2 Peter 1:1-4 Precious Promises

2 Peter 1:1-4  Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 

In Peter’s introduction, he clearly states that through the righteousness of our God and Savior, we can escape the corruption of the world that is caused by the evil desires of fallen humankind.  We are no longer bound to the nature of the unredeemed if we believe in Christ’s very great and precious promises.  These promises rest in the fact that God will give eternal life to all who believe in Christ as their Savior.  If people are sold out for Christ in their belief and in their lifestyle, their souls will live in grace and peace.  Their flesh might not always be in peace, but they will always have the assurance that God lives within them, and nothing can trouble his presence in their eternal souls.  As Christians, we know God comes to reside in us permanently because of the grace given to us by Jesus Christ.  While our minds may not fully understand God’s grace and peace, as we accept his gifts into our souls, we realize by the gift of faith that He has adopted us into his family and given eternal life to all who believe.  The Bible says, See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  (1John 3:1)  As such, we are considered the collective temple of God and individual temples who participate in the divine nature of God.  God has planted in us his presence, continually speaking to our inner ears through the Holy Spirit.  Those who have ears, let them hear.  We who are alive in Christ have our spiritual antennas tuned to the Holy Spirit’s call.  In the Old Testament, God tells the Israelites that He called, but they would not answer because their ears were stopped to his voice.  In their waywardness, they intended not to hear God, not to obey his commands.  They chose other gods so that their ears were dulled to the voice of the Creator, their Deliverer from the slavery of Egypt.  Peter tells Christians that God has given us divine power, a holy Dynamo within us that will give us ears to hear.  He has given us the Rock, that eternal living water, the Spirit that rushes through us to satisfy our physical and spiritual needs.  Through his power at work in us we have everything we need for a godly life.  We who are alive IN CHRIST ought to be participating in the world as God’s instruments of light, revealing to the world the divine nature and unconditional love of God.  Our lives should shine forth the essence of God, which is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)  We have definitely escaped the corruption of the world by the grace and mercy of God.  God through Christ spoke the world into existence with his powerful creative voice.  We who are IN CHRIST are new creatures because the spoken Word has come into our lives.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  (John 1:1-4)  As Peter understood, the Creator of all things has purposed a divinity in us that will last throughout eternity.  We have been given glorious promises of that reality.

The Bible is clear about God’s promises to us.  In the Old Testament, we see an ethnic group, the Jews, brought out of captivity into a new life.  They were in bondage to the gods of that age in Egypt, the Pharaohs.  We might compare the Pharaohs to the gods we serve in today’s world, for they were representative of the devil and his rule of the flesh.  Of course, modern day people believe we are making our own decisions, free from any controls, but this is not true.  We are in the same situation Peter described with corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  The devil is a fountain of evil, and he tempts all people to accept his wicked rule.  Out of every human flows thoughts contrary to God’s righteousness.  The prophet wrote, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?  (Jeremiah 17:9)   Even the righteous Pharisees could not escape this fact.  Jesus condemns them for the evil in their spirits.  They could not escape this truth about them.  Neither can humanity escape this truth about its nature.  As Isaiah wrote, all have gone astray to their own ways; all have stopped their ears to God’s voice of direction and correction.  We are like that.  We have been born into captivity.  But Christ has come to set us free by making us new creatures, strong enough to fight the Pharaohs’ armies.  The heavenly army of God is marshaled against the devil and his hosts.  We know the God of Israel is strong enough to defeat the armies of the flesh, for He brought the Israelites out of Egypt.  We know God is the only living and true God.  No other god has brought a whole nation out of another nation without warfare.  God’s mighty hand miraculously delivered a whole nation out of slavery to the god of that age.  He then took care of them through the wilderness, even though the Israelites were a rebellious people.  He took them into a land that had nations that were considerably stronger than the Israelites.  He allowed them to defeat the people who occupied Canaan, the land of the Promise.  He warned them that they would occupy this land forever only if they were faithful to him.  Of course, they were not true to him and therefore were dispersed throughout the world.  But what the Old Testament reveals clearly is that God was capable of delivering a whole nation out of captivity by his hand alone, and He was capable of taking care of them through the wilderness.  Just as the pillar of fire at night and the cloud of glory by day led the Israelites through the wilderness, we who are IN CHRIST have the Holy Spirit leading us day and night on our way to the Promised Land.  This time, it is not by laws and sacrifices that we live, but we live by the words of God.  We defeat the enemy just as Jesus did by using God’s Word, It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.  (Matthew 4:4)

