Category: Devotions

THURSDAY November 9^th

 

HUNTED – 1 Peter 5:8 but not caught!

‘Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’

Notice that I have said ‘hunted but not caught’ I have deliberately put it that way because it is my prayer as a shepherd over the flock of God that not one who attends our fellowship will be devoured or caught by the evil one.

 

I may have used this illustration before, so forgive me if I have. When I was growing up on the farm we would have lambs that needed to be bottle fed, so they became like pets, one year I had the  responsibility of a lamb and he got to know me and recognise my voice. When he was strong enough he was taken to be with the other sheep out in the field and when it was time to feed him I just used to call his name and he would come to me. After a period of time, I went one morning and I called and called and he didn’t come. Eventually after searching for the lamb, I discovered that a fox had been prowling around the field and it had got my lamb and killed it.

 

Peter has been very clear here in his warning to us as sheep belonging to the good Shepherd, the devil will do all he can to devour us, to draw us away, to keep us from being in a place of fellowship and safety with other believers and from walking close to Jesus. Peter says ‘Be watchful’, we need at all times to be watching what we do, watching where we go, watching who we hang out with and even watching what we listen to with our ears or see with our eyes,  the devil will use anyone or anything he possibly can to devour us. We need to keep close to Jesus and to stay far away from anything the devil will try to use to trap us, to draw us away from Jesus our Shepherd, even to try and devour us.

 

In the great psalm concerning the Lord as our Shepherd, it says ‘he leads me in paths of righteousness for his names sake’. If today you are walking in any way that is unrighteous and not in accord to that which fits in with the will of God, beware, be careful, it is making you a sitting target for the prowling devil to be able to pounce and to try to devour you. It is so vital that we walk in the right paths, the way that the good Shepherd leads us in.

WEDNESDAY November 8^th

 

HUMILITY – 1 Peter 3:8, 5:6-7

‘Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.’

‘Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.’

I want to consider humility with this thought, ‘Humility leads to unity!’

I shouldn’t really need to highlight the need for unity, we all know how things run more smoothly when all the components are fitted well together and run in unison. So it is with this ‘house’ that is being built up out of living stones.

 Humility means that not one of us should think that we are better than anyone else, but that we are all uniquely placed in the body of Christ to function in whatever role he has placed us.

Going back to Paul’s analogy of the Church being a body he expresses it so perfectly in 1 Corinthians 12:12-20 ‘For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.  For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.’

‘God arranged the members, in the body, each one of them, as he chose’, this has so much meaning for the body of Christ, he has fitted or placed us exactly where he needed us to be and God desires that we work together in unity and with humility for his purpose, his will to be outworked through us.

FRIDAY November 3^rd

 

I am travelling out to Hungary later on today and will return on Tuesday evening, so the devotions will return on the Wednesday morning.

 

HONOUR – 1 Peter 2:17-3:7

‘Honour everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly . . . Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct . . . Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honour to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.’

To honour means to respect or pay tribute to, so first and foremost we honour God by giving tribute to him – One of the older hymns we sometimes sing: Praise my soul the King of Heaven, to his feet thy tribute bring. And why? Because we have been ransomed, healed restored forgiven. Therefore, who like thee his praise should sing. So praise him, praise him, praise him, praise him, Praise the everlasting king.

In Psalm 103 David says, ‘Bless the LORD O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name. Sometimes we praise as if we have all had a battery installed in us and it has gone flat! All that is within me just doesn’t seem to want to get up and get going, when we really consider what God has done for us, we should be breaking out in praise like a bird that has been locked up is set free. There is no stopping! He deserves our tribute, he deserves all the honour, glory and praise that we can b muster up and bring out from our inner being.

But primarily Peters letter is all about the honour we give on a vertical level – he says honour everyone! Those in places of honour, to the brotherhood, that is toward one another in the local Church and then the honour that should be shown in the home, the institution of the family, which is actually the first institution that God established right from the time of creation. One of the biggest causes of problems in the world today is because the honour that should have been found in the home began to breakdown. That is why we should pray, pray, and pray for families, especially those who are found in the household of God.

THURSDAY November 2^nd

 

HOUSE – 1 Peter 2:4-5

‘As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’

There are different ways in Scripture for which the Church is described, Paul uses the analogy of Christ as the Head and the Church as the body. This is such a powerful illustration. We know that if the body becomes disconnected rom the head that is it! Instant death. Think about it spiritually! We must stay firstly connected to the head, but equally importance is the connection we have with one another. I have often spoken about it and will continue to speak about, we need each other, let me tell you today, I NEED YOU! Yes, I need Jesus, but I also need you! And whether you like it or not you need me, we all together need each other! And I thank God for the gift of Christian fellowship, oh how often it has been while found in fellowship with other believers that Christ has done something in my life, met my need and often time spoken to me through what someone else has read, shared or preached.

