THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL ADDITION (PART 3)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

2 Peter 1:5b-7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In this third message in this series, The Power of Spiritual Addition, we find two more items that Christian believers are to adopt, supplementing their faith. These are to be added to the five prior attributes which included moral excellence, knowledge, self control, perseverance, and godliness. Here’s the last two things we’re to strive for found in verse 7 of 2 Peter, chapter 1:

...and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

Now, on the surface, these two might seem to be redundant but when we go to the Greek words for each, we see a distinct difference.

First, the Greek word that is translated “mutual affection” is “philadelphia”. In other Bible translations (NKJV, NLT, and ESV, for example) use the words “brotherly affection” for “philadelphia” and as you can see, this is where the United States city of Philadelphia derived its nickname, The City of Brotherly Love.

This mutual or brotherly affection is intended to relate to the feelings Christian believers should have for one another. It could also be worded “love for the brethren” alluding to the love that brothers (and sisters) in Christ share within the congregation of the saints. This verse calls Jesus followers to add this affection for each other to the previous traits.

Finally, we find the simple call to love but just like the Greek (philadelphia) for mutual or brotherly affection being of significant importance, so too is the word translated to love in this passage, the Greek word “agape”.

Of interest, there are four words in Greek that translate to the English “love” and “agape” is the strongest of the four. It is a sacrificial, unconditional form of love, one so strong that the person exhibiting it would be willing to surrender his or her life for the life of another.

We find the words of Jesus in the fifteenth chapter of John, the thirteenth verse, using love in this context when He said:

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. John 15:12-14

Derivatives of the word “agape” are used in both of the instances which tell us that Christian believers are to love one another as Jesus loved them and He loved them so much that He was willing to lay down His life for them. This is far beyond just brotherly affection. In fact, it takes it to a whole new level and that’s the point. The Lord wanted to end the list of spiritual additions with the most powerful one of all.

Friends, when we look at the Bible and the overarching salvation story, we see where self sacrificial love is at the center of it all.

God gave up His one and only Son Jesus out of His love for the world (John 3:16) and Jesus then willingly relinquished His life so that anyone who would believe in Him would be saved (Romans 10:13).

As believers, the scriptures are clear that we are to follow the lead of the Father and His Son in the way we live, adding the power of the love they have shown to the way we love one another.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL ADDITION (PART 2)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness.

2 Peter 1:5b-6 NIV

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Lord expects all Christians to grow in their faith from the time they believe in Jesus as Savior until the day they draw there last breath here on this earth as we know it. Indeed, there’s an expectation of spiritual addition that we find in the scriptures and yesterday we began to look at the expected supplementing of faith in the first message of what will be a six message series.

You may remember that this spiritual addition was progressive in nature. In part 1, we saw where Christian believers were to “supplement their faith with a generous portion of moral excellence” (NLT) which we see translated as “goodness” in the NIV. This starting point means to center all Jesus followers on putting righteousness and holiness first, adding them to faith and then building on that foundation.

From there, we saw the call for acquiring knowledge, not just any knowledge but the genuine, authentic knowledge that only comes from the Lord Himself. We reviewed two excerpts from Proverbs that reminded us that having reverence for God was the beginning of knowledge (1:7) and that believers were to trust in God for said knowledge with all of their heart, not leaving on their own understanding (3:5-6).

With goodness and knowledge added to faith, Christians were then to add self control, a fruit gained from gaining the Holy Spirit at the moment of belief in Jesus as Savior (Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit always works in the life of a believer to conform the way they live to the life of Jesus and that’s what being a Christian is all about, to be Christ-like in every way.

This brings us to today as we continue to add onto the spiritual identity we are to take on as true disciples of Jesus Christ. Look again at the verses that form today’s message:

...and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness. 2 Peter 1:6b

The first thing we are called to add is perseverance and boy do we ever need this as believers. I say this because the Christian walk over time is a marathon, not a sprint. There are many highs and lows, ups and downs, joys and sorrows, victories and defeats. These ebbs and flows can really sap one’s strength, leaving them emotionally exhausted and in many cases, ready to surrender and give up. Maybe you can relate.

