On the Way to Wonder

The Battle of the Bulge was the last major offensive in WW2.  The Axis powers failed to divide the Allies but at a great price.  The USA lost 100,000+ lives.  Peter tells us that faith is a battle not dissimilar to the Battle of the Bulge.  We battle with our own sinful self and the desires that drive us.  We are counseled to choose God’s way with our passions.  Peter tells us to submit to government authorities.  We are to be people who do good.  In our culture today we hear so much about advocating for the oppressed and downtrodden by unjust authorities.  For sure it is a battle to figure out just how to respect government authorities when we are feeling misunderstood.  Peter contends that doing good silences false accusations and is God’s way of waging war with evil.  The frog that is hard to swallow is Peter’s advise to slaves to submit to masters.  We just do not like that language today and we would like to think we are the master’s of our lives.  But in truth we live in community and community only works when we respect each other and we are willing to give up some of our freedom for peace.

         I have always liked the example of a stray dog who has no master and goes around rummaging for food, flea ridden, and unloved verses the owned dog that must submit to the leash and a master but is fed, is groomed and is the family pet.  The happier, healthier dog is the one who submits to an authority.  Likewise as we live in submission to God, our lives will go better, not because we are somehow favored but because God speaks the truth about how to live the good life.  He does not play favorites and he is honest about how life works – don’t kill, don’t covet, don’t slander, don’t steal, and show respect to God and family.

         Peter further reasons that if we do what the crowd does and love those who love us then we have only done what everyone else does.  It is when we, as exiles and strangers, choose to do the good that is unexpected and contrary to human nature that others see God working through us.  Peter says the example for us is Christ who went through severe trials trusting God and without sin. 

         Perhaps you are waging a war today within yourself, within your family, within your friendship group or perhaps even within government.  Let us pray about how we can lead lives in the midst of these battles to God’s glory.  Staying united and continuing to battle at great cost, helps to win the wars of life.  Blessings in the struggle.

My husband attended Rift Valley Academy (RVA) on the edge of the Great Rift Valley outside Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa.  One of the legends that I quickly learned about RVA was that the cornerstone of the main building was laid and engraved by President Theodore Roosevelt on a hunting safari in 1909.  This cornerstone identified the beginning of the school and indicated its importance.  Often time capsules are embedded in a cornerstone so that future generations can see proof of what life was like at the time of the forming of the building.

         Merriam-Webster defines cornerstone as:

1: a stone forming a part of a corner or angle in a wall specifically : such a stone laid at a formal ceremony

2: a basic element: foundation

I have also heard the cornerstone described as the center stone in an arch that keeps the tension and the whole thing together.

         Peter reminds us using the words of the prophet Isaiah that Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith.  He is the foundation and identifies us as his followers.  We are the “living rocks” built around the “cornerstone”.  Peter says not all people want to be part of that building and reject Jesus and then stumble.  Perhaps stumbling is like James talking about Christians who doubt so then become confused, being tossed about like a wave in the ocean.  We stumble when we forget our foundations, when we focus on other things that promise us security or protection or wealth or fame.  Likewise Jesus is foundational to wisdom and so trusting, believing and obeying the cornerstone is crucial.

         Our challenge today is to ponder how Jesus is our cornerstone to build our lives on.  How is he foundational?  Faith is not like saying the Pledge of Allegiance or being able to identify the “day we accepted Jesus.” Faith is a living, growing relationship and so we are “living stones” being built into a building identified and held together by our cornerstone, Jesus.  Spend a moment and pray, thanking God for the foundation he provides in your life and how he holds you together.  Perhaps thank him for the other stones that form the spiritual building.  I love 1 Peter 2:10

“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.”  Thank you Lord for choosing me to be a living stone in the your building!

1 Peter 2: 4,5

True confessions:  I was one of those early Star Trek fans as a teenager or young adult.  One of the episodes that captured my imagination was when our heroes landing on a planet and finding the life form was hostile.  It was a common theme.  They discovered the life form was carbon based, rock people, and the mother rock was protecting her babies.  The laser gun had burned her and she was defensive.  Once they realized, Bones did his healing magic and they lived to see another adventure.  Life based on carbon!  It was an epiphany that opened my imagination.

