My Morning Meal

Last weekend the speaker at our church was a former pastor of a congregation in Turkmenistan who, along with his family, had been persecuted, harassed and physically harmed by those who opposed the light he sought to bring to his “helpless and harassed” culture. He was imprisoned for his faith, eventually released because of international protests and petitions, and is now living in the Pacific Northwest ministering into his homeland through the Internet. This weekend I was reading an article about the persecuted church in a number of different places. And so it kind of sets me up for Peter’s exhortation this morning . . .

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.   (1Peter 4:19 ESV)

Reading that article this weekend provides, perhaps, some insight as to what these first century believers were experiencing. And to them Peter says, “Don’t be surprised by the fiery trial” (4:12) . . . “rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s suffering” (4:13) . . . “if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name” (4:16). Much easier to read than to imagine doing. Nevertheless, right perspectives, by the grace and power of God, result in right responses. Foundational beliefs impact day-to-day behaviors. And so, to these beat up believers, Peter says, We have “a faithful Creator”.

In the “small world” of their suffering for the name of Christ, Peter reminds them that their God is Creator. He is the maker of that small world and He is the Sovereign over the world in opposition to it. And, while it may not be intuitive as to the natural connection between their oppression and God’s glory, Peter encourages them to entrust their souls to the Founder of all things . . . for He is faithful.

In his letter Peter doesn’t deal with the “why” question of their suffering. And he doesn’t attempt to provide a plan of escape. Instead, holding up Christ as the example, he repeatedly strives to provide context . . . and, within that context, encourages a conduct befitting those who own Christ as Savior. And it comes down to what they believe about their God . . . and how that belief fuels the committing of their very beings to a faithful Creator.

And while no one’s going to include me, or the land where I live, in an article about the persecuted church, there is something in this letter which connects our trials and suffering with that of these “elect exiles of the Dispersion” (1:1).

And in that connection, I too am encouraged to entrust my soul to a faithful Creator. At the end of the day, regardless of the trial . . . apart from the circumstance of the struggle . . . my God is the faithful Creator. And in that, I can trust Him with the circumstance . . . I can draw strength from His abiding Spirit in the moment . . . I can rest in that fact that there will be a day of rejoicing “when His glory is revealed” (4:13).

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.   (Psalm 121:1-3 ESV)

The Scriptures are pretty clear that, as children of God, we have all received a measure of gifting from Christ deployed through the Spirit. But I also think that it’s pretty clear that it is way too easy to start thinking of those abilities as are OUR abilities . . . to view these talents as OUR possession . . . under OUR control . . . used as best suits OUR desires, determinations, and daytimers. But, this morning, Peter sheds a different perspective on the subject of our gifting . . .

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace . . .   (1Peter 4:10 ESV)

What if my talents aren’t really MY talents but they are, in fact and in reality, a gift or charisma from God? What if these abilities I have that the church seems to find a place for aren’t MY abilities but, in fact and in reality, an “un-merited favor” of God? What if they aren’t mine to schedule in as I see fit . . . and aren’t mine to enact only if I feel like it . . . and aren’t mine to deploy only when I think they are being adequately recognized by others . . . but, instead, these capabilities are, in fact and in reality, something God expects me to steward.

Steward is not a word we use a lot today. But it has the idea of a house manager . . . someone who has been given the responsibility by the owner of the house to manage the affairs of the house. It’s not their house . . . but they have run of it . . . and have been called to superintend it . . . in a manner consistent with how the owner would run his house. So Peter’s reminding these believers that they have received a gift . . . an enabling . . . a talent . . . a capability. It’s not theirs . . . it’s the Master’s . . . and He has given them control over that gifting . . . asking that it be managed, or stewarded, in a manner consistent with how He would administer the gifting.

We are to be good stewards of the varied grace . . . of the manifold charis . . . of the mosaic of diversely colored enablings . . . which are determined and empowered by God . . . and apportioned by the Spirit . . . and are given for the common good (1Cor. 12:4-11). I know it almost goes without saying, but we are reminded that we don’t all have the same gifting or enabling. But what we do have in common is that we are all to be good stewards of the piece of varied grace that God has entrusted to us. And, I’m thinking that we are all going to give an account of what we did with that which we received (Matthew 25:14-30).

