Pure Truth Or Seductive Lies?

II Peter 2: 1-3

But there were false prophets also among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, 

There will always be those who present themselves as God's people, when they really are not teaching God's Truth. 

who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, 

They will sneak in other ideas that seem to go along with the Truth, but subtly twist it into some application that really doesn't apply. These heresies are called "damnable" in the KJV, and are very destructive to people who are being led astray by them. 

even denying the Master who bought them, 

These false teachers may not even admit that there is sin to be dealt with, so they consider the Lord as not a Savior but only a Benefactor.

bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

Their destruction will come upon them in a very sudden way, not necessarily right away. 

Many will follow their sensuality, 

Their focus is actually on the material World, acquiring physical things and enjoying physical pleasures. The King James Version uses the word "pernicious" here, which means that it causes harm or ruin, with a note that it can also be translated as "lascivious," which goes along with the sensuality mentioned here. These teachers are intent on satisfying all the physical needs we have at the expense of ignoring the spiritual realm altogether.  

and because of them the way of Truth will be maligned; 

The popularity of these false teachers is a reason why the True Gospel is put down as not necessary, and therefore it is spoken evil of, and slandered. 

and in their greed they will exploit you with false words;

These false teachers only want to fleece the sheep, to use them for their own personal gain, to make them just merchandise. They do this by teaching what is not True. Our words are very powerful, for both good and for evil.

their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 

God's judgment is just and sure and certain. As has been decreed since before God created anything. Those who put themselves under this Judgment are accountable, and will one day give account for all the evil they have spoken to draw away so many from the Truth of God's unspeakable gift of Redemption in Christ Jesus. 

We are to be wise in discerning who to listen to, so we will not be seduced into following any of these false teachers today. Their messages are very attractive to our human desires and needs and wants. So if we are tricked into wanting to satisfy only our physical needs, because they sound "spiritual" in quoting Scripture to support their own theories, then we will also be destroying ourselves, and putting ourselves under God's judgment. 

That's why we are told over and over again in Scripture to "be careful" and to "watch out" and to "take care" that we are following godly preachers and teachers who are teaching God's Truth honestly, according to God's ways. 

We will follow this further tomorrow.

O my Father, You are so good to give us Your written Word, so that we can see ancient parchments and know that Your message has not changed. We have today the same teachings You gave Your people so long ago because You do not change. You still Love us with a Love so great and so deep and so pure, that we are not capable of understanding it in our feeble human brains. 

Through time You have revealed to us more details of how magnanimous Your Love is for us, in sending Your most precious Son to be our Sacrifice, and to cleanse us pristine, as though we have never sinned, to be Your children, Your princes and princesses, to reign with King Jesus as He reigns with You, Father, on Your Throne. And that we will even judge the angels who sinned. 

Father, Your great Plan of the Ages has been unfolding through all this time that Mankind has inhabited this beautiful Earth You made for us. And we have been living through each day, each year, each decade, each century, each epoch of each age, that You planned out so long ago, just as You planned it, and as You told us it would, even before it happened. 

And our enemy has been at work all this time, lying and deceiving and capturing every victim he can, to destroy whatever good of Yours that he can, everywhere he can, against everyone he can, as long as he can. He knows that his time has grown short, so he is working feverishly, multiplying the destruction as much as he can.

But Father, Your power has overcome him already, in the work Your Son accomplished on Calvary. 

Jesus, our Redeemer and King, is coming soon, and will end this enemy's reign as the god of this World; and will establish His rule. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!




 

Trustworthy Truth To Follow

II Peter 1: 13-21

I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, 

Peter wants his hearers to remember what he has written to them earlier, so he is reminding them as long as he lives, for the rest of his life. 

knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 

Peter is referring to his conversation with the Resurrected Christ on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias (or Lake Gennesaret) recorded in John 21:15-19.  

And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind. 

So Peter is writing these things down, so that even after he is dead they will still have the letter to read to keep these things in mind.  

For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 

Nobody made up these stories. Peter is saying that he, James and John are eyewitnesses of Jesus' Divinity on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-8 and Mark 9:2-8.  

For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased"--

Peter, James and John heard God the Father proclaiming the Sonship of Jesus and saw the honor and glory He received from the Father. 

and we ourselves heard this utterance made from Heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 

He's making sure they realize that this really happened, Jesus really did glow, and God the Father really did speak out loud. They were there. 

