It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

Archive for August, 2025

1Peter Chapter 5

Shepherd the Flock: 

Those in leadership, teachers and pastors are told to serve them that they have been entrusted. Elders are to serve all God’s people with a willingness out of love for God and not out of a duty that must be performed. It should not be for the prestige or the status of being a minister over the people, nor for dishonest gain, or just for the paycheckwhich we have seen in many situations.  

1 Peter5:1-4 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:  Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;  nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;   and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. NKJ

Jesus as the Chief Shepherd and God as our Father and King, is the spiritual awareness and likeness that we must rise. Jesus’ example muststand above our natural sympathies or kinships, it is by His standard thatGod will be exalted and His kingdom ways and principles will be elevated above all else. It is an ambassador’s lifestyle that speaks to others about their country, and it is how they live out their nation or kingdom laws that makes them different.  Our actions are the loudest and best representation as ambassadors of God, especially to those who are still being taught in this fallen world system.

Our words do not have to be loud or boisterous but the way we live and walk before our families and friends can quietly portray to our communities a godly lifestyle, as a representative of the kingdom of God that we are demonstrating and embodying. 

Submit to God – Resist the Devil: 

1 Peter 5:5-6 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but give grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, NKJ

The name Christian is a label the world gave to the followers of Christ in the early church but now the world has used this label to skew, twist or change the image of how the true followers of Christ are viewed. Many people label themselves as Christians but choose to live like the world. They are self-centered and self-focus living in fear. Their only concern is about themselves, while refusing to help or assist others. Unlike the true followers of Christ who are willing to share with others believing in God’s provision.

God has called us children who are born-again into the family of God. He is the Almighty God, El Shaddai, the Inexhaustible One, the One who pours out boundlessly and whose source is unlimited and everlasting. God gave us a position not a label. We are children of the Most-High King and we are in His family and we are to look like our Father. Though labels may change but God as our Father and our being born-again and part ofHis family will not change. Just as children in the natural take some resemblance or likeness of their parents, so do we as we grow more knowledgeable through the Spirit, into the image of Christ, the Son of God.

1 Peter 5:7-9   Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. (KJV)

The enemy is looking for someone who will give him permission to come into their lives and to devour them. We give him permission by the choices we make in disobedience to God. The lion’s roar is so loud and intimidating that its prey may become fearful. God did not give us a spirit of fear, but His Spirit of power, love and a sound mind. God tells us how to resist the devil, by submitting to the truth of His word. It is a one-step process when we submit to God we also are resisting the devil and he will flee. Most of us do not take the time to know God’s word, so we do not know how to submit to it. This is how the devil gets permission to come into our lives because of our lack of knowledge concerning God’s word. When the enemy roars like a lion, some become afraid, panic and can be paralyzed by fear. Instead, we should trust and have faith in God’s word and casting those fears, concerns and anxieties on God in prayer.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. NKJ

Unfortunately, we are living in a fallen world system with an enemy who hates the true and living God and all who are created in His image. The Bible says Satan is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Satan is the enemy, it is not our neighbor, coworker, boss or those of a different race or culture. It is Satan who plants seeds of hate, pride and tempts us to forsake the care of a person’s souls for the sake of money or material things, he is our enemy. Satan comes and plants lies and deceptions to cause disunity and cultivate hate among the brethren. He wants to destroy the very thing we are created to be, an image bearer of God’s love.

1 Peter 5:10 -11  But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Many may say they want to know Jesus, to walk like Him and be in fellowship with Him, but may not realization what that really means. As true followers of Christ we must be willing to take on the hardships of life and endure these situations, as we display God’s love toward others. This is part of the fellowship of His suffering.  As Christ followers we must change our perspective, the way we evaluate the things that are happening to us and around us. We must change the way we view life and our expectations in life in light of God’s love for us and others. 

Every child is born with a pure heart but it can be twisted by life experiences and by the things they are taught. The most important responsibility of every parent and adult is to train and teach children that are entrusted to them, who they are in Christ, as an Image bearer of God. Their purpose is to be the love of God in the earth and to show His love to a lost and deprived world.

It is easier to destroy a young life of royalty before he has matured into a crown prince, than it is to destroy the one who knows his purpose and is committed to his true destiny. For this purpose, Satan has attacked the lives and minds of children and those responsible for their instruction. To have people preoccupied with the things of this world rather than the training and protection of their children.

Satan is not all knowing, but he has been observing mankind from the beginning. The enemy has seen the whole human race tendencies, bents, propensities and appetite, so he tries to use those things to lure and tempthumanity into his snares. That is why we must control our bodies so as not to give the enemy an avenue to come, trap or entangle us into evil and depravity. 

It is our adversary who comes to wreak havoc over our lives, causing death and destruction but God has provided a way of escape through us living according to His word. The world has cultivated a pattern of over indulgences, which seeks to fulfill every whim or desire without restraint. This leads to an undisciplined life that seldom tells the body, no to its extravagances and excesses. But God tells us to seek first His kingdom and righteous living and all our needs will be met. 

