Suffering

Posted on by korgrocker

“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered [or died] for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.”
1 Peter 2:21-22 NLT

Is this another paradox in Peter’s letter? Suffering if we do good? We must break this down to understand Peter’s thoughts. Firstly, about doing good, was that for, or to, ourselves, or was it to be applied to others? Probably both, I think. Often, personal good can affect others as well as ourselves. We also need to bear in mind that Peter was addressing his advice to some slaves in the churches in the Five Provinces. The pressure of living in a “good” way as demanded by their faith in Jesus would have potentially been very difficult. The natural tendencies towards immorality, spitefulness, wanting to take revenge, cruelty, rebelliousness – they are all opposites to the “good” demanded of people experiencing the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

So if we pilgrims are living in a way that is “good” will that lead to ”suffering”? It could certainly lead to inconvenience or personal cost, as we help others in our families or communities. It could also mean social isolation as we shun the sinful practices of those around us. But to the first century slaves, doing good would have perhaps meant turning their lives around, a new paradigm in a sinful and cruel world. The very fact that they were slaves would have meant that their “good” behaviour might have been resented by their slave masters, and result in some form of punishment. 

Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16). It is a fact that a moral stance on certain issues can cause resentment in others and even provoke them to a violent response. That will lead to suffering, for sure, particularly for those at school or in a work environment. Paul wrote in Romans 8:18-19, “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are“. We have a choice in this life. Make it comfortable for the years we are on this earth, or plan for the future when life becomes eternal. Hopefully most of the time doing good will be appreciated by those around us, but when society brands us as “do-gooders”, contemptibly rubbishing our philanthropic deeds, we take a step back, breath in deeply, and move on, certain that one day we will be vindicated by our loving Heavenly Father.

Jesus consistently did good in His community, telling people about the Good News of the Kingdom of God and healing the sick, but even then He was condemned for His good deeds. we read in John 10:31-32, “Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?”” That was the sort of suffering that Peter was writing about. The times when people question the good that we do, looking for an ulterior motive that perhaps exposes another agenda.

Some Christians mis

Unjust Treatment

Posted on by korgrocker

“For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.”
1 Peter 2:19-20 NLT

Have you ever noticed that people respond or react in a bad way when they are accused of something that is false, or when they experience an injustice? For example, if someone pushes in front of them at a supermarket checkout queue, or in roadworks on a motorway. A schoolchild accused of a misdemeanour that was not their fault, and so on. We could construct a list that is endless, because we have all experienced at one time or another an injustice at the hands of another person. So how do we respond in these circumstances? The natural reaction is to lash out, probably angrily. To push back against the accusing person, sometimes violently. This is how fights develop, especially when alcohol-fuelled. 

If the accusation is correct and we have been found out for a misdemeanour, then some form of punishment or correction might be justifiable. That is the basis of our justice system. So if we are caught speeding, then points on our licences and a fine are an apt punishment for the oversight, and will help us remember that there is such a thing as a speed limit. If a schoolchild is given a punishment exercise for not doing their homework then there can be no complaint. Peter wrote you “get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong”. In other words, God will just let things take their course. He will forgive a repentant sinner of course, but there may be consequences imposed by our earthly masters or authorities.

Peter wrote that “God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment”. Jesus, of course, taught exactly that. We read what He said in Matthew 5:39-42, “But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow”. And Jesus Himself exemplified His words, as we read in Matthew 26:67-68, “Then they began to spit in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. And some slapped him, jeering, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who hit you that time?”” Jesus never reacted. He stood submissively enduring terrible abuse. But He was of course conscious of His Father’s will and acted accordingly. In fact He went even further, when, in terrible pain, He prayed for His executioners, as we read in Luke 23:34a, “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing“.

We pilgrims will, I’m sure, never have to suffer as Jesus did. But we will be faced with many an injustice here on earth. Perhaps we need to remember those four letters WWJD – What Would Jesus Do. So before we let out a tirade of righteous anger, let’s pause a moment. Take a deep breath, and lift up our eyes to Heaven. And imagine how pleased God will be if we just turn away.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for such invaluable guidance. Please help us to live the way Your Son did. In His precious name. Amen.

