Be Holy...

1 Peter 1:13-19 (ESV) - Called to Be Holy

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Being holy - things that are precious and perishable.  These are all things that are worthy of a Christ follower's thoughts and meditation.  What does it mean for us to be holy - is it even possible? What is perishable and what is precious?  What in all of creation could be considered so valuable, that it would be accepted as payment for the sins of all the world?  Peter answers these questions in his first letter as we read above. 

Peter writes these words in a very straight forward, very open and specific manner.  We can hear his very words being spoken as we read them, and what we hear truly is powerful and full of authority.  He speaks plainly and boldly so that his point is made and understood immediately.  Very much to Peter's personality isn't it, he was a no-nonsense kind of guy I imagine.

Verse 13 - Peter tells us that we are to prepare in such a way that we will be ready, mentally and spiritually, for what we will receive when the Lord comes again.  He's saying prepare soberly (meaning with a clear mind, unobstructed, unimpaired by anything), setting our hope fully on the grace that God has promised to give to those who believe on and trust in His Son.  As Christians we do have hope - but in today's age people all too frequently confuse hoping and wishing.  Jesus is not a genie in a bottle wanting to grant you 3 wishes.  He owes you nothing, but He offers you everything.  Our hope in the grace that God promises is an expectant hope - because we KNOW that God is a promise keeper, and so the hope we have in His grace and mercy is expectant, not wishful thinking.

Verses 14 through 16 - Here Peter very clearly gives us a "don't do this, do that instead" command.  He says since you are obedient (you have trusted in Christ and turned to Him as Lord and Savior), don't fall back into your old ways!  Don't go back to the sins you left at the foot of the cross when you accepted Christ, don't continue in the evil ways of your past now that you have been reborn and made into a new creation, but instead be holy just like He who saved you is holy.  Is salvation a get out of jail free card?  Is it license to live for the devil and to sin recklessly because our salvation is secure in heaven?  Absolutely not!  

Are we tempted daily, yes.  Do we have times where we fall and fail, sure do.  But the mark of a Christ follower where sin and temptation are concerned is the struggle that we put up against that sin.  Do you just give in and decide well I'll just ask God to forgive me after.  Friend if that is your mindset, pray and pray hard that the Lord will convict you of that and help you to find your feet and set to struggle against that sin for all you are worth.  For those who are fighting against sin, but you had a setback, get up.  Dust yourself off, turn back to the Lord for His help as you restart your struggle again.

Verse 17 - Peter speaks of exile - what exile?  How are we exiled now?  By sin - our sinful nature.  Before the fall, Adam and Eve lived with God, walked with Him in all His glory.  They were not separated (exiled) from Him, they walked in the garden with Him continually.  It was only after they committed that great sin that they suffered separation and exile.  They were put out of the garden, removed from God's direct presence, and we have suffered that exile ever since.  Peter is saying as we live this exile, as Christ followers we are to fear the Lord with reverence and great obedience.  I believe that the capital "C" church has basically lost its understanding of God's righteousness and holiness.  He is a holy and righteous judge.  Does He love us, of course He does.  Does He care for us and have compassion on us, absolutely yes.  And yet at the same time He is Holy and Righteous and He will judge sin, period.  You can't live for the devil six days a week and then jump on the church bus on Sunday morning and call it all good, it does not work that way.  Following Christ is a lifelong, day by day - no - minute by minute - no - second by second pursuit.   

Verses 18 and 19 - here is where we tie into the ideas of precious and perishable.  Peter says that the people were ransomed - what's a ransom?  It's a payment, but it's really more than that isn't it?  A payment is a payment, but a ransom is a payment for someone who is in harm's way.  Friend, can I share this truth with you, if you don't know Jesus as your personal Savior, you are in harm's way.  I can't say it any more plainly than that - harm, danger, hell, that is your future without Christ.  God does not want that for you, He loves you so much that He made a way, He gave His own Son to be that ransom in your place, to take your place and pay that price so that you can be free and safe and reconciled to Him.

Peter says that the ways of their forefathers was futile - what is he talking about here?  The law - the law that the Hebrews of old, rescued out of slavery and bondage in Egypt, chose instead of the grace that God offered to them.  He gave them the law so that they could see and understand exactly how lost and wretched they were without Him and His saving grace.  

