My 3rd ever Vlog post, called 'Strive to be found ready...' based upon 2nd Peter chapter 3.
A scripture and topic that has been strong on my heart for a while...for how we wait for Jesus to return matters!
Here is the link to the Vlog:
What follows is the text of my script, should you prefer to read,
God bless, Mel :)
STRIVE
to be found Ready…2 Peter 3:14-18
Here where I live there seems to be more and more
self-centredness every day…
A society which basically still values Christian morals
to an extent…as long as it doesn’t challenge peoples’ status quo…
A society that picks and chooses what it will accept from
the Bible…
People who listen to preachers who tell them what is
comfortable to hear – yet don’t read the Bible for themselves– remaining
ignorant to the challenging texts which Jesus spoke and to the sections which warn
against slick preachers – passages which teach you to weigh what you’re taught,
against scripture…
A society where people claim… “I believe in Jesus”
Yet if asked to explain who Jesus is and what their
belief actually means…I’m not sure many people could really answer this…
It seems to be that by saying…I believe in Jesus equates
to – because I believe that Jesus was a real person, I’m cool with God and I’m
going to heaven (full-stop).
Yet from some of these same people we see glimmers of
eastern-mystic beliefs or spiritualism and lots of statements about the power
of SELF, above the proclamation of Jesus Christ as number one.
Where are the lives today showing transformation from
that of an old-dead sinner, to that of a Saint?
Yes Jesus loves sinners…but He loves sinners enough, when
they repent and seek forgiveness to respond with – I forgive you, now go and
sin NO MORE! Go and tell others about
the truth…about me!
And He empowers them to go and do so…A Christian still
makes mistakes, we have a free will…but we also have a new desire NOT to sin,
for they are led by the Holy Spirit and no longer by our flesh!
What if people where challenged to change “I believe in
Jesus” to a statement that does not assert themselves…re-phrasing the sentence
to no longer use the word I?
How would this change their belief and worldview?
When thinking this through I came up with rather than “I
believe in Jesus”
With “Jesus Christ, who was fully God became fully human,
making the way for us to receive forgiveness of sins which separate us from our
Holy Creator, to give us a new beginning – one in which we’re God’s children,
reconciled to Him when we repent of having ourselves as God, and giving our
whole self to Jesus.”
The Gospel of John talks about people Believing in Jesus
– but we must understand who Jesus is, for this is what hearing the message
about Jesus and believing in Him actually means…
Romans 10:8b-12 talks about salvation,
for Jesus Christ truly is the saviour of the world… this passage specifically
teaches what belief in Jesus actually looks like…the opening of this chapter
lets the reader know that the topic is SALVATION through FAITH in Jesus
Christ…but then it goes on to teach that faith, or belief and trust if you
like, in Jesus results in PROCLAMATION of Jesus, not ourselves…
Let me read from verse 9…
9 because[a] if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes with
the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is
saved. 11 The
scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous
to all who call on him.
So therefore when we call upon the Lord for forgiveness and rebirth – He
faithfully responds, but then we partner with Him to tell others – we CONFESS
with our lips what we have experienced and have learnt is true – we believe
that Jesus is the saviour of world and confess this to all…
We partake in the great commission where Jesus taught us to go forth
proclaiming to the whole world - repentance of sin and rebellion, of having
anything else before God in our lives…that forgiveness and reconciliation is
available to ALL people through Jesus Christ alone and to baptise and make
disciples…
Are we doing this with our lives???
Or are we a society of people who want to wear the label ‘Christian’
like a member’s badge and pay minsters to do all that mission and evangelical
stuff, while we sit at home watching television?
I have NOT been saved by anything I
have done!
Let me assure you that my works are not great…but God’s work are and
it’s awesome being blessed to be a partner in some of it…I love to partner with
God in His work of reconciliation because He loves me and now I love Him!
I’ve really been thinking a lot
recently about how I live my life with Jesus.
A passage which The Lord has given me is 2nd Peter 3:14-18
This section speaks about how we are to live our lives while we wait for
Jesus to return…and begins with STRIVE to be found…
Where is Jesus? When will He return?
Why hasn’t He returned yet?
These are real and common questions…
Because of scripture, I know that Jesus is seated at the right hand of
The Father. He is patiently waiting for
the full number of His children to respond to His call and then He will return
in all His glory!
And I know how I want to be found when this is…even if I have gone to
the grave before…
If Jesus was to return tomorrow I can tell you now I don’t want to be
found in a back-slidden lifestyle…
Imagine if He returned and I was slightly intoxicated at a bar…
Yelling abuse at my children…
Living with a man and not being married…
Or texting someone I was angry with, an abusive message…
I think some people are afraid of preaching a message to others of
leading a holy and reverent life, in fear of someone challenging them of
preaching a works doctrine above a grace one…
But this is not the case…for scripture is full of caution to lead a holy
life honouring God.
Ephesians 4 begins with ‘I therefore, the
prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you
have been called…
Near the end of the Gospel of Matthew we have Jesus’ teaching upon
faithful verses unfaithful followers…
Chapter 25 begins with the parable of the bridesmaids waiting for their
bridegroom’s return – the faithful were ready and waiting for His return at the
unexpected hour, the unfaithful were not…this is followed by the parable of the
talents, which also repents the faithful waiting faithfully for their master’s
return by using what He gave them, versus the unfaithful who did not put his
gift to good use…
Then we have the final parable – the judgement of the nations where
Jesus separates the sheep (the faithful) from the goats (the unfaithful) based
upon their faithful loving deeds or laziness…
St. Paul urges us to run the race of life with our eyes being heaven
bound…let me read to you from some of Hebrews 12…
…let us
also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,[a] and let us run with perseverance
the race that is set before us, 2 looking
to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of[b] the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right
hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from
sinners,[c] so that you may not grow weary or
lose heart. 4 In your
struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your
blood.
Jesus is seated at the
right hand of The Father and He will return – I want to be found faithful in
Him and ready…
I want you to be ready
also…
Because so many will tell
you what you want to hear, rather than what you need to…
In a day and age where we
want to have ourselves as the star of our own lives…leading a life of purity
dedicated to Jesus is so counter-cultural…
We long to say to the
world…I was trampled down yet I overcome and we wonder why even though those
celebs who we think who have it all still fall down…
We are university educated
– yet still so blind
We think that to be free,
we need to have no restraints – yet we wonder why we feel so un-empowered when
we can’t say NO…
There is only one way for forgiveness of having yourself as God…and that
includes the idolatry of making God into someone who he’s not, by being
selective of scriptures and believing that there is more than one way to God
than Jesus.
We must repent…which means confess our sin to God to turn our life over
to Him as number one…ask God for re-birth by the Holy Spirit in Jesus Name…be
baptised and go forth and spread The Word of Truth…living the life of a
born-again Saint!
I don’t know what your life is like at the moment…where you are in your
relationship with God…but what I do know, is that it’s never too late to be a
faithful follower of Jesus…
Don’t wait…repent and seek to know Him better through scripture…don’t
twist it to suit…seek purity ask Him to live a life that is transformed for that
is His will for you and us all…He loves us enough to change us and that is the Power
of God and a true testimony.
STRIVE to be found ready, 2nd Peter 3:
God bless, you!
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