Breakfast companions, have you heard the voice of the Lord within you today?  Have you spent time with him, fellowshipping in his presence?  Is the God who delivers people out of slavery rich in you?  Do you know as a reality in your life that His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  His own glory and goodness leads every believer out of captivity to sin.  He does not want you in the wilderness without the power of his presence, for you need his daily strength to make the journey of life.  Without the voice of God in your inner ear, you will become confused, and you will begin to follow other tracks through the wilderness.  Rather than being close to God, you will find yourself in a landscape you do not recognize.  You will begin to do things that you hate, for you will be following the directions of the world, the flesh, and the devil.  The flesh will always dictate a wandering path; only God keeps you on the straight and narrow.  Hear the voice of the Lord today: heed his still, quiet voice.  Perform the works of God, rather than the works of the flesh.  Elijah called for God’s voice.  He desired the mighty God of all ages to speak to him in some mighty way.  Maybe in a strong wind?  Maybe in a powerful earthquake?  Maybe in a consuming fire?  But God was in none of those terrific natural acts; He was in the still, small voice.  (See 1 Kings 19:11-12)  Faith is required in hearing the soft voice.  The carnal mind desires a loud voice or a big event—solid evidence.  But God usually does not function with us by terrifying us with cataclysmic occurrences.  He speaks with us in love and tenderness, reaching into the innermost being of our lives.  The Holy Spirit often lovingly says to us, “Jacqueline, listen to me.”  “Cliff, I have given you my words.”  Many times in the Old Testament, God said, “Hearken to the voice of the Lord.”   He is a Good Father, an eternal Father.  He desires our love, our touch, our communication with our human voices.  We are divine because we are part of his family.  We do not need to call God down from heaven; neither do we need to grovel in the dust so that He might look upon us in kindness.  No, He is always right with us.  His voice is constantly in us.  As we read in the Old and New Testaments: The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.  (Romans 10:8)  Jesus never leaves us; He never abandons us.  At the cross, Jesus said, “Why hast thou abandoned me?”  We know Jesus was abandoned on the cross for our sins.  Because of his abandonment, we will never face that judgement of being away from God.  He paid the complete price, the final payment.  We do not have to pay the price for our sins, eternal abandonment, away from God, a place of Hell.  No, we are forever connected to the God of eternity, the God who is capable of taking a whole nation away from another, bringing a people into a PROMISED LAND.  Today, express your divinity by doing good, by expressing mercy and grace to others, for you are the LIGHTS IN THIS WORLD.  People need to see the DELIVERER through your lives.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.  (Luke 10:27)  

1 Peter 5:8-14 Resist the Roaring Lion!

1 Peter 5:8-14  Be alert and of sober mind.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  To him be the power for ever and ever.  Amen.  With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God.  Stand fast in it.  She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.  Greet one another with a kiss of love.  Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
  