This is why we find the Word of God calling believers to persevere. Consider these words from James, the brother of Jesus:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Trials test our faith for sure and in order for our faith impurities to be skimmed off by the Lord, we need to be superheated and melted down by life’s circumstances, much like the purification process used by a metallurgist working with gold or silver.

What is the end reward for persevering through trials?

We go a little further into James, chapter 1 for the answer.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him. v.12

Our struggles have an expiration date and that is when this worldly life ends. That’s good news for us all for when viewed in the light of the eternal life we are promised through our belief in Christ Jesus, our times of tribulation are but for a brief moment. This is why all Christians need to keep their hearts and minds fixed on the target, the day when they will see this life end and “receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him”.

As we move on from perseverance, we find the command to add godliness which simply means that we are to allow others to see God through the way we live. This begs several questions we need to consider for self reflection:

1. Do I think the way God thinks or are my thoughts more centered on the world and myself?

2. When I speak, would others feel like they are listening to God speaking to them?

3. In regard to my behavior, do I honor and represent God by the way I act around others? Do they see God in me or does my conduct more blend in with the world and its mannerisms?

Friends, I think we all are convicted by these questions. I know I was the moment I wrote them but they are important for us to consider because we see just how short we fall when it comes to call to be godly in the way we live.

In the end translation, we are all works in progress and the good news is that the Lord isn’t finished with us yet. Today is a ripe opportunity to become a better version of ourselves than we were yesterday and so let’s all commit ourselves to do just that, to add perseverance to our spiritual identity while we continue to strive for achieving godliness, a godliness reflected in the way we think, talk, and act.

Tomorrow, we’ll add two other critical elements that are needed if we’re to fully experience the power of spiritual addition.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

 

THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL ADDITION (PART 1)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control.

2 Peter 1:5-6a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Through belief in Jesus, Christian believers gain everything they could ever hope for, all they could ever need and this is guaranteed by the precious promises found in the Word of God.

This is the awesome truth conveyed by Peter in the opening verses of the first chapter of his second letter.

So, does this mean that Christians are to just to relax in their lives until they die, sure of the salvation that has been assured by the Maker and Master of all creation?

Not at all.

For as sure as the scriptures proclaim the abundant riches and rewards of becoming a Christian, they are equally assertive in demands expected of those who have chosen to accept Jesus as Savior.

As we continue our study of 2 Peter, we come upon a series of these demands that will form the backbone of this message series titled “The Power of Spiritual Addition”. As the series name suggests, Christian believers are to accept they are works in progress, expected to work hard every day to become more like Jesus and this will require intentional actions in regard to our spiritual selves. Let’s begin by looking at verse 5 and the first half of verse 6.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control. 2 Peter 1:5-6a

Note here that Christians are to “make every effort to respond” to the blessed assurances that God has given through His Word and while we can never completely repay God for all He has done, is doing, and is yet to do in our lives, we are to at least do as He is asking and He will never ask us to do anything He will not give us the ability to succeed in.

In this first message, here are the things God wants us to add as a supplement to our faith in Him.

1. A generous provision of moral excellence.

Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence...

At the core of the word “moral” is this concept of right and wrong, the good and bad found in human character.

Look at our world today and you will find that the lines are becoming increasingly blurred between righteousness and wickedness. In many places, we find evil actually worshiped and celebrated while the good are treated as if they are demonized and intolerant. Ever more, it is appearing that the righteous are becoming a minority and this really shouldn’t surprise us because the Bible certainly speaks of this world culture shift and unfortunately, it’s going to get worse before it gets better, much worse.

This doesn’t mean that Christians are to throw their hands up in the air and give up, surrendering to this downward trend seen in humanity. Rather, they are to continue to stand strong in the Lord and His strength in faith, complementing it with “a generous provision of moral excellence”. In other words, as believers stand firm in Christ, they are able to continue to shine His light into a dark world and we know the scriptures affirm that the darkness will never overcome the true Light of the world, Jesus (John 8:12, 1:5).

The world might be turning ever more evil but Christians are to continue showing moral excellence through their righteous behavior in and through Jesus.

2. Gain spiritual knowledge.

Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge.

