Every time I watch the news or read the headlines, it seems this world is getting more and more evil. The murders committed by Kermit Gosnell, the three teenagers kidnapped and kept in a basement for ten years, the bombing in Boston… The list goes on and on.

The current condition of our nation is evidence of the evil that our society has glorified in the media and entertainment. What used to be defined as sin is now considered socially acceptable. John addressed how we can overcome the evil in this world through our faith – faith that Jesus is the Son of God and faith that He hears us when we pray.

For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. – 1 John 5:4-5

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. – 1 John 5:13-15

As John reminded us earlier in this first letter, we live in this evil world and love the people around us but we do this without loving the world and the things of this world (2:15). So, though surrounded by sins and encouraged daily by the unsaved around us to join in their sin, we choose instead to remain in fellowship with Jesus and give in to the urgings of the Spirit instead of the urgings of the sinful nature.

We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.

And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. – 1 John 5:18-20

Sin will not overpower us. We don’t have to be afraid that we will sin when we remain in fellowship with God. We are children of God and no evil in this world is more powerful than him. BUT, we also have to keep our hearts devoted to Him and avoid situations or temptations that could weaken our resolve to remain in relationship with Him. We need to make sure that we do not start making other things in our life more important than Him. God wants more than just first place in our lives, He wants Lordship over EVERYTHING in our lives.

John ends this first letter with great advice for us, and so I end my morning coffee pondering this verse.

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. – 1 John 5:21

John goes on to speak of three different life changes that take place in our lives when we
1.) Remain in fellowship with Christ
2.) Have the Holy Spirit living within us

We will gain discernment.

When the Spirit lives within us, we will become more and more discerning of the truth. When we hear something that is not truth, the Spirit within us will warn us and we will experience uneasiness. The Spirit living within us is truth and is greater than the spirit who lives in this world. Because we belong to God, we listen to the Spirit and are able to discern truth from deception (1 John 4:1-6).

We will grow more perfect in love.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, OUR LOVE GROWS MORE PERFECT. – 1 John 4:7-17a

We will obey out of love and not fear.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this show that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loves us first…And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. – 1 John 4:18-5:3

Lord, thank you for the evidence we are already experiencing in our lives, evidence that You are at work and creating us into a new person. We pray this morning that we would continue to gain in discernment, that our love would grow more perfect and that obedience would be our first response as we remain in fellowship with You and daily experience the Spirit-filled life. We thank You for Your expression of REAL LOVE as demonstrated on the cross. Lord, continue to strengthen our faith and our love for others. Amen.

If we listen to the Holy Spirit living with us and if we remain in fellowship with Christ, as we talked about yesterday, it will be no problem for us to live the holy life John, Paul and Peter have been teaching about. If we try to do it on our own, we will most definitely fail. Our humanity will be stronger than our will.

But God has given us the Holy Spirit to prompt us when we should not say what we are about to say, or that what we just said was wrong and we need to apologize. It becomes sin when we choose to ignore what the Spirit is saying to us or ignore what we have learned while studying God’s word and enjoying fellowship with Him. Let’s consider James’ definition of sin:

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. – James 4:17

John goes on to explain what true fellowship with Christ looks like.

And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it show that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. – 1 John 3:5-10

The rest of the third chapter of John’s first letter is powerful and needs no explanation or clarification. It is a good reminder of what it looks like to respond to the Christ we are in relationship with.

This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. – 1 John 3:11-24

And so we end right where we began – Our life is different when the Spirit lives in us and when we remain in fellowship with Jesus Christ. Our life produces this kind of love naturally as we live in obedience and relationship with our Savior.

Lord, thank You for joining us this morning – for this time of fellowship with You. We choose to remain in You as our day begins, filled with your Spirit and responding to Your guidance. May Your truth be evident in our actions today as we love each other just as You intended us to. Fill us with the kind of REAL LOVE John spoke of – the kind of love that would give up our lives just as Christ gave up His life for us. Amen.

Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment – to love one another – is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. – 1 John 2:7-8

God’s message from generation to generation, from the Old Testament to the New, is the consistent – we are to love one another. In fact, God teaches us that the best way for us to show our love for Him is by loving others. He does not let us get by with saying – I love you, God, but I don’t love…

If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness. – 1 John 2:9-11

Then why do we hear so often of quarrels and arguments in the church or within Christian families? Why do we hear that someone is not talking with someone else or that two people do not get along so they avoid each other? Why do we ignore scriptures such as John’s letter or the words of Jesus that say, “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” – Matthew 5:23-24

Now, it is okay for us to hate sin but we must do so in a way that we do not hate the sinner. We can and should be appalled by the things that happen in the world around us, but hating the person involved does nothing to change the situation or bring that person to an understanding of God’s love for them. We may really hate the way someone has treated us or words they have used to wound us, but God’s commandment does not change – we must love one another.

