We Know that our Trials are Building Christian Character PT-1 (1 Pet. 5:10-14)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/1/2017 12:15 AM

My Worship Time             Focus:  We know that our trials are building Christian Character PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 Peter 5:10-14

            Message of the verses:  10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. 12 Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him),I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ.”

            In the KJV verse 10 reads “10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”  Dr. Wiersbe states that the Greek word translated “make you perfect” means “to equip, to adjust, to fit together.”  “It is translated ‘mending nets’ in Matthew 4:21.  God has several tools which He uses to equip His people for life and service, and suffering is one of them.  The Word of God is another tool (2 Tim. 3:16-17, where thoroughly furnished means ‘fully equipped).  Our Saviour in heaven is perfecting His children so that they will do His will and His work (Heb. 13:20-21).”

            Next we will look at three words that Peter uses to describe the kind of character God wants us to have.

            Establish is the first word and it means to fix firmly, to set fast.  I suppose the word glue would fit in here.  Believers are not to be unsteady in their stand for Christ, something that both Paul and James points out.  “so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints (1 Thess. 3:13).  “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near (James 5:8).  All of this is accomplished by God’s truth as Peter points out in 2 Peter 1:12 “12 Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.”  If we are established in the Word of God then we will not move from the truths found in it.

            Strengthen  is our second to help us understand the kind of character God wants us to have, and the word means just what is says.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “What good is it to stand on a firm foundation if we do not have power to act.”  God is the One who gives us that power.

            Settle is our last word we will look at this evening as it completes these three kinds of character God wants us to have, and this is a translation of a word that means to lay a foundation.  Let us look at Hebrews 1:10 “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands (KJV).”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “A believer who is equipped by God will ‘continue in the faith grounded and settled’ (Col. 1:23).  He will not be ‘tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine (Eph. 1:14).”

8/1/2017 12:38 AM

Our Present Suffering is Only for a While (1 Peter 1:6-7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/28/2017 6:01 PM

My Worship Time                                              Focus:  Our Present Suffering is only for a While

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Peter 1:6

            Message of the verse:  “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.” 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following short paragraph under this sub-section:  “Our various trials are only ‘for a season’ (1 Peter 1:6), but the glory that results is eternal.  Paul had this same thought in mind when he wrote 2 Corinthians 4:17—‘These little troubles (which are really so transitory) are winning for us a permanent, glorious, and solid reward out of all proportion to our pain’ (PH).”

            I find it very interesting that in my morning devotions from John MacArthur’s devotional Bible that we covered the same verse from 1 Peter 1:6-7 “6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV).”

            MacArthur writes “Although some Christians fear that trials and persecutions can only rob them of their joy.  Peter taught just the opposite.  In fact, he said that joy comes not in spite of trouble but because of trouble.  That’s because it’s easy to lose your joy if you doubt your salvation; but when your faith has been tested and proven to be genuine, doubts will disappear, and you’ll have joy and assurance.

“Every trial you face is designed to test and perfect your faith, and God carefully controls their parameters to accomplish that purpose.  Verse 6 specifies that they are temporary, necessary, distressing, and multi-faceted, but they should never diminish your joy.  He won’t allow you to undergo more than you can bear (1 Cor. 10:13).

“Peter used the analogy of an assayer or goldsmith to illustrate the purging process that produces proven faith (v. 7).  The fire symbolizes trials, and the gold symbolizes your faith.  Just as the refiner’s fire burns away the dross and leaves only pure gold, so God purges you through trials in order to reveal the purity of your faith.

“That’s an appropriate analogy because gold was the most precious of metals and the standard for all monetary transactions.  But as valuable as gold is, proven faith is infinitely more precious. Gold is temporal and perishable; proven faith is eternal.

“So don’t fear trials when they come your way.  Welcome them as opportunities to prove that your faith is real.  Be encouraged that ‘after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you’ (1 Peter 5:10).