The world offers a treasure trove of knowledge to anyone who wants to dabble in it but the only true knowledge that matters is the knowledge that comes from the One who ordains truth. We find this confirmed in the Book of Proverbs, first in the first chapter and then reinforced in the third.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Note that one can’t even begin to gain knowledge unless they come to the Lord in a spirit of reverence and respect. I think the imagery here is seeing any one person and totally ignorant and unknowledgeable coming before the One who holds all the knowledge needed. Desperately in need of what the Great Knowledge Holder has, you would come humbly before them, thankful for just a little of what they hold.

In this image, God is the Great Knowledge Holder and every single person in creation represents the one seeking anything information that might benefit them in life. This deep yearning and need is just what is reflected in the seventh chapter of Proverbs 1 and in chapter 3, we find the benefits that comes from not leaning “on our own understanding”. For when we totally submit to the Lord, trusting Him “with all” our heart, then and only then will we be assured that we will walk the straight and narrow path of righteousness through the knowledge he imparts to us, the path that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14).

3. Our knowledge leads to self control.

Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control.

As the world strays from moral excellence, void of the Lord’s knowledge that would keep them from walking the wide path to destruction, we see a population that lacks self control in the way they think, speak, and behave. Without the holy direction of the Lord through their rejection of Him, the large number of unrepentant, unsaved sinners of the world do as they please, chasing after their own desires or following any transgressive trend that seems to be popular at any one time.

Conversely, Christian believers can supplement their faith with moral excellence through following the guidance in the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit, the latter producing the following fruit within the life of the Jesus follower

...the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

The Holy Spirit, the Counselor and Advocate Jesus promised God would send after He ascended into Heaven (John 14:26), works within the Christian believer to produce wonderful qualities that the Lord desires and requires, and as you can see, one of those is self control. Indeed, when we believe in Jesus and gain the Holy Spirit, everything is expected to change within the life of the new believer. What was before is to be gone, traded in for what God wants which is a life that models and reflects His Son. This includes controlling our behavior so others can see Christ through us and the way we live.

Friends, being a Christian means we are to participate in the powerful exercise of spiritual addition. My prayer is that this series will help you to that end

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

PRECIOUS PROMISES

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

2 Peter 1:4

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When we chose to believe in Jesus as Savior, we gained the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which provides us every ounce of guidance we need to reach the righteousness and holiness the Lord desires and requires. We also automatically became a true child of God and a co-heir to the very Kingdom of Heaven where we have the blessed assurance of a life eternal.

That’s all we need in this life, the love of a Father God who cares and provides of us, and the guarantee that Hell is not our forever future. This is what we gleaned from yesterday’s message from the third verse of the first chapter of Peter’s second letter to “God’s chosen people” who were “living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1).

All this is promised for Christian believers within the Lord’s blessed Word, a Word that is perfect, unflawed, and unfailing, and this friends is a rich blessing for us all, a blessing Peter highlights in the words found in verse four of his second letter, the first chapter. There we read:

And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

Through the Word of God, a full representation of “His glory and excellence”, we have the complete guidance needed to live this life abundantly, fully able to “share His divine nature” while escaping “the world’s corruption caused by human desires”. This is reason to rejoice and be glad, not just today but every day we are given here on earth.

In His infinite wisdom and caring for us, God “has given us great and precious promises” and we couldn’t receive them from a more infallible source because the Lord always carries out what He says He will do.

Can you join me with a big “Amen” to that?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

WE ALREADY HAVE IT ALL

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Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:3

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Once a person chooses to believe in Jesus, they sacrifice the life they once lived, a life that was enslaved to sin which placed them on the sure path to damnation and eternity in Hell. They die to self, trading in their will for the blessed desires of the Lord through which they gain a guaranteed salvation. This is the expectation for all Christian believers for Jesus said so Himself.

“If anyone would come after Me, he must deny Himself and take up His cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for Me will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25

Now losing your life for Jesus might not seem like an attractive proposition on the surface but as we see in today’s scripture verse, by losing the world and our former life, we gain exceedingly more. Look at these words from Peter in the first chapter of his second letter to “God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1):

By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence. v.3

Jesus said that anyone who takes up His cross and follows will find life, true life now and forever through the One who is the Life and the only way to God the Father (John 14:6). And through this intentional yielding of oneself, note that God gives the believer “everything” they “need for living a godly life”.

In other words, as Christians, we already have it all, all that we could ever need and all we could ever hope for, all because we chose to “know Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence”.

