Weekend Sermon -- I Peter 4:1-11

     Welcome to this week's edition of the Weekend Sermon.  If you read my post from yesterday, you know that I was very concerned about the weather and its damage to my home.  I want to report that all is doing well so far, and I am thankful to the Lord for this.
     Work continues to be a challenge.  We are changing supervisors this week, so this is just something else at this job to create more stress.  I am very seriously considering looking for another job as this job is actually beginning to harm my health due to the continued high stress level.  Please pray for me in this regard.
     During prayer this week, let us all pray for those who are experiencing hardship due to natural disasters.  I am thinking of the people in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Nepal and Vanuatu in particular.  Let us also continue to pray for peace especially in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.  Wherever you may know of conflict and trouble in the world, pray for the peace of the Lord and the love of Jesus to reach that particular area.
     Last week, we went back a little ways in I Peter and studied a passage that we had skipped over.  Today we will pick back up in chapter 4 and continue to examine what the Lord is teaching us in this important work.
     The first portion of chapter 4 speaks about the suffering of Jesus and urges those of us who are His followers to cease from sin by suffering in the flesh as Jesus did.  What does this mean?  I believe that there are at least two meanings to these verses.
     Suffering often helps us to lead lives of holiness because suffering can help to draw us closer to the Lord.  As I have said before, I don't believe that God is in Heaven just thinking up ways to make people have bad things happen in their lives.  Suffering and heartache are part of living in this fallen world.  When we experience pain and suffering in life, we can use these times to rely more fully on the Lord Jesus to help us and sustain by His abiding presence.
     As a person draws closer to Jesus, he will grow in His love for Jesus.  As we grow in our love for Jesus, we will want to do those things that please the Lord.  We will want to obey His commandments and follow His teachings.  We will not want to participate in those activities that bring sadness to the heart of Jesus.
     Breaking off from sinful practices that beset us may also cause us a time of suffering, but the result is joy in the Lord.  Peter speaks about lust, drunkenness, reveling and idolatry.  Breaking off from a sinful past can be hard.  Those who are plagued by addiction to drugs and alcohol will have great difficulty in overcoming these addictions.  With the help of the Lord, these problems can be defeated, and people can experience a new life in Christ.  The suffering of overcoming sin, leads us into victory and peace with the Lord Jesus.
     In chapter 4 verse 5, Peter mentions the important fact that everyone who has ever lived will have to give an account of themselves to the Lord.  Those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus will one day be judged according to what they have done for the Lord while on this earth.  This is not a judgment that will determine our eternal destiny.  We are saved by the grace of the Lord not by our works of righteousness.  However, Jesus said that we would receive rewards in Heaven based upon our service to Him on earth.
     Some who are followers of the Lord have very little of eternal value to show for their time upon this planet.  When they stand before the Lord and their works are judged, little will remain.  Others have done great service for the Master.  They will receive many crowns to cast at the Savior's feet, and great will be their reward in Heaven.
     I believe that it should be believers desire to do as much as they can in this life to serve the Lord Jesus and accumulate treasure in Heaven that will last when all of this world's treasure is passing away.
     There is so much work for the Lord that needs to be done on this earth.  As Jesus said, the fields are white unto harvest, but the laborers are few.  Many people need to hear the message of the love of Jesus.  Many need for us to reach out a hand of compassion and help them to make it through the hard times in this life.
     Those who have not placed their faith in Jesus will also face a judgment.  The Bible says that one day those who have rejected Jesus will stand before the Great White Throne in judgment.  Those whose names are not found in the Lamb's Book of Life will go into eternal judgment forever separated from the love of the Lord.
     In verses 7 through 11, Peter urges his readers to be fervent in their ministry for the Lord.  He urges us to watch and to pray for the Lord Jesus could return at any moment.  Prayer is vital in the Christian life.  We need to be in daily communication with the Lord praising Him, interceding on behalf of others, and bringing our own needs before the Lord.
     Believers must show love for one another and help each other whenever it is possible.
     Peter also urges us to use the gifts that God has given us to help and encourage one another.  Whatever gift the Lord has given to you, use it to serve the church.  Use your gifts and talents to help make this world a better place.  Use your gifts and talents to help others.
     Whatever it is that we do in this life, everything we do should be glorifying to Jesus.  That is our mission in life. We are to bring honor and glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
     If you have never turned to Jesus for salvation, I hope that you will consider Christ today.  Please, do not find yourself one day in eternity standing before the Lord in judgment not having His blood to cover your sins.  You do not have to face eternal separation from God.  Jesus has provided the way of salvation.  Repent of your sins and ask Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of your life today.
     On Monday, I will post the verses for the week.  On Wednesday, I will post a book review.  On Saturday, we will continue with our series in I Peter.  May the Lord bless you all.  Amen.

