1 Peter 1:3-5 “… you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
The Lord, the Living Stone, the Son of God, Jesus Christ was rejected by people but chosen by God. Indeed, our Father in Heaven delights in Jesus.
We, like him, are like living stones, joined to him into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God. Our lives will therefore be marked with rejection on earth. If you never are despised on earth, you are probably not a child of God, for the very Son of God was despised. If the elite of your community do not hold you in disdain, it is likely that you are not following Jesus, for the elite in his day held him in disdain. If you are not rejected by at least some people, you need to ask yourself if you are truly chosen by God.
It is through suffering that that a hero is made. It is through pain that muscle is gained. It is through hard labor work that a house is built. It is through blood & sweat & tears that the house of God is established in hostile territory.
If nobody is willing to burn out because of zeal for the Lord, the fragrance of Christ will not spread. If nobody is willing to be crushed, the anointing will not flow. If nobody is willing to be hurt, nobody will be healed.
The more profound fountains of hope always flow from the driest of deserts. The best meals are often preceded by the greatest hunger. The most satisfying gains usually follow the greatest losses.
The resurrection which secured our hope followed the crucifixion of the King of all eternity.
The fountain of life sprang from the ground where the murdered Son of Man was laid in burial.
Perhaps, you have lost something. Count it joy. God will replace it with something better if you look to Him before you look for what you lost.
Perhaps you have been kicked out of a ministry. Count it all joy. God is calling you to serve him more single heartedly.
Perhaps you have been fired from a job. Count it exceeding great joy. God is preparing to fire you up for greater labor.
Perhaps you have been laid low with illness. Rejoice and be glad. God is preparing to raise you up in a new body on the last day.
Perhaps you have been exiled from your home, original or adopted. Oh, what pleasure is yours, there is a new city waiting and you are being called to go to the nations as an ambassador of peace!
You are nearing death. There is no greater joy than this … other than the joy to follow when you step through that door and enter life.
Now I have written these things to Christians, to those who believe in Christ Jesus and are looking for a Savior from heaven.
For those who are not waiting on the Lord, but seeking to take their own life, beware of the pit you will fall into when you plumbing the depths of the caverns of your own soul.
For those of you leaving your home to run from responsibility, beware of the dangers to your soul which are imminent to all who stray.
For those who are sick of trying to do the right thing, watch out lest you give up before you are made right.
For those who are not doing their jobs nor loving their neighbor nor telling the truth about Jesus, what sorrow will be yours when all pleasure is stripped from you and you are cast out from the house into outer darkness.
For those who are not ministering in Jesus name, but are only serving themselves, Caution: this is the road to destruction and ruin!
For those who are not looking for the lost nor looking for the Lord’s return, you may find that you are not ready for the Lord’s return, and then what disappointment will await you when He does come.
Get dressed!! Put on holiness!! Put on Christ!! Don’t let him be just a put on, let Him dwell richly in your heart. Inhale the Spirit of Christ. Walk in His path.
Yes, it leads to a cross, it leads to rejection. It leads to death in this world.
But God promises life to all who die to the pleasures of the world.
– Brother Mert
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