Grace and Peace

1 Peter 1:1-2

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied."

Today we started the book of 1 Peter. It was written around 64 A.D. We looked up all of the mentioned places on our Bible maps, seeing the area of the scattered Christians.

We see the Trinity spoken of here. God the Father has chosen us before the creation of the world, God the Spirit has set us apart as saints, and God the Son desires our obedience. We researched the "sprinkling of the blood" in Ex. 24:3-8 where a covenant was made with blood and the people made a promise. This was 1400 years before 1 Peter! The blood of Jesus seals our covenant with God when we make a serious commitment to obey Him.

May grace and peace be abundant in our lives this day in the year of our Lord, 2006.

Eschatology

Tonight we read Luke 17:20-37, and it's companion passages, Matt. 24:3-31, and Mark 13:3-27 about Jesus' second coming. We concluded that some of the verses were fulfilled in 70 A.D. but very clearly, some of the events could not have happened during Rome's destruction of Jerusalem. Daniel is a good book to read to enlighten these events too. In any case, Jesus is coming back, there will be no more pain and no more tears, only contentment in Christ. And I say "Come quickly, Lord Jesus!"

Our second night without Dad we read Romans 6. Rom. 6:16 "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?"

Josh pointed out that it is very interesting that being a Christian is a also a form of slavery, just to a different master, with a different end result. While slavery to sin leads to death, slavery to Christ leads to eternal life. Both are lives of perseverance and difficulty. There is no escape from the fact that our earthly lives cannot be carefree without responsibility. People who drift from Christ end up paying the piper.

Drift Away or Hold Fast

Col. 4:12-18

We talked about 4 people today- Epaphras, Luke, Demas, and Archippus. Epaphras was a Collosian who prayed! Here is a great prayer for us to ask not only for others that we love but for ourselves too: that we would stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. Dad suggested that we can stay in God's will by reading the Word. Epaphras had "great zeal" in his prayer. Who do you tend to pray for? Dad said that he finds it hard to pray for people that he doesn't know, but has much more zeal for those he cares about.

We learned in 2 Tim. 4:9 that Demas was in love with the present world. He abandoned Paul and stopped serving Christ. Of course in this passage, Demas is still ministering with Paul. May God's grace keep all of our family from drifting!

And lastly, Archippus. We learned from Philemon 1:2 that he was a fellow soldier and was probably a pastor of the church in his father's house. Paul admonishes him to "take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it". I.e. persevere in our faith and good works!

MMWP (mom's most wonderful puns)
Dad was explaining that Paul had an "amanuensis" (that is an English word) , another name for a recording secretary. Before we looked up the correct pronunciation and were saying it with the accents on the first and third syllable, I asked " What does someone say who is irritating you? " Amanuensis" . (I'm a nuisance) . I got a big laugh out of Josh.

Friends

Col. 4:10-11

"Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me."

This one's for you Paul, as everyone else was home! Hope you are reading.

We looked up several verses to learn about Aristarchus. He was Jewish, from Macedonia, and the city of Thessalonica. He was on Paul's sea voyage to Italy, he was Paul's helper through danger, and he stayed with Paul in Rome. (Acts 19:29, 20:4, 27:2)

Verse 10 also tells us that Paul's friendship with Mark has been restored, as they had previously parted ways. 2 Tim. 4:11 tells us that "Mark is useful to me for ministry".

You know Dad, he can get a lot out of the details! May you (and all of us) prove to be a comfort to someone today! It just takes a willing heart and prayer.

What is Your News?

Col. 4:7-9
"Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here."

Paul is thought to have written this letter to the Colossians while under house arrest in Rome. He entrusted Tychicus, a believer, a leader in the church, and faithful to God, to carry the letter to Colossae. We looked up 4 other references to Tychicus- Acts 20:4, 2Time. 4:12, Tit. 3:12, and Eph. 6:21.

Onesimus was an interesting study. We read the book of Philemon too. Onesimus was Philemon's runaway slave who somehow became a believer, perhaps in Rome, and wanted to return to his master. Paul is asking for Philemon to accept him back and not punish him. Paul offers to pay for anything that Onesimus owes to Philemon.

So ask a fellow believer who Tychicus is. I would not have been able to answer!!