I don’t know about you but this assurance is what makes me complete in a world that can make me feel incomplete in a moment’s notice if I allow it. I pray that this message will bless you today and be one that you can come back to in times when you might feel like you are lacking.

The Lord is always ready to remind you that you already have it all in and through Him. Receive His promise with thanksgiving and gladness.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

FAITH FROM JESUS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ.

I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior.

May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

2 Peter 1:1-2

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Good day and I pray this finds you and yours blessed by the abundant goodness of our Lord.

Today, we are beginning a study of Peter’s second letter and we start with the opening two verses of chapter 1:

This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ.

I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior.

May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

As we see in many of the New Testament epistles, the writer opens by identifying themselves by name with added words that proclaim their spiritual identity. In regard to Peter, we find him not only communicate to his readers that he was a person who was sent by Jesus to proclaim the Gospel to others (an apostle) but was also a servant enslaved by his Master. Slaves don’t have the personal freedom to do as they like but rather have their lives dictated by the one who owns them and in the end translation, all people are enslaved to one of two things, sin or Jesus. Peter made it clear that he had chosen the latter.

After this, we find Peter stating his intended audience, those who shared “the same precious faith” that he and his fellow Christian believers had. Specifically, we discover later in this letter that he was actually writing to the same brothers and sisters as he did in his first letter:

“This is my second letter to you, dear friends...” 2 Peter 3:1

Who were these friends?

We go back to the very first verse of Peter’s first letter to find the answer. For there, we see he was writing to:

“God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.”

Peter reminds these “chosen people”, who we know from the first letter were suffering from great persecution, that the “faith” they had was “given to” them only because of “the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ” who Peter identified as being “God and Savior”.

Here, we find Peter making it clear that there was only one true faith and that was the faith given to all those who placed their trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. It was a faith grounded in the guarantee of saving grace and eternal life, a guarantee that frees any Christian believer to live each day without worry or fear or anxiety because no matter what happens in this life, the best is still yet to come.

In the third part of this introduction, Peter raises up a petition to the Lord, hoping for Him to give all his readers “more and more grace and peace” as they grew in their “knowledge of God” and His Son “Jesus”. All those “living as foreigners” while exiled to their respective provinces were surely in need of a heavy dose of encouragement and Peter sought to get his letter off to the right start by delivering just that.

Tomorrow, we’ll see him write more about this matter.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

BEAUTIFUL WISHES

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In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Silvanus helped me write this short letter, and I consider him a faithful follower of the Lord. I wanted to encourage you and tell you how kind God really is, so you will keep on having faith in Him.

Greetings from the Lord's followers in Babylon. They are God's chosen ones.

Mark, who is like a son to me, sends his greetings too.

Give each other a warm greeting. I pray that God will give peace to everyone who belongs to Christ.

1 Peter 5:12-14 CEV

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today we finish our look at 1 Peter with the closing verses of chapter 5, verses that not only comprise a farewell but some beautiful wishes for those he was writing to, “God’s elect” who were “exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1). Let’s look again at verses 12 through 14.

Silvanus helped me write this short letter, and I consider him a faithful follower of the Lord. I wanted to encourage you and tell you how kind God really is, so you will keep on having faith in Him.

Greetings from the Lord's followers in Babylon. They are God's chosen ones.

Mark, who is like a son to me, sends his greetings too.

Give each other a warm greeting. I pray that God will give peace to everyone who belongs to Christ.

Here we learn that Peter had help in composing this letter, aided by Silvanus, the Greek name that also translates as Silas, a name we should be very familiar with because he was a close companion and fellow Gospel missionary with Paul during his second missionary journey (Acts 15 through 18).

We don’t know how Silas connected with Peter in Babylon where this letter was written from but nonetheless he was there and was an aide in the letter’s composition. It’s believed that Silas actually delivered this letter for Peter.

Peter also extended greetings from others to encourage his readers, the Lord’s readers in Babylon as well as Mark who he describes as “like a son” to him. We know that Peter’s target audience was suffering persecution for their Christian belief and this letter had to lift their spirits, letting them know they weren’t forgotten but in the thoughts of fellow believers.

We see that Peter also encouraged his brothers and sisters in Christ by wishing them three important, beautiful things.

