Category: I Peter

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Calling for Help

Have you ever had that phone call – you know the one that goes like this, “Mom/Dad, I have a question. I need your advice. I need your help.”?

Great isn’t it?

Knowing that our kids need us and know they can call on us to help is a proud moment. When they were little they were always calling out “Mom” “Dad”. You remember what it was like hearing your name called 100’s of times each day.

Now that they’re older we have equipped them to handle some things on their own. They don’t need us to give them guidance on every little aspect of daily life but it is an awesome feeling when they call asking for advice. They call and want help with a recipe or something; or need help with a building project; maybe it’s a relationship issue or even a career decision but whatever it is we drop everything and listen and then give advice.

The one thing we don’t like as parents is seeing our kids struggle with things that we know we can help them with. Just like when they were little and would bring a broken toy asking us to fix it. It might have been a bike with a loose wheel or a stuffed animal with a torn arm but it was their favorite and they were devastated until we stopped what we were doing and made it better.

You know that’s how God is with us. He’s there waiting for us to ask for His help.

“God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.” I Peter 5:7 CEV

But I like that verse better in the Amplified Version

“casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” AMP

God has given us an open invitation to come to Him with whatever is worrying us. The word cast refers to throwing a stone in the water – once you do that you really can’t retrieve it. We bring what’s broken to the Lord and trust Him to fix it.

He is trustworthy!

He promises if we come we will find Him here to help. If we, in our limited capabilities, are there to help our kids how much more do you think He is there to help us.

“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:16 CEV

I am so grateful to have a loving Father who is willing to help and who knows how to fix everything that I bring to Him.

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Remodeling and Refining

I’m a big fan of the DIY Network shows on television. I really like watching as kitchen and bathrooms are transformed from old and dingy to new and usable. It gives me some great ideas and I look forward to implementing them some day. But it always amazes me when the homeowner says they want to stay in the house during the remodel and then they begin to complain about all the mess, the noise and the inconvenience. I want to ask “what is it about the word remodel you didn’t understand?”

But the same is true in our spiritual lives. We say “Lord, take me and mold me into your image and likeness. I want to be like You! I want to be the person you’ve designed me to be.” And our prayer is sincere – we all want to be like Him but without the noise and the mess and the inconvenience…just saying.

We want to go to bed and wake up in the morning with no more bad thoughts or habits. We want to look all bright and shiny, glowing with the Father’s love for everyone to see. However, before the outside changes there’s a lot that needs to be done to build new supports, new wiring, a new central control. See there, we’re back to the Word of God! It’s profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction – for remodel!

The more we complain about the work that has been started and the work that still needs to be done the longer the process takes. I’ve been told that the refining of gold is a multi step process. First the ore needs to be crushed, then heated to burn off the impurities. Then chemicals, acids are added to break down more of the impurities, then heated again. The dross is skimmed off and then the heat goes up again. Each time the heat is higher and more impurities are destroyed. Sometimes the refiner will stop when the gold is 10k, 12k or 14k but for the really good stuff the process continues until it comes out 24k. The refiner is a skilled craftsman and His work isn’t to destroy but to improve and add value.

“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. This new life brings us a living hope through Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death. 4 Now we wait to receive the blessings God has for his children. These blessings are kept for you in heaven. They cannot be ruined or be destroyed or lose their beauty.

5 God’s power protects you through your faith, and it keeps you safe until your salvation comes. That salvation is ready to be given to you at the end of time. 6 I know the thought of that is exciting, even if you must suffer through different kinds of troubles for a short time now. 7 These troubles test your faith and prove that it is pure. And such faith is worth more than gold. Gold can be proved to be pure by fire, but gold will ruin. When your faith is proven to be pure, the result will be praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ comes.

8 You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You can’t see him now, but you believe in him. You are filled with a wonderful and heavenly joy that cannot be explained. 9 Your faith has a goal, and you are reaching that goal—your salvation.” I Peter 1:3-8 ERV

The impurities are destroyed and the gold is refined to its purest form. To the natural eye it’s hard to tell the difference between 10k and 24k gold but to the skilled the difference is remarkable. The same with the remodel process, the casual observer only sees the new paint, flooring, and appliances but the homeowner and the contractor know that the foundation is firm, the wiring is good and won’t short out and that the plumbing won’t leak.