Ok . . . so maybe the question arises, “Well how do I know what enabling of this varied grace I’ve been given to steward?” Big question . . . not adequately dealt with by a short answer. But let me run this by you . . .

If faithfully managing the gift I’ve been given is manifested by “serving one another”, then maybe I start there . . . by asking the question, “What can I do to serve my brothers and sisters in Christ?” If the ability to preach or teach isn’t yours . . . then probably not your gifting . . . if you can’t play guitar or sing, then maybe that’s not what you are to steward . . . but if you come up with something that you can do to “serve one another”, then go with it . . . consider that your trust to faithfully administer . . . count that as something that’s not YOURS but HIS . . . which He has graced you with the ability to enact . . . and which you can view as a holy stewardship.

I guess for me the question is less about WHAT IS IT? . . . and more about HOW DO I VIEW IT?

That which I can do . . . is it my ability or is it His varied grace? And if it really is His varied grace, then is the deciding factor in deployment how it fits into my schedule or how He wants me to steward it? Is it mine do with as I wish or His to steward . . .

. . .by the strength that God supplies–in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
          To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.   
                                                                                         (1Peter 4:11b ESV)

One of the most surprising things about 1Peter, I think, is that Peter’s answer to suffering is submission. Peter doesn’t offer escape routes . . . doesn’t coach on civil disobedience . . . doesn’t relax the standards of being a royal priesthood in order to fit in better and cause fewer waves. Instead, after painting a picture of the wonder of their salvation in the first part of His letter . . . of fixing their eyes on the prize to come so that they might be encouraged to keep running the race . . . the apostle then focuses on their calling as a “chosen race” and a “holy nation” (2:9-10). As “sojourners and exiles” (2:11) Peter calls them to live in a way that their very conduct will glorify God (2:12). And part of that conduct . . . submitting. How come? It’s a grace thing!

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.   (1Peter 2:18-20 ESV)

That repeated phrase, “a gracious thing”, jumped off the page at me this morning. A bit unfamiliar to this past NKJV reader where it’s translated “commendable”. So I checked out the Greek behind the word. Sure enough it’s charis . . . the word commonly translated grace.

So Peter says be subject to those over you in the food chain. Here it’s the work food chain . . . but he also speaks of those in government . . . and will go on to speak of those in the family setting . . . and those even in the church. He’s says “be subject” . . . even if they are jerks (PLTV . . . Pete’s Loosely Translated Version). Peter says if you submit even to the unjust . . . if you suffer for doing good . . . if you endure when you are beaten though you’ve done nothing deserving of it . . . then, it’s a grace thing in the sight of God.

And as I noodle on that there seems to be a least a couple of facets to it.

Obviously it’s showing grace to the unjust . . . an undeserved subjection . . . frankly, I don’t know how motivating that might be on it’s own. But there’s also an aspect of which the grace thing is noticed by God, hence the NKJV rendering of “commendable.” When the Father sees His children living in a manner which reflects something of His own compassion and patience it affords Him a joy, pleasure, and delight. As He sees the fruit of the sanctifying work of His Spirit in His people evidenced by “unnatural” reactions to suffering . . . because they know they are suffering for His sake . . . the grace thing touches His heart.

And I guess a third aspect to this grace thing is the manner in which it reflects the Savior.

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.   (1Peter 2:21-23 ESV)

Jesus is the ultimate example of this grace thing. For the love of a lost people, Jesus endured unjust suffering without retaliation. “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (Isa. 53:7). He entrusted Himself to the God of justice. The God who would also be Justifier as He determined to pay the ransom for sinners with the blood of His perfect Son. And, in that their sins have been atoned for, He can show grace . . . and ask that His people do this grace thing, too.

