Jesus Fellowship: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 11/24/15

Day 327

https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/1Pet.1

1 Peter 1

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

Be Holy
13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a]

17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.[b] 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,

“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”[c]
And this is the word that was preached to you.

Supplied Life Devotional by Bill Freeman

November 24th

"When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth." Colossians 3:4- 5
Our minds must be renewed with the revelation of the objective cross in order that we could experience the subjective working of the cross. These two aspects are connected in Colossians 3:3 and 5. In verse 3 the objective aspect is given:"For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." That is the fact, and nothing can change it. Our feeling cannot change it. The atmosphere cannot change it. Whether we believe it or not, it still remains a fact. Disbelief cannot eradicate it. The fact is the fact. We died. This is the objective cross.

Then in verse 5 we see the subjective side:"Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth." This is the subjective working out of the cross. So the two sides of the cross are revealed in Colossians 3:"You died" in verse 3, and "put to death" in verse 5. We put to death our members which are on the earth because we died. The objective truth is that we were crucified with Christ. But now subjectively we need to apply this and experience it.

By knowing the truth, you know exactly how to relate to yourself. You know how to relate to your reaction. You know how to relate to that ugly thing rising up in you. You are not looking at it, being anxious about it, or hoping that it will somehow disappear. You are not in that false kind of realm, wishing for a change. Once you have seen the fact that your old man was crucified, that you died, then when that reaction rises up in you-- when you feel it, when you sense it-- you know your position with it. You know exactly how to relate to it. You say, "That is not me anymore. That thing died, and right now I am going to put it to death." This is faith. This is the exercise of our spirit of faith. This is being clear and knowing what the truth is. So we can see how crucial it is for us to know the facts of this revelation from the Word-- that our old man was crucified. It is good to declare it. It is good to announce it and then to apply the subjective working of the cross by the Spirit

Pray Until Something Happens (PUSH)

Anna, Ariana, Ariel, Georgie, Linnette, Wes, and Zoe.