As followers of Christ, we should exercise our will and minds and say no to our body’s cravings and appetites. We do this so that we may run this race and win against the temptations of this world.  No one can run a marathon on the first try. It takes discipline, training and continued practice to run this race. Just as living a life under control is a practiced skill, it is not achieved overnight. 

Humility is simply recognizing that we were created by God for His purpose and by allowing God to be all sufficient in all we do. Jesus displayed this when He became the Son of Man, being in submission to God the Father by taking on the body of a man, giving God honor and the glory that was due Him through obedience.

The constant and relentless theme of Jesus’ teaching was that His life’s work was to do the will of the Father. The Almighty God and Creator could use Him and work through Him to redeem mankind. Jesus emptied Himself and resigned Himself of His own will and power, so that God could do all He wanted to do in and through Him. Jesus lived a life relinquished of self in absolute submission and dependence on The Father to do His will and not His own.

Jesus understood He had lost nothing by submitting all to God and by humbling Himself before men. Jesus knew His Father and that God would highly exalt those who humble themselves before Him. This is a spiritual principle, those who will exalt themselves God will bring down and those who humble themselves God will exalt. Jesus submitted Himself to every railing, beating and even the death of the cross all while trusting God to be faithful to His promise. Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God on high. God honors those who trust Him.

Proverb11:2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.

Proverb 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. NKJ

The humility Jesus displayed is a state of mind and a disposition of the soul. It is one that deliberately denies self and dies to prideful exaltation, while knowing that The Almighty God Jehovah is engineering and orchestrating every detail of our lives. This humility does not question the Creator or ask, “What have You done? Why am I here? Why have You made me this way? Humility recognizes the Potter’s authority to fashion the clay into whatever is needful and without question.

Isaiah 53:4- Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. NKJ

Some things we experience are for the glory of God. Our ability to walk through the hard challenges of life in love and in meekness may be the very thing God uses to help someone else to make it through life challenges. Just as Jesus experienced, railing and ridicule against Himself, it was not because of anything He did, but for our benefit. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities and we can have peace because of His chastisement. This is humility, Jesus is our standard and not our experiences or the sayings of this world.

1 Peter5:12-14 By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. She who is in Babylon, elect` together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Peter closes with a reminder that we should greet one another in the spirit of God’s love for us. And to all who are in Christ, walk in peace, with yourself and others. 

 

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Christ Is The Example For Us to Follow: 1 Peter Chapter 4

Christ came and lived on the earth in the body of a man, He laid aside His Godly glory and restricted Himself as man, to the same power and authority as mankind, which is through the power of the Holy Spirit. Some people sneer at the command for us to live like Christ, saying course He could live righteous, because He is God. But Jesus lived and suffered as a man and only operated through the same power of the Holy Spirit that humanity have accessed to. This is the same power we have access to through faith and obedience to the Holy Spirit of God. 

1 Peter 4:1-6 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

We are told to ready ourselves with the same mind as Jesus, that we will no longer go after the things of this world, the lust of the flesh or the pride of man. We are to stop doing the things we use to do before we came to faith in Christ. Our old friends will think us strange or may even call us fools because we no longer live like them. We are to let God judge them and defend us as we live according to God’s Holy Spirit living in us. 

We must understand when the Spirit of Christ is in us, the world is in opposition to the God that lives in us. When the world attacks us, they are attacking the Christ in us. We are to be considered blessed when we are criticized because of the glory of God is so upon us. That is why the world begins to attack us as they did Jesus because the spirit of God being reflected in the earth through us.

When Christ followers go through fiery ordeals we are not to set up a pity party for ourselves, thinking we are the only ones experiencing such hardship.  Our focus should not be on ourselves and all that we are going through. Instead, our focus should be outward toward the betterment of others and to the bringing glory to God in that situation, and to not let self be the main focus.

Our perspective is everything, it is the bedrock of who we are and will determine how we view ourselves, and the people and things around us. Thereby our perspective will dictate our actions, thoughts, responses and feelings in every situation. The natural fleshly perspective is fear and to see everything as it relates to self, or to have our focus only on self. The problems we go through, be it a loss of a job, home or loved one, most people’s attention is on themselves as though something strange was happening to them.  

Serving for God’s Glory:

1 Peter 4:7-11 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.  And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”  Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.  As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 We are to live this life with eternity in mind, being prayerful and watchfulknowing that the time of Jesus’ return is near. We are told to be eager and enthusiastic in loving others who may not look like us or talk like us or believe like us. We are to show love, and it is with the love of God by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to love those who have offended us. The Holy Spirit will give us the love of God and enable us to showlove, so that we may forgive many sins and not find fault. 

