Craig Cooper

We discover in the New Testament Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. It is a friendly letter written from Paul to a church he deeply loved. Some have called Philippians Paul’s most upbeat letter mentioning joy and rejoicing sixteen times. This is fascinating, considering that Paul is writing from prison. Paul challenges Christian’s, while he is in chains, to: “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). The whole of the letter could be summed up that when we live in the joy of the Lord, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7).

Specifically, Paul writes:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:6-7).

Paul writes to prevent the believer from worry because he does not want them to suffer the negative consequences of worrying. Perhaps, he is reflecting on Jesus’ own counsel (see: Matt 6:25-34). The source of worrying comes from doubting God’s ability to help. Think of it this way. When we worry, we perceive a future without God present and working. Instead, Paul counsels us to tell God our needs.

The believer is to pray with an attitude of worship to the Lord. Practically when we begin to worry, we need to find time to worship God. It’s important to be reminded of and affirm the Lord’s greatness. We need to proclaim God’s limitless power and love. God is big enough to deal with our problems, and He cares enough to do so.

Not only do we come to the Lord with an attitude of worship, but we do so openly sharing our needs. If we truly believe God cares and desires for us to present our needs to Him, we will do so with spiritual intensity, praying as Jesus did, “God’s will be done” (Matt 26:39). We can pray such a prayer when we believe God is capable and willing to act lovingly and faultlessly for His glory, our blessing, and the benefit of others.

Not only do we come to the Lord with an attitude of worship, openly sharing our needs, but also with thanksgiving. We are to thank God for past blessings. When we look at how the Lord has worked in the past, with thankfulness, we are empowered by the Spirit to face the future with thankful anticipation. We can pray, believing God is on the scene while walking confidently into God’s preferred future for us.

Such prayer and thankfulness open the floodgates for God’s peace to wash over us. The Lord’s peace will “guard our hearts and our minds.” Paul is borrowing from a military term presenting the picture of a squad of soldiers guarding a town. We are to understand that God’s peace will stand guard over our hearts and minds.

For years I looked to Philippians 4:6-7 to find peace, and one day the word thanksgiving just jumped out at me. I had read and recited it before, but I received this passage with a heightened understanding of the importance of thanksgiving. God’s peace and joy are ignited in the heart of a believer who is quick to recognize God’s workings (past, present, and future) with thankfulness. God’s desire for each of us is to be filled with His joy and peace. This becomes a reality, in part, as we rejoice in the Lord, with thankfulness, for who He is, as well as what He has done and is doing.

It is my privilege to rejoice in the Lord with each of you. Let us encourage one another to pray with an attitude of worship, openly sharing our needs with thanksgiving. Genuine prayer with thanksgiving lead to peace and joy filling and flowing from our lives. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!

First Peter, a letter written by the Apostle Paul nearly 2,000 years ago, was written to churches not very different from our very own. The churches Peter wrote were facing persecution. As followers of Christ, we are called to live out our faith in a world that often does not understand us and sometimes is quite antagonistic. Every believer who is walking with Jesus faces a certain amount of persecution. We may face it at school or at our workplace. We may face it as we meet with others in our neighborhoods and out in our community. We may even face it in our very homes.

We live in a world that is not our home, but desperately needs God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. Therefore, Peter does not want us to be surprised by opposition but see it as an opportunity to live out our faith showing the difference life in Christ makes. There was persecution of the church during the time of Peter, and there is in our time as well. In fact, Open Doors USA reports that each month throughout the world: “322 Christians are killed for their faith; 214 churches and church properties are destroyed; 722 forms of violence are committed against Christians (such as beatings, abductions, rapes, arrests, and forced marriage).” These stats are staggering. The Good News is that God is still in control.

Peter ends his letter, where he began, encouraging believers to endure suffering with Christlike faith. The believer is to be identified in Christ and represent Christ in all circumstances. There is no greater apologetic to the world than for the believer to display the love of God while sharing His message of hope and salvation. Therefore, Peter teaches how the Christian can have joyful endurance by standing firm by the power of Christ in all circumstances and at all times.

