-

 1 Peter 1:1-7 - Resilience

We can learn a lot from Winston Churchill.  He suffered tremendous setbacks.  Many times after hearing horrible news of the losses of hundreds of men at sea and terrible defeats (personal and professional) he went into deep depression.  He would spend hours in bed.  But duty called.  He had to get up and out of despair and lead by example.  Many times he delivered speeches to the House of Commons in such a state.  Winston showed us that despite our flaws and serious mistakes we must get back up and fight for our King.  We must not be defeated.

        We will fight.  There is victory in Jesus for those who continue to believe and trust in God’s victory on the Cross.

We love and serve the Sovereign LORD.  God is our Good Shepherd.  Yes, He knows we’ve strayed away.  But He searches for us anyway.  God will do anything to find us and bring us safely home (Ezekiel 34:16).

We must get our priorities straight.  Our inheritance and our trust are not in this world.  Our reward will be the salvation of our souls - that salvation is everything - and much more than we deserve or can imagine.

        Our Good Shepherd alone makes us holy.  We are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ (1:2).  And yes, as you and I know, we need more and more grace as we wait for our priceless inheritance (1:4).

        Keep believing.  Keep trusting God.  Do not be defeated by Satan, and by the fat and powerful who rule this world.  We are born again, new creations in Christ Jesus, and we have all we need to live and work and fight for righteousness today.

Jesus, we need you today.  We are resolved to get up and fight today.  For we know that with Holy Spirit-led decisions and the power of Christ in us, we can go through any trials and tests that this life brings.  Thank you for searching for Your sheep and for tending to us.  Amen.


V for Victory.


Comments

Post a Comment

I'd love to hear your comments, and if you have questions email me at dcbell1111@gmail.com.

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
 2 Timothy 3 - Are You a Christian, Christian?           Early in my legal career (I'd been practicing about five years and about five years into my Christian walk) I had an interesting encounter with the CEO of one of our firm’s clients.  It was 2001 and technology companies were thriving.           My neighbors in S.W. Calgary were Lebanese immigrants and faithful members of their mosque.  They were some of the best neighbors we’ve ever had.  They owned a bakery that made Pita bread.  I’ll never forget the day we took possession of that house.  As they often would in the eleven years we lived there, they brought me a big bag of fresh bread.  We shared many good conversations with them over the years.  I love them and I pray God blesses them.           My neighbors had a friend from the mosque who was the CEO of Wi-LAN - a publicly listed tech company that held patents for technology that was key to the Blackberry - and later many other mobile phones.  Wi-LAN made many in the mosq
Read more
-
Image
 Hebrews 6 - Faith and Endurance These next two chapters of Hebrews are incredibly encouraging for the Christian.  God gives us confidence and courage to do what we must.  When the whistle blows, be ready to go.  God in Heaven is developing your character; He’s preparing you to fight His battles.           We are responsible to grow.  We know that God repays people for the wrong they have done (Jeremiah 50:24).  And that God uses whomsoever He chooses as His instruments of justice (Jeremiah 50:20).  “For the LORD is a God who gives just punishment; he always repays in full” (Jeremiah 50:56). Thinking of God’s character is sobering, and good.  We know Jesus is the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.  In the next few chapters, we hear the truth about who Jesus is and our responsibilities to Him. Nearly 2,000 years after the death, burial, and resurrection of our King we are reminded that there are false teachers today - those leading people astray for power and greed - just as there
Read more
-
Image
 Ephesians 3 - Accomplish Infinitely More Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA      Well, the good news is that God holds us to an incredibly high standard.  And He gives us all the resources that we need to accomplish infinitely more than we can imagine.  I’ve spent the week in Philadelphia where the founders of the USA trusted God and banded together their fortune, families, and future.  God's Kingdom is advancing.  This generation, like all generations, must accomplish for God what He wills us to do - infinitely more than we could plan or accomplish on our own.           There will of course come a time when God judges the nations (Psalm 82:8).  Let us praise God for all He is doing in this generation and for all He has done through all generations.           In our generation, it is time for courageous men and women of God to stand up for goodness and righteousness.  It is more than time for humble honest people to rescue the poor and the helpless and to deliver those in need fr
Read more