Monday, April 13, 2015

Keep Having a Christlike Attitude and Living for God

- To be ready for a time of persecution, Christians must be mentally prepared by arming/ strengthening/fortifying themselves with the same attitude/mindset that Christ has. So far in 1 Peter, a Christlike attitude includes a steadfast hope for God's vindication, a reverent fear of God, a humble submission/a complete surrender to God, an unwavering trust in the love and wisdom of the Father, a commitment to live a Godly/holy life, and a readiness to suffer and die for the will of God. We need to put on the defensive armor/shield because we're in a fierce battle against Satan and against our flesh/sinful nature. Have the same view that Christ had regarding His suffering. The Suffering Servant Savior serves as an Example for us believers in our trials, sufferings, and persecution. We are to embrace suffering with willingness, submission, and patience if it's God's will. 

- Through Christ's suffering and death, He destroyed the power of sin so that we may be dead to sin and alive in Him. "For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been set free from sin...The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:6-7, 10-11) As a result, we now ought to live by the Spirit and live for God and His will, not live the rest of our earthly lives for evil human desires or worldly pleasures. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:24-25) 

4 comments:

B~Natrelle said...

Hello there.
Jesus died so we might have our sins forgiven, become reconciled to God and have the prospect of everlasting life on earth (Psalms 37:11, 29). At Matthew 24:13, Jesus said "the one who has endured to the end will be saved." Enduring, therefore, requires we take some sort of action. We don't even have to guess, Jesus gave instructions (commanded us) at Matthew 28:19, 20.
Thanks for sharing.

Entrepreneurial Goddess

Unknown said...

This really is thought-provoking. We serve a mighty God and I'm thankful for His overwhelming love!

Corinne Rodrigues said...

Truly we must all walk by the Spirit! Thanks for the reminder.

Stephen Tremp said...

Thanks for the early morning inspiration! A great way to begin the day.

Stephen Tremp
A to Z Cohost
Twitter: @StephenTremp

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