So we have the prophetic Word made more sure, 

Because of his faith and his personal experiences, Peter knows that the Word is trustworthy. 

to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the Day dawns and the Morning Star arises in your hearts.

The Word of God is God's lamp to shine His Light in the darkness of the World and the evil in the Universe (various scriptures, check a concordance for "lamp" or "light"). 

And the Morning Star is Jesus Himself, as He told John in Revelation 22:16; as was prophesied by Balaam, who said,  

"There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth" in Numbers 24:17.

And Jesus promised to give the Morning Star to the believers in Thyatira who did not tolerate "Jezebel" and her dogma, and they would rule over the Nations, 

with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers, even as I received from My Father (Revelation 2:27-28). 

Believers who remain faithful to the body of Truth as revealed by God in Scripture will rule with King Jesus with His authority, just as King Jesus rules with His Father's authority. 

But know this first of all, that no prophesy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, 

This is basic, fundamental. No part or portion of any of the Holy Scriptures we call the Bible is to be understood according to our own human reasoning only. 

for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will,

Because none of it was written from the human writer's own ideas.

but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 

God's Holy Spirit moved, or "carried them along" as He spoke, or "breathed into" these holy men who wrote *only* what God's breathing into them told them to write; even though God let them use their own vernacular and colloquialisms to express God's ideas. God is the Author, who used human men to write it down.

That is why we can fully trust every word, every story, every idea that is expressed in the Bible to be unconditionally True, with no error or fable about any of it. That's why it's all only one story, and has no contradiction anywhere. That's why we must use Scripture to interpret Scripture--whatever is not clear can be explained by what is clear.

This is what I am endeavoring to accomplish with this blog. I am depending on God's Holy Spirit in me to teach me what He means by what He has written. And I am doing my best to present it to you accurately.

I am only human, and still subject to error. If ever I write in this blog anything that does not seem right, or that you have a different view on, please let me know your thoughts. Tell me your sources of what you are saying, and I will investigate it further.

O my Father, please help us all to have an accurate understanding of what You want us to know. Protect us from the slippery deceptions of the enemy who twists Your beautiful Truth, even in the most subtle ways. 

Enlighten our understanding with the Lamp of Your Word shining into all the dark recesses of our minds and hearts, so that we will know You and Your Son intimately and expect what He really did promise us that He did and will do in us and for us and through us. 

And every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess Your Truth that Jesus is our Christ, and our Sovereign King and Judge, to the glory of God the Father.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

We Do Well To Be Reminded

II Peter 1: 9-12

For he who lacks these qualities 

These qualities are what we just discussed yesterday, in the previous verses to this, namely: Faith, Virtue, Knowledge, Temperance, Patience, Godliness, Brotherly Kindness, and Love. 

Whoever is not living this way, needs to pay attention here. 

is blind or short-sighted, 

Because he is not seeing. He is either blind or myopic, near-sighted, having only a short-term view, not considering the long-range effects.

having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 

If someone has really been saved, and experienced God's great Love for them, can they really "forget" that, that life-changing event happened? I think that they have chosen to ignore it, or it never really happened.  

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; 

So if you find it too difficult to live this Christian life and have slidden back into your former lifestyle, then it would be to your benefit to examine what you actually believe. Did God really give you the faith to know that Jesus took your death on the Cross? That you are the criminal that deserves execution, and Jesus took your place? Seriously examine your own heart and thinking processes. 

And if you find you haven't, then ask God for saving faith, and make it certain. 

for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 

If you are certain, and you are depending on God's Holy Spirit to lead you in this path with all these milestones of virtue that you are appropriating for yourself, to live this way; then He will keep you from stumbling. 

for in this way the entrance into the Eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 

This is how God wants to grow you, and He will generously and lavishly give you everything He knows you will need to be everything He made you to be, and to do everything He planned for you to do, as your part in His Great Plan of the Ages! And to rule with King Jesus in His Kingdom!  

Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the Truth which is present with you. 

That's why Peter is writing this letter, to have a permanent record; and it is also why I am typing this blog every day--to remind you daily to persevere in diligently pursuing God's righteousness in our lives and our neighborhoods and our communities and our society. As the Vocal Minority, we can lift our Nations out of the mire of the slick deception the World has fallen into, for the benefit and betterment of all of our citizens in every Nation. 

