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1 Peter 1:13-16

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Personal Challenge…

Is it possible to live a holy and righteous life? Some would say “No”, because we are viewed as depraved and bad. But our Lord would not challenge us to be holy as He is holy of we could not do this. We cannot live this way on our own. We need the Holy Spirit working in our lives. We need the community of believers that our fellowship brings to us. We need the traditions of the church to keep us focused. But we also need to be proactive, girding up the loins of our minds so that we can take every thought captive and turn it over to God. We need to turn from this world toward God’s kingdom.

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron,
And a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Personal Challenge…

This is such a true statement. Those few times in my life that I have had this kind of friend have been rewarding and growth-filled. Why is it so difficult for us, especially us men, to develop deep relationships with others? Relationships where we can share the deep thoughts and secrets of our lives and know that we will will be sharpened by the other as a sword. Is it because we have become such individualist that we strive to live this life on our own? Is it because we are so focused on ourselves that we cannot find the wherewithal to invest in another’s life? Is it because we are so busy with the busy-ness of life that we cannot slow down and be in a relationship? David had Jonathan. Jesus had the twelve and especially the three that He was closest to. Even God Himself has the Trinity. Oh Lord, my God, I long for a Jonathan, or a Peter, or a John in my life so that I can be challenged to be more like you.

Psalm 46:1 (45:2 LXX)

God is our refuge and power;
A help in afflictions that severely befall us.

1 John 3:16

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Personal Challenge…

We go through our lives as Christians saying that we want to be like Christ, saying that we want to be godly and righteous men and women. How do we really do this? Through love of others. Loving them so much that we would be willing to give up our lives for them. This is a pretty radical way to be like Christ. But it is what He did for us and therefore if we are to be like Him we must do the same. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Colossians 2:6-7

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Encouraging Words…

How is it that we have received Christ Jesus the Lord? He came so that He, and He alone, could be the foundation upon which our lives could be built. What is the core, the substance, of that foundation? Love! “For god so loved the world…”. If we live our lives with Jesus (Love) as the foundation then everything that we do will be from a heart, soul, and spirit of love. Glory be to God!

Joel 2:12-13

Now says the Lord your God, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting and wailing and with mourning; rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate. He is longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and repents of evils.

Personal Challenge…

Sin, missing the mark, is done by all of us because we still live in the fallen, broken world. Even though we can learn to sin less because of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us we will still sin. Here we are admonished by the Prophet Joel to turn to our Lord to confess our sins and repent, or turn away from them. He reminds us that confession and repentance are not just saying a prayer but a physical act of being mournful of our wrongdoing, whether voluntary or involuntary, committed in knowledge or ignorance, and fasting so that we are reminded that we are to thirst and hunger for our Lord alone. These physical acts start in our hearts but progress to actual actions so that we are completely engaged in our confession and repentance. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Proverbs 23:18

For if you keep these words, you shall have offspring,
And your hope will not depart from you.

Encouraging Words…

Wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ, informs us through this verse that if we spend time with Him, keeping Him in our hearts and minds, then we will have offspring in our lives. What kinds of offspring? Virtues! Virtues like prudence, justice, temperance (or restraint), courage, faith, hope, and love. From these virtues sprouts a life that is righteous and godly, which then produces additional offspring…people in our lives who desire to know the Lord this way as well. Glory be to God!

Psalm 31:1-4 (30:2-5 LXX)

In You, O Lord, I hope; may I not be ashamed forever;
In Your righteousness deliver and rescue me.
Incline Your ear to me;
Rescue me speedily;
Be to me a God who protects me,
And a house of refuge to save me.
For You are my strength and my refuge,
And for Your name’s sake You will guide and sustain me;
For You will bring me out from the snare they hid for me;
For You are my protector.

Encouraging Words…

We live in two worlds, two domains, at the same time. Our physical body is in this earthly domain and yet at the same time there is the spiritual domain around us as well. Our Lord, our God, dwells in both realms. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords in both realms. And it is He who surrounds us and protects us. It is He who is our refuge, our guide, our sustainer, and our protector. We must yield to Him, submit to Him, and humble ourselves before Him so that He can guide us through our time here on earth. Glory be to God!

Psalm 33:18 (32:18)

Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,

Encouraging Words…

One of the many blessings of being in that stage of life where I have had children and now have grandchildren in my life is that I can see the description of God’s love for His children in verses like this one from the perspective of a parent. As my children were growing up, and now with my grandchildren, I watch them like a hawk, especially when out in crowded spaces. This watching comes from love and a desire to protect them. This is what God, our Father, does for each of His children. Glory be to God!

2 Peter 1:2-4

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Encouraging Words…

“That through these you may be partakers of the divine nature…” By the grace of our Father and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ we have been adopted into the family of God. Through this adoption we may partake in the divine nature. Just as children take on the traits and characteristics of their parents so can we take on the image of our God. We cannot become Him, but we can become more like Him, which is what we mean by theosis.

As Cyril of Alexandria stated: “We that are made worthy to participate in Him [the Holy Spirit] through faith in Christ are brought to perfection as participants of the divine nature, and are said to be born of God, and on that account are given the title gods, not flying up to the glory above us by grace alone, but as already having God indwelling and taking lodging in us, according to what is set forth in the Prophet, ‘I shall dwell among them and walk about in their midst’ (Lv 26:12; 2Co 6:16)”