http://youtu.be/J4xm2mtDj2c - This Life - Mercy Me
Adversity is an opportunity to let His light shine through me.
Can you imagine what it must have been like for the early church?
Persecution was almost unbearable. Christians were being tortured and murdered for their beliefs. They were forced to flee from their homes to protect their families from certain death. They had to leave everything they had known and sometimes that was other family members who had not accepted the message of Hope that Christ offered. They just left everything. These uprooted Christians could easily get discouraged and wonder if the message they had accepted was real. You can be sure the Enemy played on their emotions, feeding them lies, doing anything to shake their faith.
Then Peter who understood very well about persecution writes a letter of encouragement to them.
He reminded them that God the Father had chosen them. He repeated the message that they had already received. He gave them Hope that comes from the knowledge of the gospel. He told them
everything that they were enduring would be worth it. Whatever price they had to pay, Eternity with God was worth every tear, every struggle, every suffering.
I tried to read this letter of encouragement today, thinking how much it must have meant to those persecuted Christians. As I read, I thought how often I can have those same discouraging thoughts. No, I have not been tortured and forced to leave my home. Most of my family and friends are believers so I don't worry about being ostracized because of my faith. But there are days when I feel overwhelmed and wonder why God won't make my struggles go away. In my heart, I know His plan is best. I know He loves me and I trust Him completely. But still, why? Why does it have to be so hard?
I see others who seem to have it so easy. They go about their lives doing whatever they want to do, without a thought of how God wants them to live. And everything seems to go their way. What's up with that? It's not fair. At least from my earthly perspective.
The problem is that I forget that this world is not my home. For a little while, Satan is prince of this world. Of course he would want evil to look enticing. Of course he would make a godless life seem attractive, successful, blessed. He is the master of deception and wants to destroy you and me, and everything that matters to us. What better way than to lure us into his pit than by making his way seem so pleasant.
I know without a doubt that God is more powerful than the Enemy. But for a little while, He has given Satan power on earth. But... He also gave us Power over the Enemy through Christ. Whatever Satan throws at us, God gives us His Strength and His wisdom to overcome any challenge. And when we listen to God and follow His plan for living a godly life, we come out stronger and better able to be His witness to others. Those very struggles that Satan tries to use to destroy us, God can use to make us stronger in our faith.
Whatever we face on earth can be used for good if we follow God. This life is so short. While we are here, we have two choices: to live for Christ or to live for ourselves. Every trial we face can be either a living testimony to our trust in the Lord, or we can allow Satan to use it to tear us down and destroy our witness. I want my life to be a living sacrifice of praise and gratitude for all Christ has done for me. I want others to see me rising victoriously through every obstacle, every adversity. I can't do it on my own, but Jesus has promised to give me everything I need to live a godly life that honors Him.
This is the beginning of Peter's love letter to believers who have been facing such persecution and hardship. He understood the pain and suffering. But he also knew what a precious gift they had been given. Eternal life through Christ! That's what he wanted them to remember. He wanted them to know it was all going to be worth it.
If you have a moment, read all of 1 Peter. It is packed with words of hope and encouragement.
1 Peter 1 New Living Translation (NLT)
Greetings from Peter
This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace.
The Hope of Eternal Life
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.
This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when He told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and His great glory afterward.
They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
A Call to Holy Living
So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as “foreigners in the land.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose Him as your ransom long before the world began, but He has now revealed Him to you in these last days.
Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because He raised Christ from the dead and gave Him great glory.
You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say,
“People are like grass;
their beauty is like a flower in the field.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
But the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.
As the old song goes "I never promised you a rose garden". Faith isn't faith until it's tested, right?
Faith is believing when you can't see. Trusting God's way when your way seems so much better. I can truly say the struggles have made me draw closer to God. My faith has been tested, not as much as some others, but, but like Paul, I know in whom I believe and I know that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him for that Day.
1 Timothy 1:8-12 NKJV
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
Peter's letter to the believers was full of love and encouragement and hope. He wanted them to understand that as hard as it was, they were not alone. He wanted them to know that the Holy Spirit was with them every single step. And to the degree they were willing to allow HIM access, they could tap in to the Power and Strength of God, through His Holy Spirit living in them.
This verse in 2 Peter is what started me thinking about my walk with Christ this morning. I feel so inadequate to live a godly life. Like Paul, I too, feel that the good I want to do, I don't. And the things I should not do, that's what I do. But I don't have to live like that. I have the strength, courage, and power to live each day for Christ - through His Strength. He has given me everything I need. Thank You, Lord.
2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
"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."
It's not about me.
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