1 Peter 1:17-21 

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Dependent

When you were younger, you were still dependent to your parents, did you hear them say particularly, “Come! Let me teach you basic life realities”? When your parents were busy with household chores, did they ask you to help them? Attachment, relation and belonging to family are amplified by helping in household chores. If you get involved in household chores, unity and caring relationship will develop more realistically.

Reading your Bible as a family is very precious time together as a family. Pray that you can agree to read your Bible as a family. It won’t come naturally, but try and test how much faith you have in God and how God may answer your prayer to have family time reading your Bibles. You will certainly praise God when as family you read your Bibles.

Expect children to resist; they may not readily obey, if you command them.

How do you personally interpret this instruction to children in Colossians 3:20? ²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

If it is very natural for children to obey parents, there is no need for the Lord to command obedience to parents. Parents cannot expect children to obey right away. Obedience to parents is obedience to godly command that pleases the Lord. Certainly, the Lord will abundantly bless obedient children who pleased him.

Similarly, believers are children of God. Our heavenly Father is pleased when we obey. Does he expect us to obey him right away? So, why does he command us anyway?

Indirectly, God segregates obedience to him. Obedience to God is distinguishing mark that separates children of God from worldly people. Pray for godly wisdom. Wisdom helps us acknowledge that if we obey God, he blesses us. Blessings from God practically exhibit that he is pleased.

We are instructed somewhere that in every situation we should pray and present our request to God. Praying to God is practical practice of faith in him. Keep praying.

To believe in God is to rely upon him in everything we do. It says in Hebrews 11:1 ¹Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Does the amount of hope we have in God surpass the amount of faith we have in him? Does faith exceed how much we revere him? Reverence to God is proof of faith.

1.  Revere

¹⁷Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 

If we do things on our human effort independently without help from God, is it a practice of faith? Indirectly, we are telling, “God, we can do things without your help!”

That is some sort of arrogance, I suppose. If by natural human effort we obey God without his help, such obedience will certainly falls short of his godly standard.

The phrase, “live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear,” reminds that we won’t live in this world forever. We are here as transients. Heaven is our permanent residence as children of God. Certainly, lifespan of earth has expiration date. Therefore, we should regularly remind ourselves to spend time on earth in reverent fear of God.

Why? God our Father is fair and just, and he judges impartially everything we do.

What is the difference between reverent fear of God and fear of scary things?

If you’re scared of wild beast, you run away from the wild beast for safety.

In comparison, in reverent fear of the Lord, we desire to grow more intimately closer to the Lord. We want to feel more of his care and love, and we obey. We don’t want to be separated from God as separation from God leads to death or eternal hell.

Well, Judgment Day is coming sooner. Are you prepared? It says in Hebrews 9:27, ²⁷Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.

It doesn’t matter, if anyone believes it or not,  Judgment Day will certainly come.

We need to be holy because our heavenly Father is holy and impartial judge.

Just and impartial judges are very admirable. Regularly pray for our judiciary.

Pronunciation

A group of lawyers were hired to present a case of their client before a judge. Their leader practiced his speech while the other lawyers listened to him. One lawyer was very particular about pronunciation of legal words; she enunciates how a legal term should be pronounced whenever the team leader pronounced a legal word incorrectly.

Other members of the team were wary, and they signaled the particular lawyer to stop correcting their team leader. Truly, the team leader was upset that his was told how to pronounce legal terms. So, he fired her; he removed her from their group.

The day came when the team leader presented their case before the judge just the way he practiced before his team of lawyers. Whenever he said a legal term improperly, the judge reprimanded him to pronounce legal terms properly. His group of lawyers looked at each other, as if they agreed that the particular lawyer was right when she corrected mispronounced legal terms. Just imagine how the team leader felt, reacted.

It says in 1 Corinthians 3:18-19, ¹⁸Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.

Someone said, “It is foolishness to be overconfident; it is wise to have doubts.” Many individuals are overconfident of their personal assumption about eternity. Others are just passive and not concerned at all; what matter most to them is life now.

On Judgment Day, everything we did will be presented before God, the impartial Judge. Will you be appreciated for your lifestyle or otherwise? Revelation 20:12-15 says, ¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. ¹⁴Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

The Scripture is our guide, manual on a pleasant lifestyle acceptable to the Lord. Read your Bibles more sincerely to have sufficient idea how you prepare for eternity.

Additionally, pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit; he gives godly understanding, He enlightens and warns us (believers) of horrific punishment in hell. By faith in Jesus Christ, we are saved from dreadful, gruesome torture in hell. We are redeemed, amen!