So, when God says in His Word “In this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world” then we should be of good cheer! We will all face tribulation because we all live in the world but that’s not the finished product. We need to lift our heads and cheer up because we walk with the one who has overcome and He has purposed us to be overcomers in this life too.

“Loving God means obeying his commands. And God’s commands are not too hard for us, 4 because everyone who is a child of God has the power to win against the world. 5 It is our faith that has won the victory against the world. So who wins against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” I John 5:3-5 ERV

So be thankful today; not for the tribulation or the trial but because you know the One who has overcome is refining you by His Word and you too have been remodeled into an overcomer!

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New granddaughter

I was thinking this morning about getting to see our new granddaughter tomorrow. We were there for the first few days of her life and we saw some obvious changes from day 1 to day 4. I know that when we see her tomorrow her growth will be quite apparent.

Kaci said she’s a good eater. At first she would start to nurse and then fall asleep but now she is quite vocal when her tummy is hungry and she wants to be fed.

Made me think…how loud and demanding do I get when I want to be fed? Better yet, do I still fuss when I’m hungry or in need of spiritual food or am I complacent and just take a snack here and there and call it good?

Peter wrote that we should be like babies, desiring and demanding the Word of God, desire the milk that is necessary for their growth.

“You believe in God through Christ. God is the one who raised him from death and gave honor to him. So your faith and your hope are in God.

22 You have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers and sisters. So love each other deeply—with all your heart. 23 You have been born again. This new life did not come from something that dies. It came from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s life-giving message that lasts forever. 24 The Scriptures say,

“Our lives are like the grass of spring,
and any glory we enjoy is like the beauty of a wildflower.
The grass dries up and dies,
and the flower falls to the ground.

25 But the word of the Lord lasts forever.”

And that word is the Good News that was told to you.

(Chapter 2) So then, stop doing anything to hurt others. Don’t lie anymore, and stop trying to fool people. Don’t be jealous or say bad things about others. 2 Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow up and be saved. 3 You have already tasted the goodness of the Lord.”
I Peter 1:21-2:3 ERV

Just as a baby cries out for more I encourage you to feed often with a strong appetite on the teachings of God’s Word! It is life and peace to all who desire it.

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Git on Outta Here!

Sitting here this morning the Lord reminded me of a lesson he started teaching me years ago. We had been invited to a ranch in No. Arizona to hold a 3 day campmeeting. We arrived before the cowboy and his wife so when we pulled up to the house we were greeted by their very small, very bark-y dog.

The dog would come out from hiding, bark incessantly and the minute you took one step toward it, he would run back for cover. This continued for about 20 minutes or more. We tried to make friends with the dog but he would have none of it. So finally in desperation for some quiet, I stomped my foot and clapped my hands and gruffly said “GET”! To which the dog obeyed and we didn’t see it again until owners arrived.

At that time, the Lord showed me how this is an example of a verse in I Peter.

“8 Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. 9 But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith.” I Peter 1:8-9

It’s important to see that this verse says the devil is like a roaring lion and not that he is a roaring lion. That little dog acted like a big dog but he didn’t have the power to back up his claim. The devil acts like a roaring lion but his power has been taken.

That’s why Peter goes on to say – Resist the devil and he will flee from you. He will continue to annoy you with his barking – telling you lies, trying to deceive you but if and when you resist him, he has to flee – God’s word says so.

In I John 4:4 we read “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Jesus Christ, the greater one, lives in us so when we resist the devil we are backed by all the power in heaven and he doesn’t stand a chance. Will he come back again? Oh yea, just like that little dog did that day but when you put your foot down and stand up to his roarings – he will “GET”!

I don’t know what lies he’s barking at you today but whatever it is, it’s a lie because he is the father of lies and there is no truth in him. Everything the devil does is a deception and if you don’t buy into it, he can’t be successful.

Here’s to a day of resisting – just stand up and say “In the name of Jesus, git on outta here!”

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