First, he wished to “encourage” them by expressing the goodness of God, the God who loved and cared for them, a God they could rely on if they would only keep “having faith in Him”.    

The second thing we find Peter wishing for his readers was kind fellowship with one another. He encouraged them to be joined together in the unity of their common belief in Jesus and the sure salvation found in and through Him. Peter hoped they would give one another warm greetings as they interacted with one another.

Finally, we find Peter expressing a desire through prayer that the Christian believers exiled in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia would experience the peace of God in their lives, individually and collectively.

Friends, as we finish this study of 1 Peter, we are left with a wonderful example to follow. For as we correspond with other Jesus believers ourselves, we too can hope they would realize the goodness of God in their lives, share in warm fellowship through a unity in Christ Jesus, and tangibly feel the blessed peace of God, fully knowing He is their very present help (Psalm 46:1).

My prayer is that you will join me in following Peter’s lead.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THIS LIFE IS ONLY TEMPORARY

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Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In His kindness, God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. All power to Him forever! Amen.

1 Peter 5:10-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If you were to allow the daily news to impact you and the way you view the world you live in, I’m afraid you might end up where I am sometimes, depressed and disenfranchised. Whether we get our information from sources on television or streaming online, it isn’t a pretty picture, for sure, and we definitely are reminded of how much sin and evil are alive and well in all parts of the world.

When I find myself in this place, a place where I need encouragement, there is an old saying that comes to mind in regard to Christian believers and their future in light of the present. It goes like this...

We (Christians) are in the world but we aren’t of it.

In other words, through trust in Jesus as Savior, all believers gain a permanent home in Heaven, co-heirs to the Kingdom (Romans 8:14-17) who will inhabit places already prepared for them by Christ Himself (John 14:1-3). That means that this life is only temporary.

Friends, this is good news for all Christians, good news that displaces our discouragement and replaces it with hope and joy. For no matter what happens in this world during this transitory existence we’re in, the best is still yet to come and when I say best, I mean that even your most fantastic day on earth will pale in comparison to every single day of your life in Heaven.

With this, let’s look at our scripture passage today as we are on the downside of our study of 1 Peter, chapter 5. Here’s what we read in verses 10 and 11:

In His kindness, God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. All power to Him forever! Amen.

Here we find important affirmation from the very Word of our God. For through “His kindness”, He “called” for Christian believers “to share in His eternal glory” (aka Heaven) through “Christ Jesus”, His Son. We also are reminded that we will experience suffering in life, even if we are saved through believing in Jesus. It’s inevitable and all part of the Christian experience if you think about it. For why would we think we could go through life, free from affliction when our Savior Jesus was brutally beaten and then crucified to save us.

Fortunately, just as Jesus only suffered briefly before drawing His final breath and then rising up in victory from the tomb on the third day, soon to enter His Father’s glory, so too will all Christian believers find their Heavenly Father “restore, support, and strengthen” them, placing them “on a firm foundation”. He will make new all those who placed their faith in His Son as they abide with Him forever.

So take heart brother and sisters in Christ. While this world will so often leave us in a state of dismay, keep your eyes fixed on Heaven and know it is your permanent home after this temporary life ends.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

KEEP YOUR GUARD UP!

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

1 Peter 5:8-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I’ve had the privilege to travel all over the world in my nearly 65 years of life, more than 50 countries and counting. Of course, this globetrotting has often put me in unfamiliar places where I wasn’t familiar with my surroundings. In those instances, there’s a famous saying that would always apply:

“Keep your head on a swivel.”

The gist of this saying is grounded in the matter of always staying alert and aware of what’s going on around you. I think the technical term is more like “situational awareness” and I have gotten in the habit of always applying it when I am out and about in a foreign place. It has served me well in ensuring I stayed safe and out of potential trouble.

As we turn to our scripture passage for today, we see where this principle also holds relevance from a spiritual perspective. Look again at verses 8 and 9 from the fifth chapter of 1 Peter. There we read the following:

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Here the Word of God is demanding that all Christian believers have their heads on a swivel, always “alert and of sober mind”.

Why?

Because the devil, our enemy for as long as we live on this earth, is always on the prowl “like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”. And since he is always on the prowl, there is no time to let down our guard. There’s definitely an important element of persistent vigilance in the Lord’s command.

