Preparing the Way of the Lord!
Thursday, December 30, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank You for being the one, true and living God, who created everything in the universe, and then created us to have dominion over it! I praise You that You have entrusted to our stewardship and care all that You created. Today, O Lord, I pray that You will fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may live wisely and prudently as Your steward. Give me the words to say when someone wants to hear why I believe in Jesus, and give me a life that is consistent with my profession of faith, so that people will believe that You are, indeed, the one true God. I ask this and all my prayers in the strong name of Jesus Christ my risen Lord, and for the sake of His coming Kingdom. Amen.
God’s Word Today
1 Peter 3:13-16
13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” 15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
Reflecting on God's Word
When was the last time someone asked you about your faith in Jesus? How did you respond?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word
Why do you suppose that Peter thought it necessary to affirm that even if we must suffer for doing good that we still ought to do good?
How do you suppose that Peter’s thoughts logically moved to a discussion of being prepared to tell others about our faith?
Applying God's Word to Our Lives
What will you do differently today as a result of having read this Scripture?
Thoughts...Giving an Answer—Part II
When we consider why we have responded to Jesus as Savior and Lord, and so many in our world have not, we come back to Peter’s charge to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that we have. At least one reason why so many people have not received Jesus as their Savior and Lord, is that they have not seen followers of Jesus living as if we have received Him either! It is one thing to tell others that Jesus means everything to us, that we believe the Gospel accounts of His birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection and promised coming again, and quite another for them to see it being lived out in our lives. We MUST be ready to tell folks about Jesus, and far too many of us shirk our responsibilities in this area, but our words will ring hollow unless the Holy Spirit is working in our hearts and lives to bring about the transformation that we see in biblical characters such as Peter.
Perhaps no more dramatic transformation has ever taken place in anyone’s life than through Peter’s. Peter’s lived as a commercial fisherman, along with his brother Andrew, and his partners James and John, before Jesus came along and called all of them to leave their nets to come and follow Him. Jesus promised to make the “fish” for people. They all left their nets and followed Him. What we know about Peter during Jesus earthly ministry is that He was fickle—one moment He was standing up for Jesus with everything in His being, and in the next, He was telling Jesus that He couldn’t die, or sinking in the water, because of His lack of faith, or denying that he had ever even met Jesus. To be sure, I have just listed nearly all of Peter’s worst moments, but if we find that many recorded in the Gospels, there must surely have been many more, right? The point is that Peter wasn’t exactly a pillar of faith! On the contrary His life was filled with opportunities to change and grow, to have his heart and life transformed by Jesus—and ultimately Jesus did change Him. Peter would have told you that he believed in Jesus from day one, but what we see AFTER Jesus’ death and resurrection is a total transformation in Peter. No longer does he waver back and forth. Instead, he stands up for Jesus in all he said and did. On the day of the first Christian Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to Peter and 120 other believers and Peter stood in front of a crowd of thousands at the temple in Jerusalem and told them who Jesus was and why they ought to believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord—and 3,000 did!
Peter’s life is a model for OUR lives. Just as Jesus transformed Peter, He can and will transform us! (See Part III in tomorrow’s daily reading!)