Tuesday, February 21, 2017, 9:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Look to God.” Speak, Lord, your words
to my heart. I read 1 Peter 3
(select vv. NASB).
Be Harmonious
(vv. 8-9)
To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic,
brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or
insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the
very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
In the previous verses we are
instructed in the necessity of being in submission to authorities instituted of
men who are there to punish wrong and to commend those who do what is right. In
this submission, we do what is right in God’s eyes. We live as those set free
from sin, but we do not use our freedom as a cover-up for evil, as some are in
the habit of doing. Instead, we are to live as servants of God. Thus, we are to
never compromise our faith in Jesus Christ, or his Word, in order to be in
submission to humans, or to live at peace with all people. If human authority
demands we do what we know is wrong, we must obey God rather than man. And,
this applies, as well, to wives who are to be in submission to their husbands, and
to slaves who are to be in subjection to their masters.
So, the point of all this is
that we are to live in harmony with one another, as much as it depends on us.
But, again, we don’t compromise our faith or truth in order to be harmonious.
Remember, Jesus said he did not come to bring peace but a sword – to turn
family members one against another. It isn’t, though, as though his intention
was to pick fights, but rather he knew that when we stand for what is right
against what is clearly wrong, we will be opposed, and we will be hated,
rejected and mistreated for righteousness’ sake. So, we should seek harmony,
but never at the cost of truth or righteousness. We should not be proud, but
humble; not contentious, but peaceable; not resentful, but compassionate; and
not spiteful, but forgiving.
Turn from Evil
(vv. 10-12)
For,
“The one who desires life, to love and see good days,
Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from
speaking deceit.
“He must turn away from evil and do good;
He must seek peace and pursue it.
“For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears attend to their prayer,
But the face of the Lord is against those who do
evil.”
We were put on this earth for
a purpose. We live, because God willed that we should live. We were created by
God to give him glory. We are to honor him and give him thanks. We are to
worship him as the One and Only God who created us. He made himself known to us
that we might praise and exalt him for who he is, and that we might revere him
and give him due respect. When he called us, he called us to holiness,
righteousness, obedience, and submission to his will for our lives. He called
us to leave our lives of sin behind us, to die with him to sin, and to live
with him to his righteousness. When he saved us, he delivered us out of slavery
to sin so that we might become bondservants of his righteousness and of his
truth. This is the life he has given to us to live when are are “born again” of
the Spirit of God. And, this is the life we should love; that we should desire.
So, if we desire life as God
has given to us to be lived for his purposes and for his glory, to live at
peace with him, and to experience his blessings, then we need to keep our
tongues from all evil (wickedness, sin), as defined by God, not by man. We
should not be those who practice telling lies and who willfully and
purposefully say things to people in order to deceive (trick, cheat, betray,
mislead and/or to defraud) them. We must turn from all evil and do good. This
means we should cease doing what we know is wrong, and we should be in the
practice of doing what we know is right. The peace we are to seek and to pursue
is not peace with the world, by the world’s standards, but it is peace with God
and harmony with his Word, which then flows (spills) over into our
relationships with human beings. Again, we never seek peace at the sacrifice of
doing what we know is right in God’s eyes.
Suffering for Doing Good (vv. 13-18)
Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what
is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are
blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but
sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to
everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with
gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in
which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be
put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing
what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. For Christ also died for
sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God,
having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.
In a perfect world, or even
in a world where truth is truth and lies are lies most of the time, if we do
what is right, we should not be harmed for it. Where justice truly prevails, we
should be honored for doing what is right and chastised for doing what is truly
evil. But, we don’t live in such a world. We live in a world where evil
prevails most of the time, it would appear, and were lies, immorality and
cheating are accepted as normal practice, even among many people who call
themselves Christians. Thus, if we stand for what is true, and we hate what is
evil, and we forsake sinful practices, and we cling to what is good, we are
often rejected, hated, despised, ostracized, falsely accused, gossiped about
and ill-treated for doing what is right. And, it isn’t just the world who treats
us this way, either. Much of this kind of treatment comes from those closest to
us, even from among those who call themselves followers of Christ, but who live
in conformity with the world.
Yet, we should not fear this
kind of treatment. We should not even be afraid of being wronged, or of being
slandered, or of being misrepresented. We should not go around fretting and
worrying over what humans might do to us. We have no control over what other
people are going to do. Hate is a very strong force, and it will lead people to
do some really horrible things. All we can do is do what we know is right, and
then trust our lives into God’s hands, and let him work it all out for good. He
does not promise us that following him will be smooth sailing. In fact, he promises
the opposite.
Instead, we are to make Jesus
Christ the Lord (owner-master) of our lives, and allow him to direct our steps,
and to watch over us, and to carry us through when life gets really hard. We
should keep a clear conscience in all that we do, i.e. we should not be guilty
of knowingly and willfully practicing what is wrong. We should make every
effort, in the power and working of the Spirit of God within us, to live holy
lives, pleasing to God. Then, no one will have cause to accuse us of doing
wrong. It doesn’t mean that they won’t falsely accuse us, though.
And, when we give answer as
to what we believe and why we believe the way we do, we should be gentle (showing
power with restraint), and we should show proper respect (concern for, consideration
and value) to the ones to whom we are giving answer. We should not trade
tit-for-tat or insult for insult, but we should be loving, kind and honest,
speaking the truth in love. It is never kind to tell people lies. We should
always tell them the truth that Jesus died that he may bring us to God, so we
might live in love, submission, surrender, obedience, faithfulness, and in holiness.
And, in all things, we should turn our hearts to God, and trust our lives into
his hands, and let him lead us in the way we should go, and then we must obey
him.
Look to God
/ An Original Work
November 11, 2016
Fear not. Look to God.
He will strengthen you. He is
your Rock.
He’ll meet all your needs.
Rest in Him, and be filled
with His peace.
When sorrow fills your life,
pray to the Lord.
Believe His promises. Trust
in His Word.
He’ll lead you each day.
Give your life to Him. Follow
His ways.
Lean on Him today.
He will comfort you. Trust
Him always.
Read His Word and pray.
Tell the world of His love
and His grace.
When trials come your way, be
not afraid.
God watches over you. Be not
dismayed.
He’ll work all for good,
For the called of God. Jesus,
they love.
Sing songs. Praise your Lord.
Lift your voice to Him. Shout
out His Word.
He forgave your sins,
Cleansed your heart. You are
made new within.
When you are faced with temptation
to fear,
Remember God will be with
you. He’s near.
He’ll take care of you.
He will keep you in His love,
tis true.
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