Category: I Peter

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Make It Stronger

A few days back Dave asked me to make the coffee stronger. I have used the same number of scoops for years, so his request intrigued me.

We always use the same brand and both of us drink our coffee black. I’m wondering if the coffee company has changed their processing. Maybe it’s just our taste buds. But I complied with his request, and we are enjoying it more.

Make it stronger…as I was drinking my first cup this morning and enjoying the fuller flavor I was reminded of a couple of Scriptures.

When we are young Christians, the Apostle Peter, says we grow by experiencing the milk of Scripture.

“Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow up and be saved.” I Peter 2:2 ERV

The writer of Hebrews points out that as we grow, we need a stronger diet of more solid foods.

“But solid food is for people who have grown up. From their experience they have learned to see the difference between good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14 ERV

That is why I love Paul’s writings in the book of Colossians.

There are so many wonderful nuggets of God’s wisdom and provision contained in that small book. I wish we had time to sit and discuss it verse by verse. This book is filled with hope, strength, forgiveness, instruction for daily living. It starts by reminding us of how deeply the Father loves us.

“At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your minds, because the evil you did was against him. 22 But now he has made you his friends again. He did this by the death Christ suffered while he was in his body. He did it so that he could present you to himself as people who are holy, blameless, and without anything that would make you guilty before him. 23 And that is what will happen if you continue to believe in the Good News you heard. You must remain strong and sure in your faith. You must not let anything cause you to give up the hope that became yours when you heard the Good News. That same Good News has been told to everyone on earth, and that’s the work that I, Paul, was given to do.” Colossians 1:21-23 ERV

At one time we were enemies of God the Father. But through Jesus’ sacrifice we have been brought into a right relationship with Him. The Father loves us and sees us as holy, faultless and without blame. All of our sins were placed on Jesus when He died for us.

Christ lives in us and is our power source, our strength and our victory.

In our homes we have electricity. That electricity will light a bulb of 25, 60, or 100 watts. The size of the bulb may change but the power source is the same.

Christ is the same in all our lives and as we grow stronger in Him we learn to appropriate more of what He has provided.

Make us stronger Lord for your glory!

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Hope for Living

Last night Dave and I were visiting and listening to the radio. We’re not big radio listeners – never have been but the last few days, here at the racetrack, it’s something we’ve started. What station? Glad you asked, KLOVE.

What a great way to start and end each day; one song after another filled with the power of God’s promises and the encouragement of praise.

Without Jesus, we really have no hope. I know what that’s like and being on the other side of that now, I can tell you I never want to go back to that prison again.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. This new life brings us a living hope through Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death.” I Peter 1:3 ERV

As Dave and I talked we were reminded of where we’ve been. There have been times that we were desperate – almost hopeless. He was working 100+ hours a week, we had a toddler and a baby on the way. Things were bleak. Another time we had to close the door on our business.

With our heart’s cry of desperation, we said “Lord, we need You. We need You to show us the way out, the way forward. We need Your direction. We need help!”

The Lord gave us two verses back then.

“Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.” Philippians 4:13 ERV

“ Jesus, our high priest, is able to understand our weaknesses. When Jesus lived on earth, he was tempted in every way. He was tempted in the same ways we are tempted, but he never sinned. 16 With Jesus as our high priest, we can feel free to come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4:15-16 ERV

We’ve had other times when we either forgot to ask the Lord for His leading or have just ventured out to do things on our own and have faced failure and hopelessness, but God has been faithful to pick us up, help us through and bring us to a good place.

“But keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have. 16 But answer them in a gentle way with respect…” I Peter 3:15-16 ERV

A song came on the radio right before we were heading to bed. What a powerful message of hope! “In Jesus Name” by Katy Nichole

I speak the name of Jesus over you
In your hurting, in your sorrow
I will ask my God to move
I speak the name ’cause it’s all that I can do
In desperation, I’ll seek Heaven
And pray this for you

[Chorus]
I pray for your healing, that circumstances would change
I pray that the fear inside would flee in Jesus name
I pray that a breakthrough would happen today
I pray miracles over your life in Jesus name
In Jesus name

This is my prayer for you – I speak the name of Jesus over you, over every circumstance, over every fear. I pray that you will have a living hope!