7/28/2017 6:20 PM

We Know We Are Going to Glory (1 Peter 5:10)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/27/2017 7:58 PM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  We Know We Are Going to Glory

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1Peter 5:10-14

            Message of the verse:  “10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

            Let us look at 1 Peter 1:4 “to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”  This verse tells that we have a wonderful inheritance into which we were born.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that “Whatever begins with God’s grace will always lead to God’s glory (Ps. 84:11).”  “11  For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”  “If we depend on God’s grace when we suffer, that suffering will result in glory (1 Peter 4:13-14).”  “13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”  “The road may be difficult, but it leads to glory, and that is all that really counts.”

            I first looked at 1 Peter 4:13-14 when I posted the Spiritual Diary onto my blog a few weeks ago and the Spiritual Diary that I wrote back in 2004 had a lot of meaning for me today.  Let me explain:  In recent months many people in the Central African Republic have been under some extreme persecution and one of the members of our Church was raised there as a missionary’s son.  Right after he left after a visit the persecution began and I have wanted to pray for them, but was not sure that I knew the best way to do it until I came across the Spiritual Diary for 1 Peter 4:13.  I will copy the SD here and then as you read through it you will understand how this has caused me to pray for these people in a way that I believe that God is pleased.

Message of the verse:  “13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”  (NASB95)      

            The truth of this verse is hard for believers to understand, but it is impossible for those who are not believers to understand.  Why should believers rejoice in their sufferings?  Peter gives a number of reasons, and also we can see Jesus Christ as our example who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.

            First our suffering means fellowship with Christ.  “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,”  “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;”  (Phil. 1:29, & 3:10)  (Acts 5:41)  “So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”  Dr. Wiersbe says that “not every believer grows to the point where God can trust him with this kind of experience, so we ought to rejoice when the privilege comes to us.”

            Believers can take courage in the fact that God is with us as we go through these trials.  Isaiah 41:10, & 42:2 give us comfort:  “10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”  “2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.”

            Next we can see is that our suffering means glory in the future.  Peter has written about sufferings and glory throughout this letter.  The world believes that the absence of suffering means glory, but a Christian’s outlook is different.  As believers go through trials today we can be assured they will be turned into glory when Christ returns.  1Peter 1:7-8 “so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,”

            God does not replace suffering with glory, but He will transform suffering into glory, and Jesus gave the illustration of a woman giving birth in John 16:20-22 to show this truth.  “20  "Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.  21  "Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.  22 “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”

 

7/27/2017 8:13 PM

           

We Have God's Grace (1 Peter 5:10)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/26/2017 11:20 PM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus: We Have God’s Grace

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 Peter 5:10

            Message of the verse:  “10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

            In Dr. Wiersbe’s short commentary on this verse, which we will look at here, he writes about the different times that Peter speaks of God’s grace in his first letter.  The following are a list of verses from the entire letter of 1 Peter that has the word grace in them.

1Pe 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

1Pe 1:10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries,

1Pe 1:13  Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1Pe 3:7 You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

1Pe 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1Pe 5:5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

1Pe 5:10  After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

1Pe 5:12 Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him),I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!

            Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “Our salvation is because of His grace (1 Peter 1:10).  He called us before we called on Him (1 Peter 1:2).  We have ‘tasted that the Lord is gracious’ (1 Peter 2:3, so we are not afraid of anything He purposes for us.  His grace is ‘manifold’ (1 Peter4:10) and meets every situation of life.  As we submit to Him, He gives us the grace that we need.  In fact, He ‘the God of all grace.’  He has grace to help in every time of need (Heb. 4:16).  ‘He giveth more grace’ (James 4:6), and  we must stand in that grace (1 Peter 5:12; see Rom. 5:2).”

7/26/2017 11:31 PM

Intro to "Be Hopeful" (1 Pet. 5:10-14)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/25/2017 11:48 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  “Be Hopeful”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference:  1 Pet. 5:10-14

            Message of the verses:  “10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. 12 Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him),I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ.”

