1 Peter 4:17-19 

¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” ¹⁹So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

New Year

How did you celebrate New Year? What did you do on New Year’s Eve? Did you enjoy your celebration? Personally, why do you celebrate while waiting for the New Year? The celebration of New Year, is it relevant to practice of faith?

New Year marks a new beginning; it should inspire renewed happiness, new energy and hope for brighter future. Like most other celebrations, we choose to have fun and relaxing moments when we celebrate on New Year. Since New Year symbolizes expectation of new things, new adventures or new progress, we also expect things in our life to change in new better ways, right?

If you compare it to last year, what do you expect this year? Did you hope for betterment last year? Has your life been changed from previous year? Do you approach this New Year just like in the previous years? If you approach New Year like you did last year, is it logical to expect betterment in the coming years?

Have you not heard what intellectual individuals normally advise or preach?

“Doing the same things and expect different results is foolishness!”

Anyway, most of us celebrate New Year just for fun; or do you celebrate so seriously? I guess not. As believers of Christ, celebration of New Year or any other life experiences worth celebrating for, should remind us of the grand celebration, when it’s time for us to attend the Wedding of the Lamb of God in heaven!

It has been revealed to warn believers in Revelation 19:7-9, ⁷Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. ⁸Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people. ⁹Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

The wedding of the Lamb of God is the great celebration when believers are united with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in heaven eternally. God prepared a glorious feasting and celebration to welcome all believers in his heaven. Will you be invited? Are you assured that your name is written in the Book of Life?

It has been revealed also in Revelation 19:15, ¹⁵Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

That reality appears to be killjoy to the celebration of New Year. Don’t you agree?

More believers who are very assured of their eternal destination consider it as glorious reminder. New Year should remind us to practice faith more seriously. Judgment Day has been set, and it starts with the children of God. Why is that?

1.  Start

¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

When Apostle Peter said that, “It is time for judgment to begin?” did he imply that judgment happens at present and not future event? Or, did he pertain to appointed time of judgment and not necessarily present tense? At present or appointed time, judgment begins or starts with God’s household. It reminds us to reconsider our approach to lifestyle, behavior and attitude as children of God.

In the previous verse, it says in 1 Peter 4:16, ¹⁶If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

What is the relevance of suffering to the time for judgment that starts with the household of God? A group of individuals may insult our Christian practices; when we prioritize things that have eternal value, we may personally suffer also, but how? You may wish to spend your money leisurely, but you would rather send money to support missionaries; or, you may wish to indulge yourself is social pleasure, but you will choose to spend you precious time in ministry involvement.

If such is your case, you may identify yourself in the words of Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, ²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. ²⁷No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Rookie

If God blesses you to have million dollars salary, how do you spend it?

Most National Basketball Association (NBA) players spend their million dollars in luxurious travel and leisure after basketball season ends. Even NBA rookies who were chosen in the first round are assured of millions of dollars annual salary.

A certain rookie never had luxurious lifestyle before he played in the NBA. He was given a few millions of dollar annual salary. During summer vacations, he spent his time in the basketball gym improving his talent and building his muscles instead of spending his new found wealth in luxurious travel and pleasure.

Every year, he made it sure that he grew better in every aspect of his game. Few years later, he became one of the best players in the game; he also brought the first championship trophy to his team. So when the time for him to renew his contract, his team did not hesitate to give him the maximum salary.

In this world, many of our situations are decided by others. In school, who decide what grade to give their students? Teachers! At workplaces, who decide to promote somebody or raise salaries? Employers! One could be influential, but the workers who do their best, even when nobody is watching them, they’re blessed.

It is for our betterment if we do our best. It advised in Colossians 3:22-24, ²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 

When you know it is good, do it. The Lord favors good behavior. Someone had observed that this generation is not easily satisfied with material abundance. Materialism can give temporal pleasure but cannot totally satisfy anyone. Why?

Everything in this world is temporal and limited, even the suffering we may experience.  Eternal contentment is reserved in heaven and not in this temporal world. New Year offers opportunity to start prioritizing things with eternal value. But first and foremost, make sure that you are eternally saved.

2.  Save

¹⁸And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Did someone tell you that all we need to do is to have faith in Christ, and we will be saved? So, what is so hard with salvation? Why did Apostle Peter say that it is hard to be saved? We become Christians when we trust Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. And, anybody can claim that they are Christians.

The hard part of being saved is the included persecution when we practice our faith in Christ. Christ Jesus declared it, and it surely happens to all Christians. He had clearly warned us in John 15:20, ²⁰If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

Persecution is added suffering to all genuine Christians who will teach about him. Many Christians know that it will happen, and they hesitate to teach or share the gospel of Christ; they don’t like the idea of persecution. Persecution includes hardship and pain. Who would readily want to endure hardship or pain?

How do you personally interpret what Apostle Paul had testified in Philippians 3:10? ¹⁰I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Apostle Paul implied that faith in Christ should be actively operational and not idle. Why? After you prayed to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, how sure are that you were really saved? Praying for Christ to come into our life is just the first step of pilgrimage of heaven citizens. Christianity is journey not one step.

Immigrants

Immigrants: Before you fly into Canada, what did you expect to be your life here in Canada? We come from the summer capital of the Philippines where it has cool weather. Before we fly in, we prepared and bought jackets we thought to be warm enough. Canada winter time is much colder than we anticipated.

Many immigrants may testify being surprised by life experiences in Canada. And many Christians will also be surprised that they did not prepare well for life in eternity. How can we prepare for life in eternity? The Lord situates us where we may experience much his grace, and that includes suffering. Why is suffering relevant? By faith, we persevere and endure suffering. Suffering tests our faith.

3.  Suffer

¹⁹So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

We are advised to continue to do good; that suggests perseverance in the faith. To commit ourselves to our faithful Lord is an open-secret of perseverance despite suffering. Active faith is inspired by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit inspires us, he produces faithfulness in us so that we persevere and keep on.

It says in Romans 5:3-5, ³Suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

George Muller

You’ve heard about George Muller. You heard the he built an orphanage without money; he did not solicit money from anyone. When he retired, there were around 2,000 orphans being cared for in the orphanage building he built. He died at 92 years of age. But, did you know that he was sickly?

How did a sickly George Muller live long illustrious life and still successfully managed an orphanage for many years? The story of George Muller was special for him exclusively. It may not be duplicated again, but his prayerfulness and regular studies of the word of God can be imitated.

You may not be suffering from health problem; you may have different kind of struggle in life, but it should not prevent you from responding to your calling.

God wants each of us to get involved in the good work he prepared for us.

The celebration of the Lord Supper reminds us that we have a mandate to proclaim the gospel of Christ, his death and resurrection until he comes.

When Judgment Day comes, may we all hear the Lord welcomes each of us:

“Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share my happiness!”

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