My Morning Meal

Peter knew his days on earth were coming to an end. The Lord Jesus had made it clear to him that “the putting off of my body will be soon.” And so, rather than go sky-diving . . . or rocky mountain climbing . . . or trying to 8 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu . . . (don’t get me wrong, I really the song) . . . Peter instead decides to stir it up in a different way.

“Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.” (2Peter 1:12-15 ESV)

Almost with a sense of urgency, Peter has launched into his second letter with the message that, by God’s divine power, He has granted to all believers all that they need to live godly lives and partake in the divine nature. Peter comes out of the gates hard . . . “make every effort” to build upon your faith (1:5-7) . . . “be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure” (1:10) . . . “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:8).

Next to them not knowing the Lord at all, the next most painful thought for Peter was of these believers being saved but lazy with their faith . . . of not working it to its max potential . . . of not participating in the things of the divine nature they now possessed . . . of being barren . . . of falling short of the fruit-bearing potential that had been infused within their very DNA through the regenerating work of the Spirit of God. And then, after his initial flurry of “go for it!” exhortation, Peter takes a breath and says, here’s why I’m writing this to you . . . to stir it up.

Peter’s purpose is clear . . . to put his audience in remembrance of foundational, life-stabilizing truth. There was a lot of stuff competing for their attention these days . . . the least of which was an increasingly antagonistic Roman government . . . the winds of persecution were forming into an all out hurricane of harassment . . . even unto death! And so, Peter, knowing that he would not be able to be directly in their corner much longer, writes to remind them . . . to make every effort that right thinking was planted in their minds and hearts . . . that the right perspective was accessible as they did life . . . that the right values and motives were entrenched as “just trying to make it through the day” sought to work its way to the top of their priority list.

And so Peter brings again to their attention their calling . . . and puts before them again Jesus’ coming. He prompts them regarding their purpose and mission . . . and puts before them again Christ’s power and majesty. He tells them to pay attention to the Word “as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (1:19).

And sometimes I think I need to have it stirred up, too . . . maybe most times. My tendency towards to forgetfulness is not solely attached to me getting a bit older . . . but maybe to it all becoming more familiar. That’s why I need to stay in the Word . . . that’s why I need to ask the Spirit to “open my eyes” each and every time I open The Book . . . that’s why I need to desire not new revelation (it is after all “the old, old, story”), but to ask for fresh revelation . . . God let me read it again as if for the first time.

Stir it up, Lord . . . by Your grace . . . and for Your glory . . .

It’s probably one of the most amazing, life changing truths in Scripture for me. One of those things that, every time I read it, I can’t help but pause and reflect. “Really?” I find myself asking. And the testimony of the Spirit . . . each and every time . . . with increasing intensity and conviction . . . is, “Really!”

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” (2Peter 1:3-4 ESV)

Chew on it. Called to the high lofty calling of His glory and excellence . . . graciously given everything as it relates to life-to-the-max and to godliness . . . bestowed with promises of great price and beyond full comprehension . . . all for one grand, God ordained objective. That I . . . through the ransom paid by Jesus, the Lamb of God . . . having escaped the decay of a sinful world dragging on the weakness of a sinful nature . . . that I, might become a partner, an associate, a comrade, a companion, a full participant and partaker . . . in the things of divinity . . . in the realms of deity.

Really? Yeah . . . Really!

I read earlier this morning that for anyone who thirsts and seeks Jesus to fill that need . . . who comes to Jesus and drinks of that which He offers . . . that for those people, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” What was He referring to? “Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive” (John 7:37-39). Think about it . . . not just a drop of water . . . not a covering of dew . . . but the Spirit within me as a flowing river . . . sourced in heaven itself . . . a perpetual well of life . . . and all that in my heart! Really? I’m thinkin’!

Sometimes I think it’s good to just stop and take inventory. Not about what I have or what I’ve done . . . but about what He has given and what, by the grace of God, I can be. Able to participate in the divine nature . . . possessing all the tools . . . having the best of Instructors . . . why would I not pursue it? As the slogan says, why would I not want to be all that I can be?

