Fri.’s Devo - Living a Holy Life

Read 1 Peter 3:16-17

“Having a good conscience” means that no one can accuse you of wrong doing because you don’t do wrong. We CAN walk a holy walk. In Lev. 20:7, God told the people to sanctify themselves, and be holy; for he is a holy god- the only true ad holy God. Peter instructs the people to be holy in all manner of conversation because it is written, “be ye holy; for I am holy”. So it has been possible to live a holy life in the old and new testaments and there have been those who have: Enoch, Elisha, Daniel, John, Stephen, to name a few. Living a holy life doesn’t mean that you never make a mistake, it just means that you keep your heart pure by reading God’s Word and having an active relationship with the Holy Spirit. If you lead this holy life then you can be blameless of accusations and be free to live. People can accuse us all they want but God knows if it is true. If it isn’t then we don’t have to worry about clearing our names or fighting defensively: God will do that for us. Jesus was falsely accused of so many things that it finally earned him the cross. But God fought for him and through the cross we gained eternal life with God. We all get eternal life, but some will be tormented and some blessed. I’d rather spend my eternity being in the presence of God and ever growing in wisdom and knowledge of God and his ways.

Lord, help us to live a holy life that gives you honor and makes you smile.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Christian Walk

Read 1 Pet. 3:8-15

Peter tells us to be “all of one mind”. We will not always agree on everything but what we do agree with is the standard that Jesus was sent by god to earth to be our Savior. If that is our basic belief then we are one. We are to reach out to each other in compassion, love each other, be sympathetic, and kind. We are to bless those that are mean and speak evil of us. We are all called to blessings. If we want to love life and be blessed ourselves then we need to watch our conversation that we not speak negatively about anyone. We are to speck truth wrapped in compassion and love. We turn from evil and choose to do the right thing and we seek peace with everyone. God looks over his children and hears the prayers of those whose hearts are his. He also sees the wicked and is their enemy. So, if God is on our side, who can be against us and win? No one, not even the devil. If we suffer on this earth because we are God’s children, then we should be happy because God sees everything and writes it all down. It will be our reward in heaven. We should never fear anything because we walk with the Holy Spirit.

Help us to remember that you are our strong defense and ever present to help us when we need it. We honor you, Lord.

Wed.’s Devo - Submission… The 10-letter-word!

Read 1 Peter 3:1-7

I hate to even touch this scripture because of it abuse and bad connotations but we must. Submission sounds like a negative word but it is really suppose to be a positive one. Submission is honor and results in protection. When we submit to our husbands then we free God to work on them to bring about godly changes. When we are stubborn and try to change our husbands ourselves and are rebellious then it closes their hearts to us and to God. They will be won by the “conversation” which means “behavior” in the Greek. Actions do speak louder than words. Our beauty is not how we look outwardly, but how our heart is responding to situations. I have seen some beautiful women whose actions take away from their outward beauty, and I have seen some not-so-beautiful women whose manner makes them beautiful. Sara is our example who submitted to Abraham and allowed herself to be taken into the kings harem. He had made her promise to tell everyone that she was his sister so they wouldn’t try to kill him for her because she was very beautiful. God did deliver her before she could be violated. She submitted to Abraham, but put her trust in the Lord and he protected her.

Husbands are to love and honor their wives the best they know how and are to desire to be one in the Lord. When they do this their prayers will not be hindered. The bottom line is that wives want to be loved and taken care of and the husbands want to be respected.

Lord, help us learn to honor our spouses and submit to our husbands recognizing that we need them because together we are heirs of Jesus. We bless our spouses in Jesus name to be all that God intended them to be.

Tues.’s Devo Righteous Suffering

Read 1 Peter 3:19-25

God is very thankful and gracious toward those who are unjustly treated for standing up for him. But if you are suffering for some wrong you did, then this is your payment for your sin and God is not going to rescue you. It is fulfillment of his Word: you will reap what you sow. We were called to suffer in this world just as Christ, as our example, suffered. He suffered for his righteousness, not his sin. When he was persecuted, he chose not to retaliate. He held his mouth and didn’t speak up for himself. The only one he ever defended was God. He never threatened them with judgment even though it would have been the truth. He came to seek and save the lost, not condemn his enemies. His life did that. He lived a life totally devoted to God his father and when he died he was worthy to take all the sin on himself and be our perfect sacrifice without blemish. Every stripe he took on his back was for our healing. We are like sheep that easily stray away, but Jesus has found us and we are safe in his sheepfold. The sheepfold is the “church” and Jesus is the Bishop of our souls.