We are a part of the complete house, the Church Universal, which Jesus is building, but we have also become a part of the house which he has set here in this place, the local Church.

Peter uses the illustration of being built up together as living stones into a spiritual house. It is a house, a place of fellowship that is like nothing else to be found in this world.

You can go to the pub, the cinema, the theatre and ‘have a good time’, you can go to a football match or the like of it and ‘have a good time’, the same can be said about many other things, but they will never do anything for your soul and will never do anything for you spiritually for these things are temporal, and yet we willingly adjust our schedule and plan way ahead of time to go to various places and do various things while at the same and sadly far too often too many of the stones are missing from this spiritual house when we come together because it doesn’t fit in with their schedule or order of importance.!

We have just had storm Babet come hurtling through the Northeast, I guess we all made sure that we kept the doors and the windows shut! And I guess that we were all glad that every brick that was used in the construction of our homes were firmly fixed in place, none missing, no gaps to help protect us from the storm.

We need to really grasp hold of the seriousness of the days in which we are living, there is a wild spiritual storm blowing, and it is blowing increasingly stronger every day against the Church, that is you and me as Christians, against the Word of God, against everything that God has set in place for the good of society, there is going to be a fresh push to pass the conversion therapy bill, there are continual cries to push and promote the ideology of the LGTBQ+ community, efforts to ban the practise even of silent prayer or Christian activity near abortion centres! The storm is blowing, the Church needs to be united, we locally need to be united, joined together, no stones missing as we seek the help of God to bring us through the storm, or to keep us in the storm.

May this spiritual house stand firm, because we take up the seriousness of the hour and make every effort to come together to for fellowship and prayer.

WEDNESDAY November 1^st

 

HOPE – 1 Peter 1:13

‘Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.’

In the troubling times in which we are living in, we have a hope that keeps us going!

We link this hope back also to verse 5 ‘who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.’

We have a hope that is steadfast and certain, and John reminds us in 1 John 3:3 that ‘everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.’ Our hope is linked back to the call to holiness!

Hope produces holy living.

The Christians hope is not a wishful hope but it is affirmed and guaranteed by the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. Because he lives, we KNOW that we will also live. Our hope is based upon the faithfulness of God and in that not one of his promises will ever fail.

Our faith is based upon the truth or reality of what has already happened and the assurance that what has happened has secured our eternal future.

I love Romans 15:13 ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.’

We have a hope that is steadfast and certain and it is founded firmly upon and in the Lord Jesus Christ.

TUESDAY October 31^st

 

HOLY – 1 Peter 1:14-16

‘As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”’

I personally think that this is one of the weaknesses of the Church in the 21^st Century. Although we come by faith to Christ, too often we also choose to cling to or keep holding onto so much of what we have supposed to have been saved from.

I am not wanting to delve too deeply into this today, but to call each one of us to consider evaluating where we are in our walk with God, and to look at those things that we perhaps may be clinging onto that are hindering us in our walk.

God is a holy God and he calls us to be holy people. It is not an optional extra, it is a requirement.

We need to notice what exactly it is that Peter says, ‘As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance’, we cannot, and we must not live as we once lived!

Once we have been enlightened concerning the demand that God has for us to be holy we cannot blame ignorance! In Titus we read ‘For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

MONDAY October 30^th

 

As I announced when preaching a week ago, I am going to spend eight devotions re-capping from Peter’s epistle. I have highlighted eight subjects, and each will begin with the letter ‘H’ along with a reference from the letter. There will be no audio version of the devotion for these two weeks.

 

For today

 

HEIRS

 

1 Peter 1:3-5

 

‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.’

The word heir is linked with being a beneficiary of something. Because of the grace of God that has been revealed through Christ at Calvary and given to all who believe, we have become beneficiaries of all that God has prepared for those who love him.

Another verse of Scripture says ‘But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”’ (1 Corinthians 2:9)

It is a study in itself to consider the incredible future that God has already planned for each of us, we are going to inherit the Kingdom of God ‘Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ (Matthew 25:34) We will receive the crown of life, eternal life, (James 1:12).

All that God has prepared for us we will receive.

I have known a couple of occasions where I knew that someone had willed something to me, and yet I never received what had been willed. Not because the will had been changed, but for some reason the ones dealing with it failed to deliver, or someone decided to change it. Not so with God, whatever he intends for us to receive as heirs we will receive.

