There are three books in the Bible that got me through my teen years. Proverbs- because it helped me to understand the difference between right and wrong. Psalms- because it comforted me through all my trials and tribulations and First Peter- because it helped give me practical advise on how to live the Christian life.
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled: set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that is was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. For, now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “ All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.- 1 Peter 1: 13 - 1 Peter 2:3
Today, I will talk about First Peter chapter one verses 13 through chapter two verse 3. In chapter 1 verse thirteen Peter tells us, “PREPARE YOUR MINDS FOR ACTION.” How practical is that? Sometimes we go to school and someone will tease us, perhaps for being a Christian. Someone might ask us to do something that we know is not right today. Peter tells us to prepare ourselves for the spiritual battles that will surely happen. ”Can I cheat off your test Katya?” “Nobody is looking let’s steal that phone Oleg?”
So, we have to mentally and spiritually prepare to say”no” when someone wants to gossip and make fun of a classmate. We have to be mentally and spiritually prepared to say “no” each and every time that we are offered drugs. We have to understand that when we are tempted to sleep with someone outside of Holy Matrimony we must challenge that thought as soon as it comes to our mind by praying and deciding to follow Jesus instead of our feelings. First Peter at its’ core teaches us how to develop a holy lifestyle. I personally think he was writing for teenagers.
Peter shows us two ways that we can develop a holy lifestyle:
1. FOCUS ON JESUS :To do the right thing, we must keep focused on Christ. Continuing in First Peter it says, “Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” We need to have the understanding that Jesus has wonderful plans for our future better than we can plan for ourselves. You will see those plans unfold over time. What kind of job will you do when you get out of school or who will you marry? You have to be patient. Peter knew something about staying completely focused on Christ. Jesus told Peter that he could walk on water. You can read that story in Matthew 14: 22-33 or in Mark or John’s Gospel. Peter was walking on water. He was doing it, until he started focusing on his fears and not on Jesus. Then, suddenly he started to drown. Staying focused on Jesus means we won’t drown in bad things that are happening around us.
Focusing on Jesus also means remembering all that Christ is and all that He has done for mankind. He is not a distant God. He came to earth and lived and struggled the way we do. He died in our place. How do we respond to that. We decide to live a good life and appreciate all that our God has done for us.
2. OBEY GODS LAWS :Verse 14 says “As obedient children, do not conform to evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” Maybe you didn’t grow up in a Christian home. You didn’t know it was wrong to curse. You saw people around you getting drunk, so you thought that was okay. But, now you know better.
Be honest in prayer with God and with yourself about the things that tempt you. Each one of us is different. Some of us struggle with gossip, or greed. Some of us struggle with jealousy or anger. God can empower us to overcome whatever our shortcomings are. Obeying God’s laws or doing things in a godly way helps us to stay focused on the right things such as doing our homework, sports or other good hobbies.
In verse 17, it tells us that we should live our “lives as strangers.” What does that mean?? Being a Christian is being different in a very good way. It means being part of the solution, not the problem. It means instead of lying, we are telling the truth. We aren’t ganging up to bully other kids. It means we’re nor wasting our time looking at bad images on our phone. Verse 22 says that obeying God purifies us and creates a heart that can genuinely love. This means you will have better friendships and relationships with teachers and family. Eventually, if you are a godly person it will help ensure that you have a good relationship with a boss or even a husband or wife.Wow, a lot of good things happen when you choose to obey God.
My parents were two poor emigrants to the United States. My family was kind of messed up. They got divorced when I was 13 yrs old. They weren’t really there for me in many ways. I had to make it on my own. But, luckily I was not alone because I had God in my life. By focusing on Jesus and obeying God’s laws I was able to stay out of trouble in high school. Kids offered me drugs but I knew that, “my body was a temple of the Holy Spirit’-1 Corinthians 6:19, so I said, ‘no.’
I didn’t know it until much later but, following God allowed me to focus on being a good student. I was the first person in my family to go to university. I hiked, and biked and did craft projects. God gave me an ability in science so that I could get a job that I enjoyed. I prayed for a godly husband and I am very happy in my marriage. I did not get a divorce like my parents did. What will following God help you to achieve?
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Good Marriage Samaritan
Here is an excerpt from a recent ladies ministry event that I spoke at.
I've learned first hand how God can use people to touch lives. Here is the story of two people. I call this the story of the Good Marriage Samaritan. Vera* was one of the very first friends that my mother made when she emigrated to the United States from Europe as a young child. After my mother passed away, Vera was like a second mother to me. As time went by, we grew very close. I visited her and made sure to phone her regularly. She had given up driving, so I made an effort to take her food shopping from time to time and drive her places that she needed to go. We enjoyed craft projects and doing puzzles together. She was much better at them than I was.
