You are HOLY!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 6 of 7: “Strangers…Am I the only one?”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
5 IDENTITIES God wants you to embrace!
1 Peter 2:9 “… you are a HOLY people…”
“Nobody’s perfect.”
This phrase comforts us when we have a failure in life or say or do something we later regret. Comparing ourselves to others eases our conscience as we give ourselves a pass and breathe a sigh of relief that there are worse people who have done way more wrong than I have.
It is true, nobody’s perfect. Unfortunately, it’s also easy to say this to God to dismiss or tell ourselves that his command to “Be perfect, as I your heavenly Father is perfect” is an unreasonable demand that no one can live up to.
Yet, the words don’t go away. They ring in our ears. “Be perfect. Be perfect. Be perfect…”
“But, God” I plead, “Nobody’s perfect!?!? How can you expect me to be perfect?”
To which God responds, “I am God. Be perfect!”
We quickly realize the status God demands is one we can never achieve. In fact, it would be more natural for us to embrace the identity we often confess, “I a poor miserable sinner…”
Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Like the owner of a theater has every right to prevent you from seeing a movie if you don’t have the proper admission cost, so God has every right to refuse us admission to heaven because we fall short of the holiness he demands. Yet, realizing nobody’s perfect and without lowering the standard of holiness, God, our holy and loving Father did something we could never do.
Romans 5:8 God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
He died because he took our imperfection and made it his own…even though he WAS perfect!
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The result?
Hebrews 10:14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
YOU have been GIVEN a new identity: HOLY! Because of Christ, you are no longer a poor miserable sinner (although we certainly still struggle with our sinful nature) but a HOLY person of God!
Why does this identity matter? You have been given the status necessary to be in the presence of a holy God! You ARE holy. You ARE perfect!
Apply: What happens when you shift your primary identity from sinner to saint (holy one)?
Prayer: Thank you Father for not lowering your standard of perfection, but rather raising me to meet that standard through your son Jesus. Lead me to enjoy each day knowing I AM a HOLY person! Amen.
You are ROYAL!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 6 of 7: “Strangers…Am I the only one?”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
5 IDENTITIES God wants you to embrace!
1 Peter 2:9 “…you are a ROYAL priesthood…”
If you have daughters in your home, at some point most of them have embraced one of the Disney princesses as their identity. They watched the movie. They were enthralled with the fantasy. They got the pretty dress and were proud to move around the house in the elegance and mindset of royalty.
Something about royalty captures the mind and heart of interest. Perhaps for some it’s the perceived luxurious lifestyle. Perhaps it’s the “happily ever after” that fairy tales are made of. Or perhaps it’s the lure of power captured by playing a game of “King of the Hill.”
No matter what your perception, to have the designation of “royal” is a positive and prestigious status…especially when it comes from the King of kings! God calls you royal which means you are part of HIS kingdom.
Martin Luther in his explanation to the 2nd Article of the Apostles Creed put it this way:
I believe that Jesus Christ, …who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, ….
No matter what status we have in the world in which we live, through the work of Jesus you have been made royalty in the kingdom of God…and given a special role…to serve as priests!
This may seem like an odd designation, but consider what a priest did…
- He got to speak with and interact with God directly…(you do too!)
- He was to understand the will and words of God and share them with others…(you get to do this too).
- He represented God to the people…(he calls you to this as well!)
Ironic that a king and a priest were anointed in the Old Testament for these very special and important rolls. You, by God’s grace in the waters of your baptism, have been given this identity and set apart for this special roll…to be a ROYAL PRIEST…a servant in the kingdom of the most high God.
So you may not have the pretty dress or the jeweled crown, but you have a royal identity with a prestigious purpose to carry out today…enjoy being a royal priest of the King of kings. Serve him with your heart full and your head held high!
Apply: How does your perspective on your day’s activities change as you embrace your status as a “royal priest”?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for changing my status and my position through Jesus to be included as a royal member of your majestic kingdom and entrusted with serving you as a priest. Assist me today in embracing this identity and carrying out this role to your glory!
The Word is NURTURING!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 5 of 7: “Strangers Speak a Different Language!”
Full Sunday message, CLICK HERE
5 characteristics of God’s Word and why they matter.
1 Peter 2:2-3 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Perhaps an infant doesn’t realize it, but when they crave their mother’s milk, it is both the taste they love, and the nutrition their body needs. God has designed a mother’s body to bring to her baby pure nutrition. For months, that is all a baby eats…but it’s all a baby needs. And they grow up…
As a child grows, unfortunately the food they eat isn’t always as pure and nutritious as their mothers’ milk was. Their body can take the good and dispose of the bad, but if enough good nutrition is not received, it is harmful to the physical well-being of the child.
Our spiritual life is the same way. Our soul needs “pure spiritual milk.” Yet our souls eat the fast-food of media sound bites. Our souls try to find nutrition in the candy bars of social media. Our souls are starving for something that tastes good, and feeds it.