Oh, as a recipient of unfathomable grace . . may I, by His grace, . . . be myself, an example of this grace thing.

For His glory . . .

I teach a high school Sunday school class. This year we are going to be working our way through Galatians. Before starting though, we spent 4 weeks on asking the question, “What is the Gospel?” Figured it was kind of important to get some re-grounding in the gospel given it’s at the core of why Paul gets so choked at what was happening to those “foolish Galatians.” It’s foundational . . . and if you mess with the foundation . . . if you don’t get the footings right . . . the rest of the building is going to be severely compromised . . . maybe even come crashing down.

And so, in the class, we focused on Romans 1:16 where Paul says the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” And based on what I read in 1Peter this morning, the gospel is also the power to grow up.

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation–if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.    (1Peter 2:2-3 ESV)

If we think of salvation solely as the event that occurred in the past when I first believed, then I’m thinking we may tend to also think that the gospel was something for our past. But if, as Peter alludes to, salvation is also a process . . . if it is a current dynamic . . . if it is something we are to “grow up” into . . . then isn’t the gospel still the power of God for salvation?

By faith we trusted the good news that Jesus, through a perfect life, a once-for-all atoning sacrifice, and a death-conquering resurrection, has fully paid the price of our redemption and has imputed His righteousness to our account. And in that we were saved. If now, as Peter encourages believes, we to grow up to salvation . . . if we are now in the process of “being saved” . . . then aren’t we to be just as dependent on the person and finished work of Christ on our behalf. We were saved, from the penalty of sin, by the power of the gospel. We are being saved, from the power of sin, and I’m guessing that too will be by the power of the gospel.

The gospel is not just how we begin in Christ, but it is also how we grow in Christ. Someone has said it’s “not just the diving board off of which we jump into the pool of Christianity; it is the pool itself. It’s not just the ABC’s of Christianity; it is the A–Z” (JD Greear).

Peter says you’ve tasted the Lord’s goodness . . . you’ve experienced the grace . . . you’ve known the rest that can be yours through a work finished on your behalf . . . you’ve had encounters with the infused energy of being a new creation because the righteousness of Another was credited to your account . . . you’ve had an inkling of the freedom that can be known because it’s not about who you are or what you can do. Therefore, Peter urges, be like newborn infants . . . don’t let anything keep you from the pure, spiritual milk of the Word that has saved you . . . drink deep of that which you have already tasted. Nurse on the milk of the gospel . . . fill yourself up with the grace of God by the grace of God . . . swim in the pool . . . and then know the reality of “being saved” . . . of growing up into salvation.

The gospel is the power of God for salvation past . . . for the forgiveness of sin . . . for the work of justification. The gospel will be the power of God for salvation future . . . when we are delivered from the presence of sin . . . when we are promoted into the realm of God Himself . . . the work of glorification. And praise God, the gospel is the power of God for salvation present . . . for shedding the chains of sin’s bondage and knowing a functional release from the power of sin . . . His glorious on-going work of sanctification in our lives.

O’ taste and see the Lord is good. Feed deep on the good news of His amazing grace. It really is the power to grow up! Amen?

He’s writing to a band of brothers and sisters in Christ who were increasingly experiencing opposition for their faith. The sparks of intolerance were increasingly fanning into flames of out-and-out persecution. Things were getting tougher . . . trials were not only increasing in frequency but in intensity. And so Peter writers to these “elect exiles of the Dispersion” to encourage them to keep on keepin’ on in the face of mounting difficulties.

And he comes out of the corner swinging. Bless God! We’ve been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ! We have an inheritance awaiting us that won’t perish or fade. The story of our salvation is yet to be completed (v. 3-5). And what a salvation it is! The prophets who foretold such salvation were besides themselves trying to understand the grace that was to be yours . . . grace through the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories of His resurrection, His ascension, and His promised return . . . such good news that even angels are preoccupied with trying to fully understand the full breadth and depth of the salvation you’ve been blessed with (v. 10-12).