One day, on one such visit, we were clipping coupons in her living room. (Vera was a prodigious coupon collector and practically spent nothing on her grocery bill). Anyway, it seemed quite out of the blue when she told me that she had something on her mind that she needed to talk to me about. Something that had bothered her for a long time. She told me that when she and my mother were young, that my mother had came to her seeking marital advise on a number of occasions. Vera told me that although she had attended church and knew that she should help people in need, that she completely failed to give my mother any piece of helpful advise.
Furthermore, she told me that she resented my mother even calling her about this when she had been so busy with her own life. After all, Vera reminded me, that at the time she had a job, and six children to raise. So, she reasoned, she had no time for my mother's problems. At that time in her life, she thought that going to church regularly and occasionally helping at church events was all that was required, but now, she thought better of that. She now believed she might have made a difference in the life of my family. Vera wanted my forgiveness. I readily gave her that forgiveness, even as I struggled with the meaning of it all. I wondered why so many Christians failed to have true charity in their hearts at moments like this. I wondered why we have such superficial relationships and fail to truly make a difference for Christ.
Then, there was Dan*. Dan was a partner in an antique business close to a popular Christian retreat center in New Jersey. He was a divorced father of two and former police officer. Dan saw his marriage fail as the pressures of his law enforcement career mounted. It was after that divorce, in the process of picking up the pieces of his broken life that he became a Christian. His whole life changed as he started to study the Bible and begin to see what God's plan for his life had been. He started to come to terms with his failure to be a godly husband and how those mistakes had cost him his marriage. Out of this, grew a personal crusade to share the message of godly marriages and to help those struggling in this area. He quickly became an expert on everything the Bible had to say about marriage and shared it with everyone who came into his antique store.
The summer that I met Dan, I had rented a house in the vicinity so that my family and I could immerse ourselves in various Christian activities. My teenage daughter's rebellion had taken a toll on our family and especially my marriage. God must have used my love of antiques to bring me together with Dan. In the most godly way imaginable, as I went to pay for my purchases, Dan offered me a free CD set that he had made about what the Bible said about marriage. "Would you like me to put that in your bag Ma'am?" At that moment, I felt like I was in some sort of alternative universe! "Yes," I said. Just when I needed help the most, someone reached out to me. He helped save my marriage.
Who do you think is the Good Marriage Samaritan?
*the names are changed, the stories are not.
I've learned first hand how God can use people to touch lives. Here is the story of two people. I call this the story of the Good Marriage Samaritan. Vera* was one of the very first friends that my mother made when she emigrated to the United States from Europe as a young child. After my mother passed away, Vera was like a second mother to me. As time went by, we grew very close. I visited her and made sure to phone her regularly. She had given up driving, so I made an effort to take her food shopping from time to time and drive her places that she needed to go. We enjoyed craft projects and doing puzzles together. She was much better at them than I was.
One day, on one such visit, we were clipping coupons in her living room. (Vera was a prodigious coupon collector and practically spent nothing on her grocery bill). Anyway, it seemed quite out of the blue when she told me that she had something on her mind that she needed to talk to me about. Something that had bothered her for a long time. She told me that when she and my mother were young, that my mother had came to her seeking marital advise on a number of occasions. Vera told me that although she had attended church and knew that she should help people in need, that she completely failed to give my mother any piece of helpful advise.
Furthermore, she told me that she resented my mother even calling her about this when she had been so busy with her own life. After all, Vera reminded me, that at the time she had a job, and six children to raise. So, she reasoned, she had no time for my mother's problems. At that time in her life, she thought that going to church regularly and occasionally helping at church events was all that was required, but now, she thought better of that. She now believed she might have made a difference in the life of my family. Vera wanted my forgiveness. I readily gave her that forgiveness, even as I struggled with the meaning of it all. I wondered why so many Christians failed to have true charity in their hearts at moments like this. I wondered why we have such superficial relationships and fail to truly make a difference for Christ.
Then, there was Dan*. Dan was a partner in an antique business close to a popular Christian retreat center in New Jersey. He was a divorced father of two and former police officer. Dan saw his marriage fail as the pressures of his law enforcement career mounted. It was after that divorce, in the process of picking up the pieces of his broken life that he became a Christian. His whole life changed as he started to study the Bible and begin to see what God's plan for his life had been. He started to come to terms with his failure to be a godly husband and how those mistakes had cost him his marriage. Out of this, grew a personal crusade to share the message of godly marriages and to help those struggling in this area. He quickly became an expert on everything the Bible had to say about marriage and shared it with everyone who came into his antique store.
The summer that I met Dan, I had rented a house in the vicinity so that my family and I could immerse ourselves in various Christian activities. My teenage daughter's rebellion had taken a toll on our family and especially my marriage. God must have used my love of antiques to bring me together with Dan. In the most godly way imaginable, as I went to pay for my purchases, Dan offered me a free CD set that he had made about what the Bible said about marriage. "Would you like me to put that in your bag Ma'am?" At that moment, I felt like I was in some sort of alternative universe! "Yes," I said. Just when I needed help the most, someone reached out to me. He helped save my marriage.
Who do you think is the Good Marriage Samaritan?
*the names are changed, the stories are not.
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