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. – 1 John 2:15-17

Here’s the great part: God has equipped us for this commandment. He has given us a way to love people while hating sin, to love the world while hating the things of this world.

1. He has given us the Holy Spirit.

But you have received the Holy Spirit and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true – it is not a lie. So, just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. – 1 John 2:26-27

2. He has given us the opportunity to remain in fellowship with Christ.

And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children. – 1 John 2:28-29

In fellowship with Christ, sitting at His feet and listening to Him as I share my morning coffee with Him 🙂 What a great way to start my day. What a great way to start my week! Lord, fill me with your Spirit and with your love! Reveal in me any hard feelings or hate I may have in my heart towards someone else. Show me any areas in which I need to make things right. Thank you for your fellowship and for the gift of your Spirit. Amen.

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” – Psalm 27:8

My morning kind of took off without me this morning. I had a nine o’clock meeting for work and all my time before that was spent getting myself ready and my daughters out the door for school. I came back from my meeting, took care of a few details for my weekend ahead. I thought of a friend who has to have a second surgery due to cancer found in her body. I thought of a loved one who received bad news yesterday and another who is transitioning after a couple of lost roles. I physically do not feel strong today and my heart is heavy.

I told the Lord how I was feeling and He reminded me that I was starting my day without Him. I stopped and opened up my Bible to the book of Psalms, as I have started doing on Friday mornings. I read through Psalms 24-27. Psalm 25 is probably my favorite Psalm and I enjoyed reading it in the NLT for the first time. Then I came to this verse in 27:8 and my heart responded immediately. What my heart needs this morning, before I do anything more, is to stop and praise Him. I need to worship my God and Father and give Him everything. I choose to do that through the words of the Psalmist, David.

Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty;
the Lord, invincible in battle…
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies – he is the King of glory. – Psalm 24:8,10

Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.
Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord…
My eyes are always on the Lord… – Psalm 25:1,4-7,15a

Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me.
Test my motives and my heart…

I love your sanctuary, O Lord, the place where your glorious presence dwells. – Psalm 26:2,8

The Lord is my light and my salvation – so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? – Psalm 27:1

The one thing I ask of the Lord –
the one thing I seek most –
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His temple.
For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
He will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.

Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
Be merciful and answer me!
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

Psalm 27:4-7,10a,8

This morning I read through 1 John, another eyewitness testimony of who Jesus is. John’s message, like the messages of Paul and Peter, speaks strongly of salvation and holiness.

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. – 1 John 1:5-10

John is saying that God is holy – He is light and there is no darkness in Him at all. God does not sin and cannot sin because He is the definition of holy. So, we cannot say that we have fellowship with God if we willfully keep sinning because sin separates us from God. Sin in our lives is spiritual darkness and God is light.

But, here’s the good news. We do not have to continue living in sin. We have a choice. God not only forgives us of our sins, He also cleanses us from all wickedness. He does a work in our lives and in our hearts, making us into a new creation. We are no longer slaves to sin but have been given the Spirit. Instead of giving into our sinful urgings, we can give into the urgings of the Spirit. It is then that we are able to experience fellowship with God – living in the light, as God is in the light.

We have all sinned and, because we are human, we are imperfect. But, when we live by the Spirit, the Spirit speaks to us when attitudes are creeping in or when our words are not pleasing to God. We have a choice in that moment to listen to the Spirit and yield to the urgings not to continue with that attitude or to stop speaking or apologize for what has already been said. Or we can ignore the Spirit and give into our sinful urgings. That is when we sin and that is when we choose spiritual darkness that separates us from God. God is holy and He is calling us to be holy, just as He is equipping us with His Spirit in order to live a holy life.

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. – 1 John 2:1-6

To live as Jesus did – that’s a tall order. I’m so thankful that I am not given this assignment to complete on my own. Thank you, Jesus, for being my advocate – my truly righteous sacrifice. I love you, Jesus. My desire today is that my love for You will show in my obedience to the Spirit. My desire is to live IN You instead of living FOR me. Amen.