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New Growth

One of the first Science experiments I remember as a kid was taking dry pinto beans, wrapping them in a moist paper towel, placing that in a dish and setting it on the kitchen cupboard.

Each day I added a little water to the paper towel and in a few days the seed began to split and the tip of a tiny root began to appear. After a few more days the root got longer and the seed pod split even more.

I was growing beans!

As the root got longer, a shoot started growing from the other end. It didn’t take long for leaves to begin to form and the plant was taking shape. I was a successful farmer. The seed was doing exactly what God designed it to do. It was producing – seems I read those words in the first chapter of Genesis. From the beginning, this is what seeds did.

“The earth produced plant life: plants yielding seeds, each according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit with seeds inside it, each according to its kind. God saw how good it was.” Genesis 1;12 CEB

As I was thinking about this experiment, I was reminded of the verses I wrote about the other day, you know, the ones about understanding and growing in the fullness of God. Some will say, like I used to, “I know that I will have that fullness once I get to heaven. We all will.” But the Scripture tells us that we are to grow into that fullness here, while we’re still on earth.

I was trying to figure out how the two teachings tied together when I remembered these verses from the Bible.

“As you set yourselves apart by your obedience to the truth so that you might have genuine affection for your fellow believers, love each other deeply and earnestly. 23 Do this because you have been given new birth—not from the type of seed that decays but from seed that doesn’t. This seed is God’s life-giving and enduring word.” I Peter 1:22-23 CEB

Our new life in Christ is a result of the seed of God’s word. Planted in our hearts, God’s word produces eternal life from a seed that will not decay. The pinto bean shriveled and died as the bean sprout got larger but the seed of God’s word won’t decay or die, it continues to feed our new life so that we can grow into the fullness of God.

Amazing!

“Then Jesus said, “This is what God’s kingdom is like. It’s as though someone scatters seed on the ground, 27 then sleeps and wakes night and day. The seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer doesn’t know how. 28 The earth produces crops all by itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full head of grain. 29 Whenever the crop is ready, the farmer goes out to cut the grain because it’s harvesttime.” Mark 4:26-29 CEB

God’s character, His love, grow in our lives like that seed of grain grows in the ground. It grows to full maturity. Just look at what the seed that God plants produces.

“ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this.” Galatians 5:22-23 CEB

Maybe we all need to start some bean seeds on the kitchen counter just to remind ourselves that God’s word is producing new fruit in our lives!

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Unshakable, Immovable Part 2

This morning’s blog will be the conclusion of yesterday’s teaching.

I want everyone to realize that God’s promises are still true. They haven’t lost their power and they aren’t being withheld because we aren’t worthy to receive them. That’s just not the case.

Let’s continue…

But it’s not a given – the promises of God are true, but we have to appropriate them.

We all have electricity in our houses. But if we don’t know to turn on the switch we will sit in the cold and the dark. It’s that simple. Christ paid the bill, the power is flowing, we have to release that power.

2nd reason: There is a very real devil who is working against us. He wants to destroy us and he will if we don’t fight back.

“A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest.” John 10:10 CEV

When satan came and tempted Jesus, He resisted the devil’s attacks by using Scripture.  We must follow His example.

 “7 God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.8 Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. 9 But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith.” I Peter 5:7-9 CEV

3rd reason: We get rebellious and want to do things are own way.   Just like a child who is told not to touch the stove because its hot – if the child reaches up to touch the stove, ignoring the father’s advice, and gets burned that’s not the father’s fault. He didn’t allow it or cause it. It was an act of our will.

“16 Whenever people are jealous or selfish, they cause trouble and do all sorts of cruel things.”. James 3:16 CEV

4th reason: We get tired of fighting and give up. Seeing God’s promises come to pass is not for the faint of heart.  The Apostle Paul says it’s a spiritual battle. Don’t be moved away from God’s word, therein is our victory!

“Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places. 13 That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing.” Ephesians 6:12-13 ERV

Never, ever, are we alone. The Father has promised to never leave us or abandon us.  We might get weary and want to give up but if we ask, God will give us all the strength we need.

“Christ gives me the strength to face anything” Philippians 4:13 CEV

God will not force His protection and blessings on us. We have to believe and receive His promises. There’s nothing the devil wants more than to defeat us and make others think God’s word doesn’t work. If he can deceive, he can defeat.

God’s word has stood the test of time, the very gates of hell cannot prevail against it. When we stand on God’s word, we will be unshakable and immovable!

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The Power of Prayer

For the last several mornings a bit of my quiet time has had me reflecting on Daniel. When he was a young man, many from the nation of Israel had been taken captive and led away to Babylon.

There he was taken into the king’s palace and groomed to be a royal aid. Daniel remained faithful to the Lord and refused to serve any other gods. The Lord blessed Daniel for his faithfulness. The kings whom Daniel served, recognized his wisdom and promoted him, even over those who were citizens of the land.

The other advisors in the king’s palace were jealous of Daniel and tried to figure out a way to get rid of him. The only flaw they could find in Daniel’s character was his faithfulness to God. The advisor’s had the king draft a law which said anyone praying and worshipping anyone but the king would be sentenced to death in a den of lions. When the king realized he had sealed Daniel’s fate he was filled with remorse. But the law was the law and Daniel was sealed in the lion’s den.

“ So King Darius gave the order. They brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May the God you serve save you!” 17 A big rock was brought and put over the opening of the lions’ den. Then the king used his ring and put his seal on the rock. He also used the rings of his officials and put their seals on the rock. This showed that no one could move that rock and bring Daniel out of the lion’s den.” Daniel 6:16-17 ERV

“The next morning, King Darius got up just as it was getting light and ran to the lions’ den. 20 He was very worried. When he got to the lions’ den, he called to Daniel. He said, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God been able to save you from the lions? You always serve your God.”

21 Daniel answered, “King, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel to save me. The angel closed the lions’ mouths. The lions have not hurt me because my God knows I am innocent. I never did anything wrong to you, King.” Daniel 6:19-22 ERV

Daniel’s crime was prayer. God’s answer was deliverance. It was then and it still is now.

“So be humble under God’s powerful hand. Then he will lift you up when the right time comes. 7 Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you. 8 Control yourselves and be careful! The devil is your enemy, and he goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to attack and eat. 9 Refuse to follow the devil. Stand strong in your faith.” I Peter 5:6-9 ERV

We have an enemy, the devil, and he is “like” a roaring lion, but he won’t defeat us or devour us if we stand our ground and remain faithful to the Lord. I like to say the devil is a toothless lion because Christ defeated him and stripped him of his powers.

“He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross he won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see.” Colossians 2:15 ERV

The Lord closed the mouths of the lions for Daniel, and He will do the same for us. We have the power in prayer to resist the devil and he must flee!

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Light Up the Night

I remember my grandmother had a Christmas table decoration when I was a small child. It had four small candles and when they were lit the heat from the candles would cause the mobile to turn and the angels would strike a bell causing it to ring.

I would be fascinated for what seemed like hours just watching it.

This morning, as that memory came back, it was also accompanied with some words of Scripture.

“But you are his chosen people, the King’s priests. You are a holy nation, people who belong to God. He chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He brought you out of the darkness of sin into his wonderful light. 10 In the past you were not a special people, but now you are God’s people. Once you had not received mercy, but now God has given you his mercy.” I Peter 2:9-10 ERV

The message of Christmas, Christ is born, is a message of hope and light. Through Christ we are brought into a right relationship with God, the Father. Our relationship with Him is one of mercy, grace and love. We no longer have to live in the darkness of our own futile efforts, we are given His light. After all, He is the light of the world.

Have you ever been to a candle light service where all the lights are off and then one person lights a candle and then they light the candle of the person next to them and so it goes until everyone in the church has a lighted candle and the room is fully illuminated? It’s a memorable experience to say the least.