            What we have in verses 10-14 are the last verses from Peter’s first letter.  Dr. Wiersbe entitles this last section “Be Hopeful,” as this is the name of the last main point in his outline.  We will just look at the introduction to these verses this evening and they there are four sub-points under this main point.  They are as follows “We have God’s grace,” “We know we are going to glory,” “Our present suffering is only for a while,” and the last sub-point is “We know that our trials are building Christian character.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following paragraph for his introductory material for these five verses:  “Peter closed on a positive note and reminded his readers that God knew what He was doing and was in complete control.  No matter how difficult the fiery trial may become, a Christian always has hope.  Peter gave several reasons for this hopeful attitude.”  The reasons for this hope are the four sub-points that we have already mentioned.

            I mentioned in an earlier SD that I cannot find the last Spiritual Diaries that go along with this last chapter in 1 Peter and that is why I am writing them out.  The first chapter or so of 2 Peter is also missing and so once we are done looking at the end of 1 Peter we will then move onto 2 Peter.  Once all of that is complete then I will go back to what I have been doing which is putting one older Spiritual Diary on in the morning along with continue to write Spiritual Diaries for the book of Acts.  My plans for the evening devotions is to begin the book of Ephesians.  I have to say that Ephesians is a very difficult book to study, but we will with the help of the Spirit of God get through it.

7/26/2017 12:04 AM

PT-4 "Be Watchful" (1 Peter 5:8-9)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/24/2017 10:15 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus: PT-4 Be Watchful

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1Peter 5:8-9

            Message of the verses:  “8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

            We have been looking at the main point from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on 1 Peter 5:8-9 which is “Be Watchful” and have also been looking at some different sub-points under this main point.  Today we look at the sub-point “Resist him,” which actually comes from verse nine.

            When I see this verse nine it makes me think first of all how the Lord Jesus resisted the devil when He was tempted by him, and that was by quoting the Word of God against his temptations.  It also makes me think of the need to have the spiritual armor on which Paul describes to the Ephesians in Ephesians 6:10-18, especially when Paul talks about prayer in verse eighteen.  Romans 14:13 gives an example of who we are putting on when put on the spiritual armor:  “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”  We are actually putting on Jesus Christ and these different pieces come straight out of the Word of God, so we have the Word of God and prayer and this is how we resist the devil.

            We also resist him in faith that is faith in God similar to what happened to David when he fought against Goliath as he trusted in the name of God because he knew that Goliath was against God’s people.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes these very important words:  “A word of caution here: never discuss things with Satan or his associates.  Eve made this mistake, and we all know the sad consequences.  Also, never try to fight Satan in your own way.  Resist him the way Jesus did, with the Word of God (Matt. 4:1-11).  Never get the idea that you are the only one going through these battles, because ‘your brethren that are in the world’ are facing the same trials.  We must pray for one another and encourage each other in the Lord.  And we must remember that our personal victories will help others, just as their victories will help us.”

            Peter did not follow the things we are learning here the night Jesus was betrayed.  He fell asleep as he was not alert to resist the devil.  He cut of Malchus’ ear trying to do battle on his own.  He did not take the Lord’s warning seriously when Jesus told him what Satan wanted to do and so he denied the Lord.

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes “Before we can stand before Satan, we must bow before God.  Peter resisted the Lord and ended up submitting to Satan.”  7/24/2017 10:34 PM

PT-3 Be Watchful (Jn. 11:44; 2 Cor. 11:13-15)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/23/2017 9:46 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                   Focus:  PT-3 Be Watchful

Bible Reading & Meditation                                 Reference:  John 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:13-15

            Message of the verses: “44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”  “13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

            Dr. Wiersbe entitles this short sub-section “Recognize him—he is a great pretender.” 