Slaves

Posted on by korgrocker

“You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.”
1 Peter 2:18-20 NLT

We pilgrims read verses written to slaves with perhaps a thought that they don’t really apply to our Western societies. Occasionally a news report surfaces here in Britain highlighting the plight of a person trafficked to our shores and exploited for the benefit of another person. But much goes on that we apparently don’t know about, not only because someone in slavery doesn’t wear a badge defining their status. But there are estimates that, worldwide, there are 50 million people in slavery today, and a web search will soon reveal the extent of the problem. We know, of course, about the efforts of politicians in the 19th century, men and women who ceaselessly campaigned to have the slave trade stopped here in Britain, with the trade finally abolished in 1807 and existing slaves freed in 1833. 

In the early church, slavery was rampant, and conditions for the slaves were dire. Cruelty was common and the lot of a slave was not pleasant. Of course, the Jewish slaves were very well treated and they had rights, as we can read in Exodus 21. “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he may serve for no more than six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom” (Exodus 21:2). But most slaves in those days were treated as no more than possessions, to be treated in any way their owners desired.

But Peter wasn’t dealing with the rights and wrongs of slavery. He was focused on the behaviour of those who were Christian slaves. The essence of the Gospel was unity and the common bringing together of people of any status in life under the headship of Christ. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28, “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus”. The same applies in our relatively slave-free society today. Our churches are made up of people from all walks of life. Rich and poor. Blue collar and white collar workers. Young and old, married and single. And people from all races and nations. We are indeed all “one in Christ Jesus“.

Peter wrote a hard message to those early Christian slaves. They had, he wrote, to treat their masters with respect, even if it wasn’t reciprocated. If they were treated badly, and didn’t react unsubmissively, then God would be pleased with them, Peter wrote. It was a difficult message for the slaves to take on board. But one having to be accepted amongst Christians all over the world, then and now. People may not be enslaved in the same way as they were in Peter’s world, but as they suffer persecution for the sake of their faith, God is pleased with them. They are banking treasure in Heaven, and one day there will be a celebration as it is cashed in.

Dear Father God. We will one day hear You say “Well done”, as we stay the course through this life. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

Respect Everyone

Posted on by korgrocker

“Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.”
1 Peter 2:17 NLT

There are four instructions in this short verse. Two refer to being respectful and the others to love and fear. So a lot to consider.

Respect is in short supply in society today. It seems that everyone has their own ideology or set of views and they insist that whatever they think is supported and affirmed to the detriment of everyone else. As an example, strident calls are being made about gender issues, and woe betide anyone who disagrees with the multi-gender adherents. Those who disagree are branded with all sorts of unpleasant and totally unfounded names. They are pilloried on social media and no-platformed in public speaking engagements. There are many other issues in which debate and mutual respect are denied. Perhaps the root cause is society’s abandonment of Christian teaching and rejection of God, with a new morality, false in its content, emerging to replace it. An anything-goes morality that is based on a form of self identification and a declaration that the person concerned is his or her own god. Scotland, where I live, has the reputation of being the most secular country in Europe, and we are starting to see the down side of that in the legislation being produced by confused and godless politicians. But where at one time people were respected for their views – not necessarily agreed with, but respected at least – now there is little or no acceptance of another’s views. Respect is a commodity in very short supply. 

Back in Exodus 20:12 we read, “Honour your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you”. Respect starts in the home by being implanted in children through good parenting, but with so many broken families, basic teaching like this doesn’t seem to count for much these days. And the lack of respect spills over into the classrooms, with teachers being abused just for trying to do their jobs, educating the next generation of adults in our societies. In Matthew 7:12, Jesus taught about the “Golden Rule”, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets”. 

Respect is based on grace. Our Heavenly Father has graciously accepted us pilgrims, warts and all. With all our funny ideas and sin-ridden ways, we can, through Jesus, approach His throne with boldness. He sees our struggles to make sense of a complex and evil world. He sees us agonising over the abuse of a child, or the ill-treatment of another human being. And we know that He is also saddened by the behaviour of mankind. But God had a plan and Jesus came for damaged and confused people, who were, as He said, like sheep without a shepherd. But we have a Shepherd now, and God’s plan is being worked out through His children, fellow pilgrims such as us.