Peter explains in 1 Peter 4:12-19 that believers need to be aware that trials will come and that they are used by God to purify our faith. Interestingly, it is Peter who writes these words. On one occasion Peter told Jesus to avoid the suffering of the cross (see: Mark 8:32-33). Think about it. Once, it seemed strange to Peter that Jesus should think of suffering. Now Peter thinks it odd that He could have imagined anything else. How then does a Christian who believes God is faithful and absolutely trustworthy handle trials and persecution with joyful endurance? Believers experience joyful endurance in all circumstances by understanding trials refines us while committing themselves to trust God.

Peter in 1 Peter 5:6-7 describes what this practically looks like in the life of a believer. Peter explains that joyful endurance in all circumstances for the believes comes as they humble themselves, are alert, resist the enemy, and submit to Christ, trusting He is able to meet their needs. In truth, believers experiencing joyful endurance, living in hope in a world not their home, will have the peace of Christ rule in their lives.

Peter encourages believers to place their hope in Christ at all times in all circumstances. Christians are going to experience trials, persecution, and attacks from the enemy, but they can stand firm in Christ. As the believer trusts in the Lord, He will give him everything needed to walk with Him in joyful endurance.

It is my privilege to walk with Christ with each of you. I pray that we will walk with joyful endurance in the living hope we have in Christ. What a blessing to have such hope in a world not our home. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!

First Peter is written to the early church that has been scattered throughout the Roman Empire. The church is growing and experiencing persecution of various kinds. Peter encourages them that God is still in control and that suffering for the sake of Christ is noble and good. Life may have its difficulties, but God is always good, and for Christians, there’s a much better day ahead in paradise. Christians live with a living hope in a world, not our home and we do so asking and participating in “God’s kingdom coming and His will being done on earth as it is in heaven.”

In First Peter 4:7-11 and 5:1-5, Peter describes what it means to follow and lead in humility by following the example of Jesus Christ. What we are talking about here is servant leadership. This leads us to a crucial question. What does servant leadership look like? Peter begins, in verse 7, declaring that Christ is going to return and we need to be ready. The believer needs to be prayerful. In fact, if we really believe that we live in the last days, it is all the more appropriate that we give ourselves to prayer.

Then, Peter, in verses 8-9, teaches that Christians need to love like Jesus. Christian love means that we treat others the way God treats us. For instance, God forgives us, and we need to forgive one another. Where love abounds forgiveness flourishes. Peter writes that Christian love is, among other things, forgiving. Christian love also displays hospitality. Christian love involves faithfulness, commitment, and an act of the will. It is distinguished from the other types of love by its lofty moral nature and strong character. Paul describes Christian love beautifully in First Corinthians 13.

Peter addresses our service to one another. He teaches that every Christian receives a spiritual gift from God and that every gift is important. These gifts are given to those in the church to fulfill God’s mission to know Him and make Him known. Even the smallest gift or part is important in Christ’s body, His church. I heard the story of a man rebuilding an engine for his lawnmower. When he finished, he had one small part left over. He carefully started the engine, and it ran like new. He proceeded to mow his lawn. After he was finished, he went to turn the mower off, and it wouldn’t stop! Here’s the point: Even the smallest piece is an important part of Christ’s church. These gifts are graces given to us by God. The simple truth is that the grace of God is wasted when it only comes to us and not moved on from us to others. In our service to others, God receives the glory. After all, God is the only one that is all-powerful and deserving of ultimate glory.

The first five verses of First Peter chapter five continues the theme of servant leadership by addressing church leaders. Church leaders or under-shepherds should be living patterns or models of the “Chief Shepherd,” Jesus Christ. The church leader must be a person who walks with God and who is growing in Him. This is true for each and every believer. Peter makes this point by encouraging the Christ-follower to “clothe” themselves with humility. What does the clothing of humility look like? Humility is willing to perform the lowest and littlest service for Jesus’ sake. Humility is conscious of our inability to do anything with eternal value apart from God. Humility is willing to serve without recognition. Humility is not self-deprecating, but self-forgetting, being truly others-centered instead of self-centered. The 19^th-century British preacher, Charles Spurgeon, once said: “If you are willing to be nothing, God will make something of you.”

