Christian you are

 Christian you are

The apostle Peter writes,

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 

Dear friends,

I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." 1 Peter 2:9-12.

Question. 

If you claim to be a Christian. 

A true follower of Christ Jesus.

Are you doing this?

Please think about it.

Aliens and Judgement

 Aliens and Judgement.

The apostle Peter writes,

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 

Dear friends,

I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." 1 Peter 2:9-12.

Here is a clear statement as to what a Christian is. We are a royal priesthood, a holy people belonging to God, that we may declare the praises of God.

Peter also notes a critical fact all Christians must remember. We are aliens and strangers in this world. Peter goes on to tell us to abstain from sinful desires. 

Sinful desires come in a variety of ways. One however I believe we miss is the judgement of others, or trying to impose our will on others. Jesus said,

"Judge not, that you be not Judged   

For with the judgement you pronounce you will be judged, with the measure you use it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1,2 (ESV).

The late American evangelist Billy Graham wrote,

"It is the Holy Spirits Job to Convict, 

God's job to judge

 and my job to love."

                                          Billy Graham.

The world around us is a harsh and at times very unforgiving especially when it comes to the way we conduct ourselves. Thus it is incumbent on us to present the gospel message in love. Saying to people “this is what I believe. What about you?”

Please think about it. 

That covers a lot

  That covers a lot

The apostle Peter wrote,

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11,12

This is something Christians particularly in North America don’t completely understand. They live in democracies that offer freedoms many in the world could only dream of.

Sadly many calling themselves Christians use that freedom wrongly.

The apostle Paul wrote,

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13.

What is the sinful nature Paul is talking about here. I believe it’s disobeying the worlds of Jesus. Jesus who said,

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12.

That covers a lot. 

I believe this means we must alway show unconditional love to all we come in contact with even if we disagree with them in any way. For it is only in showing unconditional love to those around us that we will win souls for Christ.

Please think about it.

We are Aliens

We are the Aliens
The writer of Hebrews states,
“All these people (...Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.” Hebrews 11:13.
The apostle Peter writing to believers in Christ states,
 “Dear friends,
 I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11,12.
 If you claim to be a believer in Christ you need to always remember you are an alien in the world. As such you must as far as possible live a good life.
We as believers in Christ Jesus must remember that it is through the lense of our words and deeds that people will see Jesus.
For me the best way to do this is to remember the words of Jesus who said,

“So in everything,

 do to others 

what you would have them do to you, 

for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” 

                                                        Matthew 7:12.

Please if you consider yourself a believer in Christ Jesus,
Think about it.

Christian Principles for Living #4 (Live at Peace with those around you)

Christian Principles for living #4 (Live at Peace with those around you)
The apostle Paul wrote,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”  Romans 12:18.
The writer of Hebrews states,
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14.
The Apostle Peter tells believers in Christ Jesus,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends,
 I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
Believers in Christ Jesus are called to live a good and peaceful life. A life of holiness.
As believers in Christ we need to take a look at the actions of Jesus and the apostles. They never spoke out against anyone outside their faith. They never protested for any reason. They did as far as was possible live at peace with those around them. They lived a life of love.
In doing so they opened up doors to talk with other groups throughout the known world. As a result in just over a century, Christianity had spread throughout the known world.
These men and women by living a peaceful loving life stood in the Areopagus in Athens and spoke to the learned men and women there. They spoke with politicians, soldiers, tax collectors, and people of every strata of society from slaves to rulers.
This is what we in the twenty-first century church need to do. Are you?
Please think about it.

You Are

You are
Here is a portion of Scripture I have quoted many times in my blogs over the years. It is something all Christians need to realize and take to heart. The apostle Peter writes,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12
Peter makes clear believer in Christ are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful love.”
We are a royal priesthood. However that sadly is not what some groups see Christians as. Sadly as I heard one person say “some calling themselves Christians, act more like street thugs determined to get their way no matter what.”
When I looked at it from the point of view of a woman having to walk through the lines of protestors at an abortion clinic, or from the standpoint of those in the LBGTQ community, who see those claiming to be Christians protesting against them, wanting to take away their rights. I can see where the person is coming from.
As Christians we should not be protesting against anything that does not take away our rights or the rights of others.
Peter said,
“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 
If statistics are right Christians are the most persecuted faith on the planet. It is estimated a Christian dies for his faith every three to seven minutes somewhere in the world.
We as Christians are “aliens and strangers in the world...” we have no right to protest or judge those outside our faith. The apostle Paul wrote,

“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? 

Are you not to judge those inside?  

God will judge those outside. 

“Expel the wicked man from among you.” 

1 Corinthians 5:12,13

Christians have no right to judge. We are God’s messengers in this world. The job given to believes in Christ is simple Jesus said,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”Matthew 28:18-20.
Jesus also said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12.
I know as a follower of Christ, I with all I know about Jesus and God. I would want others to tell me about all God has to offer if I didn’t already know.
I would not want people to judge me, to force their faith or way of life on me. I would not want them demonstrating against me if I am doing something lawful.
I would want to have free and open dialogue with them something that cannot be done while holding placards in a protest.
As Christians we must remember the words of the writer of Hebrews who said,

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men

 and to be holy; 

without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 

Hebrews 12:14.

Please think about it.