Through the Bible - Ecclesiastes 3-4, 2 Corinthians 10
Good morning,
I used the word barrage the other day to talk about the sexual tempations that are seemingly hurled at us in various forms of media today.
There is another barrage that we face in this election year and it is the constant accusations and finger pointing that is going on between candidates, parties, media and yes even professing Christians.
A friend sent me this note the other day and gave me permission to post it.
"I have become increasingly burdened by the way many of my fellow saints have been responding to the presidential election. It seems as if Christians are morphing into democrats or republicans as their identity instead of their identity being “In Christ Alone”. I realize this phenomenon is not an anomaly to this election year, but I have noticed an increased passion or level of intensity among my Christian brothers & sisters this year. The area that has been most heartbreaking and angering to me is the amount of joy people are displaying regarding the current candidates being smeared by the respective political parties and then to share that joy with others to get a rise out of them. To find joy at the expense of someone else, whether you personally know the person or not is almost beyond my comprehension. But we did see that being done to Christ during his life and especially during his many trials. Finding joy at another’s expense no matter how that person is acting is being conformed to this world not being transformed to it; exactly what Paul tells us in Rom 12:1-2. We aren’t renewing our minds through the Holy Sprit’s leading we are conforming our minds to Satan’s leading."
Today's verses come from 1 Peter, out of a passage that is titled in the NKJV as "Living Before the World".
1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. NKJV
In these conditions we as Christians should be willing to take the "high road", not to get caught up in the fray, not to join in in the finger pointing. We should be living counter culturally, with honorable conduct. The verse spells out why, that others will notice the difference in us, that it is Christ and glorify God (at some point, maybe not now). The day of visitation is a time when God will draw near to His people in judgement or blessing. In either case, people will glorify God for the actions of His people in the midst of the fray.
MacArthur comments: "The Greek word honorable is rich in meaning, it implies the purest, highest, noblest kind of goodness. It means lovely, winsome, gracious, noble and excellent." Isn't this the kind of character, the kind of speech that we'd like to here in the political candidates today?
If we are not hearing it in our own circles may we lead by example.
For more on the subject go to the "Daily Bread" at www.rbc.org where Bill Crowder writes, "Criticism can consume our lives to the point of emotional paralysis, or we can set our hearts to serve God faithfully, undeterred by that criticism and put God on display. When we do that, we won't need to answer our critics with words - our lives will say all that is needed."
Read the passage below. How does it speak to you today? Be a living stone.
In Christ,
Mike
1 Peter 2:4-13
The Chosen Stone and His Chosen People
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
"Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,
"The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,"
8 and
"A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense."
They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Living Before the World
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
NKJV
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