The theme of enduring in Christ while suffering in the cultures and societies of the world was well known to the early church.  Peter encourages the church to endure, to keep the faith, even though the hardships are great for the people of The Way.  Christians were suffering in every land.  Their message of the Jewish Messiah was not welcomed in the secular world and neither was it welcomed in Israel.  The Good News was an anathema to the intellectual Greeks who lived their lives based on their senses, with gods portraying strengths and attributes that could be understood in human terms.  The Jew’s society was undergirded by following the law.  No matter where the Jews were located in the ancient world, the law was the foundation of their communities.  Whether Greek or Jew, all cultures inculcate teaching concerning doing good, not evil—being helpful, not hurtful, productive and not degenerate.  People know that possessing admirable attributes is better than exhibiting adverse characteristics.  Getting along with others and working toward the common good is an absolute necessity in a healthy community.  When people are positive contributors in a community rather than negative ones, they add to the viability of a society.  However, Jesus rejects the notion of human beings achieving harmony in their communities merely by being good because their basic nature is contrary to the goodness necessary to achieve lasting peace and cooperation.  He tells the Pharisee, Nicodemus, Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.  (John 3:3)  We must become something other than what we are as carnal human beings, with self-centered goals and attitudes, to fellowship peaceably with man and God.  Of course, Jesus is talking about a new creature within us when He said we must be born again.  This born again experience happens when we accept Jesus’ work as a substitute for our works.  We do become new creatures; we are born again in another form that is holy and completely acceptable to God.  But all of this talk of needing a savior and of needing to be totally different from man’s natural inclinations was nonsense to the ancient world and remains nonsense to the majority of the people on Earth.  Humans do not want to accept the fact that we are depraved, unredeemable in our present form, even though they know God said every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.  (Genesis 8:21)   We will not accept that assessment from God.  We rail against this idea that we are depraved sinners, unacceptable to God in our present form.  If we fall short of blamelessness, we will just work at being better.  However, the Bible clearly states that to know God you must take on the nature of God.  Only a new creature can be faultless; only a born-again person can enter into eternity with God.  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.  This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  (1 Peter 1:3-5) 

Our spiritual transformation to a new creature will be realized fully someday in heaven.  The old body and its travails and weaknesses will be left behind.  Then we will understand fully that we are the temple of the living God.  As God has said: “I will live with them, and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”  (2 Corinthians 6:16)  Nevertheless, despite our position in Christ, when we suffer in this present world, we sometimes lose the hope of the message of the new creature and retreat to the standards of this world of good and evil, right or wrong.  We retreat from the efficacy of the cross and go back to the standard of living that the world of the senses presents to us: of living by the law. Attempting to escape our suffering in body or spirit by being like everyone else: sometimes good, sometimes bad, we blend into the community.  Suffering can make us believe that all of this transformational talk of redemption and deliverance through faith is nothing more than wishful thinking.  Suffering can bind people to the vicissitudes of life, to the physical senses of this world.  Peter warns Christians not to depart from the faith because of the ordeals of life.  Be alert and of sober mind.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Do not go back to the old ways of thinking.  You are new creatures; reveal God by being servants to all.  Be open to loving everyone.  Be blameless in your lives so that the world cannot defame the name of Christ by your wicked ways of living.  Jesus said the world will hate you because they hated him.  He said, A servant is not greater than his master.  If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.  (John 15:20)  Unbelievers despise the message that they are not acceptable to God, that their self-serving, self-oriented lives do not please him.  They do not want to hear that they need a Savior.  But Peter says to the church, be strong, resist evil doers, resist their father the devil: Resist him, standing firm in the faith.  The devil will do anything he can to divert you from depending on the cross.  He hates the redemption message, for that message alone makes people free from his control.  He would love for people to go back to the right and wrong of life to escape from their suffering.  He wants Christians to blend into the community by joining in with people on what they hate, what they despise, and who should be isolated and who should not.  If we look like everyone else, we will not be persecuted.  If our love goes only as far as the world’s love, people will accept us, cooperate with us.  The world does not like the message that we must be completely different to be in the kingdom of God.  Even some Christians reject that message, thinking God does not know what goes on in their thinking.  The Pharisees, the best followers of the Law, maybe comparable to Christians in our day, were practicing sin in their minds, thinking of selfish desires, ascendency, and the like.  Jesus looked at them and said, You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of bones of the dead and everything unclean.  (Matthew 23:27) 

