Scripture: 1 Peter 2:11-12
Summary: Abstain from the desires of the flesh and conduct yourselves honorably, so that people may see your deeds and glorify God.
Thoughts: The people to whom 1 Peter was written lived in communities with very few Christians. In this scripture, the writer is encouraging them to be honorable among these non-Christians, letting their deeds speak for themselves. How well do I let my deeds speak for myself? In some aspects of my life I do a good job of living honorably. I treat other drivers with consideration, giving them space to merge in to my lane. I tell the cashier when I have been given too much change back. But it's more difficult to act honorably when the actions cost significant time or money. Like using and washing a coffee cup at church rather than using the disposable cup or buying the free range chicken instead of the chicken raised in horrible conditions. But God is calling all of us to live honorably so that we can glorify God in all of our actions, not just when it is convenient or cheap. Which aspects of your life need more honor?
Prayer: Creator God, help me to make the honorable choices today, considering my fellow travellers in this life, as well as the creation around me. Amen.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
1 Peter 2:9-10 - Winter Retreat shows God's people at work
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9-10
Summary: We are a chosen race, God's own people. God called us out of darkness into God's light.
Thoughts: We are the people of God. God has claimed us. We were called by God our of the darkness that we inhabit, into the marvelous light of God. How would our lives be different if we lived as if we were God's people? I think I saw an example of this a week ago at Holy Covenant UMC's youth Winter Retreat. It was a beautiful weekend. The days were warm, which was much appreciated since it had been snowing only a few days before and had been bitterly cold (for Dallas, anyway!). We went to Turner Falls in Oklahoma for the day, but much of the snow and ice that had fallen had not melted there. So the paths that are normally easy to scramble up and down were much more treacherous. It was there that I saw a youth group, that often splits into specific sub-groups, turn into a cohesive whole. I saw chains of 8-10 youth helping each other down the mountainside and some youth going back up to help others down. Unfortunately, we did have one injury (sorry Katelyn!) but I believe that it could have been much worse if we had not all been working together to help each other. What if we took this lesson, that the path is easier to traverse when working together, and extended it to our daily lives? What if we lived as God's people, treating everyone else around us as a special child of God? How would the world be different?
Prayer: Lord, help me to live as one of your chosen people, loving those around me unconditionally. Amen.
Summary: We are a chosen race, God's own people. God called us out of darkness into God's light.
Thoughts: We are the people of God. God has claimed us. We were called by God our of the darkness that we inhabit, into the marvelous light of God. How would our lives be different if we lived as if we were God's people? I think I saw an example of this a week ago at Holy Covenant UMC's youth Winter Retreat. It was a beautiful weekend. The days were warm, which was much appreciated since it had been snowing only a few days before and had been bitterly cold (for Dallas, anyway!). We went to Turner Falls in Oklahoma for the day, but much of the snow and ice that had fallen had not melted there. So the paths that are normally easy to scramble up and down were much more treacherous. It was there that I saw a youth group, that often splits into specific sub-groups, turn into a cohesive whole. I saw chains of 8-10 youth helping each other down the mountainside and some youth going back up to help others down. Unfortunately, we did have one injury (sorry Katelyn!) but I believe that it could have been much worse if we had not all been working together to help each other. What if we took this lesson, that the path is easier to traverse when working together, and extended it to our daily lives? What if we lived as God's people, treating everyone else around us as a special child of God? How would the world be different?
Prayer: Lord, help me to live as one of your chosen people, loving those around me unconditionally. Amen.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
1 Peter 2:4-8 - Bricked into a wall or into a fluid community?
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4-8
Summary: Christ is the cornerstone of our spiritual houses.
Thoughts: There is some interesting imagery in this scripture. For example, "like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house." At first glance, this makes me nervous. Being built into a spiritual house sounds like allowing yourself to be bricked into a wall. It sounds restricting, like once it happened you would never be able to move or change again! Perhaps I could instead think about being built into a spiritual house like my church congregation, which is fluid and ever changing, but built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. For with Christ as our foundation, there is so much opportunity to effect a change in our world. We can be a spiritual house that reaches out to others. We can be a spiritual house that not only invites others to join us, but that goes out into the community to change it for the better. Making change is very difficult. But with Christ as our foundation, as our cornerstone, we can not only change our community, we can change the world, one person at a time!
Prayer: Christ, our cornerstone, chosen and precious, give us strength, support us, so that we your brothers and sisters in love, might be your hands and feet in this world. Amen.
Summary: Christ is the cornerstone of our spiritual houses.
