TO THIS YOU WERE CALLED

To This You Were Called

1 Peter 2:21

We've all heard that limiting our salt intake is a great thing.  There are salt-free diets that many people have to follow for their health, and all of us are encouraged not to over-consume salt. 

However, as believers, we are to be "salty"; the saltier the better!  Jesus says in Matthew 5:13, "You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."  Salt is a flavor-enhancing spice; it is also a preservative and a healing agent.  Salt melts and hardens ice for ice-cream making and protects our cars from sliding around on icy roads.  All of these salt characteristics can be applied to our spiritual lives:

1) Believers are to live such good lives that unbelievers notice how "flavorful"     our lives are with God. 

2) Our "saltiness" should help heal spiritual wounds in others. 

3) Unbelieving hearts need to "melt" at the Word of God we bring to them, and then help them to "harden" against evil. 

4) And, our "salty" witness brings the protection of the Holy Spirit to the unregenerate against this dangerous and slippery world. 

Now, I know some of these examples are a stretch of the imagination, but we understand that we are to be so "salty" that we are all those things to the unbelieving world around us.  So, get out your salt-shakers and start sprinkling!

As I come to this passage in 1 Peter 2, I'm thinking of the salt that is to be part of my life.  Peter says, "To this you were called . . ." He is speaking of suffering for the cause of Christ and my example is the suffering of Christ Himself.  (vs.21-25) But I wonder now what kind of suffering he is talking about.  If I look at the previous verses, 11-20, I get an idea.

These "salty" behaviors are to be present in my life:

·         Abstain from sinful desires. (11)

·         Live such a good life that it is noticed by unbelievers. (12)

·         Submit to every authority God places in my life. (13-15)

·         Live in freedom without using that freedom as a license for evil.  (16) 

·         Live as a servant of God.  (16)

·         Show proper respect to everyone.  (17)

·         Love believers.  (17)

·         Fear God.  (17)

·         Honor the governing authorities as under God's authority.  (17)

·         Be submissive to my employer, even if my employer is not fair or is ungodly.  (18)

·         Live with an awareness, a "consciousness", of God's work in my life.  (19)

·         Endure righteous suffering with grace and forbearance.  (20)

·         Endure suffering as Jesus did; look to Him as my example.  (21)

·         Commit to holiness when called to suffer for righteousness.  (22)

·         Do not retaliate when mistreated or insulted for my faith.  (23)

·         Make no threats.  (23)

·         Entrust myself to God when called to suffer.  (23)

·         In my suffering, recall that I am healed by Christ's suffering for me.  (24)

·         Consider that Christ's suffering enables me to die to my sins and live for righteousness.  (24)

·         Consider that His suffering on the cross and separation from His Father brought me back to the "Shepherd and Overseer" of my soul.  (25)

Is it possible that if all these were present in my life, I would experience more suffering for righteousness' sake?  It's almost embarrassing that I don't suffer more!  I certainly don't suffer like Jesus suffered; I don't even experience suffering like many Christians around the world.  But to this I am called. 

I can't help but think that if I lived my life as Peter describes here, if I committed wholeheartedly to holy living, no compromises, no excuses, and if I allowed God to do His best in me instead of me just doing my best for God, there would be a whole lot more suffering going on in my life.  But that suffering would bring a harvest of righteousness and peace in my life; and it would bring many more people back to the Shepherd and Overseer of their souls.  And isn't that what the Christian life is all about?

 

"Father, make me salty!  I give myself now into Your

Hands to work Your best in me.

May I be molded into all You want; please use me

As You see fit.  May I hold nothing back from You.

Please help me to work hard at being salty, digesting

Your Word until it becomes my bones and blood and skin.

I pray that others around me would see only You in me,

And that my life would be a testament to Your

Loving-kindness, grace and mercy."

A FINAL WORD

Ephesians 6:10

“A final word:  be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”

It’s in the heart of man to want to have the last word in any discussion or controversy!  “He always has to have the last word!”  We’ve all used that scathing assessment of certain types of people among our family and friends.

It brings up something for me to seriously ponder:  what will my “last word” be to my children and grandchildren?  Will it be a word of discouragement or a word of encouragement? Will those final words lead them to trust God, or bring the truth and eternal-ness of God’s Word into question in their minds?

Paul’s final words in Ephesians 6 definitely lead me to trust God fully!  “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” are words that give me courage; they teach me it’s not all about me, it’s about God and just what He’s capable of doing in my life if I hand it over to Him.

This is what I’d like to pass on to my children and grandchildren!  “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power”!  Serve God, love Him, obey Him, share Him.  Be better than I was!

Father, I pray that all of our children and grandchildren would be brought by You to the point of clear decision and that they would choose to hand their whole lives over to You.  Thank You, Father.

GOOD FRUIT, BAD FRUIT

THE PEACEABLE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

By Deb Gorman

Galatians 5:16, 22-25 “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

It’s harvest time in the Yakima Valley.  As my husband and I walk through the orchards in the early morning, the delicious smell of ripe fruit fills the air.  Who can resist biting into a tree-ripened apple just picked, with the crispness of the fall air still upon it?  There’s almost nothing better!

The grocery stores are filled with the handiwork of our enterprising farmers.  I sometimes feel sorry for the big-city dwellers having to import everything!  We’re so fortunate to live where we live.  Fresh fruit and vegetables are usually just a walk or short drive away.

God speaks a lot about fruit in His Word.  In the passage above, we’re taught to “live by the Spirit”.  Living by the Spirit will help us to resist the pull of the flesh.  But what is “living by the Spirit”?  Well, it’s fruit!  That wonderful, delicious Spirit-fruit that happens when we obey our Lord! 

Let’s contrast that thought for a moment with something else.  Have you ever opened your refrigerator and noticed that nasty smell that signals fruit gone bad?  Now the Spirit-fruit will never go bad-we know that!  But when we choose to disobey God by not being saved; or as believers we choose to disregard his instructions for living we find in His Word, you can bet the fruit we produce from that kind of life is going to stink up everything and everyone around us.

I’ve made some choices in my life that produced some pretty nasty fruit, and unfortunately, I still get a whiff now and then of that smell.  That’s called “consequences”.  That smelly fruit I produced so long ago created some conflicts in my life that still rear their ugly heads.  God never told us we would never smell that nasty fruit again; He just tells us we’re forgiven for producing it and to go on and start making that fragrant fruit we’re called to make!   

So, the next time you’re taking a walk and see that delicious fruit or you’re in the market picking out apples and pears, ask yourself:  what’s in my refrigerator?  When I open that door, is the fruit I’ve produced rotting?  Or are the smells fragrant and the fruit delicious? 

Walking in the Spirit produces the kind of fruit that makes the heart of God glad.

Thank You, God, for showing us how to

Produce good fruit.  Please help us to keep walking in the Spirit,

Obeying everything You ask us to do, so the fruit

We produce will be peaceable and everlasting. 

We love You!