And so, Peter says, “make every effort to supplement your faith . . . ” (1:5). I can’t add to the work of salvation — there’s nothing to be added to the finished work of Christ . . . but I certainly have a part in the work of sanctification. Given all the tools and abilities to participate in the things of deity, God has begun a work to conform me to the image of His blessed Son (Rom. 8:29) . . . He has engaged me in the process of transformation through the renewing of my mind that I might know the ways of God . . . “that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2 NKJV). Mine is to get on board . . . mine is to put in a bit of elbow grease in cooperation with the work God has begun in me . . . to add to my faith . . . virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love (1:5-7).

Jesus cries out, “Come drink of Me and let the living water of flow!” Peter cries out, “Make every effort and partake in the things of God!” The exhortation is clear . . . build on the faith graced to You by the One who died for You, who bought You . . . and sought You . . . and brought You into His forever family.

“Therefore, brothers [and sisters], be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” (2Peter 1:10 ESV)

Really? Yeah . . . Really!

Ask most of us what the opposite of humility is, and we’d come up with pride. Ask us how pride manifests itself and the things that come first to my mind, at least, are boasting . . . self exaltation . . . arrogance . . . esteeming myself above others . . . thinking of myself more highly than I ought . . . and so on. But what add “worrying” to that list and it causes me to pause . . . include “being anxious” as a demonstration of prideful behavior and I start to scratch my head a bit. But I’m thinking I need to expand my list of prideful behaviors based on my reading in 1Peter this morning . . . that I need to beware of “anxious pride.”

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” (1Peter 5:6-7 ESV)

Now, I’d consider myself pretty familiar with these two verses . . . but that might be the problem . . . I most often read these as two verses rather than one sentence. To be fair, in some translations they are cast as two separate sentences . . . but do they, in fact, form a connected thought? Is there a relationship between humbling myself under God’s mighty hand and casting all my care on Him? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Peter’s wrapping up his letter to a bunch of Christians who have been taking it in the teeth for their faith. Life has been hard for them . . . and getting harder. With the increasing pressure of persecution you get the sense that there’s an increasing pressure to bail on the faith and to turn on one another. But Peter reminds them that their “here and now” and is to be lived in the reality of God’s promised “there and then” . . . that they are not just a dispersed people, but a special people . . . a people of God’s choosing . . . a holy nation . . . called out of darkness into marvelous light in order to proclaim the excellencies of Christ (2:9). Peter wants them to resist the temptation to take an “every man for himself / eat or be eaten” approach to survival . . . instead they are to keep loving one another (4:8) . . . to show hospitality to one another (4:9) . . . to serve one another (4:10) . . . to clothe themselves with humility toward one another because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (5:5b).

As I think about, refusing to freely give my worries to God is, in a very real sense, birthed in pride. Either in the arrogance of thinking I can power through it on my own . . . or because of a self-absorbed attitude which prefers “woe is me” rather than “greater is He!” It’s when I insist that “my cares” are “MY CARES” that I can get into trouble . . . because they cause within me a desperation to solve my problems in my ways . . . or because they erode the inner man through constant anxiety.

But, when I humble myself . . . when I acknowledge that God’s hand is mighty to save in all situations . . . when I submit to God’s will, trusting in His sovereign purposes . . . when I believe in God’s goodness, that in due time, He will lift me up . . . then I will cast all my anxieties upon Him. Knowing that He cares for me, I will submit myself to His caring provision. Believing that, “if God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31), I will purposefully provide Him with access to my deepest concerns and fears.

Oh, that by His grace, I would know the humility to cast all my cares upon Him . . .

You won’t find a lot of them in Scripture . . . but when you do, it probably makes sense to take note. One of the things I’m on the lookout for when I’m reading are “commands to obey.” And, among the commands I’ve discovered, there is a very small subset that seem to be foundational . . . that, within the context of the writer’s letter, seem to be key to doing life in manner worthy of our calling . . . that seem so essential that they merit being proceeded with the two words, “above all”.