Peter spends the rest of his second letter warning the believers. The first chapter talked about growing in our relationship with God. The next two chapters talk about the dangers of walking away from our relationship with God and back into sin, instead of taking steps of growth.

Peter starts by warning them against false teachers who would slander the truth, making up clever lies in order to obtain money from unknowing believers (2:1-3). This is one way we could be led away from God’s truth rather than growing in the knowledge of Him. Then we begin to let sin slip into our lives instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to produce holiness.

Consider the stories from the Old Testament we grew up learning about. God did not tolerate sin then and He doesn’t now.
– God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment (2:4).
– Consider Noah. God protected Noah and his family but did not spare those around him who were living in sin. They were destroyed by the flood (2:5).
– Consider Lot. He lived in a city surrounded by shameful immorality of wicket people. Instead of joining in the sin, Lot was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. God rescued Lot while making an example of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, showing this is what will happen to ungodly people (2:6-8).

God will judge those who follow their own twisted sexual desires (2:10).
God will judge those who despise authority (2:10).
God will judge the proud and the arrogant (2:11).
God will judge the false teachers who delight in deception and indulge in evil pleasures, committing adultery with their eyes and luring unstable people into sin (2:12-14).

You are a slave to whatever controls you. – 2 Peter 2:19b

That is a powerful statement. The false teachers Peter was talking about had been believers at one time but had wandered off the right road. For them, the love of money was what began to control them. They then began arrogant and boastful, bragging about themselves. Next came twisted sexual desires, which they tried to use to lure others into this lifestyle of deception. They promised it would bring freedom – the freedom to do what you want and live as you would like. It’s your right! But there is no freedom in sin and they became slaves to sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.

And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” – 2 Peter 2:20-22

Peter reminds us of how God destroyed the wickedness of the world with a flood and how the day is coming when He will use fire to destroy ungodly people. The day is coming, even though it seems to us like God is taking his time to judge the sin. But this reveals His heart. This is one of my favorite verses about this wonderful God who spends time with me each morning over a cup of my morning coffee.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. – 2 Peter 3:8-9

Peter wraps up his letter with words of encouragement. He has described what happens when we grow in our relationship with God vs. what happens when we let sin control us. Peter also explained how we can grow in our knowledge of God – by coming to Him, by responding to His promises, and by experiencing Him. It’s our choice now. What will we choose?

And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.

All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen. – 2 Peter 3:14-15a, 17b-18

May God give you more and more grace and peace as you GROW in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. – 2 Peter 1:2

What a great blessing to start out our week. This is why I pour a cup of my morning coffee each day and sit down to spend time with God. I desire to grow in my knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. This morning I noticed three different ways in the first chapter of Peter’s second letter to GROW in our knowledge of Him.

By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. – 2 Peter 1:3

The first way to grow in our knowledge of God is obvious – by coming to know him. When we come to God, intentionally spending time in His word and bringing every detail of our life to Him, we grow closer to Him. Our understanding of this Almighty God increases each day as we soak in His Scriptures and pray to Him. We grow in our relationship with God.

And because of HIS glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. – 2 Peter 1:4-5

So a second way to grow in our knowledge of God is to respond His promises. God promises that He has given us everything we need to live a godly life. Because He is a glorious God and an excellent God, He is able to promise us the possibility of a godly life. He makes it possible by enabling us to share in His divine nature, with which we can escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. So when our human desires say to sin and the world is pulling us to sin, God promises that He has given us the ability to choose holiness – to respond to the Spirit instead of to the sinful nature.

But we still have to RESPOND to His promises. We have to accept the gift given. By His grace, we can grow in our knowledge of Him and, in response, claim His promises. Peter explains how this growth takes place and what it looks like.

Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 4b-11

A third way Peter mentions we can grow in our knowledge of God is through experiences. He spoke of his own eyewitness account of the Transfiguration of Jesus and then how that experience increased his confidence in the message of Jesus Christ.

Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place – until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. – 2 Peter 1:19-21

Because of His grace, we are able to come to Him, respond to His promises, and grow from our experience of Him. In all of this, we grow in our knowledge of who He is – not just because we understand what we are reading, but because we are experiencing Him firsthand. He fills us with His Holy Spirit and begins to speak through us!

WOW! I love God’s plan of redemption. It’s about so much more than the forgiveness of my sins. It’s about a relationship – a growing process that produces godly living and magnificent experiences! So, I wake up each morning and pour myself a cup of coffee. Then I sit down with my God and His word – the words that are like a lamp shining in a dark place. And then I experience Him; I experience Christ the Morning Star shining in my heart. And I grow…by grace…through faith…coming to Him…claiming His promises…and daily experiencing Him! Praise God!!!