Those of us who have been established in the Truth do well to be reminded of these important tenets of our faith, so we can stay the course in the power and strength of God's power and strength that lives in us.

O my Father, please continue to help me, to strengthen me, and give me the time and the desire and the ability to hear Your voice in my spirit, whispering behind me, "this is the Way, walk here." Lead me, grant me the persistence to continue to share Your Truth in practical ways with Your children every day, and bring them to partake of Your nourishment, as regularly as they nourish their bodies.

Father, You are our Good Father, who Loves us with Your eternal, agape Love, far beyond what I will ever understand. Teach me how to love my fellow sojourners in this life, how to reach back to them to encourage them on their paths, urging them on, as I take each step, being encouraged by those that went before me. 

Lead us all, Father, to grow, and to go, and to help one another, and to find all those who are still lost. Let all of Your sheep and lambs be gathered into the safety of Your fold, Father, that there will be that One Fold with One Shepherd, our King and our Lord. 

And every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord and King, to the glory of God the Father!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

A Step By Step Path

II Peter 1: 5-7

Now for this very reason also, 

The reason is that we are living with Divine Life, God's Holy Spirit in us. 

applying all diligence, 

Constant and earnest effort to accomplish this with persistence. 

in your faith supply moral excellence [virtue], 

In believing who God is, we will emulate His character with a sterling moral standard. 

and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 

In maintaining this high morality, we will learn more and more of Christ's character.

and in your knowledge, self-control [temperance], 

Learning more of how Jesus was without sin, we will be able to keep our fleshly weaknesses under His control.

and in your self-control, perseverance [patience], 

Keeping on keeping on. Steady progress, not being in a hurry.

and in your perseverance, godliness, 

That steady progress, building God's character in us, little by little. 

and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, 

Developing God's character in us, we will see one another in the affection of family relationships, as God sees us.

and in your brotherly kindness, love. 

In relating to one another affectionately, we will come to love them and want the very best for them regardless of what it costs us. The way God loves us.

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, 

If we can demonstrate these qualities in our daily lives together, and we are growing in these relationships.

they render you neither useless nor unfruitful 

Then God will be able to use us to further His Kingdom, and we will bear the spiritual fruits listed in Galatians 5:22-23. 

in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This will work out this way because what we know, what we have learned about who God is and who Jesus is and what He has done for us is pure and sure and trustworthy. It is the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not mixed with any superstitions or fables that would weaken its power to work in us. 

We have God's Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Life, and Truth, the Spirit of Jesus, living inside our own, human spirits, giving us the Divine Life--not to be gods, but to have God's power and authority today in this mortal body. 

As we live our lives day by day, we are learning and growing in our knowledge of how to follow the Manufacturer's Instructions by walking in His footsteps in our thinking processes and desires. The closer we draw to our Source, the more we will demonstrate and display in our relationships all the positive and helpful character traits that God is building in us. 

Instead of looking at the World as the World looks at it, we will see with God's vision, with His Light showing up what the World really is, and we will not be seduced by its lies and smooth deceptions. 

We will have true liberty, the freedom to do what is right. 

O my Father, help me to be diligent in strengthening my faith, believing everything You are teaching me, and applying all these lessons in my daily living every day. 

Teach me how to keep on, patiently taking each step, confidently trusting You to guide me faithfully where You want me to go, doing what You want me to do. Not being distracted by my own flesh or the pull of worldly things. 

Father, help me to see my brothers and sisters, and my neighbors, and the people I see as I go about my days, as You see them, so I will love them as You love them, Father, because You want them all to know You, too. Show Yourself to them through this clay pot, that You are transforming into Your crystal vase, molecule by molecule. 

And I will one Day shine like the Sun with the glory of Christ in me. 

And every eye shall see, and every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Christ Jesus really is the Lord God who is the Sovereign King of the Universe--to the glory of God the Father!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The Life We Are Living Now

II Peter 1: 1-4

Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, 

Here Peter again says he is of the lowest caste of the society of his day, a bond-servant. And also an Apostle of Jesus Christ. Both the lowest and the most honored. 