In Peter, he’s writing to “exiles of the dispersion” (1Peter 1:1) — those scattered throughout the provinces of what we know today as Turkey. Not only are they “on the run” from those who hate them and want to hurt them because they are Christians, but they are also “on the run” from the world’s lure which says, “The suffering isn’t worth it . . . the piety is getting you nowhere . . . come, live like the rest of us . . . go back to living they way you used to . . . living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.” (1Peter 4:3)

So the pressure’s on . . . and Peter contends for their faith. And to this point he has done so by reminding them of their wonderful salvation and their “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1:3) . . . he has reminded them of their calling to be holy (1:15) . . . he has reminded them of their need to grow up in their faith by feeding on the word (2:2) . . . he has reminded them of their exalted position as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession” (2:9) . . . and he has reminded them of Christ’s suffering as an example for them to follow as they deal with their own sufferings (2:21, 3:17-18, 4:1). And then, in chapter 4, we get to the “above all” . . . .

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1Peter 4:8-10 ESV)

Above all . . . most importantly . . . before all things. Kind of makes you sit up and take note . . . this has got to be vital. And the “above all” here . . . the foundational principle for standing firm against persecution and temptation . . . the command to obey before all other commands to obey . . . is that believers should love one another . . . and show hospitality to one another. . . and use the gifts they’ve received, by God’s grace, to serve one another. This, it would seem, is paramount. Surviving the dispersion? . . . Enduring the persecution . . . Resisting the temptation . . . it seems to hinge on the reality of the dynamic we experience with “one another.”

Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we will all hang separately.” Believers need one another . . . they need to hang together . . . they need to love one another . . . open up their homes and share what they have with one another . . . serve one another with the “body building” gifting God has provided them. Sometimes I wonder if the North American church, at large, isn’t losing the spirit of this “above all” exhortation. Church is more about checking in on Sunday morning and less about being the body of Christ . . . more about loving the Seahawks and less about loving one another . . . more about retreating to my castle and less about opening up my home . . . more about focusing on what I need rather than what I have to give.

Ok . . . so, one might say . . . we are not exiles on the run . . . is this “above all” command for us in our context. I’m thinkin’. We may not know today the overt pressure of persecution, but who can deny the attack we are under from the world . . . the pressure to “live like the Gentiles” do . . . the temptation to go with the flow rather than be a holy people. Let’s not kid ourselves . . . it may not be the Roman government breathing down our neck, but we have an enemy who is “like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1Peter 5:8).

And so, we need to hang together . . . flock together for protection and mutual encouragement . . . exhort one another to “keep the faith” and to “keep on keepin’ on!” And it happens when we love one another . . . when we show hospitality to one another . . . when we serve one another . . . by His grace . . . and for His glory . . . above all!

It’s been an under current within our men’s group for a number of years now. Probably goes back a few years ago to a men’s retreat where we focused on the importance of, and the practical mechanics of, giving one’s testimony . . . the why and the how of telling your story. It’s the version of “the good news” that should be most familiar to us and, with a bit of thought and preparation, it should be ready at a moments notice to share with others. We talked about a simple structure for telling the story . . . a “before salvation” section . . . a “how I came to know Jesus” part . . . and a ” since salvation” conclusion. We talked about having not only the “full un-abridged version” ready, but also being ready with a 5-minute “elevator speech” in pocket. Since then, having one of our guys share their story has been the “main event” of our monthly men’s breakfasts.

So . . . why this introduction, this morning? It’s because I’m reminded this morning that being prepared to tell my story goes far beyond just having taken the time to think it out and write it out . . . it’s about so much more than ordering events into a “before & after” narrative . . . check this out . . .

“. . . . but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1Peter 3:15 ESV)

1Peter 3:15 has been our “theme verse” as to why each of us should have our testimony in hand . . . our marching order to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have. But it hit me this morning, that most often (if not always) we have cited only the last part of the verse . . . that in talking about “being prepared” we may have de-emphasized the foundation of that preparation . . . that is, “in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy.”

Isn’t that truly the starting point for being in a position to tell a story that others need to hear . . . to regard as holy, to sanctify (NKJV), to set apart (NIV), Christ as Lord in the very core of who we are? The preparation is so much more than just taking a few minutes to think it through and write it down. Instead, I’m thinking that getting ready to make a defense to anyone who asks involves a daily aligning to the holiness and lordship of Christ. That being able to “speak up” first begins with the reality of having “bowed down” . . . that an authentic telling of who I am starts with an authentic acknowledgment of who He is.