The call is to resistance, to stand “firm in the faith” which is really telling us to stay grounded in the Lord, in His strength and power which will always provide us what we need to ward off the advances of the enemy. And as an element of our protection against Satan, the scriptures provide further guidance in the sixth chapter of Ephesians.

... be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert. Vv. 10-18

Friends, every day we step out onto the battlefield of life to do battle with an enemy that only wishes us harm. Thankfully, we won’t fight alone as long as we keep our guard up and our full armor of God on, for when we do, we will always find a blessed protection from the One who will is our Refuge, Strength, and ever present Help (Psalm 46:1).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

SURRENDER EVERY WORRY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1 Peter 5:7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

While many people globally deal with physical health ailments, an equal number, if not more, struggle with mental health conditions with depression and anxiety being the most prevalent.

In regard to the latter, roughly 300 million people are being treated for anxiety-related conditions, conditions grounded in emotions that range from worry to stress to fear. And these are just the number of those formally diagnosed. Given the cultural stigmas associated with mental health or even the unavailability of treatment in many remote parts of the world, the numbers have to be much, much higher.

Add this to the truth that we all will experience episodes of episodic anxiety in life and we see where this is an issue that all people in general need help with. Thankfully, as we turn to the scriptures, we find important, helpful guidance from the Lord.

First, consider these words from Jesus Himself as He delivered His first extensive public teaching during at the beginning of His ministry. Here’s what he had to say in the Gospel of Matthew:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34

It’s been said that perhaps there is no greater time when we fail to trust God than when we worry and in saying that, there’s way too much untrusting going on. Far too much, and through these verses, we know that this matter of anxiety and worry aren’t just a modern day problem. For as long as mankind has had to deal with life, there have been things to be troubled over. In speaking to His listeners (which include us today), Jesus makes it clear that no one is to worry about their life, not about the food needed to eat or clothes to wear or even “tomorrow”. God makes sure the birds are always fed and the “flowers of the field” rise up in beautiful, colorful appearance. And why be concerned over a day that is not yet even here. Each day has plenty of its own matters a person needs to deal with.

The bottom line is that God provides what’s needed and if He does this so readily for the “birds of the air” and the “flowers of the field” then how much more would He provide for His people who are far more valuable to Him?

Note here how those who choose worry over trust are rebuked as having “little faith” and questioned regarding the value of fretting, proclaiming that being anxious about things adds no hours to one’s life. Rather, incessant worrying can result in negative health effects that may actually shorten one’s lifespan.

The call is not to worry as the pagans (unbelievers) do but rather “seek first” the very “Kingdom” of God and “His righteousness”.

As we see in yet one other important passage on this subject, Christian believers are also supposed to seek peace, and not just any peace, but a pure peace that only comes from God. Look at these Words of God from the fourth chapter of Philippians:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Here we find a strict command from the Lord.

Christians are “not to be anxious about anything”. Not one thing.

There are no exception clauses to this demand. Every Christian believer is being told to not be anxious about anything in life. Period. And if we’re ever going to hope to rid ourselves of the damaging impact of anxiety, we must first respond in obedience to the order from our Lord.

So how do we go about accomplishing this? What is the kryptonite that can disable and disarm worry, stress, and fear in our lives?

The Lord tells us to simply trust Him with all that we’re dealing with. It’s as simple as that.

Christians are to come before the God through which nothing is impossible by way of prayer requests and petitions with a spirit of thanksgiving, laying down their burdens before Him and trusting that He will handle them perfectly as only He can.

When a believer does this, when they surrender all their troubles and totally rely on God to handle life’s matters, something amazing and beautiful happens.

They gain peace, and not just any peace but the kind that transcends all understanding because it comes from God Himself.

This is a peace that can be found nowhere else, a holy peace set apart from any other. Any other peace will fall short of the peace we truly yearn for.

And as if this wasn’t incredible enough, the Lord offers us one other assurance that comes with completely trusting Him. For note that the believer will find their hearts and minds guarded in Christ Jesus, the One who is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

In other words, God offers us a perfect, protected peace but only when we surrender our worry and rely fully on Him.

My prayer is that you will do just that today and every day to come.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.