Bible League: Living His Word But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect...— 1 Peter 3:15 ESV The apostle Peter honored Jesus Christ as being holy, and , given this, he believed that all we should honor Jesus as holy as well. By hHonoring Jesus in this way, Peter had Isaiah 8:13 in the back of his mind: "But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy." In effect, Peter is saying that Jesus is holy in the same sense that the Lord God is holy. In effect, Peter is saying that. We should regard Jesus with the same kind of honor and respect that we should have for the Lord God Himself. That means we should honor and respect Jesus Christ by, among other things, believing what He says. We should especially believe what He said about Himself. He said, for example, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me," (John 14:6). He said, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life," (John 3:16). He said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father," (John 14:12). And He said many other things about Himself as well. Since we know He is holy, even holy like the Lord God is holy, it would be disrespectful not to believe Him. Moreover, it would be disrespectful notis our duty to publicly and unashamedly confess that we believe in Him and that we hope in Him. And when we do this, we should always be prepared to defend the hope that we have. This does not necessarily mean that we should have sophisticated apologetic reasons ready for the defense, although that could certainly be a part of it; but we should have our personal reasons ready. We should be prepared to defend our hope by sharing our personal testimonies. We should do this, of course, with "gentleness and respect,." allowing the Spirit room to work. We should realize that no one is convinced of what we have to say simply because we say it, say it with good reasoning and arguments, or say it forcefully. Only the Lord God can change hearts. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 120-123 Psalm 120 -- In my distress, I cried to the Lord. He answered me. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 121 -- I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 122 -- I was glad when they said to me, "Let's go to the Lord's house!" NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 123 -- To you I do lift up my eyes, you who sit in the heavens. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Corinthians 6 1 Corinthians 6 -- Lawsuits between Believers; Honor God with Your Body NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.Insight To love others was not a new commandment, but to love others as much as Christ loved others was revolutionary. Challenge Now we are to love others based on Jesus' sacrificial love for us. Such love will not only bring unbelievers to Christ; it will also keep believers strong and united in a world hostile to God. Jesus was a living example of God's love, as we are to be living examples of Jesus' love. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Exodus 22:6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.But what restitution can he make who casts abroad the fire-brands of error, or the coals of lasciviousness, and sets men's souls on a blaze with the fire of hell? The guilt is beyond estimate, and the result is irretrievable. If such an offender be forgiven, what grief it will cause him in the retrospect, since he cannot undo the mischief which he has done! An ill example may kindle a flame which years of amended character cannot quench. To burn the food of man is bad enough, but how much worse to destroy the soul! It may be useful to us to reflect how far we may have been guilty in the past, and to enquire whether, even in the present, there may not be evil in us which has a tendency to bring damage to the souls of our relatives, friends, or neighbours. The fire of strife is a terrible evil when it breaks out in a Christian church. Where converts were multiplied, and God was glorified, jealousy and envy do the devil's work most effectually. Where the golden grain was being housed, to reward the toil of the great Boaz, the fire of enmity comes in and leaves little else but smoke and a heap of blackness. Woe unto those by whom offences come. May they never come through us, for although we cannot make restitution, we shall certainly be the chief sufferers if we are the chief offenders. Those who feed the fire deserve just censure, but he who first kindles it is most to blame. Discord usually takes first hold upon the thorns; it is nurtured among the hypocrites and base professors in the church, and away it goes among the righteous, blown by the winds of hell, and no one knows where it may end. O thou Lord and giver of peace, make us peacemakers, and never let us aid and abet the men of strife, or even unintentionally cause the least division among thy people. Daily Light on the Daily Path John 9:4 "We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.Proverbs 13:4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made fat. Proverbs 11:25 The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered. John 4:34-36 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. • "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest '? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. • "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest '? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Matthew 20:1,2 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. • "When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. Luke 19:13 "And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, 'Do business with this until I come back.' 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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