Hello, dear ones.
Here I am still in my jog togs at 12:07pm. Of course a lot of other stuff has risen to claim my time and attention—not the least of which was Thano’s plea for my help in repairing his wood splitter machine. I went out, inspected what was going on, and was able to do the repair by a little welding. But that little task confirmed again that wearing light weight running shoes with mesh tops is not a good choice of footwear when welding. I had a couple sparks go right through the top that made me do the hot-foot dance.
Lots to pursue yet today—places to go and people to see—besides being THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER.
Blessings on your day. And as much as is possible, may God bless America. Ray
I didn’t get far into this reading without being smitten with inspiration. I guess it’s more like being re-inspired, because I notice my hand-written note next to this verse from my last reading that says, “Obedience—purifies and empowers.” That’s a very corrective idea when compared with the notion of many who think they have to get themselves all cleaned up before they can start obeying God—or think they have to make themselves stronger before they can advance to being a strong victorious believer. It actually works the other way around. Wash your dirty heart and mind in the Word to the point that you obey it and you’re on your way to clean. Abandon the junk food of the world and eat the nourishing and dynamic Word of God and you’re on your way to becoming “strong in the Lord and the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10-12).
The next verse in this reading is also worth our special attention. “For through the eternal and living Word of God you have been born again” (1 Peter 1:23, TPT). I suppose most believers, if asked, “What exactly accounts for your being saved—or born again?”—would probably quote Ephesians 2:8-9—or they would say, “God’s love and grace”—or, “The blood Jesus shed on the cross.” Of course these are not wrong answers. But Peter is here inspired to give special recognition to the importance of what we just established—the importance of consuming and obeying God’s truth as presented via the medium of His Word.
In the course of talking about these ideas this morning at the breakfast table, Becki pointed out that when a baby is born, it may be the end of a pregnancy, but it’s only the beginning of a life journey toward maturity and purpose. A baby needs lots of help and food. And that is exactly the metaphor Peter is inspired to put forth only a few verses later—“In the same way that nursing infants cry for milk, you must intensely crave the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word. For this ‘milk’ will cause you to grow into maturity, fully nourished and strong for life…” (1 Peter 2:2, TPT.
Please say, “AMEN!”