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, 

To other Christians, both Jewish and Gentile, who have responded favorably to the Gospel they heard, and been given the faith to believe. 

by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 

Peter is testifying to his own experience of the perfect, sinless Lord he lived with for over three years, that Jesus is our Christ and our God and Savior. He is the Personal Sacrifice whose Blood washed all our sins away from each one of us.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you 

Peter is multiplying the blessings he is giving these readers, in God's unearned favor and the peacefulness that defies understanding. 

in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 

This grace and peace is in knowing God, and knowing who He is, and knowing Jesus, and obeying Him as Boss (Lord).  

seeing that His divine power 

This refers to Jesus' power as Divine, as He is God. 

has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, 

Through His power, Jesus has given us everything we need for living this life on this Earth in a godly manner.

through the true knowledge of Him 

To believe accurate information concerning who Jesus is and what He has accomplished for us, and more, to not just know about Him, but to know Him, personally, intimately, deeply. 

who called us by His own glory and excellence. 

Jesus, as God the Father's Son and emissary to us, has called us to faith through His own glorious authority and excellent eminence.  

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, 

By His glory and excellence He shares with the Father, Jesus has given us wonderful, valuable, and trustworthy promises.

so that by them you may become partakers of the Divine Nature, 

By what Jesus has said, we know that by His finished work He performed in His Sacrificial Death, He has cleansed us totally, and now that we're clean, He gave us His own Holy Spirit to live in our personal, human spirits, making them Alive. And since it is God the Holy Spirit giving our spirits Life, the life we are living now is the same as the Divine Nature of the Father and the Son also. 

We are living with God's Life, but we are not gods. We have God's power to overcome the enemy and gain the victory over every temptation to sin.  

having escaped the corruption that is in the World by lust.

Getting victory over sin, we do not need to participate any more in the rotting corruption that is still all around us in the World, that those of the World lust after. 

O my Father, thank You for giving us Your own Life to live right here on this Earth, right now. Thank You that Your Life in us gives us Your authority over the enemy, and the power to overcome every temptation and fault and weakness of our mortal flesh. 

Father, knowing You, and curling up in Your lap, is such a privilege that I never would have dreamed I could ever do. Yet Your Love invites me into this intimate relationship with You. And with Your arms around me, I know I can conquer every enemy that would dare come against God's Loved child! 

O Father, may all Your children know You that well, to experience Your cuddles and embraces, to strengthen them in all the trials and troubles and sorrows and griefs of the World. Preserve each one of us, that not one would ever be lost, or slide off that narrow path You've set our feet on. 

Keep our hands in Yours, Father; as our Good Father You will never let us go! Your leading keeps our steps in Your footprints, to keep us from turning to the right or to the left, to not falter or get anxious. Guide us all along the paths we are walking with You all the way to that glorious Kingdom where we will sit on King Jesus' Throne with Him, as He rules on Your Throne with You. 

And every eye shall see, and every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord God, King of the Universe, to the glory of God the Father.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!




 

Grace In Service

I Peter 5: 1-14

Therefore, 

He is again reminding them of what he has already said in this letter.

I exhort the elders among you, 

He is earnestly cautioning the church leaders, all who have authority over others in the church.

as your fellow elder 

Peter is putting himself in the same class as these pastors and teachers.

and witness of the sufferings of Christ, 

Peter didn't just hear about Jesus later, he actually lived with Him for over three years, and saw Him being executed. 

and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 

Peter went with James and John when Jesus took them up the Mountain of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8) where they saw Jesus' glory. And he also knows that our bodies will also be glorified like His was then, when He returns.  

shepherd the flock of God among you, 

The pastors and teachers are to be like shepherds caring for their sheep.

exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, 

Not because they have to, but because they want to. 

according to the will of God; 

This is according to the order of authority established by God in Creation and practiced within the Godhead.

and not for sordid gain, 

Not to fleece the sheep, for personal gain. 

but with eagerness;

But with a willingness and desire to benefit the sheep.

nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, 

None of God's children that He has put in authority over other of His children is any more valuable to Him than every other of His children. This is just how He has chosen to put order into the church. We are all His family.

but proving to be examples to the flock. 

The leaders are to be the models who are expected to demonstrate the character qualities of our Lord for the rest to copy in their own attitudes. 

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 

The Chief Shepherd is the Good Shepherd, who will reward all of His children at the Judgment Seat of Christ for all the works we have done. And if these church leaders perform their tasks in the humility and positive attitudes toward the people that they are urged to do here, then their reward will be glorious!  