In 1 Peter we read a lot about submission.  Submission to what?  Overall, we are asked to submit to a loving God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  (1 John 4:8)  God is dedicated to the salvation of all.  His plan is complete—none of us escape the fact that we are incurable, unredeemable through our own efforts  because of our sin.  We do not have the strength to live blameless lives in this world.  Yet in Christ we are changed.  We can show forth the goodness of God, the righteousness of God.  People should look at us and say there is a person who is kind and loving.  Although the Bible tells us we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, without Christ’s redemptive work we are NOTHING.  Jesus said, Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone.  (Mark 10:18)  Jesus was in his fleshly body when He stated that.  The flesh endures many pressures daily.  We know Jesus was sinless, but the stresses of life made him tired, and the Bible says He rested sometimes due to weariness.  God does not get tired: He is the same every day, every year, every millennium.  He is the same from everlasting to everlasting.  We do not know any good people in our surroundings, for ONLY GOD IS GOOD.  If we suffer in any way, we suffer knowing only God is good and all-knowing, only God understands our situation and our need.  If we have accepted Christ, we are the temple of God, the blessed ones that God has sought to live within forever.  He will not lose us in a crowd.  We do not have to grow weary of trying to find God to be with him.  He is within us because we placed our faith in Christ alone, and his love came into our lives.  We are no longer living for ourselves, but for others.  How important that is!  None of us really know what a new creature looks life.  We do not really know what Jesus meant when He said we must be born again, but regardless of our comprehension of what Jesus meant, we do know that He did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world.  Of course, unregenerate humans are averse to the salvation message.  They retreat from it, and they persecute those who have accepted the message.  This is the human condition; the desire to rectify everything in their own lives by their own efforts.  They do not like the light that came into the world.  They retreat from it, even desire to stamp the light out.  This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  (John 3:19)  If you suffer in any way, do not go to the pasture of good and evil or right or wrong; do not go to the pasture of blending in with the world; go to the King’s pasture of life.  This pasture has enough food for you every day, the manna from God’s hands, and there is always the gushing water of the Holy Spirit from the rock that abides in the middle of the pasture.  You will find continuous peace and refreshment there.  The devil cannot touch your soul for you are enduring IN CHRIST, THE SAVIOR OF YOUR SOUL.  Breakfast companions, live by faith, live with love, live not as the world lives or desires you to live, but live by the will of God, remembering what Jesus said when He resisted the devil: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.  (Matthew 4:4) 

1 Peter 5:1-7 God Cares For You!

1 Peter 5:1-7  To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.  In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders.  All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 

In human society, we often see the opposite of the traits Peter advises in today’s focus.  We see people with important political positions using their places of favor to gain riches in this world.  Rather than serving people gladly with honest motives, they take advantage of the powerless and weak.  In our entertainment culture, people of prominence—singers, movie stars, athletes—hold so much influence that they become millionaires many times over in a short time.  Our media glamorizes these people, making them superior to all other people on planet Earth.  They become our gods as we desire to be like them, working hard to gain influence over others by seeking positions of prominence similar to those we adulate.  But Peter tells the elders in the church to watch over the flock gladly without seeking a place of prominence or of gain.  He tells young men to be humble, not desiring to be the important person in any room but the one who willingly waits on others, submits to others.  Of course, all of this is diametrically different from what we see in the world.  At any level of today’s sports, we see participants beating their chests or celebrating brazenly when they accomplish an objective such as scoring a goal or winning a contest.  They often strut with their chests out, looking as if they had performed the most marvelous feat any human has ever accomplished.  Of course, they should be happy to perform well, but the idea of superiority over all others is nonsense.  We are not teaching our young people humility, but to be as the gorilla in the jungle, beating his chest to demonstrate to all challengers that he is the meanest, strongest, gorilla in all the world.  In Christian circles, even knowing that God opposes the proud and shows favor to the humble, we too teach our young people to be less than humble.  Our activities and actions often follow the world in its self-aggrandizement.  Peter asks the elders and the youths to display God’s goodness.  He asks Christians to look after the well-being and self-esteem of others, not using personal success or position to lord it over others.  If Christians ignore God’s commands, we are like Adam and Eve: Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden?  Did God really say, Love your neighbors as yourselves?  Did He really say,  Elders, be sensitive and good shepherds?  Did He really say, Young people, be humble?  Adam and Eve’s sin was ignoring God’s commandment not to eat of that tree.  We too must consider God’s words relevant in our lives, for they are everlasting and true.  For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.  (Psalm 33:4)