Peter then reminds us that the ransom was paid with something that is far more valuable, far more precious, then even things that people consider to be most valuable.  And he uses this idea of perishable to make his point.  He says you were not ransomed with something perishable, like silver or gold, but with that which is unperishable, the shed blood of the Lord Jesus.  Wait a minute - silver and gold perishable?  These are metals - do metals perish?  Iron does - it can rust.  Copper can over a long time right - it tarnishes and is soft so it can wear down.  But silver and gold?  There are golden artifacts created during times that we read about in the bible that still exist today, and yet Peter says that even gold such as this is perishable when compared to the precious blood of Jesus.

The truth is that it is possible for us to be holy, if we will struggle and try.  It won't happen simply on its own, it won't happen without your intentional effort.  But isn't it worth it to try?  Jesus said that you are worth it, He went to the cross and suffered that death because you are so very much worth it.  You are precious, because He shed His most precious blood, so that you could be returned to Him, ransomed, paid for, paid in full, saved.  His is the only name in all of God's creation that can save, and He does save.  And if you are saved, you are called to be holy as He is holy.  I pray these words are a blessing to someone who reads them, and if so then all glory to God, Amen.  May God bless you and keep you, thanks for reading.

PJ

Pastoring...

Pastor - it's a title, no it's much more than that, it's a calling. I struggled with that for a while after the Lord called me, because I never wanted it to be about me. This calling should have little to do with Jeff, and everything to do with Jesus. I worried about when someone would finally call me "Pastor Jeff" because I did not want to get "the big head". I even told someone once very early on that they did not have to call me "Pastor", and the Lord poked me in the shoulder immediately after that and I did not know why, but eventually He showed me...

Pastor is not a job. It's a calling, and it is not something that we call upon ourselves or even other people call us too. The Lord God Almighty does the calling. He says so in His word.

Jeremiah 3:15 (ESV) - "And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding."

God does the calling, we simply listen and obey. What the Lord showed me is that when someone calls me "Pastor Jeff", they are not paying honor to me. They honor God and His calling upon my life, and what He is doing in me and through me. Is it right for me to deny someone's honoring the Lord? Certainly not - thus the poke in the shoulder. Shortly after He taught me this valuable lesson, He followed it up with one even more powerful.

I was serving as Associate Pastor at House of Agape at the time, and one night at the feeding ministry a young man fresh out of prison came up to me. Everything he owned in the world he wore on his person and carried no bag of anything extra. He would be sleeping on the street that night, and it was cold. After the devotional was given and folks were eating dinner, he asked to speak to me privately. We stepped to the side and then he asked me a question, "Are you a pastor?"

I tell you, the entire world stopped. It was as if everything was frozen, and in my very heart I knew the Lord was asking too "Are you a pastor?" I had to take a minute. Because at that moment I knew that I had an out, I could have said no. And if I did, I would have had to resign my position and return to being a lay person, but if I wanted out, I could have gotten out. This was a put up or shut up moment in my life.

I looked into this man's eyes, full of worry and fear, full of pain and even sorrow over his situation, and I told him "Yes, I am a pastor." And that is the first time that I felt the weight of that truth. I am a pastor, and it's heavy. If you are a pastor, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I feel it now, I feel it always. My prayer every day is that the Lord help me to continue to feel this weight, and never that I should take it for granted or disrespect this weight that I accepted when I told this young man "Yes, I am a pastor."

Pastoring takes on many forms and looks different hour by hour, even minute by minute. One minute you are rejoicing with someone over a huge blessing received, and the next you are mourning with someone else over a lost loved one. I've seen people crushed by someone they love, and complete and utter forgiveness to someone who has committed an unspeakable wrong. I've seen God move in the simplest of ways and yet cause profound change in someone's outlook and take on life.

I say all of that to say this - I am blessed to be called to pastoring, and God has moved in my life in a way that only He could move. This was never my plan, but it was His and as we all know His plans are best. I intend to write more (I know I've said that before multiple times), but I do. I wrote a short prayer for someone not long ago and apparently it had the whole house crying (in a good way). I did not think it that impactful but if so, Amen. That's the Lord at work, I just listen and obey. Thanks for reading, check back for more... God Bless!

PJ