Dear Father God. We are Your children, saved by grace. Please help us reach out to others, extending Your grace to those without. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Free or Slave

Posted on by korgrocker

“For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.”
1 Peter 2:16 NLT

Here is a paradox, if ever there was one! How can we be enslaved and free at the same time? But from a spiritual perspective, we are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. We can’t be both. Romans 6:16, “Don’t you realise that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living”. The problem is that we look at the word “slave” from a natural perspective and an image forms in our mind consisting of prison cells, or chains, or oppressive authoritarian controls. Here in the West we consider ourselves to be free to do what we want, and consequently we are not slaves. But is that really the case? We are bounded by the laws of the land, which are mostly there for the benefit of the citizens, but we can also be restricted by our natural abilities, or lack of them. For example, someone who has lost the use of their legs, forcing use of a wheel chair, may consider that they are slaves of their disability. 

Peter, in our verse today, was writing about spiritual freedom. And his fellow Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:17-18, “Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living”. Paul really had a gift of clarity, and in Romans 6:19 we read, “Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy”. And Romans 6 finishes with the well know reason for why we need to choose very carefully who or what we allow ourselves be enslaved to. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). 

The internet throbs with testimonies of people in slavery but who are really some of the most free people we are likely to meet. People living in prison camps, or being persecuted with their homes burnt down, or excluded from all but the most menial of jobs. People who are trafficked to other countries where they are forced to work long hours as slaves. A quote from gotquestions.org, “Slavery has come to mean degradation, hardship, and inequality. But the biblical paradigm is the true freedom of the slave of Christ who experiences joy and peace, the products of the only true freedom we will ever know in this life”.

In John 8 we read what Jesus said about slavery. “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:34-36). In Christ we have the freedom we were designed to have. A life enslaved to sin is a life counter to God’s creation plan, but a life enslaved to God guarantees us a life that will never end. A final word for us pilgrims from Romans 6:4, “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives”. Faced with such a stark choice, we pilgrims have chosen the way of eternal life. There is no other way.

Dear Father God. We thank You that You have laid before us a choice, made possible through Jesus Your Son. Please help us to echo Joshua’s declaration, “…as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord”. Amen.

Honourable Lives

Posted on by korgrocker

“It is God’s will that your honourable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.”
1 Peter 2:15 NLT

Society is full of people who make accusations. It seems that the minute someone behaves in a way that doesn’t fit with someone else’s opinion, then an accusation follows, whether to the police, or the council or the tax authorities or whoever. The great majority of accusations and allegations are of course totally groundless, but they are made all the same. Neighbours fall out because one accuses the other of failing to remove their weeds, or playing their music too loud. Accusations and complaints, one against another abound.

We have in the current times another insidious source of accusations. Certain ideologies are supported by people who think that everyone else should agree and support the way they feel or think, and if they don’t, then accusations of bias, hate or causing offence are made to whoever will listen. We can see that with the current fixations around sexuality and gender. For example, if a woman dares to put her head above the parapet and claim that toilet spaces should only be designated and used in accordance with a person’s biological sex then a storm of abuse and accusations erupt through social media and beyond, driven by the “keyboard warriors” who blight our society today.

But none of this was the focus of this verse in Peter’s first letter. The first century believers were accused of all sorts of things because they followed a faith different to everyone else. For example, there were accusations of cannibalism made against Christians because they shared the body and blood of Jesus in their communion services. A lack of understanding became inflated to a terrible result. There were also accusations of gross immorality made against believers because they were instructed to love one another. Again, misunderstandings were blown up out of all proportion. And then we have accusations around issues such as poverty, self-righteousness and so on. The list was seemingly endless.

Jesus Himself had accusations levelled against Him. We read in Luke 6:7, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath”. To His listeners, Jesus said, “The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results” (Matthew 11:19). But the greatest miscarriage of justice ever was carried out on Jesus even though He was not guilty of any crime, let alone one that deserved a capital punishment. We read in John 18:29, 38, “So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?” …  “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime”. 

