Tag: 1 Peter

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Proclaim Liberty

Its great to be back to the keyboard, buffeting away after a week at the beach in the RAIN!  No oil at all, only rain from the recent Hurricane, aptly named after my eldest.  Anyway, I big shout out to Ray, Joel, and Jeff for filling in during my hiatus.

I am sure most of you are still enjoying the day off work, celebrating our nations 234th birthday.  234 years of freedom!  That’s so great, however, since I remember alot of the bicentennial celebration, 234 sure makes me feel older!

On my drive back I heard the DJ on an Atlanta station was talking about the Liberty Bell in Philly, and mentioned the verse that is etched in the bell.  That seemed to be a good verse to share today as we continue to celebrate.

proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.  Leviticus 25:10

Get out there today and proclaim liberty, but remember to use it for good.

16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 1 Peter 2:16 (New International Version)

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Where’s the lightning?

This morning is tough for me.  My body is craving the warmth and comfort of the bed, my mind is dreading the day the lays in front of me and me ear already hurts from the prospect of a having a headset on my ear all day!

But really what sort of life is it when you dread the day? The day is more than that, and so I starting thinking about how to refresh and renew on a day that my eyelids seems stuck together!  And since I could not conjure up a lightning delay that would stop the clock from moving toward the start of the day,  I needed to find a way to light myself up!  So, I took a look over in 1 Peter:

22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For,
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.  1 Peter 1:22-25 (New International Version)

Hm, its not about conference calls, its about loving those around you, because you have been born again.  Man, its amazing how changing your perspective can help you get you game face on.  Born Again – each and every day, because there are only few of them.

Let your light shine!

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Prayer Day

It’s the National Day of Prayer ( yes, these days just keep on coming!).  You would be surprised to find out that almost every day is some sort of observance.  First instance, today is also Nurses Day, No Homework Day, No Diet Day, National Day of Reason, National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, and Joseph Bracket Day ( A Mainer who wrote the song Simple Gifts – one of my all time favorite songs).

But any way, back to Prayer Day.  It is the National Day of Prayer, and despite the constant emails and Facebook postings that Barry O canceled it, it’s still happening.  It’s good to take a day and pray especially for the country.  There are lots of challenges we face as a people, and I think that its good to take those to God.

Its also good to take your personal challenges there.  I mean check out 1 Peter 5:6-8 ( it is also a good verse for Joseph Bracket day, since it speaks of humility)

6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.  Prayer is not just some ritual done to appease our own spirituality, we do it because He wants to hear it. Did you ever think about that. The Creator of the Universe wants to hear about your anxieties, because He cares about you!

That’s sort of the crux of this whole “I’ll follow Jesus” thing isn’t it.  He cares about you and wants  you to follow him and to talk with him and to share with him.  Its nice to be wanted isn’t it!

So enjoy the Day of Prayer and remember “‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free!”

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Busy Busy Busy

When the alarm sounded at 6am this morning, I was immediately filled with dread.  I had already peeked at my schedule for the day, and I knew what lie in front of me, and the how long the day would be.   It’s not just that a day of work was on the horizon, but a day of rushing.  From the moment I opened my eyes, until I lay in the bed tonight, even as I write this post, its rush.  Its hurry, its multitask, its push as much into each moment as possible. And that stinks.  I am not talking living and getting as much out of each moment in life, I am talking about getting through it as fast as you can so you can get to something else.  Thats just not right.   Then there’s two sad things to be said about this, first tomorrow will be the same and second my life is probably not much different from yours.  My days call to my attention the sower and the seed

…but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. Matt 13:22

So the challenge today is this – and its more of question to you then an answer – how do we deal with this crazy life.  It seems we have to either radically change our  lives or figure out how to maintain this riducilous lifestyle and not be choked.   So yesterday I heard someone mentioned 2 Peter 1. So in the midst of this busy pushed composition, a took a look over there. Somehow we have to continue to add to our life these elements:

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

And look just above this in 2 Peter.  He tells us that to get out of the trappings of the world, those are the things that you need.

3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

and then after that list of traits he tells us this

8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

So today, I am going to try to not focus on the busyness of the day, and somehow try to “make every effort to add” the things that Peter listed to my life.    I hope that bring some calmness and control to a schedule that feels insane.  What do you think?

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Took 14,018 showers!

Well, I woke up this morning with a classic Veggie Tune in my head:

Laura: I can’t believe it’s Christmas!
I think I’m finally gettin’ something
Can’t believe it’s Christmas,
My favorite time of year!

Percy: I can’t believe it’s Christmas!
Been dreaming of a sugar-plum thing
Can’t believe it’s Christmas,
Oh, boy! It’s finally here!

Dinkletown children: Ho, ho! Away we go!
With rosey cheeks and hearts aglowin’
Hey, hey! Our favorite day!
It makes us want to cheer!

(listen here)

I think the best line is little Lenny saying:

Lenny: Took 14,018 showers!

Anyway, its Christmas, and its a great time of the year.  More of that later in the month.  For now, following on some previous posts, and because of some thoughts I have on relationships and managing them that I will also post later ( tomorrow I think), today enjoy one of the starting points of deep faith.  Break yourself before God. Did you read that?   Break yourself.  Cast your cares on him. He wants them.  And he will lift you up.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (New International Version)

6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

When you are not singing today, spend some quieter moments considering humility, and what being humble before God really means.  Also think about how that manifests itself in relationships with people.

Percy: Yo, ho! We love the snow!