for; and yearning for) the pure spiritual milk of the word of God, so that we can “grow up” (mature; become adult-like) in our salvation (in our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ in faithful obedience, forsaking sin and the evil things of this world). When we allow ourselves to get down on the level of these politicians, and we begin to fight and argue political affiliation and/or loyalty to a particular candidate, especially among fellow believers, it gives a bad name and reputation to Christianity and it hurts our testimony for Jesus Christ. Besides that, our loyalty and devotion should not be to any man, nor should we look to man to be our “salvation” from what ails our nation, but we should look to God and to God alone to save us.
We should, instead, come to Jesus Christ daily in prayer and in the study of his word, and seek his counsel and direction, asking him to heal our nation. He is the living Stone; the precious cornerstone, who was rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him. A cornerstone is the keystone, foundation or basis for something. It is also “the first stone laid at a corner where two walls begin and form the first part of a new building” (Encarta). The new building is the church, God’s holy people. Jesus is the foundational and first stone laid in that building upon which all the other stones are laid. And, we, as believers in Jesus Christ are also living stones in that building (a spiritual building), and are built upon Jesus Christ and his blood sacrifice for our sins. From that foundation, we are thus being built into a spiritual house, by the working of the Holy Spirit within us, to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
When I think of “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God,” Romans 12:1-2 (NIV 1984) always comes to mind:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God are for us to lay our lives down, i.e. to die to our sins and our old way of living according to the flesh, and to no longer conform our lives to the pattern of this sinful world, but to allow the Holy Spirit of God to transform us by the renewing of our minds, i.e. changing our way of thinking and behaving. Then we can live holy (set apart for God) lives that are pleasing to God. Also, this is our spiritual act of worship. God does not want our forms of worship, our rituals or anything we call worship that comes from our actions or words if all it entails is lip service only or going through the motions. We can participate in “worship” services and sing “worship” songs and still not be truly worshiping God. True worship of God comes from hearts that have given their lives fully to God in surrender to his will, in obedience to his commands, which have forsaken sinful lifestyles and/or willful sin (sinful practices), and are walking daily in communion with our Lord, trusting him with their lives.
We are to view our lives as God view us, and that is that we are a chosen people of God, a royal (and holy) priesthood, a holy nation (spiritual nation), a people belonging to God. A priest is an official designated to preach the word of God, and to minister to the needs of the people. A priest was a mediator between man and God in making sacrifice for our sins until Jesus Christ became the perfect lamb sacrifice for our sins once and for all, and he became our high priest and only mediator between man and God that can forgive and can pardon sins. Yet, we are a holy priesthood in that we are all called to minister to the needs of people, to show love, care and concern, to be Christ’s representatives in following his example in how to administer his love, grace and mercy to those who are hurting, by being his hands and feet, to lift one another up in prayer to God as intercessors, to encourage and build up in the faith our fellow believers in Christ, and to share the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ with a world in need of the Savior. This is the only hope for our nation, to come to faith and obedience to Jesus Christ, and the best way we can help “save” our nation is by being God’s holy priesthood, rather than us getting involved in political infighting.
Because of God’s mercy in our lives, and because we have received such a great salvation from our sins, and because of his awesome grace and forgiveness, and his purposes in restoring us to a right relationship with God the Father, when he died on the cross for our sins, we should show the same compassion, concern and zeal for the gospel of Jesus Christ as Jesus had. We have been called out of spiritual darkness into God’s wonderful light of truth. We have been given new lives and are now free of the control of sin over our lives because of what Jesus Christ did for us. I know what God saved me out of. It does not take much to be reminded of the sins of my life that I committed against a holy God. And, I am so grateful that Jesus Christ set me free, and that I no longer have to be led astray or controlled by my own sinful passions and desires. The mercy of God on my life should drive me to want to share the gospel of Jesus Christ (the whole gospel) with others who are in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness, so that they, too, can know this salvation from sin. It is one thing to write about it. It is another thing entirely to speak face-to-face with people. I pray that I will continually be bolder in my witness for Christ to those who don’t know Jesus. And, I pray that I will be willing always to suffer unjustly for the sake of the gospel in following the example of Jesus Christ – an example we should all follow.
I Will Uphold You / An Original Work / November 4, 2011
Based off of Isaiah 41:8-20; Ephesians 6:10-18
You are My servant; I’ve chosen you.
I’ve not rejected you; I’ve been true.
Do not be fearful; I am with you.
Don’t be alarmed, for I am your God.
I will give you strength, and will help you.
I will uphold you with My right hand.
All who’re against you will be disgraced.
Those who oppose you, they will perish.
Enemies you search, but will not find.
They war against you; nothing will be.
I am your Lord God, who takes your hand;
Says, “Do not fear, for I will help you.”
The poor and needy, water they need.
Their tongues are thirsty; no drop to drink.
I will give answer; not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow from within.
My living water I will outpour
On those who seek Me; and Me adore.
Jesus provided the sacrifice;
For our sins blood bought; He paid the price,
So we’re forgiven all of our sins,
When we invite Him to come within.
He cleanses us from our impure hearts.
His life within us gives a new start.
http://youtu.be/i0LFPI-isSU
News Story Reference: Romney looks to squelch Santorum's late rise
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOP_CAMPAIGN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-02-07-02-25-53
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