That’s how we are to be in our world, our sphere of influence – we are to bring in the light, the light of God’s love.

“The sun will no longer be your light during the day. The light from the moon will no longer be your light at night. The Lord will be your light forever. Your God will be your glory.” Isaiah 60:19 ERV

The Lord is our light that shines forever!

When there’s no light we stumble in the darkness. I have stubbed my toe numerous times getting out of bed in a strange place with no light to guide me. The same holds true in our spiritual lives. That’s why God tells us that His word will be a light for our path.

“Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps, a light that shows the path I should take.” Psalm 119:105 ERV

God has chosen to let His light shine through us. He chose us to share His love and goodness with the world. Let’s go out and light up the night!

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Teach the World to Sing

In 1971, the CocaCola company wanted to buy the world a Coke and teach it how to sing but the world had been singing in harmony for thousands of years before they came out with that slogan.

The seasons sing in harmony with the earth as they provide the time and the temperature to produce an abundance of crops; the pull of the moon causes the tide to ebb and flow; the course of the earth’s rotation gives us daylight and dark.

The world is singing in harmony.

It’s the people on earth that need more than a Coke, they need an awareness of the greatest of the Lord.

“Tell everyone on this earth to sing happy songs  in praise of the Lord. 5 Make music for him on harps. Play beautiful melodies! 6 Sound the trumpets and horns and celebrate with joyful songs for our Lord and King! 7 Command the ocean to roar with all of its creatures, and the earth to shout with all of its people. 8 Order the rivers to clap their hands, and all of the hills to sing together. 9 Let them worship the Lord!…” Psalm 98:4-9 CEV

When the Jewish people left Egypt they put into song the marvelous things they had seen the Lord do. Before they entered into their Promised Land, Moses instructed them to tell their children of all the Lord’s mighty works to make sure they didn’t forget the Lord’s power and His protecting love.

It is incumbent upon us to tell our children and our grandchildren, our friends and neighbors, the amazing things the Lord has done. (that’s why I enjoy sharing this blog with you each day)

“Sing a new song to the Lord! He has worked miracles, and with his own powerful arm, he has won the victory. 2 The Lord has shown the nations that he has the power to save and to bring justice. 3 God has been faithful in his love for Israel, and his saving power is seen everywhere on earth.” Psalm 98:1-3 CEV

The “songs” we sing and the stories we tell aren’t just wishful thinking and fairy tales, they are the stories of the Lord’s faithfulness and His love. They are words of life and encouragement. That’s why I encourage you to keep a Gratitude Journal – the works of the Lord in my life, in your life, need to be recorded so others will know why we have such great hope!

“Even if you have to suffer for doing good things, God will bless you. So stop being afraid and don’t worry about what people might do. 15 Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope.” I Peter 3:14-15 CEV

Let’s give the world a new song – a song of hope and the Father’s unconditional love!

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Everything? Yes, Everything!

Sometimes these morning blogs are a little disconcerting. I promised the Lord I would share with you the things He puts on my heart and that means I have to be honest with you about my victories and my failures.

We have only been down from the mountain for eight days and already I have allowed myself to become harried and hurried. Each day this summer, I would watch the sunrise, in all its splendor, and set, in unrivaled beauty. Each sunrise and sunset were a vivid reminder that the Father was in control and I could be at peace. This photograph is one of my favorite’s at end of day.

There has been so much going on since we’ve been home that I have forgotten to let my heart capture that glimpse of God’s glory at the beginning and ending of each day.

This morning my Bible reading took me to II Peter, chapter 1. That is a favorite chapter of mine – because everything, yes everything, that God has blessed us with is spelled out there in just a few verses.

“From Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. To everyone who shares with us in the privilege of believing that our God and Savior Jesus Christ will do what is just and fair. 2 I pray that God will be kind to you and will let you live in perfect peace! May you keep learning more and more about God and our Lord Jesus.