To sum up Peter’s teaching on servant leadership and to answer what servant leadership looks like I would say: “Servant leadership looks like a believer who is serious about their relationship with God, prayerful, and selflessly sharing God’s love with others in tangible ways.” We live in a world filled with trials and hardships, yet, as believers, we have a living hope in Jesus Christ and the promise of an eternal inheritance. What the church needs today, as it did in Peter’s day, are those who are willing to take the position of a servant…the church needs servant leaders.

It’s a privilege to journey with Christ, along with each of you. Let us encourage one another to follow the Lord’s example and be servant leaders. We all have a part to play as part of Christ’s body, His church. Let us surrender ourselves to Him, experiencing His love, as we allow Him to use us to share His love with others. Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory)!

In First Peter, we discover a letter written to a suffering church. It is a suffering church, but, as believers, they have hope in a world not their own. The question Peter seeks to answer is: How are believers to navigate life in a world that often feels out of control? The answer: We trek the divine pathways. We walk according to God’s ordained will for us that ultimately leads to eternity with Him.

We discover in 1 Peter 3:18 one of the shortest and simplest yet profound statements in the Bible of the meaning of what the finished work of Christ on the cross has accomplished. To paraphrase: “Because Christ has suffered once and for all for my sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might present us to God, being, in fact, put to death bodily on the cross, yet alive in His spirit, by His own divine power and the power of the Holy Spirit He offers eternal life to all who believe in Him for salvation.” Jesus has dealt with the problem of humanities broken relationship with God in three ways: (1) Jesus made the perfect offering for sin. (2) Jesus endured death due to the unrighteousness (sin) of humanity paying the penalty of sin. (3) Jesus thereby removed the barrier caused by sin and opened the way back to God.

Peter continues in 1 Peter 3:19-22 with a long comparison, which has caused more controversy than any other passage in his letter. As complex as the passage is, the main points are quite clear.

•  Christians need to expect opposition.

•  Christians need to serve God by faith.

•  Christians need to be encouraged because we are identified with Christ’s victory.

•  Christians need to trust in Jesus Christ as the only Savior and share this truth with the world around us who need to hear the Gospel.

Simply stated: Believers walk divine pathways when they identify more closely to Christ.

Identifying with Jesus is crucial if we are to walk the divine pathways God has called us to walk. Only through identifying with Christ can we realize we are never alone, for Christ is with us in every circumstance of life into which we invite Him. Christ opened the door by His finished work on the cross, and as we identify with Him, we are empowered to walk with Him victoriously as His witness to those who have yet to believe.

Then, in 1 Peter 4:1-6, Peter writes of the importance of having a Christlike attitude, a militant attitude, towards sin if we are to walk the divine pathways. Living like Christ at all times, especially in times of hardship and suffering, requires that the believer maintain a Christlike attitude. They are to live for the present in God’s will. They do this knowing that they will live for eternity in Christ’s presence. Peter challenges believers to arm themselves with the same courageous attitude Christ had in His suffering when He conquered the destructive consequences of sin. We are called in this earthly life to overcome sinful desires and allow the Spirit to make us more and more like Christ resulting in holiness of heart and life – Christlike living.

This is why a believers interaction with those yet to believe is important to them since we are massagers of the truth of the salvation they need in Christ. When we, as believers, are attacked for merely being Christlike, we are to embrace it as an opportunity to be a witness of the Lord to them. The last earthly effect of sin is physical death. But, here is the believer’s great assurance. Those who have received the Gospel in their lifetime, but die, although they will be “judged” as all people will, but because they believed, God will give them eternal life. The divine pathway God sets us on leads to glory, eternity with the Lord.

Therefore, we walk divine pathways not just by identifying more closely to Christ, but when we testify to God’s workings in us. We are empowered to live such a life when we surrender to God, allowing His Spirit to lead and empower us. If we want to walk the divine pathways God has set for us, we need to continually preach the good news of our salvation and destiny in Christ to ourselves! We need to rehearse it every day! And we need to be in community with other believers who will speak this same Good News to us on a regular basis.