Prayer and Witnessing

Col. 4:2-6

"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."

In order to be "vigilant" in prayer, we need to be watchful, we need to know what is going on with people and around the world, in order to be able to pray for them. And we need to pray "earnestly", persistently, with an attitude of thankfulness and not grumbling.

I don't encounter many unbelievers during my day of "keeping the home" and mothering, but I often pray for you men at work to have opportunity to share the gospel. Paul asked for prayer that he would be able to share the gospel in a clear way so that people will understand. Dad shared how we should tailor our conversation to the individual's interests, speaking with kindness and avoiding insults or sarcasm. We must choose to bring the conversation around to Jesus and not just be talking about the weather. A good start- can I name the name of Jesus this day in one conversation?

Do It Heartily

Col 3:22-4:1

"Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven."

There is no slavery in our country, but in the workplace we are in subjection to a higher authority, a boss. So, we will apply some of Paul's teaching to that relationship. Since the Lord is always watching us, we are to work diligently even when the boss is not looking. One definition of integrity can be: what you do when no one is watching you. What is your quality of work when no one is watching? And whatever job you are expected to be doing at the moment, do it heartily, cheerfully, with all of your energy, as unto the Lord.

PPPP (the fourth P is for particulary): Why were the people that Paul was writing to descended from Anak? Because they were collosal.

Live By the Details in the Word

Col. 3:18-21

"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged."

Dad says that we must live by the details given in God's Word. So here we go- I got to explain the first verse. My interpretation is that I willingly try to please Dad, doing what He expects and desires. Dad's side note: this does not mean that a woman submits to just any man, but only to her husband. Dad got the second verse- The greek tense means that husbands are not to keep on being bitter towards their wives but must put a complete stop to it. If a man growls at his wife or complains to her, he is not pleasing God. He is to be loving and kind and gentle towards his wife. And of course Beth got the next verse to explain. Children are to listen to their parents at all times, in all things. And lastly, a father can really discourage a child if he criticizes, speaks sarcastically, or shows disinterest when a child is trying to speak to him. Fathers should always be kind and encouraging to children.

Wow! That's a lifetime of godliness!

A Diversion

Well, Anne, this one's for you, though guess what? We never did have devotions the night that you were gone! Instead, we were waiting for your 2 brothers to arrive home from playing in the swollen flood waters of Seneca Creek. And of course Dad and I were quite worried.

Thursday morning started with Paul convincing me to take him to the flooded creek to go kayaking, but after observing the flooded stage, I determined that it just wasn't safe to leave him there by himself (he had forgotten the life jacket). His plan was to paddle around in the water for an hour while Beth and I went home. But the minute he hit the water, it carried him downstream and he had a hard time getting back to us. Then I was supposed to let him go kayaking down the stream and meet him at a pick-up point, but me being the nervous type, couldn't agree. I could only imagine- 17 year old drowned in flood waters- mother's fault! So I talked him out of it.

But somehow Josh came home early from UMd. and carried out the adventure. By the time they got home and ate their dinner (I missed your help!) it was late and Mrs. W. was here to borrow books.

So that was pretty much our day, in addition to B and I doing our "laps". Oh, I had to walk by myself in the evening and I did miss our conversation!

Dwell Richly

Col. 3:15-17

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

If the peace of God is ruling in our hearts, then worry and anxiety will not be present. We can have peace because God is the Ruler, He is the King, He is in control. "My sheep hear my voice and they know me and no one can snatch them out of My hand." Jesus has a firm grip on me!

The "word of Christ" is the Bible, and we are to ask God to teach us from it, read it, meditate on it, and then it will "dwell richly".

"Whatever you do"- if it is Beth at home listening to mom, or Anne at college doing her work, or the boys, wherever we are, do ALL for Jesus, to please Him!

The Basis of Family Life / Church Life/ Relationships

Col. 3:12-14

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

We are called to living a life which is completely different from the life that our old sin nature would choose. Overlooking annoyances, making yourself a servant, helping people, choosing to be compassionate, being patient, etc. Anytime someone hurts you, remember what Jesus did to forgive you, and realize that what He is asking you to do to forgive another person doesn't compare. And above all- LOVE- sacrificially and unconditionally meeting each others' needs.