If someone asked you, “Why is Jesus’ virgin birth important?” what would you say? You may not give that question much thought outside of December so I would not blame you if you struggled to come up with a good answer right away. Allow me to provide two reasons for your consideration that I hope will help equip you to answer this question.
Just like the original recipients of this important letter known to us as 1 Peter, we live in the shadow of the end of all things. This should enable us to get a proper perspective on difficulties we encounter for our faith and witness for Jesus. It must motivate us to a distinctive Christian lifestyle. We need to be vigilant, prayerful, and supportive of those in the Christian community, showing love and exercising the gift we have been given.
It’s easy to forget that government is a gift of God’s grace. But how—as subjects of a greater King who deserves and demands our primary obedience—are we to relate to our government? Are we to be revolutionaries, or patriots, or conscientious objectors, or constant complainers? Peter’s first letter gives us three principles for an attitude check which speak to the heart of our relationship with government.
Many of our times spent in the Word of God end without fireworks, no great illumination or a life-changing thought that comes at the end of our Bible reading. We read the Bible, but we didn’t feel that our life changed greatly because of it. We had high hopes of learning wonderful things only to have our heart made sick because our hope was deferred. One author said it this way, “It is possible for a person to attentively read the Bible and walk away feeling the time was spectacularly ordinary.” Do you ever struggle with the fact that your devotions are often spectacularly ordinary?
The path to joyful endurance, even over long periods of tribulation, is hope. When the heaviness of your trials begins to weigh you down, take a few minutes to reflect on what Christ has done for you in the past, is doing for you in the present and will do for you future. Hope in these things and the joy of the Lord will lift your soul.
Many think salvation is just about heaven and it doesn’t affect life now. However, our salvation should affect us tremendously. The key question I want to pose to you is: considering your beautiful inheritance in Christ, what ought you to do? The answer: set your hope fully on the future grace brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. But how are you to do so? Peter specifies two ways: preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded.
Shortly after Beneth and I were married, we came home one Sunday night after church to find two men robbing our home. As we walked in the front door, they were climbing out of our dining room windows with our a number of our belongings. That break-in shook us up and brought fear into our lives, fear that created a number of conversations between us regarding Proverbs 21:31…
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7)
Affliction makes you cherish your relationships. You begin to value your relationships more. Your heart is encouraged that you have people you can lean on in times of trouble and people who genuinely love you and are delighted to support you…
How do you feel after thirty minutes of watching the news? Relaxed or anxious? Angry or peaceful? Encouraged or discouraged? Does God seem more or less prominent in your thoughts? Are you more encouraged to live in lockstep with biblical principle, or do you find yourself pulled in the other direction? These are important diagnostic questions to consider, because they address how our viewing habits affect our spiritual health…
It’s been roughly 50,400 minutes, 840 hours, 35 days, or five weeks that we have been quarantined; but it feels like it’s been twice that long! And, while our family enjoys each other immensely, our little house has felt quite noisy at times. Whether it is children waking up at 6:30 a.m. (Amy’s contribution), trying to keep up with energy levels that go from 10 to 20 (Matt’s contribution), or just generally driving each other nuts, we’ve certainly…
Last week, we began looking at the disease of bitterness that Hebrews 12:15 talks about: “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”
We talked about tracing the root of bitterness and recognizing that those who are bitter are often blind to their own sin…
By now, most Americans are familiar with the symptoms and severity of the COVID-19 virus. Like many of you, our family has read up on information relating to this disease to determine the early warning signs and symptoms. We have tried to be diligent, careful, and wise in our interactions with people to prevent our catching this virus. We understand the risks and potential dangers and are therefore changing the way we behave…
How do we handle it when God throws what is perceived as a curveball our way? When we watched the ball drop and brought in the year 2020, I don’t think anyone said, “By the end of the month of March, I will be quarantined at my home and mandated to stay away from church and work.” That’s not how most of us think; we make plans based on our normal routine and activities. How do we respond to the “loss of control” that has come our way?
Spiritually strong marriages do not occur naturally or accidentally. They require focused attention on obedience to God in the things He has required of us in marriage. Today, I’d like each married couple to think of the following three things. May they be a help to each of us as we strive to have spiritually strong marriages that glorify God…