You younger men , likewise, be subject to your elders; 

The younger members are still learning how to think and live their lives among their brothers and sisters in the congregation, and they need to remember that they are still to obey their leaders in following what they're showing as they grow in the Lord. 

and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, 

Now Peter is talking to everyone, from the grassroots to the upper echelons of power in the church, that we all are to relate to one another in humility, considering one another's needs before ourselves. This is how God is and how He designed us to get along and prosper together.

for,

God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (Isaiah 57:15; 66:2).

God, even in His Majesty and Glory, has demonstrated His own humility in sending His Son to demonstrate His character to us, humbling Himself supremely for our benefit. So when people get a prideful attitude, it is so opposite Him that it rankles Him painfully and He pushes it away.

But when we humble ourselves under His authority, and toward one another, then we are being like Him, and He pulls us closer and wants to be good toward us. 

We also, made in His image, after His likeness, like people who are like us, and want to spend time with them; but would rather not socialize with people who will argue with and attack us and our beliefs.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 

So we are to submit our thoughts and attitudes and plans to God's thoughts and attitudes and plans. He sees the whole picture, we do not. So we trust Him to have our best benefit in mind for us.

casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 

We don't need to worry, because He has us in His hand. He cares what happens to us, and He won't let anything that hurts us to harm us, but to work everything into His Plan, part of which is to reward us!

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. 

Seriously, we really need to watch out! Because:

Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whoever he can devour. 

The devil is our enemy, he hates us vehemently, because he lost his place, and God has put us in his position, instead! He couldn't die, so there couldn't be any Redemption for him; and we sin, too, but God Redeems us!

We are God's "favorite child" over him, and he resents it and hates God and us, and wants to "get back" at God by destroying us! 

So he prowls around all over this Earth looking for everyone who has left the door open to his deceptions; and he eats them up! He has lied to Mankind, twisting all of God's good gifts He has given us, to use them to destroy us. The devil has convinced people that darkness is Light, and death is Life. And what is evil is good for us. And is destroying God's human race.

But resist him, firm in your faith, 

We are told to run away from temptation, (I Corinthians 6:18; 10:14; I Timothy 6:11), but here we are told to stand firm in resisting the devil, and he will flee from us (also James 4:7)! The devil knows that we have the authority of Jesus Christ to command him, even if we don't realize it. When we do, and we use that authority, the devil runs away from us in fear. 

knowing that the same experiences of suffering are bring accomplished by your brethren who are in the World. 

None of this is easy, even though it is simple. We need to be aware of others in our neighborhoods and all over the World who are suffering for the faith, who are being persecuted because they name the Name of Jesus. We are not alone in this, and we can take encouragement from their faithful stance and perseverance.

After you have suffered for a little while, 

It's only a little while that we will need to suffer, it will end soon. 

the God of all grace, 

No one is gracious like our God is gracious! 

who called you into His eternal glory in Christ, 

God the Father calls us into faith in Jesus Christ to believe He died for us, then He gives us that New Life in putting His own Holy Spirit into our spirits, making them Alive.  

will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 

And God is working in us to transform us into the very character that Jesus demonstrated, to grow us into the princes and princesses who will rule forever with King Jesus as He rules with His Father over all Creation. 

To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

King Jesus dominates, holds sovereign authority, He has the right and power to govern and control everything God makes, all Creation that is now, has ever been, and will ever be in existence. He alone is God! Amen and Amen! 

Now Peter is giving his ending, his final thoughts in concluding the letter.

Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for I so regard him), 

Silvanus was Peter's secretary who took his dictation to write this letter. He may not have known him well, but what he did know impressed him that he was a good Christian.

I have written to you briefly, 

He considers this just a letter, not a whole book. 

exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. 

He is encouraging them to take to heart Peter's eye-witness testimony, as this is how gracious our God is to all of us. 

Stand firm in it! 

Have confidence in your faith, as standing on the foundation Rock.

She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark. 

Here are some personal notes, mentioning mutual friends.

Greet one another with a kiss of love. 

The custom of that day was to give a kiss on the cheek in greeting someone you consider to be a faithful friend (Luke 22:48).

Peace be to you all who are in Christ. 

His final admonition to end the letter.  

Peter wrote this whole letter to share how God's Grace to us gives us security, prompts our submission to Him and to one another, strengthens us in the suffering we experience, and encourages us in our service to one another in the church. It's all God's grace. 

G.R.A.C.E. = God's Riches At Christ's Expense. We cannot earn it or deserve it. God gives it to us because He determines that we are worth it to Him. He values us with the highest valuation, even higher than His Angels! 