Accusations against the early Christians were commonplace. It was, and still is today, easy to make accusations based on half-truths and innuendo, assumptions and bigotry. Conspiracy theories were just as prevalent then as they are today. But Peter encouraged his readers with the truth that their “honourable lives” would silence the accusers. It would be difficult, he wrote, to make accusations against someone whose life was above reproach. We pilgrims today should also take heed and be careful that we live in a way that will silence any accusations by “ignorant people”. It’s a high bar to achieve, but one possible as we depend on the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and guidance.

Dear Lord Jesus. You know at first hand the pain of false accusations. Please help us to respond in a way that shows the complainants a better way. In Your precious name. Amen.

Submit to Authorities

Posted on by korgrocker

“For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honour those who do right.”
1 Peter 2:12-14 NLT

That’s all right, I hear some say. We don’t have a “head of state” who is a king. So these two verses perhaps don’t apply to us here in the UK.  However, we need to remember that although King Charles is our purely constitutional head of state, the ability to make and pass legislation resides with an elected parliament, whose members sit in our House of Commons after a democratic process. A better attitude to this verse is to consider that all government, whether involving a king or otherwise, must be submitted to. So we need to interpret the spirit behind Peter’s entreaty.

The government of our land passes laws that are supposed to be for the benefit of the citizens, and those who break the laws are doing wrong, thus inviting punishment for their lack of submission. Those who do right are honoured in a way that lets them get on with their lives without state interference. 

But then we think of those countries that have a malevolent government. Totalitarian rulers who want to control the behaviour of the inhabitants, and who severely restrict the citizen’s activities. And then there are governments riven by corruption with leaders who divert the country’s wealth into their own pockets.

But regardless of where we live and what our government is like, Peter wrote, “submit to all human authority”. We have an obligation to observe and follow the laws of the land in which we live, regardless of whether we like them or not. The only conflict that will arise is if the law we object to contravenes the law of God. He is the higher authority. Such an issue occurred for the early Apostles, as we read in Acts 4:18-20, “So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard””. 

Laws have been passed here in the Uk that subvert the law of God. Probably the most high profile is the one that was passed in 1967, applicable to abortion. We Bible-believing Christians know that this directly contravenes the sanctity of life from the point of conception, as we read in Psalm 139:13-16, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvellous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed”. Faced with such a conflict, we know which is the right choice. Also, the Scottish Government passed a law in 2022 allowing 16-year olds to change their gender by signing a declaration, again a law that offends God’s Word, which declares there are only two genders – male and female (Genesis 1:27). 

But Peter adds a sweetener to his submission verse – “for the Lord’s sake”. We obey the authorities willingly and submissively because Jesus wants us to. That’s enough for me. And if a conflict emerges between to laws of the societies in which we live and God’s laws, we pray for wisdom. The Holy Spirit will lead us in the right way.

Dear Father God. We Thank You for Your wisdom and blessings. We worship You today. Amen.

Honourable Behaviour (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honourable behaviour, and they will give honour to God when he judges the world.”
1 Peter 2:12 NLT

I am writing this just after the news of the neonatal nurse’s guilty verdicts has been announced. A young woman has been found guilty of murdering new born babies, and the media has exploded with story after story, each seemingly exploring different perspectives of the entire, very painful, investigative and legal processes. It has been such a terrible crime that the repercussions will rattle on for months if not years. Thankfully such occurrences only happen very rarely, but news reporters all have their opinions and they are replicated in print from the perspective of the moral high ground. But why should we pilgrims be surprised that such evil and wicked behaviour should happen. After all it is within an evil and wicked world that we live.

How did all this evil and wickedness appear on Planet Earth in the first place? We know, of course, about the devil and his eviction from Heaven, and the mayhem that he has subsequently caused in this world. But we can surely ask the question, why does God allow such evil to happen? God is of course holy and righteous. We can find verses saying so embedded throughout the Bible. The problem is that He created mankind to be able to choose for themselves between doing good and doing evil. If He had created human beings so that they could only do righteous things, then He would have had to create a race of robots, unable to choose for themselves between good and evil.

