1 Peter 1:22-25 and 1 Peter 2

This is a bit of a deviation away from my studies on Genesis but BOY did I learn a lot. If there were EVER a blog of mine you shoudl read THIS IS IT! I learnt SO MUCH today and the prayer at the end was really really really sincere. Please read and stick with it.....read these verses and let the word of God speak to your heart today. I will be praying for everyone who reads this that they get as much out of it as I did.

1 Peter 1:22-25

The purification of our hearts has already happened, and we need to walk in that. WE need to love purely right NOW and we can do that not through our own strength but through Jesus Christ and the HS who lives and works in us if we let Him
Our bodies will die, but our souls will no longer. When we are born again, we are lifted to a place beyond this life, where we can live with an eternal perspective. The things that once were important really are not anymore, because the glory of man will wither and die, but the glory of God is ternal and forever

The part of us that was born again will live forever

1 Peter 2

As babies in Christ, we need milk to grow. The growth in that period is quite fast, just as a baby grows quickly. We need to be feeding daily from the word to keep us growing and make us strong.
The reason for this is because we are being called to a position in God's spiritual house - we have a job to do, and we need to be strong and nourished in the word, and well verse in the word in order to fulfill that job. Without that nourishment, we cannot be effective for God in the building of His house
Is Jesus my corner stone? Is the life im building for God centred around Jesus? If not, it will fall. Jesus should be the centre of everything we do, evernthing we say, every decision we make should be focused around Jesus Christ, because HE is our Lord, our cornerstone, and should be made a part of all we do. If we build on Jesus rather than on the world, we are guaranteed success.
We have to be constantly careful of how we take the word…..are we offended by it? This is a sign mentioned in the bible that we are being disobedient…if we find ourselves troubled over the word, we have to ask ourselves why, and what are we doing to make us so troubled. The bible is truth, the bible is infallible, and so if we are offended by it it usually means the HS is bringing something to ligh in our own conscience that we need to deal with
If Jesus is NOT at the heart our of plans, our work is for this world and not for God, and it will be burnt up. We have to be constantly aware of our motivations for why we do what we do, and make Jesus in control of everything. Jesus has to be the heart and centre of our motivations, and if not, then what we're doing is useless.
The reason we exist is to sing praises to God and to reflect God's glory here on earth. That is why we were created. We should worship the Lord with all we do, and give testimony constantly of what God is doing in our lives to those who do not know Him - because through this we will glorify God and bring others to God also.
Our conduct speaks much louder than words - if we are truly Christian we must live it in order to be effective for God - if we don’t, we're selling ourselves and our faith short, and giving Christianity a bad name. People see us, they view us as representatives of what Christianity adnWHO God is. This is an AWESOME responsibility that we should take very very very seriously. We are no longer just living for ourselves, we are living for God. our example can be a profound impact both for good AND for bad, its all how we decide to live. If we die to self, we will give a GREAT example to those who do not believe, showing them total reliance on God and a complete disregard for one's own personal views. This is powerful, nad speaks soooo loudly. If we keep ourselves pure and free from worldly lusts, we will speak to people so much more effectively than any words off our own strength could do. Its time we showed Christianity in action.
We are to honor God by honoring those God has placed in charge of us - nomatter what our personal beliefs are, we have to show respect always as a testimony to others of the way God would have us live.
We are bondservants to God - I LOVE this analogy! What a powerful picture this paints! We are marked by the Holy Spirit, we are identified by the Blood of Jesus Christ, and we are eternally bound in servanthood voluntarily to our God. This is not the kind of image one would normally hear when preaching a salvation message, but HOW powerful! We choose of our own volition, to give up EVERYTHING and follow Jesus - we choose to take our will and throw it away in lieu of God's. Bondservants go where their master goes, loves what their master loves, hates what their master hates. Bondservants choose to serve because they love their master, they want to submit themselves because they trust their master. WE have that relationship with God, and we have chosen by accepting Jesus to die to self, to die to all our desires and instead follow Him. How I pray I can live that way!
Today, it is hard to honor those who treat us wrongly. Mainly because the world has reverted back to "an eye for an eye" mentality. There is so much self assertion in today's world - everyone so puffed up about their own rights and their own desires. We are encouraged to pursue our own dreams, to stand up for our rights and to fight for our own brand of justice, whatever that may be. We are taught that we are in control of our lives, our destinies, our bodies, our futures....the word SUBMIT has become a dirty one...noone would EVER encourage you to do that..you'll just get hurt! How sad....we rely so much on our own strength, that God's seems so far away from our thinking. The truth is, there is no eye for an eye - Jesus abolished it. The truth is, our own rights and desires are worthless. The truth is, we should be pursuing God's dreams, God's rights, GOD'S justice (which by the way may not look like what WE think Justice should look like for that situation). The truth is , we are NOT in control of our lives, our destinies, our bodies, our futures GOD IS. The truth is, submit is EXHORTED in this verse as being something we SHOULD do. YES we will get hurt, but how much more hurt was Jesus and yet he said nothing. The truth is, our strength is puny...its nothing. God's strength is everything, all powerful, all mighty, all knowing.....the world would have us see only as far as our noses.....but God wants us to keep an eternal perspective. we are to honor those who hate us, value our leaders nomatter HOW bad their decisions are, and keep our eyes focused on a prize that is FAR bigger than the lies this world will feed us.
Its easy to submit to those who treat us nice. But its infinitely harder to submit and remain quiet when the person we're submitting to doesn’t deserve it. But God does. When we submit to those who treat us badly, we're really submitting to God.
We are blessed when we are persecuted for God's sake. WE should rejoice in that situation - because it shows that we're on the right track!
The next verse on patience during injust persecution is VERY convicting to me! It is SO HARD to remain silent when you've done nothing wrong and the world is dead against you. But credit does not come from being silent when you're being punished for something you HAVE done, it comes from submission when you're innocent. I need to really press in and get this into my spirit - that God wants me to submit ALL the time, not just when the charges are correct. I am to be silent when people speak ill against me falsely, because Jesus was.
Christ is our example. Christ is what we can be. WE should be praying everyday to be more like Christ in our lives. We can never give up, but study the word of God over and over and over and let it become part of us. Let it sink into our spirit, nad so we can be transformed to be les slike us and more like Him.
Jesus took it all so that I might live. I pray that I can be silent, to know God is there, and to wlak in the righteousness Christ died for!