Friday Thoughts

     I just have a couple of things that I want to post about today.  First of all, I want to thank the Lord for allowing me to be able to get my financial situation in better order.  Things were very bleak for a long time, but progress is definitely being made.  I also want to thank the Lord for allowing me to write on this blog every week, and I want to thank Him for the fact that many people from around the world have read the sermons I post here.
     I am still having trouble with my old house, and I would like to ask everyone to pray about a bad situation I am experiencing.  My house has a bad foundation that I tried to get fixed to little avail.  When it rains heavily, the water gets under the house and floods my garage.  Last week with all of the rain we have had here in the Midwest, the garage and crawlspace got some water in them.  It wasn't horrible, but its not good either.  Please pray that with all of the rain forecast for today that I won't have a problem.  I don't really know what to do at this point.  I can't get time off from work to monitor the water all day. If the water gets up into the house, I won't have a place to live.  If I lose my job, I will be in a real mess, so I have to go in and just pray that all will be OK when I get home tonight.
     My problem is nothing compared to what is happening with the people in Oklahoma and Texas.  Please pray that these folks will be able to recover and make it through.
     I often wonder why everything has to be so hard all of the time.  I often get depressed at times like these, and I have struggled with depression for many years.  This goes back to my early teen years.  One reason that I developed such a good friendship with Toby was that when he came, I felt most of my depression lift away, and I was very happy for over a decade while he was with me.  When he passed away, I was in my late 20s.  I had another dog for three years whose name was Colm.  He died of leukemia when he was three, and my depression came back with a vengeance.  I haven't had another dog since then.
     When my Mom was sick and we were taking care of her, I felt like that I was doing something important, and I didn't really experience a deep depression.  However, when my folks both passed away, I went into a deep depression.
      Over the last few months, my depression has lifted, and I really feel like I was doing much better.  I feel very depressed again, however.  All of these problems with the house and a job that is hard to go to and not feeling well are getting me down again.
     I am not sharing these things to make anyone feel sorry for me.  I would just ask that you please pray for me.  It is only with the Lord Jesus' help that I have made to where I am today.  By trusting in Him and relying on Him, I have made it to this point.
     Serving the Lord helps me to not be terribly depressed.  Writing on this blog really helps me.  I love doing the sermons and the book reviews.  I have also had the privilege to serve the Lord through my writing and through music.
     I guess what I am saying is that life feels hard again right now, and I ask for your prayers.  Just when things start looking up, bad things start again.  This cycle is getting tiresome.
     Enough about that.
     In the weeks to come, Lord willing, I have some ideas for the blog.  After we finish the series in I Peter, I think that I want to spend a lot of time studying themes in the Gospel of John.  I would like to do a series on the signs of Jesus' divinity in John, and I would like to do a series on the "I am" statements of Jesus in John.
     Not too many people read the posts for the verses of the week, so I am considering posting something else on Mondays.  I think that the verses are important though, so I will have to think about this for awhile. Maybe I will post a verse and an inspirational quotation.
     I pray everyday for those who read this blog, and I thank you for your prayers and support.  May God bless you all.  Amen.
   