God is of course all powerful and more than capable of stopping evil acts. He could of course have protected those new born babies from harm. The problem was, where would He have started? Should He have disabled the medical equipment that was used for the harm? But such equipment is essential for doing good as well. Should He have stopped the nurse’s evil thoughts in the first place? And before we know it we have to extrapolate back to a bland robotic beginning denying free choice, the one thing that God deliberately built into His creation. However, there will be many only too quick to wave their fists in God’s face accusing Him of the evil that has happened.

Perhaps God should remove anyone who is going to commit an evil deed before they get a chance to do it. But if He did that, there would be no-one left on this planet. We read in Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard“. Imagine the hypothetical scenario in which God has set a righteousness exam, an entry exam, which has to be passed to get into Heaven by a person’s own efforts. The pass mark is of course 100% because He is perfectly righteous. Now some people are so evil that they might only be 2% righteous, if that. Others are living what they consider to be a good life, and so might claim that they are righteous 90% of the time. However, when it comes to passing the exam there is no difference between the 2% righteous person and the 90% righteous person – they have both failed the exam. God is perfectly righteous and holy. There is not even a hint of sin anywhere in Himself or in Heaven. We pilgrims know, of course, that there is only one way to achieve the righteousness that God demands, and that is by believing in Jesus, who died for us in our place as a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus took on board all the sins of the world, past, present and future, and instead gave us His perfect righteousness.

In the verse today from 1 Peter, we read about the “unbelieving neighbours” giving “honour to God when he judges the world”. They do this after observing the “honourable behaviour” of us pilgrim believers. The Bible tells us that on the day of judgement – there will of course be one as we read in Revelation 20 – everyone will be called to give an account of their lives. There will be many witnesses, and those believers who have behaved honourably will be commended. But this will of course be of little comfort to those who hear the guilty verdict from the Judge on God’s throne (Revelation 20:12). There is only one way to escape that terrible verdict, and that is to ensure our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 20:15). 

We don’t know what will happen to the nurse in what remains of her life. Perhaps she will come on her knees before God and repent of her sins. The thief on the cross next to Jesus came to such a point of repentance, and Jesus assured him of his future in Paradise. The hurting parents of the lost babies might deem such an act unfair, their pain and grief apparently unassuageable, raw unforgiveness consuming them. We pilgrims pray for them, that God’s love and compassion, that His comfort, will envelope them like a blanket. And we pray too for the nurse, that as she lives out her punishment in prison, that she will find God and peace for her soul. And we pray that God will work in all the people involved, that something good will emerge from the pain and bring a glimmer of hope to this evil and wicked world. 

Dear Father God. We feel the pain in this whole situation, and pray that in it all, You and Your righteousness will prevail over the evil that surrounds us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Honourable Behaviour (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honourable behaviour, and they will give honour to God when he judges the world.”
1 Peter 2:12 NLT

Imagine the following fictional scenario – a Christian family each Sunday walk out to their car in the drive, dressed in all their finery, carrying their Bibles, and drive off for church, returning just as immaculate a couple of hours of so later. There is the man and his wife, and two children, a boy and a girl. They are noticed by the neighbours each week, and their diligence in following their faith is well known in their community. But on a Friday night, the husband can perhaps be found in the local pub, cursing and swearing with the locals. The wife attends an activity group in the next village and is well known for her tendency to gossip. Well, these are exactly the sort of situations that we must guard against. Peter wrote, “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours”. Living properly means we must behave in a way that corresponds to our faith.

Jesus was scathing about hypocrisy. He hated the behaviour of people who claimed to be holy and full of faith but who were full of lies and deceit inside. In Matthew 23 we read, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:27-28). On my morning walk today, and after a very windy night, I came across a branch about a metre long and a few centimetres thick. Outside the branch looked all as it should be, bark intact and apparently healthy, but when I examined the inside at the point of breakage, it was rotten. I showed a dog walker and he reflected that it was a bit like society – looking good on the outside but rotten within. A cynical point of view, but perhaps he had a point. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:20, “If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see”? The Apostle James wrote in James 1:26, “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless”. There are plenty of verses in the Bible about the way we should behave, internally and externally.

