No Box Stamped “DONE”
Father, I desperately plead for Your consistency in my life. Recently I just can’t get it together. Getting up and at it in the wee hours of the morning needs to be an every day occurrence. Too many things crowd in and take over when I don’t, daily, take time – significant time –to be with You. Help me, Father. I am weak and I must rely on Your strength. I am an overcomer only through You.
1 Peter 3:19-20 (<<click here)
Lord, this in one of those passages with which we struggle. Bible scholars struggle with it. They stab at it trying to grasp its meaning but there is no clarity in the particulars.
I really like what my Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation has to say.
In any case, the passage shows that Christ’s Good News of salvation and victory is not limited. While some Bible passages such as this one may remain unclear, we can discover certain truths from them along with the context of the rest of Scripture. In this passage we discover that: (1) God speaks. While we puzzle over what, where, and how, we can see that God is communicating to the world. (2) God triumphs. Christ victoriously preached, indicating his power, control, and transcendence over all creation. (3) God saves. God exerts himself to rescue those who desire him. This mysterious passage tells us at least this much – and that is much indeed.
Lord, these kinds of passages keep us humble – they keep us in our place. Too often we like to think that we have You all figured out – but I am grateful that we don’t. We can’t put You in a box marked “DONE.” You are almighty and all-knowing – we are not. We cannot know everything this side of eternity.
Paul puts it succinctly in 1 Corinthians 13:12,
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
Lord, it is enough to know You speak, you triumph, and You save. Amen.
Jan 20th, Fri, 6:22 am
How You Are with Me
Father, words are just inadequate to express my thoughts toward You. In my life, which is up and down and here and there, You are constant and consistent. You are solid. You cannot be shaken. You are ever on even keel. These are traits of You overall but, at least for me, this is how You are with me.
Lord, I have done nothing to be treated this way. So often I feel like the “difficult” child in Karen’s first grade class. There’s a way I am supposed to be, a way I’m supposed to act but I am not, I don’t. I run around when I’m to be sitting . I talk when silence is required. I break my crayons. I doodle on my papers. I belch at the most inappropriate times. I run instead of walk. So often I am an absolute mess!
But You? Hebrews 13:8 assures me that You are “the same yesterday today, and forever.” And that is truly how You are overall but, just as truly, that is how You are with me.
You are patient and kind. You are not irritable, and You keep no record of being wronged. You never give up on me, never lose faith in me. You are always hopeful, and You endure through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) You are love and You love me…
Thank You, Lord, for being who You are. Thank You for loving me where I am. And think You for loving me enough to help me be all I can be in You. This peanut butter and jelly faced, runny nosed kid can and will be so much more. You love me and that makes all the difference.
Jan 17th, Tues, 6:18 am
Safely Home
Thank You for a wonderful day, yesterday, Father. You blessed us in our worship. You were with us as we remembered the life of a man who sought to serve You with his all. I realize that you never leave our side but it is a beautiful gift to be alert enough to be aware of your presence and to feel Your touch and to respond to Your direction. All praise to Your Holy Name. Amen.
1 Peter 3:18 (<<click here)
In the late 80’s I was on staff at a church in Marietta, Ohio. We were only there for a year but we made some dear, lifelong friends in the process. Even after we left, for quite some time we would meet halfway (unusually in Zanesville) to share a meal and catch up.
For whatever reason the weather never seemed to cooperate when we would meet – I remember a tornado in the area one time – but one trip back home sticks in my mind. It was a white-knuckle on the steering wheel trek through a full blown snow storm. It was bad! It was snowing and blowing so badly that it took us forever to get home.
I’m sure Karen threw up a lot of prayers that day and if Massey was with us at all, he would have been very small, but it was my responsibility to get my loved ones safely home.
The journey of life is a treacherous one. And, thankfully, I am not the one behind the wheel. I am incapable of doing so. Only one Person can “bring [us] safely home” and that is You, Lord. Sin was sweeping us away into an eternity of separation from You. But You – You alone – “suffered for our sins once for all time…[You] died for sins to bring [us] safely home.”
Thank You, Lord, for Your sacrifice. Thank You for taking on the responsibility of getting us home safely. There is no way we can do it on our own. Praise You for Your wonderful work of salvation, Blessed Redeemer! Amen!
Jan 16th, Mon, 5:43 am
Impact of the WORD
As I have sat here this morning, Father, my thoughts have been on a friend who from our perspective unexpectedly crossed the threshold into Your waiting arms this week. We just never know when our time here on this earth will be complete. My friend was ready to be called home; he was Your faithful follower. May we all be ready to do the same and may we all be diligent in bringing others to You so they may be ready as well.
1 Peter 3:13-17 (<<click here)
Lord, in reading this passage and the coinciding notes in my study Bible*, it brings to mind once more my friend. His name is Kerry Hooper. I met him almost 30 years ago. He printed just about everything for a Christian bookstore that I worked for. The whole time I knew him, he lived a life worthy of the calling You place upon his life – both professionally and privately. He truly worshiped “Christ as Lord of [his] life.”
He lived out his faith and if anyone asked about his life as a believer he was always ready to explain it. Even after going into business for himself, he was truly a Christian businessman. He was upright and a man of integrity. He shared his faith in a “gentle and respectful way” with a conscience that was clear.
Kerry was a humble man of God, and I’m sure he was far from perfect – for none of us are – but his faith was genuine and it was obvious that he was a man after God’s own heart.
Lord, may I live out my life as a beacon for you. Help me to live out my life as Kerry did – as so many of Your followers do – may Your kingdom be increased as Your will is made known through us. Amen.
Jan 15th, Sun, 6:50 am
Plate Spinners
Father, it was wonderful having Massey home for almost a month! We cherished our time together. But as those times often do, schedules get scrambled. We were up later than usual which usually means we got up later than usual. Thank You, Father, for great moments together and for answered prayers for a safe journey home. As we all step back into normal routines help me to be driven to sitting down and spending time with You, each and every day. Amen.
1 Peter 3:10-12 (<<click here)
Using a quote from Psalm 34 Peter drives home the point of avoiding evil and seeking out peace. As my study Bible* alludes to, finding and maintaining peace is not an easy task. Peace is elusive and even when we do find it, even in the best of circumstances it is a delicate balance to maintain.
The idea of maintaining peace brings to mind entertainers who spin plates on poles. Each plate must be kept spinning or it will fall to the floor and break. One is not such a big deal once you get the hang of it but four? six? a dozen? The Guinness World record is 108! I can’t even imagine!
But how many times is keeping the peace the same challenge? Keeping everybody happy, not rocking the boat, not saying the wrong thing, doing all the right things, not doing the wrong things – it’s maddening! But as Christians, it is part of what we are to do.
Lord, this day may I be the best “plate spinner” possible. May I focus on people today, may I love them as You do. It quite often is a balancing act but may I be a man of peace in a world of craziness. And may I do so with Your wisdom, love, and strength. Amen.
*Live Application Study Bible, New Living Translation
Jan 13th, Fri, 7:09 am