Imagine what it would look like to walk divine pathways with our Lord. We would celebrate as we identify more closely with Him and courageously testify to others of His marvelous workings in us. We would share in Christ victory while sharing the Good News with others that such a life is possible. We would genuinely trust Christ in all circumstances. We would believe in what He has done for us on the cross. We would rely on the resurrection power that is working in and through us. We would trust in our future destiny with Him for eternity. Now that is a divine pathway.

It is a privilege trekking with each of you in Christ. Let’s commit together to walk God’s divine pathways for each of us. As we identify more closely with Him and testify to His workings in us, this will be a genuine reality in our life. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!

Persecution is certainly not new to God’s people. Throughout human history, God’s people have faced the brunt of all kinds of heinous acts. Peter, in 1 Peter, writes to prepare believers for times of suffering. He answers the question: How is the believer to face persecution as shameless sufferers?

We discover in 1 Peter 3:13-14 that Peter challenges believers to always answer evil with good. Now, Peter lived in the real world, and he knew that evil exists and people hurt people. Therefore, he encourages the Christ-follower to not give up on doing good. Jesus taught us not to fear human persecutors, who can’t rob you of your salvation, but have reverence and trust in God who determines our human destinies based on our response to Christ (see: Matt 10:28). As believers, God will care for us, especially when we suffer unjustly. Though the adversary, through physical suffering or material hardship, would distress those who desire to do good, no real harm can come to those who belong to Christ. For even if suffering should occur, Christians are eternally blessed and therefore should not be frightened. How does a believer face persecution as shameless sufferers? A believer does not fear threats of persecutions. The believer is to allow their faith to overcome fear enabling them to continue to do good.

Then, in 1 Peter 3:15-16, Peter writes that the Christian, instead of being afraid, is to honor Christ. In other words, a believer believes God is with them. As Christ-followers, we are to acknowledge God, as the very center of life, there is one Lord, who is Jesus Christ. Now, we can allow other things to invade the center of our heart, where the Lord alone is to sit. We can either have Christ as Lord or we can wrongly permit other things to take His place and lord over us. We can bow to our own selfish desires, the opinion of others, worldly wisdom, the pressure of circumstances, and the list goes on and on. However, the believer is to acknowledge Jesus Christ and Him alone as Lord and Savior.

How does a believer who believes God is with them behave? They make sure Christ controls their heart. When Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives, each crisis becomes an opportunity for witness.  A crisis creates the opportunity for witness when a believer behaves with faith and hope because those who have yet to receive Christ as Savior will then sit up and take notice. As Christ controls their heart, they are ready to answer those who question their faith. Not only that, but we are to do this with a good conscience. A good conscience comes from living and responding in love. Time and time again, throughout the ages, God has used the good conduct of Christians under persecution to make persecutors ashamed and draw them to Himself.

Lastly, Peter writes: “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:17). None of us want to suffer. But if we must, may it be for “doing good” and not for “doing evil.” Shameless suffering is when we are persecuted for “doing good.”

It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. Those who suffer for good receive a blessing. Those who suffer due to evil get what they deserve.

Again, none of us wants to suffer, but when we do, for Christ’s sake, we don’t have to fear. We know God is with us. As we place our trust in Christ and He controls our hearts, we can use suffering as an opportunity to share the reason for our hope with those yet to believe and do so in a way that displays love for others and respect for God. We can do all of this by the power of the Spirit. Even further, we can do this with confidence in the eternal blessings awaiting those who believe.

It is such an honor serving Christ with each of you. Life is not always easy, but God is always faithful. Let’s heed Peter’s teaching and, even in the face of suffering, continue to walk with Christ doing good. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!

We live in a world, not our home, but one where we live as ambassadors of Christ desiring our Lord’s Kingdom to come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. We desire this for the world, however, when we bring this hope into the scope of our personal lives, we begin to consider the relationships with have with others. Peter, in the third chapter of his first letter, describes how a husband and wife are to relate to one another, as well as how all believers are to relate to others. Peter desires for the church’s witness for Christ to be effective. He begins by teaching on the sacred relationship of marriage.