Book Review -- Charles: The Story of a Friendship

     Today I am posting a review about a very good cat book I just finished reading.  The book is "Charles: The Story of a Friendship" written by Michael Joseph.  The author of this book was one of the major players in the British book publishing industry.
     This book tells the story of the author's friendship with a Siamese cat named Charles.  Nothing momentous happens in the book, it is just the author relating to his readers the everyday relationship he had with his cat and how the two of them grew as friends over the years together.
     When Mr. Joseph first brought Charles to live with him, Siamese cats were rare in Britain.  One funny story in the book deals with a man that Joseph knows trying to figure out what kind of animal Charles is.
     One section of the book deals with the years during the beginning of World War II.  Michael Joseph was called into military service as an officer.  He decided to take Charles with him, and the pair spent a couple of years together in the army until Joseph was granted a medical discharge.
     In addition to the nice story about a man and his favorite cat, I enjoyed reading about life in England before the start of World War II.  I also enjoyed the author's writing style.  He has what some now consider an "old-fashioned" style of writing, but it is a style I have always liked to read.
     This book contains absolutely no objectionable material, and it is perfectly suited for all ages.
     On a side note, Michael Joseph is the publishing house that gave my favorite author James Herriot his break. The rest is publishing history.

Verses For the Week

     I am sorry that I did not get the verses posted yesterday.  It was Memorial Day here in the United States, and the library where I have computer access was closed.  Here are the verses one day late.


Zechariah 14:20 -- "In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses: HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD, and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar."

Luke 17:33 -- "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it."