            We have been talking about Satan in these last couple of Spiritual Diaries and continue on that subject this evening.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Because he is a subtle foe, we must ‘be vigilant’ and always on our guard.  His strategy is to counterfeit whatever God does.  According to the Parable of the Tares, wherever God plants a true Christian, Satan seeks to plant a counterfeit (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43).  He would deceive us were it not for the Word of God and the Spirit of God (1 John 2:18-27).  The better we know God’s Word, the keener our spiritual senses will be to detect Satan at work.  We must be able to ‘try the spirits’ and know the true from the false (1 John 4:1-6).”

            I have mentioned in earlier SD’s that Dr. Wiersbe has written a book that talks about the wiles of Satan.  I believe that Christians are first and foremost know about their God, and the best place to understand God is looking at the life of Jesus Christ.  I believe that Christians should also know their enemy.  Another thing is to know the Word of God so that when things come along like what happened to Jesus in Matthew chapter four that we can know how to use the Word of God as an offense weapon against Satan.  Putting on you spiritual armor is another thing believers should be doing.

7/23/2017 10:00 PM

PT-2 "Be Watchful" (1 Peter 5:8-9)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/22/2017 9:05 AM

My Worship Time                           Focus:  PT-2 “Be Watchful” (Respect him—he is dangerous)

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 Peter 5:8-9

            Message of the verses:  “8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

            As Dr. Wiersbe begins his commentary on this section he tells the story of an electrician handling wires with the power on, as sometimes they have to do such things.  The electrician answered the question posed by Dr. Wiersbe of how he can handle things like this and the electrician told him “Well, the first thing you have to do is respect it.  Then you can handle it.”  The same is true with our dangerous enemy.  I suppose that when we look at Jesus’ encounter with Satan in Matthew chapter four when Satan was tempting Him that Jesus did respect his power, but also knew that he could not go against the Word of God, but yes there was respect.

            As we look at the different names that Satan has in the Word of God we can better understand how he works.  He is a serpent, and snakes can bite us when we least expect it.  Revelation 9:11 tells us “They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.”  Both of these words describing Satan mean destruction.  Zechariah 3:1-5 and Rev. 12:9-11 both speak of Satan being an accuser.  Satan has great power and also intelligence, and he also has a host of demons who assist him in his attacks that go against the people of God.  Because he does this we have the Spiritual armor to put as described in Ephesians 6:10 and following.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that “he is a formidable enemy; we must never joke about him, ignore him, or underestimate his ability.  We must ‘be sober’ and have our minds under control when it comes to our conflict with Satan.”

            We cannot blame every bad thing that happens to us on Satan as this also is a part of us being sober.  When I first became a believer there were those who would say that Satan is behind every bush, and everything that is going wrong with me came from Satan, things like flat tires to headaches or other physical problems.  Dr. Wiersbe reports “One lady phoned me long distance to inform me that Satan had caused her to shrink seven and a half inches.  While I have great respect for the wiles and powers of the devil, I still feel we must give our information about him from the Bible and not from our own interpretation of experiences.”

7/22/2017 9:26 AM

PT-1 Be Watchful (1 Peter 5:8-9)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/21/2017 8:36 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                   Focus:  PT-1 Be Watchful

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  1 Peter 5:8-9

            Message of the verses:  “8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

            In Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on 1 Peter he writes in this section about our enemy, the devil or Satan, and in this section there are also two sub-sections, “Respect him—he is dangerous,” and also “Recognize him—he is a great pretender,” which covers verses from John’s gospel and also 2 Corinthians.  The study of Satan has caused problems for many believers during their time here on earth, and yet as believers we are to know our enemies for Satan may be the worst of our three enemies, but the world and the flesh are also powerful enemies that wage war against us as believers.  In this SD we will look just at the quote at the beginning of this section by Dr. Wiersbe and then in tomorrow’s SD we will look at that first sub-section mentioned above.

            “One reason we have cares is because we have an enemy.  As the serpent, Satan deceives (2 Cor. 11:3); and as the lion, Satan devours.  The word ‘Satan’ means ‘adversary,’ and the world ‘devil’ means ‘the accuser, the slander.’  The recipients of this letter had already experienced the attacks of the slanderer (1 Peter 4:4, 14), and now they would meet several practical instructions to help them get victory over their adversary.”

