Peter's call

Peter's Call
The apostle Peter writes,
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends,
 I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." 1 Peter 2:9-12.
Peter makes it clear that those who believe in Christ Jesus are.
 “...a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation , a people belonging to God,”
We are a people who are to
“declare the praises of him (Jesus) who called out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 
Peter reminds us that we are
“aliens and strangers in the world” 
“to abstain from sinful desires,”
He tells us to,
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
Thus my question to anyone reading this who claims to be a Christian is are you doing what the apostle Peter is telling us to do?
Please think about it.

Four more Questions

Four more questions?
The apostle Paul writing to Timothy states,
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  
This is good, and pleases God our Saviour,  who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”  1Timothy 2:1-4.
Do you pray for everyone, not only those around you but kings and those in authority?
As I write this there is a highly charged political environment in the United States. Sadly many Christians are taking sides in the political arena, mixing their faith with politics. This should not be so. None of the apostles ever mixed politics and their faith. Nor should we.
Jesus, and the apostles lived in a multicultural world similar in some ways to our own here in the democracies of the west today. The difference being they did not live in a democracy. Thus they had no say in who would govern them.
So when the apostle Paul tells Timothy to pray for kings and those in authority he is asking Timothy to pray that those governing will basically leave Christians alone. That Christians may live quiet lives.
Living in peace with those around you is the best way to spread the gospel message. Christians I believe here particularly in the United States and Canada seem to have forgotten this.
Christians it seems in the United States and to a lesser degree in Canada are known for being aggressive against anything they disagree with. Sadly among some in our society Christians are seen as uncaring bigots. This certainly is not what God wants.
The apostle Peter writes,
“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11,12
If you claim to be a Christian. A follower of Christ Jesus. Ask yourself these questions,
1/ Am I praying correctly for those in authority?
2/ Am I praying that the governing authorities will let us live in peace?
3/ Am I abstaining from “sinful desires”?
4/ Am I living a good life. A life God would truly be proud of?
Please think about it.

We are the Aliens

We are the Aliens
The writer of Hebrews states,
“All these people (...Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.” Hebrews 11:13.
The apostle Peter writing to believers in Christ states,
“Dear friends,
I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11,12.
If you claim to be a believer in Christ you need to always remember you are an alien in the world. As such you must as far as possible live a good life.
We as believers in Christ Jesus must remember that it is through the lense of our words and deeds that people will see Jesus.
For me the best way to do this is to remember the words of Jesus who said,

“So in everything,

 do to others 

what you would have them do to you, 

for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” 

                                                        Matthew 7:12.

Please if you consider yourself a believer in Christ Jesus,
Think about it.

Outcome of a Disagreement

Outcome of a Disagreement
The apostle Peter wrote,
“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11,12
A short while ago I had a disagreement with a man claiming to be Christian over something he said, This man went to church every week and during the week. He was a kind and gentle man. By all standards a good man. Who did good works. Yet judging by what he said some around him questioned if he really was a Christian.
He had an offbeat sense of humour which is not a bad thing. That being said he would say things that quite frankly shocked people. It was obvious he hadn’t thought of the consequences of his words. Sadly he is not alone. There are many within the church that are like him. Many who despite claiming to be Christian have a very secular attitude. Looking more like the world around them than Christ.
Billy Graham the American evangelist said,
“Those outside the church expect followers of Christ to live differently, yet today many in church are chasing after the world - not to win them, but to be like them.”Billy Graham
Francis of Assisi said,

“The deeds you do 

may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 

                                                                           Francis of Assisi.

We need to remember that the world is watching anyone who claims to be Christian. We need to remember that the only way we will win souls for Christ is if we live as far as humanly possible Christlike lives.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22,23.
If we are exhibiting these traits in our daily lives then we will win souls for Christ.
The apostle Peter wrote,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends,
I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
We need to remember what Peter said, we are aliens and strangers in this world. We need to abstain from sinful desires. Living as good a life as we can. For that is what sets us apart from the world around us and that is what will attract people to Christ.

Francis of Assisi wrote a prayer that I think all who consider themselves Christians need to read and take to heart. He wrote,

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” 

                                                                  Francis of Assisi

Please think about it.

Your words and deeds

Your words and deeds
The apostle Peter writes,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends,
 I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
Here is some simple truths that anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ Jesus needs to keep in mind.
1. We “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.”
2. We are to “...declare the praises of him (God) who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
3. We are “ aliens and strangers in the world,”
4. We are to “to abstain from sinful desires.”
5. We are to “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 
We as Christians must remember the world is watching us. That it is through the lense of our words and deed that the people around us will see Christ Jesus.
 As Francis of Assisi said,

“The deeds you do 

may be the only sermon 

some persons will hear today” 

                                             Francis of Assisi 

Question, What are your words and deeds telling the world around you?
  Please think about it.