Paul wanted to make sure that we would realize the eternal value God places on us, so that we would respond to Him in the appreciation and gratitude that would teach us to live our lives in the order and Love that God put into His Creation. So that we would have purposeful and joy-filled lives here and enjoy His glory and presence forever and ever. 

O my Father, You are more than we could ever imagine! Higher and greater and kinder and powerful and mighty and good and sweet and beautiful! Father, You are everything, the source of all that exists. We all live and move and have our being inside You because we are Your imagination! 

O Father, teach us who You are, we want to know You. Teach us how You see us, for that is who we are. 

Teach us how great is Your graciousness toward us, that You Redeem us from where we were into where we are now, and where we will be for all eternity. 

And every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Why Am I Mistreated?

I Peter 4: 12-19

Beloved, 

Remember that it is because you are so greatly loved by God, and Peter wanted to remind the recipients of this letter that he loved them, too. That's why he is telling them these hard things to hear. 

And I care for you, too. 

do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, 

We should not be surprised when we undergo hard times, as these people were at the time; and as God's people have been throughout all times.

which comes upon you for your testing, 

This is another test, because this life is our school.

as though some strange thing were happening to you; 

Don't see it as something unexpected or unusual. Schooling always includes tests as a teaching method.

but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, 

Let it encourage us that we are considered by God to be worth His attention when the World tries to push Christ away and we are caught in the fire.  

so that also at the Revelation of His Glory you may rejoice with exultation. 

Then when Jesus returns in Glory, we also will participate in His honor and authority, and tremendously enjoy being with Him in His presence.

If you are reviled for the Name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of Glory and of God rests on you. 

As long as the reactions of our persecutors are against the goodness and character of Christ they see in us, and we respond positively, then we will be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or a thief, or evildoer, or troublesome meddler; 

We must watch our own attitudes so that we won't do any of these evil acts, or even offend by our words; so don't think they're reacting to Christ in you if you have done something of yourself they are reacting to.

but if anyone suffers as a Christian, 

If they really are reacting to Christ in us. 

he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 

We need not be beat down, but lift our heads high, giving God the honor that we could be called "Christian," "little Christ."

For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; 

Discipline and punishment always starts in the family, the parents teaching and training their own children how to behave as members of their particular family. 

and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the Gospel of God?

And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? (Proverbs 11:31).

We are the children, we have obeyed the Good News that Jesus paid our debt for us, and let Him be our Personal Sacrifice. And that is only possible because the Father has drawn us to this decision. 

When He drew us, we responded by turning toward Him. So what will happen to those who turn away from Him?  

Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God 

We who weather all the testings and learn all the teachings and respond to negative circumstances and situations positively and bless those who persecute us and pray for our enemies and treat them in love; then the sufferings we suffer will be what God intends for us, to refine us as His gold and diamonds. 

shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. 

And we will put our lives and ourselves in His tender, loving hands, to do with us as He wants; because we trust Him to be the good and faithful and gracious and generous and just God and Father that He is.

O my Father, please help us all to look at our own thoughts and attitudes to see that they correspond to Your thoughts and attitudes toward us, and not our own, fleshly thinking. Father, our own hearts lie to us, we can't rely on our own feelings to be True. Help us to learn Your ways, to think Your thoughts so we can direct our hearts to feel how You feel. 

Break our hearts for what breaks Yours, Father. Teach us how to love others as You love them, seeing them the way You see them. 

And when Satan attacks us because he hates You, and his minions try to make life hard for us as Your children, then help us to remember that You are using that pressure on us to make us into Your diamonds. 

You have purpose for everything and everyone You made, even the evil and wicked who are against everything You are. You are using even them to further Your great Plan of the Ages. And when the End of this Age comes, all will see how You have worked everything out together for the destruction of the wicked and the good for Your family. 

And as Your sons and daughters, we will shine like the Sun in the Kingdom of Your Son; we will reign with Him in His authority, as He reigns as Sovereign King over All Creation in Your authority, Father God. 

And every eye shall see, and understand how it all fits together. 
And every knee will bow in subservience and obeisance to our Lord Jesus, King of the Universe.
And every tongue in every language will shout out loud the glory and honor and authority of Jesus of Nazareth, the lowly itinerant preacher, who is Lord God Almighty, Sovereign King over all Creation--to the glory of Almighty God The Father!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!