            I have in my small library three books that talk about the enemies that believers have which are very insightful.  Warren Wiersbe wrote one of them and that book I also have in an audio file so I can listen to it when I don’t have the time to read it, like when I am taking a walk.

7/21/2017 8:50 AM

PT-3 Be Humble (1 Peter 5:5-7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/20/2017 9:21 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  PT-3 Be Humble

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  1 Peter 5:5-7

            Message of the verses:  “5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “One of the benefits of this kind of relationship with God is the privilege of letting Him take care of our burdens.  Unless we meet the conditions laid down in 1 Peter 5:5-6, we cannot claim the wonderful promise of 1 Peter 5:7.  The word translated ‘care’ means ‘anxiety, the state of being pulled apart.’  When circumstances are difficult, it is easy for us to be anxious and worried; but if we are, we will miss God’s blessing and become poor witnesses to the lost.  We need His inward peace if we are going to triumph in the fiery trial and bring glory to His name.  Dr. George Morrison said, ‘God does not make His children carefree in order that they be careless.’”

            Now as we look at verse seven it tells us that we are to give all of our cares, once and for all, to the Lord.  So when a person becomes a believer in Jesus Christ and realizes the truth of 1 Peter 5:7, they are at that time give all of their cares, past, present, and future to the Lord.  Then when new cares come our way, since we have given all cares in the future to the Lord, we must remind the Lord (and ourselves) that we have given all cares to Him.

            A good example from Scripture it the apostle Peter who Jesus cared for on many different occasions, as He even delivered Peter from prison where he would have died the next day.  Dr. Wiersbe goes on:  “How does God show His love and care for us when we give our cares to Him?  I believe that He performs four wonderful ministries on our behalf.  (1) He gives us the courage to face  our cares honestly and not run away (Isa. 41:10).  (2) He gives us the wisdom to understand the situation (James 1:5).  (3) He gives us the strength to do what we must do (Phil. 4:13).  And (4) He gives us the faith to trust Him to do the rest (Psalm 37:5).

            “Some people give God their burdens and expect Him to do everything!  It is important that we let Him work in us as well as work for us, so that we will be prepared when the answer comes.  ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee’ (Ps. 55:22).”

7/20/2017 9:40 AM

PT-1 Be Humble (1 Peter 5:5-7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/19/2017 12:32 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  PT-2 Be Humble

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 Peter 5:5-7

            Message of the verses:  “5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

            If we desire to be submissive to others then first we must be submissive to God.  In the NASB95 when looking at the verses with all capital letters it means that it is a quotation from the Old Testament, and in verse five that quote comes from Proverbs 3:34, and this verse is also quoted in James 4:6.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that “it takes grace to submit to another believer, but God can give that grace if we humble ourselves before Him.”

            Our verse from Proverbs 3:34 tells us that God is opposed to the proud, and this shows us that pride is a big problem when it comes to the Lord for He hates pride.  It was pride that caused Satan to fall as he stated that he wanted to be like the Most High.  Whenever I write about pride I think of a song that was popular many years ago sung by a man named Roger Miller.  In that song Miller sings that “Pride is the chief cause in the decline in the number of husbands and wives.”  I am sure that this is a true statement.  1 John 2:16 states “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The only antidote fo pride is the grace of God, and we receive that grace when we yield ourselves to Him.  The evidence of that grace is that we yield to one another.”

            He goes on to write “Submission is an act of faith.  We are trusting God to direct our lives and to work out His purposes in His time.”  When I read this statement it causes me to think that patience is what is needed.  I read that a struggling believer was praying to the Lord that He would give him patience and so he prayed “I need patience Lord, and I need it right now.”  Evidence to submitting to God shows when we are committed to serve our fellow believers. 