Application Prayer: Father God, Thankyou for sending your only Son to be our example. Thankyou for this word today that has sparked SO much in me. Thankyou for the conviction it has brought upon me. Jesus, help me to absorb it. Help me to understand it more and more and bring it constantly to my mind today. Help me to meditate upon this scripture by bringing it's ideas to my mind often today Lord, because I desire nothing more than to really get this into my heart! Lord, thankyou for the opportunity for me to sit with you, and to be reminded of all the wonderful things you have saved me from. Help me to put aside all evil, all malice deciet, hypopcrisy, envy and evil speaking. Clean my mouth oh God! Help me to feed on your word every single day, and give me the perseverance and the dedication to do so every single day. Lord, I ask you here today to become my cornerstone. Lord let me do NOTHING without you being at the centre of it. Help me to be a living stone, being part of your body and building your spiritual house. Feed me and make me strong. Lord, let me not be offended by your word, but instead help me to be humble nad accept your chastisement with complete submission. Help me to praise you at every opportunity, and to be a good example to those who dont know you. Keep me from evil conduct, so that I can shine your light to others. Help me to submit always to you, to all those who speak ill of me, to all those who treat me injustly. Let me be silent......Oh LORD let me be silent. Silence my lips the minute I want to defend myself! Put a safegard around my mouth so that when that moment comes, the HS will speak to me and comfort me without me having to say a word to anyone. Jesus I want to be like you, I want to put aside my life to be your bondservant. I ask that today Lord you bring this to my mind, and help me to act in such a way that betrays LOUDLY my allegiance to you and you alone. Help me to be unshakable in my faith, help me to walk always in your ways, and to follow your perfect example of how to live. Thankyou that you died for me, that you allowed me to live in righteousness and be healed. Help me to never forget who my shepherd is. I ask all these things, with GREAT thanksgiving in Jesus name. AMEN!