Thoughts: There is some interesting imagery in this scripture. For example, "like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house." At first glance, this makes me nervous. Being built into a spiritual house sounds like allowing yourself to be bricked into a wall. It sounds restricting, like once it happened you would never be able to move or change again! Perhaps I could instead think about being built into a spiritual house like my church congregation, which is fluid and ever changing, but built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. For with Christ as our foundation, there is so much opportunity to effect a change in our world. We can be a spiritual house that reaches out to others. We can be a spiritual house that not only invites others to join us, but that goes out into the community to change it for the better. Making change is very difficult. But with Christ as our foundation, as our cornerstone, we can not only change our community, we can change the world, one person at a time!
Prayer: Christ, our cornerstone, chosen and precious, give us strength, support us, so that we your brothers and sisters in love, might be your hands and feet in this world. Amen.
Monday, January 24, 2011
1 Peter 2:1-3 - tasting God?
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:1-3
Summary: Get rid of all malice, guile, insincerity, envy, and slander. Long for the pure, spiritual milk.
Thoughts: Get rid of all the bad stuff in your life, this scripture says. Rid yourself of it. Throw it away. Then, like babies, we should long for the "pure, spiritual milk." Clean your life and then feed yourself on the purest of foods, the spiritual milk from God, so that you can grow in salvation. We must work every day at our salvation, changing our lives, making different choices, so that we can slowly change ourselves into the likeness of Christ. And this scripture ends on an interesting note. All of this we should do "if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good." We have heard all of our lives that "God is good.' And we have seen many instances where the Lord provided good things for us. But have we tasted that the Lord is good? Has God become such an integral part of us that we have tasted the God is good? I know that I have tasted that God is good during communion. As I ingested the body and blood of Christ, given for me, I have known with my entire being that God is good. All the time. And so, in response, I will try to clean my life and feed myself on pure, spiritual milk so that I may grow in God. Thanks be to God.
Prayer: Help me to work this day on cleaning out my life so that I can feed on your pure, spiritual milk. Amen.
Summary: Get rid of all malice, guile, insincerity, envy, and slander. Long for the pure, spiritual milk.
Thoughts: Get rid of all the bad stuff in your life, this scripture says. Rid yourself of it. Throw it away. Then, like babies, we should long for the "pure, spiritual milk." Clean your life and then feed yourself on the purest of foods, the spiritual milk from God, so that you can grow in salvation. We must work every day at our salvation, changing our lives, making different choices, so that we can slowly change ourselves into the likeness of Christ. And this scripture ends on an interesting note. All of this we should do "if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good." We have heard all of our lives that "God is good.' And we have seen many instances where the Lord provided good things for us. But have we tasted that the Lord is good? Has God become such an integral part of us that we have tasted the God is good? I know that I have tasted that God is good during communion. As I ingested the body and blood of Christ, given for me, I have known with my entire being that God is good. All the time. And so, in response, I will try to clean my life and feed myself on pure, spiritual milk so that I may grow in God. Thanks be to God.
Prayer: Help me to work this day on cleaning out my life so that I can feed on your pure, spiritual milk. Amen.
Friday, January 14, 2011
1 Peter 1:22-25 - born anew into love
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:22-25
Summary: You have purified your souls and have genuine mutuual love, so love one another. You have been born anew through the word of God. Our flesh withers but the word of God endures forever.
Thoughts: I have just finished a week at Perkins School of Youth Ministry. If you have never been, PSYM is a place were youth ministers gather from across the country to learn and fellowship together. I always leave PSYM feeling renewed.and challenged to continue God's work of bringing young people into relationship with God through Christ. Although it is easy to get disillusioned and disheartened by the state of the world, the state of the economy, or the state of youth today, I gain new hope from the stories of these people who work daily with youth. I find comfort in learning that I am not the only one dealing with the problems that I face and I always come away from PSYM with new ideas for my ministry. This scripture today reminds me of PSYM in 2 aspects. First, it tells us to "love one another deeply from the heart." I heard over and over again this week that relationships are the key to youth ministry. So I am returning my focus this year to loving each youth that I encounter, hoping that a glimpse of God's love for that person may be seen in my love. Second, the scripture says that "You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God." We have been born again. We all have the chance to remake ourselves in the image of God, as shown us by Jesus Christ. Let's take that chance, each day, to be like God as we love one another deeply!
Prayer: Loving and passionate God, create in me a new desire to be like You, to love all of those around me. Remind me each day that I have the chance, in that day, to start afresh, living my life following Christ. Amen.
Summary: You have purified your souls and have genuine mutuual love, so love one another. You have been born anew through the word of God. Our flesh withers but the word of God endures forever.
