This is one of those days when I’d like to take a pass on what the Lord has pressed on my heart to post...
Earlier this week I saw a quote that resonated so I took a screenshot:
“When God delivers you from evil, don’t keep in touch.”
I felt the same exhortation as I read 1 Peter 2 today. He writes,
“Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents & foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.”
He calls us to live properly among unbelievers so that if they accuse us of doing wrong, they’ll see our honorable behavior & will then honor God.
As I read the above & pondered the quote, a question surfaced:
Would my behavior silence my accusers & give cause for them to honor God?
Peter commands us to:
~Respect everyone
~Love your neighbor
~Fear God
~Respect the king
~Accept the authority of your masters with all respect
Those are pretty strong imperatives especially when he couples the last one with a clause:
“... do what they tell you – not only if they’re kind & reasonable, but even if they are cruel. For God called you to do good even if it means suffering just as Jesus suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.”
When I read those 5 imperatives, I confess that, “Respect the king” is hard when it feels like the “king” of my country has made consistent decisions that may lead to its demise.😬
And yet, we are called to respect whomever sits in the seat of kingship, not because he deserves it, but because we are commanded to do so by The Word - The One Whom we serve & The One Who saved us-Jesus!
He delivered us from evil, so why keep in touch with it by posting disrespectful memes or leaving snarky comments? There are many informative things I read that I’d like to repost, but when I look at the account, it is rife with dishonor so I cannot.
Y’all, we who were once slaves to sin are now free-slaves to our Savior by choice! If He’s our Lord, then our lives must reflect it! Not by striving, but by surrender!
Father, let our lives become so honorable that it silences the enemy & causes those around us to seek & honor You! You delivered us from evil, so remind us to not keep in touch with it.
💡EZEKIEL 47:1-48:35
💡1 PETER 2:11-3:7
💡PSALM 119:49-64
💡PROVERBS 28:12-13
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