Thursday, November 13, 2003
From August 30, 2003
A call to live for God
“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who suffered in his body is done with sin.” – I Peter 4:1
- The THEREFORE here refers to Christ’s willingness to lay down his life and die for us. He willingly obeyed God to the point of death. He knew God had a better plan, a good plan for what he had called Jesus to do.
THAT was Jesus’ attitude toward God. WE should have that same attitude. It is interesting and important to note however, that Christ DID wrestle and struggle with God. He prayed over it until he sweat blood.
It is OK for us to struggle with God’s will for our lives. It is most important that our attitude be one of willingness to surrender. Sometimes we have to work through our emotions and feelings in order to be so willing.
A call to live for God
“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who suffered in his body is done with sin.” – I Peter 4:1
- The THEREFORE here refers to Christ’s willingness to lay down his life and die for us. He willingly obeyed God to the point of death. He knew God had a better plan, a good plan for what he had called Jesus to do.
THAT was Jesus’ attitude toward God. WE should have that same attitude. It is interesting and important to note however, that Christ DID wrestle and struggle with God. He prayed over it until he sweat blood.
It is OK for us to struggle with God’s will for our lives. It is most important that our attitude be one of willingness to surrender. Sometimes we have to work through our emotions and feelings in order to be so willing.
From August 24, 2003
Always gonna be dirty
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, 8 in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” – I Peter 3:18-21
Christ died ONCE for all, for sins. In his ONE death, he took ALL of my sins and buried them in the tomb. What’s more, according to this passage, we are saved in our pledge of a good conscience toward God, through baptism. It is NOT the removal of dirt from our bodies that saves us, but our commitment to God.
As I have experienced these past few weeks, my body is full of dirt. As long as I live on this Earth and in this body, that will be the case. At times it may feel like I am a huge sandbox, and at other times – only a pale, but I will always have dirt. That is why it was necessary for Christ’s death to be FOR ALL sins ONCE. We are flawed people living in a flawed world. It is impossible for us to ever meet the criteria needed for “righteousness.” And only righteousness can dwell in the presence of God.
Therefore Christ, the only man who was ever truly righteous took on my sin so that he could pay the price of my sin (death) and in his resurrection by the spirit, stand in my place before the father for those sins. He did this so that by HIS spirit, righteousness can be conveyed to me.
The bottom line is that I will always have sin. My heart is pledged to live more as Christ calls, and for that I know have his righteousness. If I fall, if I struggle, the fact is: my sins have been paid for and they are over. There is no need to dwell on the mistakes of the past, but to commit NOW to listening to the Spirit for the future and to use my time wisely for none of us knows how MUCH time we have left.
Always gonna be dirty
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, 8 in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” – I Peter 3:18-21
Christ died ONCE for all, for sins. In his ONE death, he took ALL of my sins and buried them in the tomb. What’s more, according to this passage, we are saved in our pledge of a good conscience toward God, through baptism. It is NOT the removal of dirt from our bodies that saves us, but our commitment to God.
As I have experienced these past few weeks, my body is full of dirt. As long as I live on this Earth and in this body, that will be the case. At times it may feel like I am a huge sandbox, and at other times – only a pale, but I will always have dirt. That is why it was necessary for Christ’s death to be FOR ALL sins ONCE. We are flawed people living in a flawed world. It is impossible for us to ever meet the criteria needed for “righteousness.” And only righteousness can dwell in the presence of God.
Therefore Christ, the only man who was ever truly righteous took on my sin so that he could pay the price of my sin (death) and in his resurrection by the spirit, stand in my place before the father for those sins. He did this so that by HIS spirit, righteousness can be conveyed to me.
The bottom line is that I will always have sin. My heart is pledged to live more as Christ calls, and for that I know have his righteousness. If I fall, if I struggle, the fact is: my sins have been paid for and they are over. There is no need to dwell on the mistakes of the past, but to commit NOW to listening to the Spirit for the future and to use my time wisely for none of us knows how MUCH time we have left.