In Ephesians 3 we read ‘This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.’

In Galatians 3:29-4:7 ‘And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.’

FRIDAY October 27^th

 

1 Peter 4:11

‘To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.’

 

1 Peter 5:11

‘To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.’

 

We have come to the last of our devotions from Peter’s first epistle, (although as I announced a week ago while preaching I will send out a further eight devotions as a summary of the epistle). It has taken seventy four devotions. As we have gone through the various verses, I had deliberately left out the two verses before us today, for they are a fitting declaration to make as we leave this letter, and I will quote the longer of the two ‘To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen’

 

We are all aware of the hymn that says ‘To God be the glory, great things he has done’, and he truly has done great things, therefore he is worthy of all the glory. But even if God had not come down to meet us at Calvary, all glory and dominion would still belong to him, for he is the Eternal God and the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Romans 11:36 reads ‘For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.’

 

But we are so glad that he did come to this earth in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, his eternal Son to save us. Therefore we can say without any doubt in our hearts, ‘To God be all the glory and dominion forever and ever’.

 

But, there is a challenge within these closing verses, for if all the glory and dominion belongs to God, forever and ever then it means that we should endeavour to ensure that all that we are and all that we do as his redeemed sons and daughters should bring glory to God. This means that in every moment of our life, however long or short it may be, that we seek to honour God both through our lives and through our lips.

 

I think that this is why perhaps the most important issue that Peter brings up in this whole letter is the need for us to be people whose lives reflect something of the holiness of God in this unholy world in which we live. So I conclude our look at this epistle by using the words that Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2 ‘I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.’ When we truly do this our lives being lived out will bring glory to God.

THURSDAY October 26^th

 

1 Peter 5:12–14

‘By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.’

 

There was obviously a lot of relationship between the believers in the early Church, first there is Silvanus, who it would seem by what Peter has said actually wrote the letter on behalf of Peter. He describes him as a faithful brother, he then describes in a few words what this epistle has been all about, ‘the true grace of God’ and then exhorts again, ‘Stand firm in it’, that is stand firm in the grace of God.

 

There is then mention of an anonymous lady (she) who is at Babylon, and then he refers to Mark, who Peter calls his son, this is probably a reference to him as being a son in the faith, and is probably the Mark known as John Mark in Acts 12:12.

 

Paul had the same relationship with Timothy, who he called his child in the faith (1 Timothy 1:1) and his beloved child in 2 Timothy 1:2. He then encourages them to kiss each other with a kiss of love! Paul says to ‘Greet one another with a holy kiss’ (Romans 16:16).

 

In our British culture this seems to be going a step too far, but for many cultures even today it is an acceptable form of greeting, I guess if we were to re-phrase it into our culture it would be to greet each other with a good firm warm handshake, or maybe a gentle hug.

 

But, whatever way we choose to look at it we can see that the early church had a care for each other that was outworked or lived out in their relationship with each other. Remember they were living in communities that were hostile to the Christian faith, many being prosecuted for acknowledging that Jesus is Lord. They realised that in the oft-time toxic culture in which they lived they needed each other for succour, for strength and for support.

 

But we need to realise we need each other even when we live in good times, we should never wait till the tough times may come to seek to get or to give  support to others in the body of Christ, it should be the norm.

 

May God keep us bound together through his grace being outworked through us as a local Church in Gateshead, and for others the same in the place which you consider to be your spiritual home. May we always be there for each other, through both the good times and the bad.

WEDNESDAY October 25^th

 

1 Peter 5:10–11

‘And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.’

 

These verses give tremendous comfort to those of the Christian faith who are enduring severe testing or persecution for their faith at this time, if we stand firm, after we have suffered for a little while, God will do four things. He will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish.

 

There are three cross references from these verses in the ESV which I will add in here.

 

1 Corinthians 1:9 ‘God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.’

 

1 Thessalonians 2:12 ‘. . . we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.’

 

1 Timothy 6:12 ‘Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.’

 

I want to add another from Jude, firstly verse 20 ‘But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life’, then from verse 24 ‘Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy’.

 

We are nearly at the end of our devotions from 1^st Peter and among all of the wonderful things he has written to encourage and to exhort us in our Christian walk, are these words that reassure us that as we remain faithful, God is faithful to us. He will as Paul reminds us in his letter to the church at Philippi, complete that which he has started in us and one day we will stand in his presence, rejoicing that we have run the race and finished well.

 

The final phrase in our text today we will turn to in another devotion.