Knowing the word, older Christians should be shepherding the ones they can influence.  Mothers and dads should be cognizant that they are shepherds of their children.  If your friends look up to you as an important person, you should realize your shepherding responsibilities to them.  We demonstrate God’s saving power by the way we live and talk.  Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be.  How far should your shepherding go with your family members and friends?  As far as the kindness of the Lord is shone through you.  When you begin to lord it over others because of your insights in a careless and unkind manner, then you should stop and reconsider how much God loves you.  As a shepherd of any kind, you must consider paramountly the needs of others: treating them as you desire to be treated; advising them exactly as you want to be advised.  Anything else gets into the area of dominance and sin.  We are to set people free from the law of good and bad, pointing them to Christ and his goodness because a shepherd leads sheep to good pasture, fresh water.  As we lead our friends, children, relatives to that good pasture with fresh, living water flowing through it, they will meet Christ and find a new life of peace and eternal comfort through the Holy Spirit.  Without Christ, the sheep live on a rocky terrain of good and evil, of right and wrong; but because of the grace of God, they now live in an environment of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  They have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18), the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  In their new life, the sheep eat daily of the heavenly manna presented to them, drinking continuously from the living waters of the Holy Spirit.  Their lives consist of serving God by being strong in the Lord: the Word and the Spirit.  The good elder will lead his people to this pasture by the integrity of his life: his actions, his words.  If his actions and words are contrary to God’s will for people, if he is self-centered, lacking love for others, controlled by does and don’ts, the sheep will find themselves in a pasture that does not reflect the nature of the Good Shepherd.  That false shepherd will be judged harshly by the Good Shepard when He arrives to judge all things.  But if those who have influence on others lead people to the land of mercy and grace, they will be judged with mercy and grace.  When Jesus separates the sheep and the goats, and the sheep ask when they did the good things.  Jesus says, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.  (Matthew 25:40)

The Lord desires to teach every elder and every young person—every believer— about his mercy and grace.  We are all dependent upon God.  That life, that pasture, is where all Christians should abide.  Without understanding the mercy and grace of God in our lives, we are subject to the devil’s work of chaos and sin.  The peace and joy we have as God’s children lessens if we do not understand our strength because of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ’s work.  We may lack power when the devil comes against us as a roaring lion if we do not understand our position in Christ.  Even worse, without the peace of grace in our lives, we might become instruments of discord, of inharmonious words and actions.  We will be critical of others, judgmental, uncaring, lacking love and the enduring compassion of the Lord.  The pasture of God is one dependent on loving God and loving others.  People with hate in their hearts cannot live successfully in the presence of God with the Holy Spirit’s words in their minds.  Christians cannot live in that pasture of grace and mercy with unresolved issues against others and unforgiveness ruling over them.  Saying words or doing things that are not in the context of God’s love for others is like shepherds using people to pursue dishonest gain.   Elders and young people should remember, they are in the pasture of God’s grace and mercy, and they are his chosen people, greatly loved.  Consequently, we should cloth ourselves every day with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if anyone has a grievance against us.  Forgive as the Lord forgave us.  And above all these virtues put on love, which binds us all together in perfect unity.  (Colossians 3:12-14)  Christians, old and young, should be examples to the flock, to others.  People should know who we are: servants of the Most High.  With the responsibility of leading others, we should follow Christ’s example as servants to all.  If we want to be considered important in the kingdom of heaven, we should submit, serve, prefer others over ourselves.  This runs contrary to our fleshly nature, but this is God’s desire for us.  God has asked us to be obedient to his calling as humble children.  He has told us that He will lift us up in due time, maybe in this world but definitely in the next world, the kingdom of God.  Therefore, relax in the Lord’s hand, eat and drink in his pasture, and the peace of God that passes all understanding will be yours.  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.       