            As we look at the end of verse six we see that God says that He will exalt us “in the proper time.”  Of course the example comes from our Lord as it was first the cross and then the crown after that.  Think about the life of both Moses and Joseph and you will see that there was a large amount of time of preparing them for the job that God would call them to do.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “One of the evidences of our pride is our impatience with God, and one reason for suffering is that we might learn patience.” 

7/19/2017 12:53 PM 

PT-1 Be Humble (1 Peter 5:5-7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/18/2017 8:46 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus: PT-1 Be Humble

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 Peter 5:5-7

            Message of the verses:  “5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

             As we look back to previous chapters and verses in 1 Peter we have seen that Peter admonished all the believers to be submissive to government authorities in 1 Peter 2:13-17, and then slaves to their masters in 1 Peter 2:18-25, next wives to their husbands in 1 Peter 3:1-7, an now finally in our verses for today Peter commands all of the believers to submit to God and to each other.

            Peter first speaks to the younger men to be subject to their elders, and as we look at this we cannot assume that all senior saints are spiritually mature, but younger men should have the respect for the older men as the older men have lived longer and experienced more life than the younger.  In the church that we left seven years ago the pastor was attempting to pit the younger against the older and this caused a church split, something that should have never happened if this passage was followed.  Many times the younger people think that they are wiser than the older people and for the most part this is not true.  Older people have gone through life and have made mistakes, mistakes that they can pass on to the younger people so that they can avoid those mistakes in their lives.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Too often there is a generation war in the church, with the older people resisting change, and the younger people resisting the older people!

            “The solution is twofold: (1) all believers, young and old, should submit to each other (2) all should submit to God. ‘Be clothed with humility’ is the answer to the problem.  Just as Jesus laid aside His outer garments and put on the towel to become a servant, so each of us should have a servant’s attitude and minister to each other.  True humility is described in Philippians 2:1-11.  Humility is not demeaning ourselves and thinking poorly of ourselves.  It takes grace to submit to another believer, but God can give that grace if we humble ourselves before Him.

7/18/2017 9:03 AM

Introduction to 1 Peter 5:5-14

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/17/2017 8:39 AM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Introduction to 1 Peter 5:5-14

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 Peter 5:5-14

            Message of the verses:  “5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.   8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.  10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. 12 Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ.”

            Dr. Warren Wiersbe entitles this last chapter in his commentary on the book of 1 Peter “From Grace to Glory!”  In this section of his letter Peter writes that trials will be coming to those he is writing to and they will be fiery trials.  Verse ten tells us and his readers that after they had suffered for a while that God who is the God of all grace, the One who called you to His eternal glory in Christ would Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish those Peter was writing to.  Peter knew this was going to happen because the church is in the world and not of the world, and so while in the world there is great conflict with it because believers are different than unbelievers and the conflict will always be there.  This gave comfort to those who first read this letter, and it also gives comfort to those who are going through similar persecutions since Peter wrote it.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following as he gives his outline for this chapter:  “As he closed his letter, Peter gave the church three important admonitions to obey if they were to glorify God in this difficult experience.  ‘Be Humble 5-7, Be Watchful 8-9, and Be Hopeful.’” We will begin to look at the first admonitions in our next SD.

7/17/2017 8:56 AM

           

A Desire to Please Christ Alone (1 Peter 5:4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/16/2017 6:26 AM

My Worship Time                                                             Focus:  A Desire to Please Christ Alone

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 Peter 5:4

            Message of the verse:  “4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

            I have to say that it has been a while since I have looked at 1 Peter, sometime in 2005 was when I was studying this letter that Peter wrote, and now as I look at the list of Spiritual Diaries I cannot find the remaining ones for the last chapter of 1 Peter and so I have decided to study this last chapter in order to put them onto my blog.  The chapter from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary is entitled “How to be a Good Shepherd,” and it covers 1 Peter 5:1-4, and so we are at the very end of this section with one more section to go which will cover verses 5-14.  I have mentioned that this section brings back some not so fond memories for me as the last pastor that we had at the church we went to did pretty much the opposite of what Peter is talking about in this section which caused us to leave after being there our entire time after we became believers.

