Living for God

PRAYER PRACTICE

Spoken Prayer – Out loud, pray for God to speak to you through the reading. Praise God for giving us His word. Ask the Spirit to help you read with faith, and to live out what you hear from God through the passage.

DAILY READING

1 Peter 4:1-11 

REFLECTION

Power On

By Karen Burkhart

It's been said that dying for Christ is easy, it's living for Him that's hard. I couldn't agree more. Though I hope I am never in a position where someone with a gun is demanding I renounce my faith in Christ, I expect my response would be something akin to: Over my dead body. You see, I know that momentary suffering is nothing compared to the joy that awaits me in heaven. Still, if I could write the script for my life, the final scene would be set at home surrounded by my loved ones. Thankfully, few of us will ever be called to literally die for Christ, but all of us are called to live for Him--moment by moment, day by day, year by year.   

So, what makes living for Christ so hard? For starters, people naturally love the way of least resistance but living for Christ means always swimming upstream. Sometimes the current is tumultuous like the Colorado River and other times gentle like a lazy river at the waterpark, but in either case, exhaustion is inevitable. Further, with each labored breath, temptation mounts to grab hold of one of the many ropes tossed from friends and strangers alike floating blissfully downstream in the endless parade of rafts. It takes great resolve and endurance to keep one’s eyes fixed and body progressing upstream toward the only Source of hope.

Another reason it's hard to live for Christ is that people naturally love to be loved but being a Christian means never being nominated for, let alone winning, the world's popularity contests. If it’s generally true that you can only please some of the people some of the time--it’s extra-true for Christians. There is simply no way to hold to the teachings of Christ and not, at times, be offensive to others. People don’t like it when you don’t grab the lifeline they have made the effort to toss to you. People don’t like it when you won’t affirm their values that contradict Biblical ones. People don’t like it when you refuse to participate in the activities you used to participate in with them before you met Christ. Above all, people don’t like hearing you say that Jesus is the only way to reach God, the Father. The good news is: true Christian fellowship with even a few is more soul-satisfying than being Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.

If today you're struggling for your next stroke in your swimming marathon, maybe it's time for a rest period so you can refuel on the Bread of Life and drink in some Living Water. The Word of God and The Spirit of God are strength-building, joy-inducing, life-giving resources that never run out and are available to everyone at anytime! If instead or in addition you're feeling alienated and lonely, turn to a brother or sister in Christ and share your burdens, sharpen one another, and pray for one another. Sometimes all it takes is a few minutes of true fellowship to be reminded that you're not swimming upstream alone and to gain courage to power on.

Keep loving God "with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! (1 Peter 4:11b)"

Live This Life in Me!

1 Peter 4:1-11

“Thanks be to God, who uses us to spread the aroma and knowledge of him everywhere.” 

(2 Corinthians 2:14) 

Peter writes to encourage new Christians experiencing persecution as they abandon their former lifestyles, to follow Jesus. Urging them to live as reflections of God’s own holiness in a pattern of Jesus’ footsteps, he reminds them of Jesus’ service to all, especially those who betrayed or forsook him.

I am always compelled by the tenderness of Jesus’ three questions to Peter after his three times fireside denial of knowing him. At another breakfast fireplace at the seashore, Jesus asks three times, “Simon, do you love me?"

Perhaps the greatest distance any of us travel is the long trek between head and heart. The love of Jesus is something we must experience and only the Holy Spirit can cause us to feel that great and tender love.

When we live from God’s goodness, we share His lovely fragrance with the world; a kind word, a prayer breathed for someone in need, genuine care-taking - and forgiveness (above all love each deeply, 1 Peter 4:8) We are diffusing God’s fragrance as we love and serve. “Simon, if you love me take care of my sheep.” (John 21:17)

The Christian life is not hard to live – it’s impossible to live! Only One can live it in us as we open the door to him. “Here I am, I stand at the door and knock.” (Revelation 3:20)

“Let me be a servant, a keeper of the door. My heart is longing to see for evermore the glory of Your presence, the dwelling of the Lord. Oh, let me be a servant a keeper of the door.” (Twila Paris)

posted by Diane Ward

Strength for Today

Exhausted.  Drained.  Depleted.  Any of these words describe how you are feeling?  Do you ever think, “I don’t know what to say or how to answer this person?”  Or, “I’m so exhausted myself, how am I supposed to help someone else?”  We can find some answers in our scripture reading for today.  1 Peter 4:11 says:

“If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.  If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ….”

Acts 7:38 tells us more about “the very words of God”:

“He (Moses) was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us.”

So, Moses received living words from the Lord, which were recorded and passed on to us!  Don’t know what to say to someone?  Let’s start with the living words of God!

The next part of 1 Peter 4:11 says, “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides”.  Do you sometimes feel as if you don’t have the strength to help someone else?  Correct – you don’t!  But God does!  Let’s go back to Moses for an example.  Exodus 3:10-12 says:

“So now, go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.  But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”  And God said, “I will be with you.  And this will be a sign to you that it is I who have sent you:  When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

God doesn’t try to encourage Moses by listing out all the skills and abilities that Moses has.  He simply tells him, “I will be with you”.  This is great news!  It doesn’t matter that you feel ill-equipped because God is with you!  He has the strength you need!

Now fast forward to 1 Peter and we see the same message.  “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ….”

Why do we serve with strength from God?  So that He may be praised!  Amen.

1 Peter 4:1-11