The duty of all believers is to “walk the walk” and “talk the talk”. In other words, we must behave in a way that coincides with our faith. And not just how we think God wants us to behave, but in a way that our neighbours think we should behave. As an example, it isn’t necessarily wrong to have a drink at a bar with our friends, but, perhaps for the sake of an alcoholic neighbour or workmate, it might be better to avoid doing that, or at least only drink something that is alcohol free. In James 1:22, we read, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves”. In other words, we must behave in a way that aligns with God’s Word, because that is the way He wants us to live and for the benefit of the “unbelieving neighbour” who lives next door. Our lives sometimes will be the only manifestation of the Gospel people will see. St Francis of Assisi is credited with the quotation, “Preach the gospel at all times. And if necessary, use words“. Perhaps a very valid point when we consider “honourable behaviour”.

Dear God. We are Your representatives here on Planet Earth. Please help us to live in an honourable way so that You get all the glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Temporary Residents

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“Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.”
1 Peter 2:11 NLT

Peter warns his readers “to keep away from worldly desires”. But perhaps we think that this is easier said than done because we live on this world, Planet Earth. It’s a world corrupted by sin and wickedness; we only have to read a newspaper, or, more likely, go on-line and start reading what one of the news outlets provides, to find out how bad things really are. Social media seems to be burgeoning with negative stories, many of them heart-rending in their content. So, for us pilgrims, it is a difficult place to keep apart from, and especially if we ourselves are caught up in one of the negative stories personally. We find too that there are consequences to many of the decisions and actions that we make, driven perhaps by our “worldly desires”.

But Peter started this verse with a strange concept, that his readers were “temporary residents and foreigners”, presumably in this world. How can that be, because it was into this world that each of us was born. To answer that, we have to take a step back and consider two scenarios. Firstly, our natural lives will only span a finite number of years, as we read in Psalm 90:1a, “Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty … ”. So in that respect we are “temporary residents”. Planet Earth was already here when we arrived and will probably still be here when we die. 

What was Peter meaning then when he said we were “foreigners” in this world? This is the second scenario and refers to that day when we pilgrims made a decision for Christ. A decision were we repented of our sins and believed in Jesus. We read in Acts 2:38, “Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 10:9-10, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved”. That is the decision we call being born again. Jesus told Nicodemus about it in John 3:3, “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God””. The consequences of this are as Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20, “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Saviour”.

There came that point where we pilgrims acquired a new passport, and it says we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Instead of the cover saying “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, or whatever your national passports say, our new passport says “Kingdom of Heaven” or “Kingdom of God”. We don’t however have a physical passport because this is a spiritual kingdom and God doesn’t need to issue one. Instead He has written our names in a Book, called the Lamb’s Book of Life. And the wonderful thing is that instead of only being valid for ten years, like the UK passport, it applies for all of eternity. We read about this book in Revelation 21:27, “Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life”. 

So, we pilgrims are indeed “temporary residents and foreigners” in this world. One day we will have no need for a UK passport, or, indeed any other passport, and can fully and totally take up our citizenship in Heaven. But back to how we started. While we are “temporary residents and foreigners” we have been warned “to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against [our] very souls.” Sound advice from a man who knew as much as anyone the dangers and temptations in living a worldly life. In 1 John 4:4-6 we can read what the Apostle John wrote about worldly people. “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.” Paul, the Apostle, wrote in Romans 8:37, and referring to the difficulties of living in the world, “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us”. 

In God, and through the Holy Spirit who lives within us, we can live a life in the right Kingdom. It isn’t easy, and sometimes we will slip up. But our Heavenly Father is quick to forgive us for our sins, and we are free to move onwards and upwards into our calling in Christ.

Dear Father God. Thank You that You have recorded our names in Your Book of Life, sealing our Heavenly citizenship. What a wonderful gift! Amen.