Thursday, June 15, 2017, 9:34 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Only to Be What He Wants Me to Be.”
Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 Peter 1 (Select vv. NASB).
Born Again
(vv. 3-5)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain
an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away,
reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
What does it mean to be born
again? First, we are born physically of a mother, and then, because of God’s
grace to us, and by faith in Jesus Christ, we are born of the Spirit of God to
new lives in Christ Jesus, our Lord. One is a physical birth. The other is a
spiritual birth. So, how are we born again?
Well, first of all Jesus
Christ, the Son of God (and God) had to die on a cross. He who knew no sin
became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Co.
5:21). He put our sins to death on that cross. And, when he was resurrected
from the dead, he rose victorious over sin, hell, Satan and death. Jesus died
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. So, when we believe in him,
we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are resurrected with him to
newness of life, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. The
old has gone. The new has come. We are born again of the Spirit of God, and
Christ now lives in us.
Various Trials
(vv. 6-9)
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a
little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that
the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable,
even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and
honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you
love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly
rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of
your faith the salvation of your souls.
So, we rejoice in our
salvation and in the hope of eternal life with God. Yet, our hope is not just
that one day we will be with our Lord forever, but our hope is in the freedom
he has given us to walk (conduct our lives) not after the flesh, but according
to the Spirit. Our hope is that we have a Savior, who is our Lord, but who is
also our friend, confidant, counselor, guide, helper, strength, healer,
comforter, encourager, and teacher, etc. Our hope is that we are in a personal
and intimate relationship with our God, which gives us not only future hope,
but present and living hope day by day, which is what keeps us going when times
get tough.
Our hope, too, is that God
created us for a purpose, and he has given meaning to our lives, and purpose
and direction, and that even our trials are part of his plan for our lives in
order to purify us, to make us holy, and to prepare us for his service. Also,
our trials are for the purpose to test our faith, to make it stronger and more
resilient. When we suffer, it is for our good, to make us more like Jesus, and
to teach us to rely on God and not on ourselves. We, too, learn patience and perseverance
through difficult times. And, we grow closer to our Lord, mature in our faith,
and increase in our seriousness of our walk of faith, when we respond to our
trials with grace, with trust in our Lord, and with submission to his perfect
will for our lives.
Prepare Minds
(vv. 13-16)
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober
in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the
former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who
called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is
written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
In our minds we store
memories, good and bad. In our minds we think, we believe, we discern, make
decisions, and react to our circumstances. In our minds we entertain sinful
thoughts or we dwell on heavenly things. Part of God’s saving grace to us is in
the renewing of our minds, in the healing of past hurts, and in transforming
how we believe and perceive things. Yet, we have a responsibility regarding our
minds, in the renewing process, and that is in the putting off of the old, and
the putting on of the new; in thinking about things which are pure, right,
true, and beneficial, rather than thinking hateful thoughts or impure thoughts.
We also have a responsibility
for what we take into our minds, to make sure that we are not feeding our minds
with what is garbage, or what is immoral, wicked, and ungodly, etc. If we take
garbage into our minds, that is what is going to come out in our words and
actions and attitudes. If we entertain our minds with the sinful acts of
others, this is what our minds will dwell on, and often our actions and words
will follow suit. So, if we are going to prepare our minds for action, we need
to keep our minds pure and focused on Jesus Christ and on the truths of his
Word. And, we need to take God’s Word seriously and apply its truths to our
daily lives.
Conduct Yourselves (vv. 17-19)
If you address as Father the One who impartially
judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time
of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable
things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your
forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless,
the blood of Christ.
What does it mean to conduct
ourselves in fear? I believe this is speaking here of the fear of the Lord,
which is reverence, respect, honor, value, esteem, adoration, worship,
obedience and submission to our Lord. Our conduct is the way in which we live,
i.e. our daily practice. This is how we should live, day in and day out. Conducting
ourselves in fear is also living on this earth as though we truly do not belong
here, as though this world and all its stuff is really not our home, but with
an eternal focus in mind. We are not here to build kingdoms on this earth, but
to help, to work to advance God’s heavenly kingdom while we still live here. We
are not here, in other words, to live to please and entertain ourselves, but we
are here to give glory to God in all that we do and say and think and are.
It also means that we live
holy lives, pleasing to God. Being holy means we are separate (set apart,
unlike, different) from the world, because we are being made to be like Jesus.
We should no longer be conformed to the ways (patterns, attitudes, values) of
this world, but we are to be transformed of the Spirit of God in the renewing
of our minds. Our new lives should not look like our old lives, and only
slightly cleaned up to be more presentable. Our new lives should be radically
different from our old lives, because we died with Christ to sin, and we were
resurrected with him to newness of life, to be lived to him and to his
righteousness.
Only to Be What He Wants Me to Be
Norman J. Clayton
Only to be what He wants me
to be,
Every moment of every day,
Yielded completely to Jesus
alone
Every step of this pilgrim
way…
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