This is one of the Babies my wife delivered at the school in Niger State, Nigeria. Image subject to copyright
# 49 2020 Dev. 1Peter 4:7. Hope! Read verses 1-11. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.
1Pe. 4:7 “The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
We are in the Advent Season, we look forward to celebrating Christ’s birth and we anticipate Jesus coming again. Peter connects chapter 4 with chapter 3 as he has consistently done throughout his book. He connects Christ’s suffering to our suffering: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (Chapter3). “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin” (Chapter 4).
This is a hard concept, not much understood but think about it. When people are suffering by illness or persecution you move to look outside of yourself, for followers of Jesus they look to Him. When we are forced to look outside ourselves and we are out of our comfort zone, reality sets in and the fragility of life comes into focus, changing our life styles. Let’s be clear, all illness, persecution, corruption, exploitation and all that makes humans miserable by the actions of others comes from Satan as God allows it. As followers of Jesus we know that one function of the Holy Spirit is to suppress evil in the world. The bottom line is that God is in control!
The next section, vs. 7-11 gives us the direction and comfort we need in a broken world, be of “sober mind so that you may pray” our first line of defense. “Above all love each other deeply.” Love overcomes! “Use whatever gifts you have received to serve others.” Live God’s grace, everyone has gifts. Speak with “the very words of God.” In other words, know your Bible in your heart and live God’s Word. Serve “with the strength God provides…” serve not in your own strength but in the power of the Holy Spirit. This section is titled “living for God”.
What does that mean for you? We worship, we hear His Word, we are encouraged, we give funds to organizations helping the poor and to missions and we support our churches and Christian education. Is that the full measure of living for God? The church is more than that, we are to impact our families and our neighbors, people living next door, we are to impact our neighborhoods, we are to impact the powers that be, those who God has set over us. The purpose of the church is worship daily, thereby changing the world and the abuses of the people of the world. You are asking yourself, why do all that? Well, that is why God established Christ’s church and Peter adds: “so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
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