Luke 11:13 -- "If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

Weekend Sermon -- I Peter 2:21-25 and 4:1-3

     Welcome to this week's edition of the Weekend Sermon.  I am so happy to be able to be back again with you all this week.  I hope that everyone is having a very good week.
     Everything is going fairly well at work.  I'm still having a lot of stress at work, and the job is very difficult, but I am making it through with prayer and the Lord's help.
     In your prayers this week, I would ask that you please pray for the people of Vanuatu and Nepal.  Vanuatu is still in recovery mode from a devastating typhoon, and Nepal still needs aid after two earthquakes.  Let us also continue to pray for an end to Ebola cases in West Africa.  Let us all continue to pray for peace in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Ukraine and Afghanistan.
     This weekend, the weather is supposed to be very bad where I live.  The soil is so saturated that we can't take in more rain, yet it is supposed to rain over five inches this weekend.  I am worried about my house flooding.  Please pray that it won't be too bad.  Thank you.
     Last week, we took a one week break from our continuing study in I Peter.  Today, we will resume our study in this interesting epistle.
     A few weeks ago, I took a large section of I Peter that dealt with submission to government, masters and husbands in one big chunk.  I did not focus at that time on one section of chapter two that I want to deal with in conjunction with I Peter chapter 4.  These passages speak about the sufferings of Jesus and how they are relevant to us.
     I Peter 2:21-23 speaks about the way in which Jesus responded to suffering.  Jesus faced immense suffering in His life.  I am not just speaking here about what Jesus suffered on the cross. We will focus on that more in a moment.  Jesus suffered greatly throughout His entire life.
    Just think about it for a minute.  There is nothing in the Bible that states that Jesus in His divinity did not remember the glory He shared with the Father in Heaven. I believe that Jesus was acutely aware throughout His earthly life of the great sacrifice that He was making on our behalf by taking upon Himself human flesh and leaving Heaven to dwell on this earth.  In my mind, that had to be a type of suffering.
     Jesus also suffered in His humanity while on earth.  Jesus was rejected by those who were the closest to Him.  Those in His hometown didn't want to have anything to do with Him, and at one point, the members of His own family were opposed to Him.  This type of rejection causes great suffering.
    Later in His ministry, the large crowds that followed Him would abandon Him when He said that they needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood.
     And now let us think of the suffering that Jesus endured on the cross.  First of all, Jesus suffered the agony associated with crucifixion.  He would have undergone incredible physical pain.  I can't even comprehend it.
     More than this, Jesus suffered great agony on the cross because while He was on the cross, Jesus bore all of our sins in His body as it states in I Peter 2:24.  All of God's wrath for sin was poured out on Jesus while He was bearing our sins on Calvary's tree.  Jesus took upon Himself the punishment for sins that we who are sinners justly and rightly deserved.
    I think that it is quite clear that Jesus clearly understood and understands what it means to suffer  in body and spirit.  However, Jesus who was completely without sin always responded correctly in the midst of suffering.  Because of this Jesus is our great example when we too face suffering just as He is our perfect example to follow in every aspect of our lives.
     When Jesus was reviled and threatened and when He suffered, He did not respond in kind.  Jesus committed all of His suffering into the hands of the Father in Heaven.  And we should do the same.
     All of us will experience suffering in one degree or another in this earthly existence.  Suffering is unavoidable.  In the midst of our suffering, it is easy to become discouraged and feel as if we have been abandoned by God.  When others cause us pain, it is often our desire to retaliate.  However, this is not the example of Jesus.
    In following Jesus in the midst of suffering, we must forgive just as Jesus asked the Father to forgive those who were crucifying Him.  We must place our lives in the hands of the Lord believing that ultimately all of our suffering and hardship will be redeemed by the hand of God and used to make our lives what the Lord wants them to be.
    So, why did Jesus endure all of this suffering.  He did it so that we might be redeemed.  He did it so that we might be healed of the sickness of sin.
    We were like sheep that had gone astray and had wandered from the fold of God.  Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd, came to seek and to save that which was lost.  He came to find the wandering sheep and bring them back safely into the fold of the Lord.
     If you are still wandering away from the Lord, run to the arms of Jesus who is the Good Shepherd.  Ask Him to save you and bring you back into the fold.
     Next week, we will delve more deeply into the idea of how suffering can benefit us in this life.  We will look into chapter four and study the idea of how suffering in the flesh can help us to lead lives of holiness.
     On Monday, I will post the verses.  I plan to have a book review on Wednesday.  May God bless you.  Amen.

Book Review

     I am currently in the process of finishing up several good books that I am reading including a good dog book and a couple of religious books.  In the coming weeks, I will post reviews of the these books.

     Today, I just want to give a few recommendations of some books that I read several years ago, but I do not believe that I have mentioned them here on the blog.

     "My Life in Dog Years" by Gary Paulsen is the story of the important dogs that helped to shape this very famous author's life.  Paulsen tells the reader about the dogs who made a difference for him.  One of these dogs was a big Labrador that didn't belong to Paulsen, but he was important to the young Paulsen anyway.  The tales of Paulsen's border collie are great.  

     Gary Paulsen has written another excellent book called "Winter Dance" about his effort to compete in the Iditarod sled dog race.

     "Vet in the Vestry" and "Poultry in the Pulpit" are both written by the Reverend Alexander Cameron.  For over a decade, Cameron worked as a veterinary surgeon in Scotland.  Later in life, he went to seminary and became a Church of Scotland minister.  In these books, the author recounts stories of his time as a veterinarian and stories from his time as a minister.  Both books are very well done, and I highly recommend both of these books.

     "Most of My Patients are Under the Bed" is written by Dr. Louis Camuti.  Dr. Camuti was a veterinarian specializing in the treatment of cats.  His practice involved making house calls to his patients.  In this entertaining work, Dr. Camuti recounts the antics of his feline patients and their owners.

Verses for the Week

Matthew 6:20-21 -- "Buy lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

John 8:31-32 -- "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Psalm 82:8 -- "Arise, O God, judge the earth:  for thou shalt inherit the nations."