#TuesdayDevotion: 1 Peter 4:1-10
Date: 24 November 2020
As Christians, we often find it difficult to avoid
evil human desires and to live in a way pleasing to God. We often feel the
tension between living an earthly life and a Godly life. How do we overcome
this? As I meditate on this passage. There are a couple of things that I stood
out for me: Jesus’s attitude going towards the cross was one of submission.
Verse 1 tells us to “arm ourselves with the same attitude because whoever
suffers in the body is done with sin”.
Verse 2 tells us we are to live a life of submission to the will of God
and if we do, we will avoid evil human desires. But we struggle with
submission, let just think about submitting to authority: your parents, your
teachers and your bosses. Is it easy? The answer is no. However, as Christians,
through renewing of our mind through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can
submit to God’s will. The Christian idea of submission is not one of coercion
but out of our love for Christ and our gratitude for his gift of salvation. Living
a life of submission also means we must be focused and committed to do all
things pleasing to God. In Jesus’ ministry, he was committed even to his death
on the cross and he lived a life showing submission to the will of the Father. We
submit and obey because Jesus submitted himself to our Heavenly Father for our
sake. He laid down his life for us so that we can enjoy a relationship with
Him.
Second thing that occurred to me was the seriousness
of sin that Jesus Christ had to pay an awful price so set us free from the
bondage of sin. Jesus "died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18). Throughout the
Bible, sin is mentioned so many times and the Bible has warned us that the
punishment is death (Romans 6:23). Sin can simply mean anything that takes the
place of God in our lives. Money, power, lust and pride to name a few are
somethings that ‘knock’ God off his rightly throne in our lives. Those who live
a life of sin must face the reality that one day, we will be called to account
to God. But thankfully, those who are in Christ are empowered by the Holy
Spirit to live a life victorious over sin. Our sinful nature has passed away
though we will still have sinful habits in which we have to be aware of. We
live in appreciation focusing on the gift of righteousness given by God.
Hebrews 12:1-2, it tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector
of our faith. Those who fix their eyes on Jesus, will be occupied by His Word,
His Ways and purposes.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, teach me to be
submissive and obey Your will. Help me through the process of surrendering my
all to you so that my life will be pleasing to you. Give me a heart that is
open to receive and ears to hear from Your Word. Holy Spirit, strengthen me to
defeat any areas of sin I may have.
Amen
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