            The letter of 1 Peter is a message of hope and what greater hope do true believers have than the second coming of Christ which is mentioned in 1:7-8 along with here in this verse too.  The job of a faithful pastor is to please the Lord, to teach and preach what it is that the Lord leads the faithful Pastor to do along with the other duties that comes with this job that is a job that is always called by the Lord. 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who died for the sheep (John 10:11), the Great Shepherd who lives for the sheep (Heb. 13:20-21), and the Chief Shepherd who comes for the sheep (1 Peter 5:4).  As the Chief Shepherd, He alone can assess a man’s ministry and give him the proper reward.  Some who appear to the be first may end up last when the Lord examines each man’s ministry.” 

            Now as we look at the remaining part of this verse we see that Peter tells of the reward that a faithful pastor can receive, “the unfading crown of glory.”  There are different crowns mentioned in the Word of God that believers can receive for work that they have done for the Lord.  One of the crowns is a crown received for those who have died for the cause of Christ.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The one Peter mentioned was the athlete’s crown, usually a garland of leaves of flowers that quickly fade away.  The faithful pastor’s crown is a crown of glory, a perfect reward for an inheritance that will never fade away.”

            I want now to quote the final paragraphs of this section from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary, words that we should hear and follow:  “Everything in the local church rises or falls with leadership.  No matter how large or small a fellowship might be, the leaders must be Christians, each with a vital personal relationship with Christ, a loving concern for their people, and a real desire to please Jesus Christ.

            “We lead by serving, and we serve by suffering.

            “This is the way Jesus did it, and this is the only way that truly glorifies Him.”

7/16/2017 6:51 AM

Be an Example to the Flock (1 Peter 5:3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/15/2017 7:40 AM

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus: Be an example to the Flock

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 Peter 5:3

            Message of the verse: “3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”

            I have to say that this verse brings back some very bad memories to me, for we sat under a pastor who did the opposite of what this verse tells a pastor to do and so we had to leave the church, and then seven months later the pastor left.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “The contrast is between dictatorship and leadership.  You cannot drive sheep; you must go before them and lead them.  It has been well said that the church needs leaders who serve and servants who lead.  A Christian leader said to me, ‘The trouble today is that we have too many celebrities and not enough servants.’” 

            A good leader is one who brings an example to the sheep by solving the tension between being “among” the sheep and being “over” the sheep.  If the pastor practices what he preaches then the flock will be willing to follow him. 

            The problem of lording it over the flock has always been a problem within the walls of the church and I suppose the reason that this is a problem is that leaders love power and also that leaders do not display humility.  Jesus was the most humble Man who ever walked on the earth and that should be an example not only to the leaders of the church, but also to the sheep that are in the church too.  God has many bad things to say about pride, which is the opposite of being humble.

7/15/2017 7:54 AM

Take the Oversight (1 Peter 5:2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR

4/18/2012 11:08:27 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Take the oversight

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Peter 5:2

 

            Message of the verse:  “2  shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; (NASB)  “2  shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; (ESV)”

 

            I will be looking at the second sub-point under the main point “A Loving Concern for God’s Sheep (1Peter 5:2-3) in today’s SD.  After working mostly in the OT and taking as much as a paragraph to a chapter in one SD it is a bit different going back to the NT and taking a verse or a part of a verse in one SD.

 