What our souls need is the pure spiritual nutrition of the word of God.
The word of God is so nutritious and nurturing to our soul because it comes straight from the source. God has given us his word to be the good tasting, soul nurturing nutrition we need.
God was so intent on giving us the “pure spiritual milk” that he sent his Son to be that very Word that came into this world to say all and do all our souls need for life today and for tomorrow.
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus took the words he was given from his Father and fed them to his disciples
6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.
Do you have a favorite food that once you taste, you can’t get enough? For me it’s triple chocolate brownie fudge anything…one taste and I’m not stopping! God wants his word to be the same thing for our souls…taste its goodness and keep craving it (By the way, God’s Word is MUCH better for you than triple chocolate fudge brownie something!).
What “taste of goodness” have you had from God’s Word of truth? If it’s been awhile since you have tasted the goodness of God in his Word, perhaps it’s time to sit down and once again drink a glass of this pure spiritual milk. I pray it is so tasty that you crave it each and every day!
Apply: Take a moment to list ways you have “tasted that the Lord is good.” Then make a commitment to crave and taste the nutritious word of God each and every day. Watch your soul grow and be strengthened!
Prayer: Lord thank you for your Word and all its aspects. I know your Word is tasty for all its goodness it gives. Lead me to crave it every day! AMEN.
The Word is PREACHED!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 5 of 7: “Strangers Speak a Different Language!”
Full Sunday message, CLICK HERE
5 characteristics of God’s Word and why they matter.
1 Peter 1:25 And this is the word that was preached to you.
What comes to mind when I say the word “preach” or “preacher”?
Perhaps you think of a pastor past or present and reflect on his sermons and whether they inspired you or put you to sleep. Perhaps you recall a rebuke of a person you felt was all too pious and condescending in correcting you and retorted, “Don’t preach at me!”
Preaching “at” someone in a condescending way is not beneficial. Peter doesn’t say, “This is the word that was preached AT you…” Rather he says, “This is the word that was preached TO you.” (The enduring word of God we talked about yesterday).
Why can he say this?
The nuance behind the English word “preach” is “announcing good news.” The word that is translated “preach” in this verse is actually the same root as “Gospel” or “good news.” You could read this verse as,” And this is the word that was shared as good news with you.”
God’s word IS good news!
God’s Word does point out our sin and how far we have fallen short of the glory of God, but it shares this hard news to set up the glorious reality that Jesus came and lived, died and rose again FOR you…for me!
The good news that is given to us is the news that we are fully forgiven by the blood of Jesus. It’s the news that when this life ends, we are going to spend eternity in the joys of heaven. It’s the news that while life on this earth can get hard, God will never leave us forsake us. It’s the news that whispers in our ear, “I love you. You are my child.” It’s the good news our hearts need…every day.
It’s the good news that was preached…shared…with you.
Why does this matter? Without someone sharing this good news with YOU, you would not be connected to the saving work of Jesus and life forever in heaven. Consider Romans 10:12-17
Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
The faith you have is because of the word that was PREACHED to you!
Now it’s your turn. The word that was preached to you is good news for you to preach to someone else. You don’t need to be a pastor, you simply need the good news that has been given to you and take your beautiful feet and share it with someone else.
Apply: Who in your sphere of influence needs some good news today? Find your favorite promise or good news passage from the Bible and send it to them!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the people in my life that have preached the good news to me. Now use me to preach this same good news to others! AMEN.
The Word is ENDURING!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 5 of 7: “Strangers Speak a Different Language!”
Full Sunday message, CLICK HERE
5 characteristics of God’s Word and why they matter.
1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord stands forever.”
Who do I believe? How do I make that decision? It seems like information changes every day.
Ever had these thoughts? Perhaps it’s in connection to COVID-19. Perhaps it’s in relation to politics. Perhaps it’s in connection to weather and what to expect.
Situations change. Information changes. What was reported yesterday is different today.
Trying to ground yourself on that which changes is like trying to build a house on shifting sand.
What makes the life of the Christian so solid is that the life of the Christian is built on the imperishable, enduring, standing forever Word of the Lord!
Many generations have come and gone. Information from years ago is different than it is today.
The Word of the Lord? Still standing…Still enduring…still not perishing!
What does that mean? The fact that the Word of God is enduring and imperishable, means we have something we can always count on. God’s Word isn’t going to change. Our situations may change, but the Word of God is enduring and lasting.
Consider just a few timeless truths of God’s Word that are real for us:
Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Matthew 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Which timeless truth of God’s Word is near and dear to you?
Here’s one of my favorites from Psalm 73:23-26
23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Enjoy going about your changing days with the unchanging promises and words of God!
Prayer: Lord thank you for being the unchanging, stable influence in my life, just like you have since the beginning of time. AMEN