         Our text today talks of Jesus as a “living stone” and we are to act like living stones and be built into a spiritual house.

            ^“4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and ⁵ like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”.

Jesus is al living stone.  He is a different life form with feelings and powers just like the episode.  Stone implies to me a solidness, a firmness upon which I can build my life and trust.  It is not like a wave of the sea that James uses to picture doubt, a wave that tosses and turns and has tides and changes.  Rocks are solid and dependable.  Jesus is like a living stones and gifts us with living hope.  Again there is the sense of growth, of life, of future potential. 

         Peter says Jesus was rejected by those who could not see the potential in the rock, who did not have vision for how to build with it, and perhaps by those who had no one to teach them its value.  But God looks at Jesus and at us and we are precious in his sight. WOW!  We are being built into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood.  We are not just any ole rock.  We have purpose and meaning.  The priests hold the prayers and sacrifices to God even as the altar built of the rocks does.

         So how are we “living rocks”?  Think of ways that you are solid and reliable.  Then think of ways you are living and giving life to others.  Perhaps you can name someone who has been there for you in ways that have helped you grow.  They were solid and dependable for you during a time of struggle.  That is truly a blessing if you have a friend like that … or you are a friend like that to someone else.  Thank God for that person or people.  Blessings as you stand firm and do your part in the spiritual house God is building!

1 Peter 2:1-3

When a person stops talking to take a breath, I think I think it is my turn to speak but often it is not.  Round 2 is already in the process!  1 Peter 1 ends and chapter 2 starts and I am thinking that we will now shift subjects but we do not.  Peter continues to his friends in exile, scattered and facing rough times.  He blesses them with grace and peace in the midst of trials and persecutions and reminds them that they are not alone. They are chosen by God, being refined, and a wonderful inheritance is being kept for them.  The best is yet to come.  The prophets predicted it and their lifes are the proof.  Sometimes “I told you so” is only so comforting and knowing this will all turn out ok helps to alleviate some pain but it’s still tough.  Lamaz had us breath and focus on a positive thought during childbirth because that helps with contractions.  They tried to convince us it was not pain but infact labor. It was pain but the breathing and focus did help me relax.  I think it is similar with larger life trials.

         Knowing God is impartial and not trying to please someone does encourage.  Knowing that there will eventually be justice and while evil may seem to win, it is only temporary!  Peter now continues his encouragment.

 “2 Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. ² Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 

I think Peter is saying we need to lance the boils festering in our souls.  Malice, guile, insincerity, envy and slander only eat away at my thinking, drain me of energy, and make matters worse.  My husband will ask, “Are you chewing that bone again?”  When injustice occurs, it is easy to argue for hours with the unseen villain in our minds and even allow our tongues to relate the offense to others – and we are the good guys.  Even if there is no offense, envy creates offenses for which we hold God responsible. The other is gifted or talented or whatever and we were not and it’s God’s fault.  Our eyes have gone from focusing on the blessing we have, if only the sunrise, to the problems that only grow larger as we think about them and our resources disappear in our tunnel vision on the problem.  Peter challenges us to rid ourselves of the poison that drains our spiritual energy. 

         We call this spiritual warfare.  We are practicing spiritual discipline and developing spiritual muscles.  Our challenge today is to identify our weak point where temptation tries to draw us away from focusing on God and his desire for our good.

I do not think these temptations truly disappear but my prayer is that as I recognize them more quickly and choose to focus on God the struggle becomes more bearable. I love James 1  “Count it pure joy when you encounter trials…” Name your weak spot and think of a Biblical promise to strength yourself!  It does make spiritual birth easier. Blessings.

1 Peter 1: 17-25

Tonight the evening news talked about two decisions passed down by our Supreme Court.  One of the questions was concerning, not whether masking is medically advised, but who gets to make the decision whether companies with over 100 employees can require vaccination and weekly testing – the US government who is not composed of medical experts OR the CDC, composed of medical expertise.  Who has the responsibility of making that call?  It was something like that anyway.  Similarly is the on-going battle between state power and federal power about decision making.  It is enough to make our heads spin.  Our news loves to interview people and get opinions from all sorts of “experts.”  1 Peter 1:17-25 deals with a similar dynamic.

“Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as a foreigners here in reverent fear. (v.17)”

Peter continues to say that God is not swayed by silver and gold.  He is not paid to redeem us.  We have been redeemed “by the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God himself and walked through death, demonstrating his power over evil and he is impartial, loving all who choose to follow Christ.   We are tasked with loving each other, not because of political party, not because of ethnic heritage, not because of social strata, and not because of laws.  We are tasked to be impartial even as our God is impartial. 

         We are chosen and elected.  We have been given “living hope” and an eternal inheritance being saved for us.  Therefore we set our minds on that hope and do not conform to evil.  We can trust our God’s wisdom in the midst of suffering because he is impartial and loves us.  We live like foreigners in a world that is not impartial and does not love us.

         It might be that the challenge is to live in “reverent fear.”  The Message translates that as a challenge that we do not indulge in “sloppy living.”  I suspect “reverent fear” would mean knowing this God, searching for his meaning, and trusting his wisdom.  We are the strangers who need him to “teach us the ropes” of surviving trials.

         Maybe you have an issue you are being faced with right now.  It need not be humongous like immigration or vaccination but could be a friend who slighted you with an unkind word that cut like a knife.  Can you boil the issue down into one word – I feel…insulted, slandered, disrespected or…?  You can look in a concordance for Bible verses that deal with that exact issue.  You can go to www.Biblegateway.com and type in the word and the version of the Bible you want to read.  You can pray with a friend.  Do not let the issue stew in your heart, dragging you down but live in reverent fear of a God who is impartial and will give you good advice.  Blessings in the struggle.

1 Peter 1: 13-16

“set your hope on grace…”

“do not conform to the evil…”

Peter, a close follower of Jesus and a leader among the apostles, wrote to Christians who were geographically dispersed, disrespected as a minority, and feeling isolated.  He then writes “therefore.”  Faced with the suffering and trials of life that we all experience he now gives advice.

         “Set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. (v. 13)” What does it mean to focus on grace? A childhood acronym we were taught is that g-r-a-c-e stands for God’s riches at Christ’s expense.  We receive what we do not deserve because of another’s kindness.  We are gifted not because of merit within ourselves or because of our deeds.  Perhaps a bonus check is an example of grace except I suspect that will be paid for by taxes.  Grace is trashing my husband’s car in an accident and he responds with laughter and hugs because he loves me.  I expect a lecture and censure but receive love and forgiveness.  As Christians we believe God did not ask us to climb up to him through deeds and penance but he incarnated, became human, died a horrible death, and walked through death to show we can live with hope and trust his grace, his forgiveness.  But besides realizing that I am forgiven, I can forgive another because God cares about them.  I do not need to be defensive and revengeful.  The polarities and injustices of our world today will not be ultimately resolved by vaster laws and fighting wars of revenge.  Focus on grace.

         “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. (v.15)”  Interesting that he used the word obedience.  Makes me think of my mother forcing me to tell my sister that I’m sorry for hurting her.  Without someone to teach me reconciliation, I would live in ignorance, but I still must choose whether to obey.  I had five children born close together and when they were all learning to drive, it was not infrequent to have a running dialogue about the need to obey the speed laws and if I, their teacher, was obeying.  I find when I become discouraged that I often enjoy reading the Gospels and looking at the life of Christ.  I ask myself how he lived his life.  He healed and did not curse with disease.  He forgave and did not seek revenge.  He did not plot political intrigue.  I can choose to follow his example or follow my own selfish desires.

         So where does that leave our thinking this morning?  May I suggest we bow our heads and think of just one mistake we have made and been forgiven for.  How did that forgiveness change the path of your life?  Secondly perhaps there is a point of obedience that you struggle with from diet to speeding to other problems.  Ask God for the strength to obey and not live ignorantly.  How we choose to live our lives is important.  It affects our understanding of our suffering and it impacts others.  Blessings.