In 1 Peter 3:1-2, Peter begins by writing to Christian wives. The teaching about the relationship between a wife and her husband was especially relevant to the first-century married woman who had started to follow Jesus. Christian wives with unsaved husbands were prominent in the early church. She would ask questions such as “Should I leave my husband?” or “Should I change my behavior towards him?” or “Should I assume a superior position to him because I am in Jesus?” Peter decides to answer these questions by addressing: “How will you see your husband saved?”

There can be significant conflict when one spouse is a believer, and the other is not. This has always been the case. It carried great weight in the first century where it was unthinkable for a wife to adopt a different religion than her husband. Christian women who came to Jesus before their husband needed instruction. Peter writes that their husbands “may be won,” gained, or acquired for the Kingdom, not by continual complaining or faultfinding, but by the way, they, as wives, behave. He, in 1 Peter 3:3-4, challenges wives to focus on their inward beauty, even pulling examples from women of faith from times past (see: 1 Peter 2:5-6). Godly love is powerfully attractive. The simple truth is that those who refuse to hear the Gospel will find it difficult to look away when it is being lived. So Peter instructs wives to love and respect their husbands.

Peter then turns his attention to husbands. In 1 Peter 3:7, we discover that a husband is to live with his wife in a manner that recognizes the loving, selfless nature of the marriage relationship. Scripture teaches that men and women complement one another as a married couple. Therefore, a husband is not to be demeaning or domineering, but have a special place of respect in his heart for his wife. Peter even warns that discord hinders our prayers. In other words, failure to live as godly husbands has spiritual consequences. The simple truth is that husbands, like their wives, are to love and respect their wives.

Peter then leaves the field of married couples and concludes with a summary of the attitudes Christians, as the family of God, should demonstrate to others, in both their actions and reactions. In 1 Peter 3:8-12, Peter instructs believers to “have a unity of mind.” The problem is that most of us are willing to “have unity of mind,” as long as that “unity” is with our own mind! Our mind needs to be conformed into Christlike thinking. A “unity of mind” speaks of unity in Christ desiring His will in all things. When we look at the example and teachings of Christ, we discover a selfless servant who even loved his enemies. For a believer to follow in His footsteps takes having faith that God cares for and rewards those who trust in Him. God’s call for the believer is to live under a general principle of love and respect for others.

I believe all of us desire to be loved and respected. Love and respect do not mean that we agree or approve of another’s actions. It doesn’t mean we choose to follow directives that go against God’s known will for us in His Word – the Bible. Love and respect mean seeing others as being image-bearers of God. Selflessly desiring God’s best for them and being aware of the impact of our witness. Imagine what it would look like to trust God, allowing Him to be our foundation and security. Imagine the impact not just on our lives, but on the lives of those around us as we, by the Spirit’s power and leading, love, and respect others. The question we need to answer is this, as ambassadors of Christ will we, by the Spirit’s power and leading, love, and respect others?

It is a privilege following Christ with each of you. It is not easy loving and respecting others, especially when they don’t love and respect us. However, when we allow the Spirit to make us more like Christ and trust in God’s goodness, we are unleashed to be supernatural witnesses for the Lord that not only blesses us but benefits others. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!

God has called believers out of this world to be His ambassadors to the homes, neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces where we live. We live in a world that is not our home, but where we have hope in Christ, and it is His hope we are called to share with the world around us. The simple truth is that the hope of Christ is witnessed through the lives of those growing to become more and more like Jesus (see: 2 Cor 3:16-8).

Peter, in the second chapter of his first epistle, verses 11-25, explains how a believer is to engage in Christlike living. In verses 11-12, he states that Christlike living involves dealing rightly with sin  (lack of living in alignment with God’s will for us). Peter urges the believer to fight against the lusts of the flesh (sinful nature or inclination). This battle continues as long as we live in the flesh (human body this side of paradise). Paul writes of this battle: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). The only way to conquer the flesh is to yield to the Spirit. As believers, we are to walk in alignment with God’s Word by the power of the Spirit. As a believer walks this way, they grow in greater likeness to Christ and in their witness to others.