 God has given us gifts and we are to use these gifts to bless others. Many people think their gifts are only for themselves, to make a name or earn wealth for themselves. But we are told we have received these gifts to minister to others as good stewards of God’s grace. We are to do all things with the light of the glory of God in mind that others may glorify Jesus because of our faithful work.     

When we begin to understand that we are in a spiritual battle for the souls of men, then we can begin to operate in purpose. We are able to become a servant to those who should be serving us. We can be at peace though we are going through trials, hardships or troubles because we understand our purpose and the eternal ending to this voyage and expedition we call life.   We realize these attacks, sufferings and distresses are aimed at us, but the battle is really for the souls of those who are persecuting and abusing us. Our afflictions, tribulations and persecutions are considered light, in comparison to the purpose of saving another person’s soul from eternal destruction. 

Suffering for God’s Glory:

1 Peter 4:12-19 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?  Now “if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and sinner appear?” Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator. NKJ

We are told not to think it a strange thing when there is a testing of our faith, because our faith is only validated when it is tested. Some people will say they are children of God and believers of Christ but when the truth is tested in their lives then we will see what they truly believe in their hearts through their actions. Some will say they love God and His people, but when tested to do what is righteous by the marginalized and destitute some will forfeit their beliefs for what will benefit themselves and their finances. It is then that their true beliefs are revealed. They will allow the cares of this world to choke the word of God from their lives because they do not really trust God to provide.  Some may give up saying there is no use in trying and they will choose the immediate satisfaction of the moment over the promises and eternal peace of God.

Some people will go through their hardships and trials, thinking that they will be blessed in the end. But actually, the blessings are byproducts of us accomplishing God’s goal. Which is for us to show His love in the middle of the trial, being patient and being His light in dark places. Thereby they will be showing God’s mercy and forgiveness in those difficult situations. God’s purpose and plan for our lives is to show His compassion and love in these hard and difficult times. It is in these situations that we demonstrate our faith and trust in God by showing the likeness of Christ in the face of adversity. 

Some people when they have hard times respond in a way that says God has failed, that He did not come through to protect or provide. But the spiritual perspective of faith is to understand life is chaotic, that Satan is an enemy and that sin is in this world. These problems and suffering are part of the fallen life we live, but we can use these things to bring God glory when we persevere and become victoriousthrough faith believing that God would provide in every situation.

 Our perspective and outlook on a situation will often dictate our response to what we are going through. Life is more about how we view what we are going through, than what we are actually experiencing. When we view life’s problems through the lens of God’s word we realize that what is actually happening to us is nothing strange, but how we respond to the matter is of the utmost importance!

With every new truth God reveals to a believer it could start a new spiritual cycle of validating His truth. It is when we hear the word of God that the seed of that truth and life is planted into our hearts. The enemy or life’s struggles will come to test our belief in that truth.  We are able to stand when we continue to speak God’s word over the situation and know His truth on the matter. The Bible says, though we be troubled on every side, we are not to be distressed; though we are persecuted, but we have not been forsaken. These afflictions are but for a time and a season. Once we persevere through this cycle, the experience and faith that we gain will work in us and through us as an exceeding and eternal weight of triumph.

We cannot speak what we do not know. The Holy Spirit is in us constantly bringing new truth to us in different areas of our lives and these truths will be tested, but we can stand by the power of God’s word. The spiritual cycle of life is when a truth of God’s word is planted into our spirit.  Then we must choose to die to the old self and persevere through the testing of His truth. When we stand on these truths, the world will see God’s glory manifested in our lives and thereby giving hope to those in the earth. This is a continuous cycle that will begin when a new truth is given by the Holy Spirit and as we are being transformed into the image of Christ.

No matter the situation, we can trust God to bring us out and be victorious. To be content in our circumstances is to say we trust God and His faithfulness to meet our needs exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask or think. It is our contentment that confirms our trust in God. When we seek God’s kingdom work first and not the fame of the world, we will show that we trust God with our lives and for our provisions.

To seek God’s kingdom is to look for God in every situation, in every trial, in every test. God has a kingdom purpose in everything that is done. God is transforming us into the image of His Son and He is showing that Imageand that light, to a dark world through us. If we faint in unbelief or fear when we go through trials, we respond no differently than the world and God’s glory is not revealed. When we have peace during trials with contentment, people will know there is something different, a different Spirit, a Kingdom Spirit that is in us. This is not a natural thing, as we all can attest. To have peace in trials and to be content happens by the God in us and the power of the Holy Spirit.

God does not create the evil that is in our lives. There is evil that is in the world because of sin. We may go through this process, but we are to show the light of God that is in us to a dark world, because we respond differently, by faith in God. He will not allow evil to overtake us beyond what we are able to endure, through the power of the Holy Spirit. God has promised to provide a way of escape from every difficult situation and temptation but the decision remains ours, to seek God and to take the wayHe has provided.

 

 

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