March 29, 2024
This week is 1 Peter 3:15-16. And this is three weeks in a row! I am on a roll.
Prayer
Psalm 123:1-2
1 I lift up my eyes to You,
to You whose throne is in heaven.
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till He shows us His mercy.
November 3, 2022
1 Peter 3:15-16
Examine
           15 But 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, 16 keep a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
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Notice
God
·      God is Jesus, Who is our Savior.
·      Jesus is our example.
·      God is our protector.
·      Jesus is our Lord.
Lesson
·      We need to always be ready to explain our faith to anyone who asks.
·      To be able to explain our faith we must be knowledgeable of God’s Word by studying it faithfully.
·      We are to be gentle, even in the face of hostility.
·      Our gentleness is evidence of God’s love and tenderness.
·      Jesus is our example on how to meet hostility with humility and gentleness.
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Do/Thoughts
           I haven’t faced anyone hostile to my faith in a while. I fear, though, that Josie is slipping away and accepting lies that are definitely not Biblical. I have to be careful what I say to her and how. She knows what I believe. When she brings it up, she wants me to understand and still love her.
March 29, 2024
Have I ever actually shared the Gospel and received negative feedback? I can think of one time, but I am not going to go into details. It was a clash of different religions. Other than that I can't think of any other time.
Now when it comes to sharing my faith by the way I live my life, I have had rejection from friends and coworkers. Some of the rejection resulted in harassment at work. One did result in a change of heart. I treasure that one. The negative ones I accept them for what they were - attacks brought on by sinful nature. They were painful, but in the end my faith was strengthened as I moved on. With God's help we can withstand the attacks of a sinful world. The world hated Jesus and because we are believers in Him, the world hates us. But Jesus has overcome the world. People can attack us, but in the end, after we have survived the world's attacks, Jesus will bring us home to Heaven where we will be free from pain and sin.
Since we know the end of the story and the One who is walking beside us, we can share our faith freely. One way to open a dialogue is when people notice that we are living our lives differently - when we are reflecting God to the world. That is why we must be ready "to give an answer" as to "the hope that you have."
One of my favorite short answers is when someone tells me how strong I am. I like to point out that it isn't my strength they see, but rather it is God's strength working in me. I cannot face all the troubles this world throws at me by myself. I can only weather the storm with God holding me close.
What is this teaching me about God?
God wants us to share His story. God knows that we face an angry world that wants nothing to do with Him or His message. God also knows that there are hearts that are thirsty for His message - even if they don't know that is what they are looking for.
God wants to go out into the world, however far we can (sometimes our home is as far as we get when we have children). He wants us to be like Jesus when we carry His message - humble and loving with a strength and resolve that is build on God's promises. We are to be lights to a darkened world. Even if we think our light is too small, every light matters when chasing away darkness.
Jesus dwells within our hearts and therefore He is always with us and goes with us on our journey on this earth with our final destination being Heaven.
God's Blessings.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.