Peter continues in verses 13-17, drawing our attention to the reality that Christlike living involves honoring God by living respectably towards human institutions. Human institutions are social establishments such as home and state. God has established these institutions for people (see: Rom 13:1-7). For the Lord’s sake, believers are to honor them. In other words, to dishonor these institutions dishonors God. As Christians, we ought to be good citizens, submitting to government, when their laws do not violate God’s laws. Why? Because Peter knew that our conduct is a way to defend the Gospel. Those who have never read the Bible will read our lives. What does such Christlike living look like amidst human institutions? We are to honor everyone, being concerned for the welfare of all people. We are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to fear God, revere Him, respect Him, stand in awe of Him, and love Him. We are to give our ultimate loyalty to God but respect civil rulers. Such a life shows love for our Lord and allows our witness to shine throughout our society.

Then, Peter writes in verses 18-20 that Christlike living involves choosing to respond in all circumstances in a way that points to Jesus. Peter uses as an example among the most disadvantaged in his contemporary society, household servants. This passage has been a difficult one for some to explore mainly because it does not denounce such servitude, but we must look at it in context. The whole of Scripture does not condone servitude or slavery. In fact, it was those who understood scriptural teaching who fought to abolish slavery in England and here in the United States. In Peters day, household servants often had more economic and social mobility than free agricultural workers or peasants, although most of them did not have much. A large portion of the early church was made up of household servants. How does such a passage apply to us today? This passage could be seen about employee/employer relationships today. However, keep in mind, unlike the freedom many, if not all of us have to leave a bad place of employment, these servants only had a choice of how they would react. Peter challenges believers to be respectful to those over them and to endure for Christ’s sake, even in suffering. Suffering is not a blessing in and of itself, but, if one’s duty to God is involved (see: Acts 4:20), then on can meet it with a joyful heart (see: Matt 5:10-12). Such a life advances our walk with the Lord and witness to others.

Lastly, Peter in verses 21-25 explains that Christlike living involves following in Christ’s steps. Peter, who was an eyewitness to the Lord’s suffering uses our Lord’s torture and salvific act of dying on the cross for our sins to exemplify the Lord’s commitment to selflessly endure suffering for God’s glory and our benefit. Further, Peter encourages us by reminding believers that we have been spiritually healed by Christ. Christ heals our sin in that He by one suffering put away sin forever (see: Isa 53:5). The encouragement to believers who suffer is that a person may bring harm to your body, but through Christ’s suffering sacrifice, no one can harm your soul. Through Christ’s example and salvific act, believers can be assured of their salvation, grow in their walk with Him, as well as, in our witness for Him.

The world Peter lived in was not much different from our own. For sure, we live in an age with a greater understanding of the universe and where technology is far advanced from the world in which Peter lived. But, the spiritual and cultural challenges to those desiring to live Christlike lives are the same. We still live in a world, not our home, where our hope is found in Christ. We still are challenged to take a stand against sin in our lives, to honor those in authority over us, and seek to follow the example of Jesus in all circumstances – to follow in His steps. This kind of conduct stands as a true witness to others to belief, silence the tongue of accusers, and bring approval from God.

It is such a joy serving the Lord with each of you. Imagine the power in our lives as we grow in Christlikeness as well as the exponential witness we will have for Christ. Soli Deo Gloria (glory to God alone)!

You do not need me to tell you that as believers, we live in a world that is not our home, but desperately needs God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. In response to this reality, Peter writes in First Peter on how then a believer ought to live. Peter describes how God’s sanctifying work in the life of a believer produces Christlike love for others. This love is not to be expected from those who don’t know Christ, because it can only be produced in a life filled with the Spirit of God and empowered by Him. In the most genuine sense, a person must be in fellowship with Christ to live like Christ. Peter explains that our living like Christ is rooted in the fact that we have been called by God and to live on mission with Him.

Peter writes, in First Peter 2:4-5, that God has actually called us to walk in fellowship with Him. Peter presents us with an image of Christ being the foundation of a cathedral and believers being the bricks stacked upon Him in its construction. He also draws from the Old Testament priesthood and sacrifices to pronounce that every believer today is a priest, unto the Lord, who is to present Him with spiritual sacrifices. When we offer God our lives and offer Him our love as well as love others, He accepts it as an offering with joy.

