Video Talk
1 Peter 4:12-16 ESV
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”
A ”fiery trial” may be one thing for one person and another
for someone else, so I don’t believe we should judge what one person might
consider a fiery trial against another person’s fiery trial. But a trial, in
general, is anything out of the ordinary that we might go through in this life
which would cause pain and suffering and discomfort and that might shake our
lives and cause upheaval in our lives. It might even involve us being displaced
or us having to move in with other people, but it is better than living on the
street as some people are forced to have to do.
But the main thing here is that we should be prepared for
these, knowing that they are coming, even if we don’t know when or what form
they will take. We should not get so comfortable in our present circumstances
that when these trials come that we are surprised and thus unsettled in our
spirits. For we have to believe that they will come, and when they do, they won’t
be comfortable, but they will be painful, but that if our trust is in the Lord
that he will see us through them all. For he is still sovereign over all that
he has created, and he will work these things for our good.
Now if we are true followers of Jesus Christ, and if we are
walking in obedience to his commands, in living in moral purity and in holiness
and in righteousness, and not in sin, we are going to be persecuted for the
sake of righteousness and for our testimonies for Jesus Christ. And if we are
those who are out in the public, like on the internet, and we are sharing our
faith and we are sharing the truth of the gospel, and so we are calling people
to repentance and to walks of obedience to our Lord, we are going to be hated
and persecuted and insulted for the name of Christ.
But not one of us who professes the name of Jesus Christ
should suffer as an evildoer, a murderer, an adulterer, a liar, and/or a thief,
etc. But let our suffering be because we did what was right and godly and
morally pure and obedient to our Lord and to his teachings. And then we should not
be ashamed, even if we are accused falsely of what we did not do, and even if
we are being betrayed by those who hate us and who wish us harm.
But none of us is perfect, and so we may suffer sometimes
because we said the wrong thing or we made a wrong choice about something, perhaps
because we spoke too quickly or we reacted too quickly to a situation. And if
we do, we should be honest and admit where we did wrong and then repent of the
wrong and move forward in doing what is right. And I am not speaking here of
deliberate and habitual sin. Just sometimes we may not always choose the right
words or do all the right things. But we can’t let that take us out. But we
should learn from those experiences.
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I
Will Lift My Eyes
An
Original Work / December 12, 2012
Based
off Psalms 121-125
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not
sleep.
Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
I give thanks to Him.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.
Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with
Christ.
Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;
My home, now in heav’n.
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we
need.
Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend,
indeed!
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
I can count on Him.
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