3 We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. 4 God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.

5 Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, 6 self-control, patience, devotion to God, 7 concern for others, and love. 8 If you keep growing in this way, it will show that what you know about our Lord Jesus Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful.” II Peter 1:1-8 CEV

Please take note – these verses are for everyone so that we can live in peace. We have everything we need because we have God’s great and marvelous promises.

Everything, yes everything.

And since we have everything, we should keep growing in goodness, understanding, self-control, patience, devotion to the Father, concern for others and growing in love.

That’s what taking those moments each morning and each evening reminded me to do! They reminded me to let the Father and His promises be my everything – there is nothing I need outside of Him.

Yes, these are all things that we know but sometimes we let them slip from our fore thoughts. So this morning, I took this admonition from the Apostle Peter and it’s one I will pass on to you.

“ You are holding firmly to the truth that you were given. But I am still going to remind you of these things. 13 In fact, I think I should keep on reminding you until I leave this body. ” II Peter 1:12-13 CEV

I’m reminding us, and will continue to remind us, to hold firmly to the knowledge that in Christ we have everything we need.

Everything? Yes, everything!

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Roll Your Works

Oh my goodness, this morning has been filled with prayer and searching! I woke up with so many things on my mind – things that need to be done once we get home – and the list seems endless.

But more than that, my list needs organizing. You know – which comes first – I don’t have the time or the energy for wasted steps. Nor do I believe that the Lord wants me to waste my time and energy. Things need to be done in order.

As I sat down with my thoughts and made them my prayers, I felt the enormity of what lays ahead. Have you ever been there? Certain in your heart that your decision is the right one but also being overwhelmed with all the details. Do you have the strength and the wisdom to do things correctly?

The picture that came to mind this morning was one of pushing a large boulder across a field.

I love how the Father intervenes in my thinking and provides me with the answers I need in each situation. As I saw myself trying to move the impossible this is the verse that came to mind:

“The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the Lord comes the [wise] answer of the tongue. 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits (the thoughts and intents of the heart). 3 Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.” Proverbs 16:1-3 AMPC

Rolling that big rock seemed impossible at first but then the Lord reminded me that I am not alone in this endeavor. He is the one who put this dream in my heart and I can trust Him with every detail, no matter how many there are.

“Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” I Peter 5:7 AMPC

I so enjoy reading these verses in the Amplified Version of the Bible. It certainly elaborates the meaning and intent of the verse. Casting the whole of my care – once and for all on Him!

That big boulder of decisions that I was trying to organize and put in proper order I have now rolled over on Him. I can trust Him to direct my steps and He will see that I succeed.

Thank you Father! Burden lifted and now I can go back to sleep!!

May you, too, roll your care over on the Father and rest in His loving arms!

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Living Hope

Things are so grand on the mountain – the ponderosa pines tower over our campground, the rocks are huge, the elk are massive and the trout are trophy size! I love being here to experience all of this but there is another side to it as well.

When we walk through the forest we are constantly reminded that nothing on this earth lasts forever. There we find trees that have succumbed to fire, lightning or even a fungus or an insect. They lay in a state of decay across the forest floor.

On one of our walks we even found a carcass from a winter past. The bones were whitened by the elements – the rain, the snow and the sun. Life ends and new life comes.

Loss is heartbreaking!

I was reminded just yesterday that Jesus wept at the loss of his friend. He knows the anguish we experience with loss and He provides us with a new and living hope.

“Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. 4 God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.” I Peter 1:3-4 CEV

Christ died but the story doesn’t end there. He didn’t face the decay of death but He rose victoriously from the grave. He defeated death so that we might have new life and new hope.

“Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. 18 And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost. 19 If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else. 20 But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. 21 Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ.” I Corinthians 15:17-21 CEV

It would be easy to become discouraged when loved ones die and we are left with emptiness and heartache. Jesus knew what that would be like for His own disciples when they went through the anguish of His death. These are His words:

“Jesus said, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back. Then I will take you with me, so that you can be where I am.” John 14:1-3 ERV

If you have experienced the lost of a friend or loved one take heart – the separation that we feel here on earth will soon be replaced with an eternity of joy in heaven!

We have that living hope!

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