Throughout these opening verses Peter encourages these beat up believers by reminding them that their current situation needs to be viewed in the context of a complete salvation . . . a salvation which has dealt with the penalty of sin in the past . . . a salvation sufficient to sustain them as they battle the power of sin in the present . . . and a salvation which presents a the solid rock of hope that they will be delivered from the presence of sin in the future. They had found grace . . . they were living by grace . . . but there’s more grace to come . . .

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.   (1Peter 1:13 ESV)

The grace that will be brought at the revelation of Jesus Christ. How much more grace can there be?

By faith, I have seen the Son, the blessed, holy, spotless Lamb of God, offer Himself for my sin . . . having paid the price in full on Calvary’s cruel cross for my failure. The debt I could not pay, He has paid in full . . . the life I was incapable of living, He lived . . . the holiness I was incapable of manufacturing He has imputed and is now imparting through the power of His resurrected life. I’ve experienced the unmerited favor of the Father who has not only forgiven my transgressions against Him, but has adopted me as a child and declared me a joint heir with Christ. I’m increasingly recognizing the reality of the undeserved blessing of the Spirit not only leading me into truth but doing so from the inside . . . having taken up residence within me through a spiritual connection that is beyond my feeble comprehension.

But there’s more to come . . . aspects of grace that will be evident when faith gives way to sight.

If I have a sense now of the favor extended by heaven, what will it be like when I’m there? When I am actually before the throne of God . . . when I am surrounded by hosts of angels crying, “Holy, holy, holy!” . . . when I am reunited with legions of believers who have all had their sin-stained garments washed in the blood of the Lamb and, in unison are declaring with all their might, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready” (Rev. 19:6-7)?

There’s more grace to be revealed . . . more blessing to reveled in . . . more fuel for the fires of worship.

Hang in there, saint . . . that’s Peter’s encouragement this morning . . . there’s more to come! Amen?

So many people live to die. They strive for noteworthy accomplishment that they might leave a legacy. They get while the getting’s good that they might be eulogized as someone who lived a full life. They lay up treasure in order to leave an inheritance. And this morning I’m reminded by Peter that the ways of the kingdom are so different than the ways of this world.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.   (1Peter 1:3-7 ESV)

For the believer the end game is not about dying . . . in fact we’ve been born again to a living hope . . . we live to live to the full. Jesus is the conqueror of death and in Him we set our face on a future founded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For the saint, it’s not about conceding to the reality of an end, it’s about living in the excited anticipation of a beginning . . . not about perishing but about being promoted . . . not about saying goodbye to loved ones but about saying, See ya’ later!

For the believer it’s not about leaving an inheritance, it’s about coming into one . . . an inheritance that is beyond imagination . . . treasure of a type that literally lasts forever . . . having been made heirs of the very riches of heaven. Not an inheritance that I’ve earned . . . but an inheritance that is guaranteed based on the finished work of Another. Not an inheritance that reflects something of my worth . . . but riches that are sourced in grace and guarded through faith . . . to be surely revealed in the last time.

And what can I bring to the table? By God’s grace I can bring a “genuine faith.” Faith that is tested by trial . . . faith that is purified by testing . . . faith that, far from being a crutch, will result in the greatest of all treasures . . . that is, to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” That there might be any measure of praise or glory or honor directed to a sinner saved by grace by the Sovereign Savior is absolutely amazing! That any reward might be given for seeking refuge in the Rock during the storm . . . that any recognition might be directed toward those who have sought the shelter of His wing during trials . . . that sheep running to their Shepherd might be factored into the kingdom’s compensation system . . . is grace beyond grace.

But the value of tested, genuine faith is of great worth to my King.

Oh, that my faith would be the real thing. That, through the enabling power of the Spirit within me, it would stand the test of trials.

That I might live to live. That I might strive for that which demonstrates the eternal legacy of the cross and the empty tomb. That I might live life and live it to the full such that He is glorified and glorified to the max. That I might lay up treasure in heaven so that when I come into my inheritance I would have crowns to lay at His feet.

Genuine faith . . . it’s the way the kingdom.