1 Peter 1: 10-12

The apostle Peter in this first chapter of his letter seems to be building a rational that helps us cope with suffering and struggling.  In writing to early Christians and us, he does not ask us to deny hard times.  He does not put suffering in the framework of learning a lesson the hard way.  Nor are the early Christians being punished for misbehavior.  He is writing to Christians who are spread out over the Roman Empire and who are facing isolation and persecution.  As Americans we might not say we are being persecuted like then when Christians went to the Coliseum to fight beasts because of their faith or were burned as torches.  We do not face persecution like that.  We face a much subtler challenge as Christianity has been integrated with politics, finances, health, and education. Faith has become measured by our social stances and not by our relationship to Christ.

         Peter tells his people that they are not “unseen,” helpless victims of fate or science or evolution.  He calls them chosen and elect.  There is a God who has his hand on them and God’s Spirit is guiding them and helping them to stand firm in faith.  Trials and struggles are not punishments and tests to see if we are really believers, but are a refining process common to life.  God does not play with us.  Gold is refined and becomes more pure in the fire and faith is refined in trials.  As we have lived through quarantines these last two years, we have had to grow as a church that challenges pastors and councils to zoom, stream, and face book.  We have been challenged to get those phone chains working to keep shut-ins loved and we keep in touch with relatives and friends electronically.  Trials challenge and refine us, perfect us and can bring out our better self.

         The truth is that we have an eternal inheritance that is far more valuable than gold and that inheritance is being kept secure for us.  Our worldly wealth changes in value constantly but not our eternal wealth and we need to focus on that.  But the truth is also that these sufferings were predicted through the prophets. Struggling is not unique to this generation or this decade.   We can look back to the Israelites in Egypt, the Babylonian and Assyrian captivity, to the plague and wars and we see faith being tested.  Great hymns and art came out of those times.  We are broken people in a broken world and need a savior who is the author of “grace and peace in abundance.”

         So who would you like to be an example for this year?  Whose life would you like to impact?  We do not know who is watching but for sure we are watched.  For sure we have come to faith and grown because of someone else investing in us.  Name two or three people that you will at least pray for this year and ask God that you can be a godly influence in their lives.  Blessings.

1 Peter 1: 2-9

The Apostle Peter wrote two letters to Christians scattered across five Roman provinces. Christians were isolated by their beliefs, by geography, by lack of Scriptures – no streaming of church services, no radio to transmit teaching, a diverse international minority group figuring out their beliefs and facing persecution.  Those days were not that dissimilar to today with political polarities, medical quarantines, and immigration challenges.  Peter addresses his “exiles” as people chosen to be God’s people and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.  But let’s keep reading.

         Peter goes on to say that these people have been given

“new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.  This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.”

“Living hope” are the words that jump out to me. Hope and living hope are somehow different and cause me to stop and think and reflect.  “I hope I pass my test,” does not sound so very confident.  Living hope gives the feeling of growth towards certainty. Living hope is something that is part of my personality, that is breathing and growing. It feels positive and not doubtful.   

         We have living hope because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  Living hope believes that we are not at the end of the road.  We are not defined by our mistakes but there are still future options that can open up for us.  Jesus resurrected from the dead three days after crucifixion and was seen by many. Our dark times can also be turning points that become new beginnings.  Our pasts are our foundation upon which we build by learning lessons that can prepare us for the future.  Living hope develops as we grow in faith in a God who walked through death.

         Secondly we have an inheritance that is kept secure for us and unlike interest rates that fluctuate, property that devalues, or wealth that can be lost, we can look forward to an inheritance that is secure for us to collect for eternity. We can leave behind old habits and fears because there is something ahead.  Someday there will be rewards and life will be fair.  That gives hope, living hope.

         Now at the beginning of the 2022 we can look back on 2021 and perhaps name some of our mistakes.  Perhaps take a moment to pray and chat with God about how you would like to grow in living hope this year and be a sharer of hope with those you love.  Blessings.