            The pastors job in the church is different than others who are a part of the local church in that he is among them and also over them and this can be a problem if it is not understood by all of the sheep in the flock.  Some of the sheep may look at the shepherd as just one of them, but he has been called to a leader over them, and some may want to put him on a pedestal and make him a “super saint.”  We have to remember that the Lord Jesus is the head of the Church and in His great wisdom He has put the pastor (elder, bishop, or shepherd) over the local church.  It is His design.  Going back to when the Church began we see that the Lord Jesus Christ while on earth trained twelve men and chose them to be His apostles.  Christ then died for the Church leaving these twelve men to carry on His new ministry, the Church.  The Church was built upon the Lord and then the Apostles, and then we see that after local churches were started that these apostles would go into these local churches to appoint elders or pastors to lead over the church.  It is God’s design to speak through these elders or pastors to convey His message to them so that they can grow up in the Lord and be able to go and tell others about the Lord and how they can be saved from their sins by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ into their lives.  If one looks back at how the Lord started with the twelve men He chose then they might not believe that through these twelve men the Roman world was turned upside down.  How can we explain this?  It was the plan of God and we surely see His attribute of wisdom in all of this.  I also see that it is a “God Thing” that caused all of this to happen, for when one looks at the true church today and how it functions, and who is being used to do the will of God one can only give glory to the Lord.  If the church is running in the way that the Lord has designed it to run then it will bring glory to the Lord and part of the process is the Holy Spirit of God speaking to the Pastors that He has chosen to shepherd the local flocks by teaching and preaching and leading the flock.

            Peter mentions sins that the shepherd can surely be tempted by and the first sin we will call laziness.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that he knew a man who was a pastor who played golf most every day and then on Saturday he would listen to other pastor’s sermons and preach them to his flock on Sunday.  He then adds “He seems to be getting away with it, but what will he say when he meets the Chief Shepherd?”

            A Pastor has to have a pastor’s heart, and that means that he loves the sheep and serves them because he wants to, and not because he has to.  A lazy shepherd does not have a pastor’s heart.

            The next sin Peter mentions is covetousness and a Pastor must not serve the Lord to get rich, but again because he loves the sheep.  This is one of the qualifications that Paul writes to Timothy about in explaining the qualifications of a Pastor in 1Timithoy 3:3.  There are times when a pastor has to have a “Tent making” ministry like Paul had, but it is better when the flock can fully support the shepherd so that he has more time to fulfill his ministry among the sheep.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following in explaining the words “ready mind.”  “It is the same word that Paul used in Romans 1:15—‘I am so eager to preach the Gospel’ (NIV).  It means a willingness to serve because of a readiness and an eagerness within the heart.  This is the difference between a true shepherd and a hireling:  a hireling works because he is paid for it, but a shepherd works because he love the sheep and has a heart devoted to them.”  He then suggests reading Acts 20:17-38 to see this in action.

 

            Be an example to the flock (v. 3): “3  nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”  (NASB)  “3  not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” (ESV) “ 3  You should aim not at being dictators but examples of Christian living in the eyes of the flock committed to your charge.” (Phillips)  “3  Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.” (NLT)

 

            Whenever I read this passage I think of two different animals.  I think of cattle and sheep and I remember watching many “cowboy” movies where there are cattle drives as part of the movie.  The cowboys would have to get behind the cattle on their horses and drive them in order to make the get to where they wanted them to go.  Sheep are different for they have to be led, led beside still waters because they will not drink fast rushing water for they are afraid of it.  Sheep are not smart and on occasions they will follow the wrong sheep and get themselves into a lot of trouble that they can’t get out of.  When sheep are about to be killed for their meat the place where this takes place will put a sheep in front of them and lead them to the place where they are to be killed.  They call this sheep the “Judas” sheep.  I suppose that there are a lot of these kind of “sheep” who are in the pulpits of churches around the world today leading their fellow sheep to an eternity in hell.

            The shepherd is to be a good example to his flock and follow his good examples.  I can think that a good shepherd will study the Word of God in order to have the Holy Spirit speak to his heart in order to equip the saints to do the work and will of the Lord and this is a good example to follow.  Visiting the sick and lonely is something good shepherds do and set an example for others to follow.  A good shepherd will tithe from his income showing a good example for others to follow. 

            I personally do not want to follow a Pastor who gives me the impression that I am to do what he says and not do what he does.  I desire to follow a pastor who does the things that bring honor and glory to the Lord and so teaches me to do those things.

            Lording it over the flock is like driving cattle and not leading sheep.

 

4/18/2012 12:23:22 PM