Lord, thank you for purchasing our salvation on the cross. Help us to remember when we go through minor persecution here on earth, that you went through major persecution on the cross for us. We are so grateful.

Mon.’s Devo - Christian Guidelines

Read 1 Peter 2:10-18

Every time we join new organizations we become new people groups and bond together because of our common interests. That is what was happening during these times. People who ordinarily wouldn’t have much in common were coming to the revelation that Jesus was the Messiah and they were joining together on this common belief. They became the “early church”. They were once lost in sin and now had received mercy and forgiveness and a new life in Jesus. Peter is now letting them know the guidelines of this new life. First he tells them to refrain from the things that use to hold them captive like lust, deceit, slander, and replace it with righteous living, hones conversation, and good works that glorify God. We still have to obey the laws of the land in which we live so that no one can bring an accusation against us that would mar our witness. We have given our lives to Jesus to have his thoughts and do his will, not our own. There is total freedom in that and peace. We are to value all men and love our Christian brothers and sisters and most of all fear God. We are even to honor those God has placed to rule our nation even if we don’t agree with them. God placed them where they are to draw us to him. We are to honor our bosses and everyone in authority over us, even if they are tyrants.

We watched “Cowboys and Aliens” last night and Harrison Ford played the part of a really mean man who had been hardened by the war. He had a servant who endured his meaness with respect even though his boss was hurtful and tough on him. In the end the servant’s allegiance softened Ford’s heart and changed him. That is what we can see God do through us if we obey his Word.

Lord, help us to follow your guidelines which lead to freedom.

Sun.’s Devo - Merry Christmas!

They may be able to take prayer out of the schools officially, but kids still pray. And they may change the “Christmas” holidays to “Winter “ festivals but all this does is cause Christians to rise up and be heard. I sat and watched video after video on u-tube about flash mobs in malls across America. I was moved to tears to see Christians singing out so beautifully and freely the songs about Jesus in a very public, mixed place. When Jesus was coming into Jerusalem for the last time he traveled the road that the temple lamb had just traveled. The people were still there and when he passed them on his donkey the people laid down their coats and yelled, “Hosannah, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” When his disciples told Jesus to stop them, he responded, “if they don’t praise me then the rocks will cry out,” Rocks have metallic principles that hold memory so these same rocks were on the earth when God said, “Let there by light.” The rocks knew this was the son of God and would have responded if the people didn’t. It is always in the place of persecution and trouble that the church rises up and makes a stand about what they believe. Flash mobs are a way these people are making a statement and standing for what they believe in the face of a society that tries to outlaw it. The days are only going to get darker and the children of God are only going to get brighter, so on the day we choose to celebrate the birth of our Messiah, let’s let our light shine! May you have a wonderful day full of all the blessings of believing in the only one who has life.

Thank you, Lord, for sending your son to save us from our sins.

Thurs.’s Devo- The Rock of Jesus

Read 1 Pet. 1:17- 2:8

We have been saved into a spiritual inheritance. Everything we do is being recorded. The confessed sins go under the blood and are remembered no more and our works are judged. Since we weren’t bought with actual money, we won’t be rewarded with money. We were bought with the precious blood of Jesus who was sinless. He was here existed before time and came to earth to die and be raised up to glory that we might believed in him. How can we not love a god like that? Loving God should cause us to love our fellow men. We were born again into an everlasting seed. Our bodies will pass away but our spirits will live on forever.

Knowing this, we have to lay down hatred, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all backbiting. We are to be as hungry for the Word as a newborn is for her/his milk. The Word is the only way we will grow. If you read the Bible then you will realize that God is very good and kind. He is the living rock that men rejected but God accepted. Jesus is either a stumbling stone that men trip over and reject or a rock that people stand on and live by. Jesus is the chief corner stone which is plum line for us all to measure our lives by. We are the rest of the stones that together make the whole house.

Lord, help us to not lose sight of this spiritual heritage we have been save into. We want to stand on this rock of Christ and make it our foundation.