It’s Friday, so I am back in Psalms and it fits so well with all that Peter had to say to us this week about the fiery trials. The writer of the Psalms I read today spoke of the hard times but praised God through it all. He recognized how incredible our God is, how powerful and mighty He is and how loving and personal He is. The acknowledgement of God can help us to see His presence in every situation. He never leaves us. He is there to restore, support and strengthen us (1 Peter 5:10).

In Psalm 19, David is in awe of the heavens. When he considered the skies, he saw the craftsmanship of God. When he watched the sun move across the sky each day, He sat back in wonder of the God who designed such a plan. He saw God’s perfection in His creation, commandments, instructions, decrees and laws. He did not see them as restrictive but described them as sweet, fine and useful.

They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.
They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them. – Psalm 19:10-11

Then David looked inward and saw his sinful heart. He begged the God of Creation to cleanse him of his sins and to keep him from deliberate sins. His prayer was that sin would not control him. I love the heart of his prayer:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. – Psalm 19:14

In Psalm 22, David is crying out to God in the midst of his fiery trial. We can probably all relate at one time or another to the emotions expressed in this Psalm.

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. – Psalm 22:1-2

I can just hear Peter saying – “…don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something stranger were happening to you. Instead, be very glad…” (1 Peter 4:12). David would have agreed, for in the same Psalm he declared that he WOULD proclaim God’s name and that he WOULD praise the Lord and honor Him.

Another connection I see between David and Peter is their reference to God as a Shepherd. Peter refers to Him as the Great Shepherd and David wrote one of the most popular Psalms declaring how the Lord was His Shepherd and would guide him and walk with him, even through the darkest valleys. Or, as Peter would say, fiery trials.

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths, bring honor to his name.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. – Psalm 23

Thank you for joining me over a cup of my morning coffee this week. I pray there were some who were encouraged by Peter’s letter and by David’s song. As we end the week, I’d like to pray David’s words from Psalm 20 for you.

In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
May he send you help from his sanctuary
and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings.
May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.

Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.
He will answer him from his holy heaven and rescue him by his great power.
Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.
Give victory to our king, O Lord!
Answer our cry for help.

Dear Friends,

All I have said to you in my letters over the last three days is to help you understand what you are going through. I do not want you to be surprised at these fiery trials, as if something strange is happening to you. It’s not strange, it is to be expected!

Now your former friends, they are the ones who should be surprised. They were surprised when you no longer partied with them and participated in destructive behaviors. Their reaction was to slander you. But you have had enough of all the evil things your godless friends enjoy – the immorality and lust, the feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, as well as the worship of idols. You are tired of chasing after your own desires. Now you are anxious to do the will of God.

So do just that! Chase after God’s will! Everything God has called you to do, all the spiritual gifts He has given you, do it with all the strength and energy God supplies you with. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.

The end of the world is coming soon, when all people will have to face God’s judgment. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Did you hear that? Earnest and disciplined – do those words describe your prayer life? Most importantly, continue to show deep love for each other, FOR LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

If you think your former friends have been rough on you, watch out for your great enemy – the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, just looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. You are not the only one going through a hard time. Your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of sufferings you are.

So don’t be surprised , instead be very glad – glad for these trials that make you partners with Christ in his suffering. One day you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory revealed to all the word. In His kindness, God has called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So, after you have suffered a little while, He will RESTORE, SUPPORT, and STRENGTHEN you and He will place you on a firm foundation. All power to Him forever! Amen.

So don’t be ashamed to suffer for being a Christian. Instead, praise God for the PRIVILEGE of being called by His name! Be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or praying into other people’s affairs. For the time will come for judgment, and it must begin with us – God’s household.

So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you (1 Peter 4:19).

And now, for those of you who are leaders in the Church, I have these words for you. Take care of the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly – not wondering how you can personally gain from your work, but simply because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord over the people assigned to your care but, as their shepherd, lead them by your own great example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor. So humble yourself under the mighty power of God. Don’t try to lift yourself up, but wait for God who will lift you up in honor at the right time.

I know it hasn’t been easy, that is why I am writing to you. I want to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you (5:7).

Greet each other will Christian love.

Peace out (or Peace be with all of you who are in Christ– 5:14),

Peter
(1 Peter 4:3-5:14)