I want to be prepared to give an answer? It starts with an honest assessment of where I stand in relationship to Him. It begins not with pen and paper but at probing the very depths of what makes me tick. In my heart, what’s most important . . . what motivates me . . . where does my treasure lie . . . where does my hope rest . . . how do I define success . . . what do I seek first . . . who’s really “at the wheel” . . . is Christ, first and foremost, set apart as Lord . . . is His holiness my banner?

Before being too quick to tell my story, I need to be sure deep down, that what is most important to me is His story . . . before spending too much time on “how far I’ve come”, I need to be clear that it’s really about how far He, who bought me, has brought me . . . before I deliver my “elevator speech” I best be sure that He’s the One truly “pushing the buttons” . . .

No doubt about it . . . on the authority of His Word, I need to be prepared to give an answer . . . and preparation starts in the heart . . . and readiness comes with Christ being set apart as Lord of all . . . by His grace . . . and for His glory.

Midway through 1Peter 2 there’s a shift in Peter’s encouragement to the suffering saints he’s writing to. Up to this point he has been reminding them of the wonder of their salvation . . . their election . . . their inheritance . . . their calling to be holy . . . their special place as a chosen generation of God. And, if I noodle on that, it kind of makes sense. Peter’s trying to put the harshness of the temporal into the context of the hope of the eternal . . . directing the focus beyond the horizontal and toward the vertical . . . reminding them that their difficulty is only for a season . . . that eventually, when Jesus returns, they win! But then, there’s a shift in chapter 2 verse 13. And the message to these suffering saints moves beyond “salvation” and, instead, encourages “submission.” And, I gotta be honest, that isn’t where I think I would have gone . . .

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution” (1Peter 2:13 ESV)

In verse 13, these Christians, who were starting to feel the persecution of the Roman government, are told to submit to every authority . . . for the Lord’s sake. In verses 18-19, Christian slaves are told to submit to their masters, even if these masters are harsh and unfair . . . why? . . . because of conscience toward God. And it kind of becomes clear that the number one priority for the believer, whether in good times or not so good times, is to bring honor to the Savior of their souls. In this time . . . in this place . . . under these circumstances . . . they were to submit . . . for the Lord’s sake. They were to endure suffering, though it were unjust, for the sake of their awareness of God’s desire for them to be a testimony to the saving power of Christ.

And I can’t help but think how I need to be motivated more by “for the Lord’s sake.” Less concerned about how I look . . . less concerned about whether or not I’m being treated fairly . . . less concerned about standing up for myself . . . and more concerned about standing up for Him . . . and doing what He wants me to do . . . not necessarily because of the blessing I get out of it . . . but, for the Lord’s sake. To be more motivated by how Jesus looks as a result of my action, than how I look. To be willing to suffer . . . or be humiliated . . . or mocked . . . or misunderstood . . . because of an abiding sense that it’s what Jesus wants me to do for Him.

And it’s not like the Lord asks us to do this without Himself understanding what it means.

“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)

The One who said, “Father, nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42) led by example . . . an example such that we should be willing to follow in His steps. He didn’t “stand up” for Himself . . . He didn’t “fight back” . . . He didn’t engage in debate or a war of words . . . but for the Father’s purposes “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed” (2:24). If Jesus had stood up for Himself . . . said, “No way,” to Pilate, “this isn’t fair!!!” . . . if He had determined to see justice done there and then by calling upon the legions of angels at His beck and call to dispatch the religious hypocrites and the weak-kneed governor . . . if Jesus had done that, rather than submit to the Father’s will, where would I be today? Lost . . . oh, so lost!!! But for “the Lord’s sake” He endured the unjust treatment . . . the shame . . . the suffering . . . and God was glorified . . . and redemption’s work was completed. And, an example was left for me to follow.

There’s a time for taking it on the chin . . . a time when God is brought the most glory, not by us standing up for ourselves, but through our submission . . . a time when He wants us to emulate the meek and lowly Jesus. And the strength and the confidence for being willing to “take the high road”, though I suffer humiliation or loss, is the knowledge that I can commit myself “to Him who judges justly.” (1Peter 2:23b) I don’t have to stand up for myself . . . He will . . . I don’t have to justify myself . . . He will. Mine is to trust and obey . . . for there’s no other way . . . for the Lord’s sake.