2.  Redeem

¹⁸For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 

The former worldly life was crucified with Christ and the old self was buried with him. Christ was punished in our place; he redeemed us from eternal damnation and creates in us new identity of righteousness before God. Christ resurrected, returned and prepares for a place for us (believers) in heaven. He is coming sooner than later and takes us into his heaven. And, we will gloriously live with him forever in his paradise.

Pertaining to Christ, it stated in 2 Corinthians 5:21, ²¹God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

When it says that, “we become the righteousness of God,” what does it mean?

At the crucifixion of Christ, his blood poured on the cross washed away our sins, (past, present and future sins). By faith, we believe and repent of our sins as practical proof that we believe such mystery. As proof of our repentance, we live righteously.

If a person accidentally drops spaghetti sauce on your shirt and say, “I’m sorry!” you may let it go. Then a few days later, he passes by next to you, he accidentally drop soy sauce on your shirt and say again, “I’m very sorry!” and even cry, how do you react?

To cry or be sorry but repeats the same sin, repentance is initiated but incomplete. Genuine repentance is complete only at the moment we live in godly righteousness.

How can we live righteously?

By human effort, it’s impossible to be righteous. If it is not by natural human effort, who initiates for us to act or live righteously?

Christ is in us; his Holy Spirit empowers to live supernaturally in godly righteousness.

To have godly righteousness lifestyle, we make sure that we abide and follow biblical instructions in all things we do. That is sanctification, consecration work of the Holy Spirit; he sets apart as holy and sacred for godly purposes specified in Scripturally.

Raise child

Who said, “It takes a village to raise a child?” Have you heard that before?

Surely, a village won’t directly attend to all the needs of a child to raise him. But, the lifestyle of a village or community could affect the lifestyle and upbringing of a child. When children sense belonging to community, communal culture and tradition could influence their lifestyle, language, dress, food, shelter, leisure, hobby, sports, or behavior.

Similarly, as children of God, we also compromise our lifestyle to biblical lifestyle. Godly righteousness is biblical practice of faith in Christ. To live by faith is righteousness. Romans 1:17 says, ¹⁷In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

The Lord Jesus was born on earth as human, lived on earth as human, was tempted like any other human, but he never committed any sin. His lifestyle as human has revealed to us that it is possible to live on earth as human and not commit sin.

3.  Reveal

²⁰He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

The Lord reveals in the Scripture that Christ is the Messiah, Savior from God. The Lord took away our sins and crucified them with Christ. Christ died for us to live forever. His death on the cross has ransomed our freedom from sin. We are redeemed from the slavery of sin. Therefore, our life now belongs to Christ. He is the right owner of our freedom. Well, our lifestyle is practical proof if we follow him as our Lord and King.

We obey our master. So, if we follow sin, who is our master? What do you think?

It says in Romans 6:11-14, ¹¹Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Believers’ life on earth is constant struggle between our new and former masters. For believers, our new Master is Christ and our former master is the old sinful self.

How can we supernaturally follow our new Master, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and at the same time supernaturally ignore our former master, the old sinful self?

Naturally, we are easily influenced by sinful activities. Supernaturally, when we rely upon the Holy Spirit of Christ, we desire and supernaturally live in righteousness. We need to constantly pray that God may help us in everything we do. Pray also like, “Lord, please, remind me to pray for help.” We are limited; we tend to forget to pray.

Let us be more serious and sincere to live in godly righteousness. We don’t know if Christ returns anytime soon. But to anticipate his return, it benefits us eternally.

It prophesied in Daniel 12:1-3, ¹There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. ²Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. ³Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

How do you imagine what practically happens, if ever Christ Jesus returns today?

Believers are expected to be transported into everlasting life. That’s awesome! But, if you have led many people to righteousness,  helped others to believe in Christ so that they live in godly righteousness, you will shine like stars in heaven.

How bright will you shine eternally? Will you be blinking or gleaming brightly?

Filipino Christmas Tradition

It’s September, the start of Christmas season for Filipinos. In the Philippines, the air wave is taken over by Christmas carols; Christmas lights and decors are switched on.

When Christmas lights are blinking, they are cute and nice to watch.

In heaven, will you prefer cute nice blinking lights like Christmas lights, or you like to beam like spotlights?  Will your light blink like a 5-watt or a 100- watt brightness?

The more people you lead to faith in Christ, the more your brightness will shine.

The Lord’s Supper reminds us of Christ death, burial, resurrection and his return. We are reminded to proclaim his death, burial and resurrection until when? He returns!

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