1 Peter 4:12-19 Rejoice In Trials!

1 Peter 4:12-19  Friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.  If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.  If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.  However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.  For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?  And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”  So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

The flesh whether in Christ or outside of Christ will suffer tribulation in this world, for the nature of human activity is trials and sufferings.  But we Christians should not suffer because we are doing evil: you should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.  All flesh is finite, exposed to the python of death encircling our lives.  Our strength and health diminishes as we go through life.  But believers know we are not traveling alone—the Holy Spirit is our constant companion.  Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, we have inner power to face every situation victoriously.  We are new creatures, gifts to God, but not perfect gifts wrapped in pretty boxes with colorful ribbons adorning them, ready to be delivered to God.  No, Paul discussed the reality of where we are in the flesh when he says, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.  (Romans 8:18-21)  If we suffer, we do not merely lie in that gift box, waiting to be delivered.  We are battling the flesh and the devil every step of our lives.  This is the will of God: So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.  Faith is required to navigate this world of the senses, faith that there is a God who loves and cares for people.  If this world is difficult for us Christians to navigate while suffering the vicissitudes of life, how much more difficult it is for unbelievers to do good as they experience this world and its suffering.  If Christians have trouble obeying the gospel of God as they experience troubles in this world, those who lack the Spirit of God find it nearly impossible to please the nature of God while suffering the pain of living.  We Christians will someday realize our full salvation, our full release from the trials of this world, but not now in this earthly realm.  In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  (1Peter 1:6-9) 

We do have trials in this world, some caused by our sins and waywardness from God.  Others are caused by simple misfortunes in our lives, mistakes, not sinfulness or waywardness.  Other trials and difficulties in our circumstances are allowed by God to strengthen our faith, testing us, teaching us to be stronger, more resilient.  Many times we suffer from the misdeeds of cruel or uncaring  people.  Other adverse experiences are God directed to reveal his nature to us, his love.  We in this world of disobedient humans are to learn of God’s love towards all people.  We sometimes face unwanted events such as unrelenting sicknesses or the untimely deaths of loved ones or close acquaintances.  We would wish these adverse experiences to be someone else’s journey, not ours.  We would pray for them, help them cope with these difficulties or trials, telling them of God’s love.  But we desire for these kinds of experiences to be far from our homes, our lives, our existence.  Nonetheless, God allows them to touch us, our families and friends.  He even plans for us to work out our salvation by attacking these situations with his love and goodness.  He matures us through these difficulties, teaching us about his love and the necessity to love others as He loves us.  Jesus looked over the city saying, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.  (Matthew 23:37)  He sensitizes us to the needs of the world, their sorrow as they face sicknesses and death.  We become lovers of those who are weak and helpless, for we too know what it means to be weak and helpless.  God allows suffering in Christians to develop the nature of Christ in us, for Jesus suffered for the world.  He carried every sickness to the cross, every death to the cross.  He paid completely the price of being in the flesh, of being finite.  IN HIM, THE RESURRECTED ONE, life becomes new and eternal.  For whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16)

Peter tells Christians that he understands their lives are not easy, but the solution lies in complete submission to God.  If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?  So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.  Yes, believers often find it hard to serve the Lord through the trials and suffering of this world.  Where is the joy, when the tears flow down your face?  But, we will commit ourselves to our faithful Creator and continue to do good regardless of our situation in the natural.  We know from God’s word that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  (Romans 8:28) We know the gift in the box is constantly in flux, changing daily for the good of the Lord.  When we are finally revealed to all of creation, here on Earth and in heaven, we will be glorious, beautiful beyond description.  We will be more delicate than the finest china, more intricate than the most elaborately woven fabric.  We will be as God our Father.  He will pick us up tenderly and place us above his head so all can see the fine work He has done in us.  Once we were worthless, worthy only for destruction; now we are precious, functioning openly in the household of God.  A tag, a name written by the blood of Jesus is on our holy clothing, clothing fit for the wedding feast.  We have been clothed by the Most High.  God paid a price for us, a heavy price: his ONLY BEGOTTEN, JESUS CHRIST, risked everything for us.  Yes, trials do happen to us, suffering does break us down into tears, death causes us to wonder sometimes, but God has paved the way for us to know him.  We entered into his domain of love when we accepted Jesus as our Lord.  Trials, struggles, sorrows, nothing, will prevent us from continuing as his instruments of love when our lives are founded on Jesus’ grace, mercy, and love. Paul prayed for the Ephesians that they may know God in a greater way.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  (Ephesians 4:16-19)  May we know as we read in Romans 8 that nothing in all creation will separate us from the love of God which is in Christ.