Thoughts: I have just finished a week at Perkins School of Youth Ministry. If you have never been, PSYM is a place were youth ministers gather from across the country to learn and fellowship together. I always leave PSYM feeling renewed.and challenged to continue God's work of bringing young people into relationship with God through Christ. Although it is easy to get disillusioned and disheartened by the state of the world, the state of the economy, or the state of youth today, I gain new hope from the stories of these people who work daily with youth. I find comfort in learning that I am not the only one dealing with the problems that I face and I always come away from PSYM with new ideas for my ministry. This scripture today reminds me of PSYM in 2 aspects. First, it tells us to "love one another deeply from the heart." I heard over and over again this week that relationships are the key to youth ministry. So I am returning my focus this year to loving each youth that I encounter, hoping that a glimpse of God's love for that person may be seen in my love. Second, the scripture says that "You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God." We have been born again. We all have the chance to remake ourselves in the image of God, as shown us by Jesus Christ. Let's take that chance, each day, to be like God as we love one another deeply!
Prayer: Loving and passionate God, create in me a new desire to be like You, to love all of those around me. Remind me each day that I have the chance, in that day, to start afresh, living my life following Christ. Amen.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
1 Peter 1:17-21 - Christ leads us, will you follow?
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:17-21
Summary: You were ransomed from the futile ways of the world by Christ. Through him you come to know God.
Thoughts: Some folks get all caught up in the 'blood of Christ.' It becomes so important that Christ died for their sins that they forget what else Christ did. He lived a life that showed us how awesome God is. He told us stories and parables that explain how much God loves us, just as we are. Yes, he did die and that is important to the story. But it's important because after he died he was resurrected by God, proving that even death had no power over him. So my favorite part of this scripture is at the end. "Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God." Jesus Christ points us to God and leads us to the pathway of God. The entire story is important from birth to death to resurrection. Christ did die for us but he also beat death for us so we no longer have to fear death! Let us set our faith and hope on God so that we too might follow in the footsteps of Christ.
Prayer: God help me to trust in you and learn to set my faith and hope on you, in all things. Just as Jesus Christ taught us to. Amen.
Summary: You were ransomed from the futile ways of the world by Christ. Through him you come to know God.
Thoughts: Some folks get all caught up in the 'blood of Christ.' It becomes so important that Christ died for their sins that they forget what else Christ did. He lived a life that showed us how awesome God is. He told us stories and parables that explain how much God loves us, just as we are. Yes, he did die and that is important to the story. But it's important because after he died he was resurrected by God, proving that even death had no power over him. So my favorite part of this scripture is at the end. "Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God." Jesus Christ points us to God and leads us to the pathway of God. The entire story is important from birth to death to resurrection. Christ did die for us but he also beat death for us so we no longer have to fear death! Let us set our faith and hope on God so that we too might follow in the footsteps of Christ.
Prayer: God help me to trust in you and learn to set my faith and hope on you, in all things. Just as Jesus Christ taught us to. Amen.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
1 Peter 1:13-16 - Living the Christian life
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:13-16
Summary: We need to discipline ourselves and be holy as God is holy.
Thoughts: Living a Christian life really has two parts. (It might have more, but today I'm focusing on 2!) First we have to learn about God, through Christ. We learn about God and God's people in the Old Testament and we learn about Jesus Christ and what he showed us about God in the New Testament. Learning about God helps us to build up our faith. But what happens as we develop our faith? A strong faith begins to show on the outside. We begin to be more like Jesus. We begin to show concern for others. We begin to strive to be holy. And we continue to move in God's direction all of our lives. We continue learning more about God and it continues to show in who we are and what we do. We should never stop growing and seeking God. And it should never stop showing up in our lives.
Prayer: God, may I become so focused on you that it just automatically spills out of me and into the lives of everyone around me. Amen.
Summary: We need to discipline ourselves and be holy as God is holy.
Thoughts: Living a Christian life really has two parts. (It might have more, but today I'm focusing on 2!) First we have to learn about God, through Christ. We learn about God and God's people in the Old Testament and we learn about Jesus Christ and what he showed us about God in the New Testament. Learning about God helps us to build up our faith. But what happens as we develop our faith? A strong faith begins to show on the outside. We begin to be more like Jesus. We begin to show concern for others. We begin to strive to be holy. And we continue to move in God's direction all of our lives. We continue learning more about God and it continues to show in who we are and what we do. We should never stop growing and seeking God. And it should never stop showing up in our lives.
Prayer: God, may I become so focused on you that it just automatically spills out of me and into the lives of everyone around me. Amen.
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