Peter continues, in First Peter 2:6-8, to describe how a believer who lives in fellowship with God treasures Christ. If we are being built into a cathedral or spiritual house, we can be confident of what God is making, because Christ is not just its foundation, but the chief cornerstone. Therefore those who believe in Christ for their salvation and sanctification (becoming more like Christ) will never regret it. In contrast, those who reject Christ have no firm foundation on which to build their life. They will pay the penalty of their choice. In fact, Peter explains that they will stumble and continue to stumble over the Truth that is Christ. The simple truth for the believer is that God wants to do more in and through us then they could ever imagine.

Then, in First Peter 2:9-10, Peter explains that those who walk in fellowship with God, not only cherish Christ but live on mission with Him. We have been created to live on mission with God. We are His precious possession because we belong to Him, and He loves us and calls us to partner with Him to share His love and message with others. God desires the whole world to live in right relationship with Him. He desires you and me, our families, neighbors, co-workers, and schoolmates to enter into a saving relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. His divine plan is for His followers to partner with Him in life and mission. In other words, all believers are called to be everyday missionaries.

Everyday missionaries are those who practice a life on mission where God has placed them. Everyday missionaries understand the prayer “God’s Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven” to mean, “God’s Kingdom come in my home…in my neighborhood…in my workplace…in my school…as it is in heaven.” When we choose to join God on His mission as His church, we allow him to use our ordinary life to do extraordinary things.

No doubt, we live in a world where we battle culture, our own weaknesses, and our enemy the devil. It is often against the current that we walk with God. But, it is a possible walk because believers are led and empowered by God’s Spirit. We can see “God’s Kingdom come and His will be done” as we

…Answer God’s calling of us to walk in fellowship.

…Treasure Christ.

…Live on mission with God.

 Imagine how such a walk with Christ would impact you and me, our homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and yes, our region for God’s glory.

I am so honored to be on mission with God along with each of you. We can press on in confidence, no matter the circumstance, because we know that our foundation in Christ is rock solid and He cherishes us. Therefore, let’s live on mission with Him so the world will know the love and saving work of our God. Soli Deo Gloria (glory to God alone)!

In 1 Peter, we discover a call to a genuine love for others, especially those who are part of the family of God. I think all of us would admit that to love like Jesus is not natural. It can be difficult. The world, the flesh, and the devil are always working against us. This makes it challenging to receive the love of Christ, as well as able to radiate His love to those around us.

Peter offers divine insights to unleash us to love others. He writes:

^“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:22-25)

Peter is writing this compelling call to love to Christians because he knew the believers would be tempted to participate in one of two damaging behaviors. Some would be tempted to, after accepting Christ, go back to their old ways of doing life with old friends, even preferring their company and influence over that of their church family. Now, there is nothing wrong with having friends who are not Christian. In fact, we must if we are to love them into the kingdom. However, to do so in such a way as to abandon Christian fellowship and influence is destructive to one’s life in Christ. Also, like today, these new believers came from different social statuses (slaves and freepersons, rich and poor). The privileged were slow to take the underprivileged to themselves in Christlike family love. Peter declares that a Christ-follower is to radiate Christlike love to others.

Peter explains that since a believer has had their souls purified by obeying the truth of God’s Word through the power and leading of the Spirit, there ought to be fruit. The fruit is a genuine love for others. The believer is to love one another earnestly with pure and self-sacrificing love, having been given new life through the living and ever true Word of God that is unlike the stuff of earth that fades away. Therefore, it’s inconsistent and incomplete to claim Christ as Lord and Savior and not love others.

Peter then writes:

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (2 Peter 2:1-3).

Peter has just demonstrated our call to love empowered by the glory and eternal character of God’s Word. Now, in light of what God’s Word is to us, He shares with us the particular heart we must have to receive the truth of the Bible genuinely. We need to put away sin. To “put away” literally means to clean off or take off, as in clothing. Peter presents a list of unloving actions that are not intended to be exhaustive, but in keeping with the theme of love, addresses actions stemming from ill will towards others. A Christian has no part in malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, or slander. These things contradict what it means to “love one another earnestly from a pure heart.’

A believer also needs to desire God’s Word. God’s word is food for spiritual growth. Simply stated, the Word of God is necessary for Christian growth. We live in a culture where there is a belief and drive to develop an evolved gospel, but Peter makes it clear that the believer ought to know and walk in the teachings of the one true enduring Word of God. The short of it is that the believer has an obligation and the ability to love as Christ loves. This is made possible as we are cleansed of sin, filled with God’s Word, and empowered by the Spirit. A spiritually healthy believer is a loving Christian.

I have seen in my life that my love capacity grows when I am walking rightly with the Lord, and as I seek to master His Word. As I seek to master His word, by the power and leading of His Spirit, His Word masters me. When I drift from the Lord and become lax in dealing with sin and neglect His Word, my love capacity shrinks. I don’t just need Jesus as my Lord in Savior for eternities sake; I need Him every day for my own sake and that of those I encounter. As Christ’s Word abides in me, the truth of His Word, His love radiates from me. I am not perfect, but I am being perfected.

Imagine what it would look like for each of us to take seriously our obligation and trust in our God-given ability to love as Christ loves. Imagine what it would be like to believe that Christ can cleanse us, that we can be filled with His Word, that His Spirit has the power to transform us and make us conduits of His love. We and the world around us will never be the same. Have you received, and are you radiating God’s love?

It is a privilege to be a part of God’s family with each of you. Let us put off sin and get into His Word. As we seek to master the Bible, I pray it will master us. Let’s encourage one another onto Christlike love for others. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!

We discover in First Peter a message offering Christ’s church hope in a world, not her home.  Jesus said:

“If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you” (Jn 15:19, MSG).

As followers of Christ, we are called to live out our faith in a world that often does not understand us and sometimes is quite antagonistic. Peter does not want us to be taken by surprise by the opposition we’ll face. In fact, he writes to teach us how to stand firm, living with hope as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, awaiting eternity with Him by making an eternal difference in this world.

We discover in First Peter 1:13-21 the answer to this crucial question: How ought a believer live in this world? First, we discover in verse 13 that believers are to set their hope in Jesus Christ. When life gets hard, we are constantly looking for someone or something to place our hope in – to be the answer that will right our lives and give us what we need. It is only natural that when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, we seek to find that something or someone who will rescue us. Unfortunately, we often look in all the wrong places and many of them common places, such as education, marriage, profession, and on-and-on we go. Here is the simple truth: Our only real source of hope is found in Jesus Christ.

Second, Peter in vv. 14-16 teaches that believers are not only to set their hope in Jesus Christ but be holy. God makes us holy and calls us to holiness. The believer is not to be “conformed” or “molded” into the form of the world, but transformed into the pattern of God (see: Rom 12:1-2). Holiness speaks both of our position in Christ as well as our practical conduct.  The main idea behind holiness is not moral purity, but it is the idea of being “set apart” or “apartness.” The idea is that God is separate, different from His creation, both in His essential nature and in the perfection of His attributes. Here is something amazing: Instead of God building a wall around His apartness, God calls us to come to Him and share His apartness. We can only conduct ourselves with holiness (Christlikeness) because we are made holy by Christ’s salvific work and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In this sense: Holiness is not so much something we possess as it is something that possesses us.

Thirdly, Peter in vv. 17-21 informs us that believers are not only to set their hope in Jesus Christ. They are not only to be holy. They also are to do this because of who God is and what Christ has done and is doing in their life by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our motivation is love, God’s love. It is the Good News of salvation in Christ that’s the primary motivation for our holiness, as we live in this world. We don’t deserve God’s love, but by His grace we abundantly receive it. We receive mercy because God has purchased us with the blood of Jesus. This is why our hope is in Jesus. Our call is to be like Jesus. And our motivation is the salvific work of Jesus. Believers set their hope in Jesus Christ, being holy, because of who God is and what Christ has done and is doing in their life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Imagine what it would look like to place you hope in Christ. Picture what it would mean to trust Him as you follow in His steps becoming like Him. As we respond to His love, I believe each of us, our homes, our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, this region, will never be the same.

It is my privilege to serve Christ alongside each of you. This world we live in is not always easy. But, we can find hope in Christ. God calls and empowers us to become like Christ. And, our motivation to such a life is found mainly in God’s abundant love for us. Let’s encourage one another to be holy. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!