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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Think back over your lifetime… how many different places have you called ‘home’? If you moved several times, why? As you reflect on each place you have lived, regardless of the length of time you lived there, what was THAT SEASON of your life all about…, for you and for the people your life touched there?
If you consider yourself a ‘follower of Jesus Christ’, how much involvement do you think Jesus has had in your moves from place to place? Last week, as we considered what God meant when Paul wrote “We are therefore ambassadors of Jesus Christ, as though God is making His appeal [to the world] through us.”(2 Cor. 5:20), I suggested it is Jesus who sends His Ambassadors to the places He desires them to live, for the accomplishment of His mission. Do you believe that is possible? From His throne room in heaven, God guides normal human beings like you and me even in something as human as finding a place to live… really?
Do you remember one of the final things Jesus told the men who would be His first Ambassadors: “You will receive power, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses (ambassadors) in Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) History tells us that is exactly what happened, as these men and others, motivated primarily by persecution, scattered from Jerusalem, and took the story of Jesus across the entire Roman Empire. You’ll see that especially in Acts 8:1-8.
Some of them were led by the Holy Spirit to write letters of encouragement and instruction to the fledgling movement of Jesus followers, as it spread from town to town. Peter was likely in a Roman prison when he wrote his two letters, near the end of his life. His crime, like Paul’s, was being an outspoken follower of Jesus Christ. He refused to worship the Roman Caesar as a god, for Peter was an Ambassador of Jesus, whose life had been radically changed by his months with Jesus, and his experience of the ongoing , life-transforming, work of the Holy Spirit in his life. Would you join me in these next days, in a close look at Peter’s first letter, since it was written in a time of world chaos very similar to ours in 2020, wherever you live in our world.
Peter begins by identifying himself as ‘an apostle of Jesus Christ’. You could replace ‘Apostle’ with ‘Ambassador’, because ‘apostle’ means “selected and commissioned by Jesus Himself to represent Jesus to the world”. So it begs an important question right away… can that be said of you and me? What is the reason you get out of bed each morning, the reason you take nourishment each day, the reason you pursue the priorities in life that you pursue? Now don’t rush past that question… ponder it deeply, for in large measure, your honest answers define WHO you really are and WHY your life journey is what it is. So you might want to reconsider the question and think about the implications for the rest of your life and your descendants.
(In 1 Peter 1:1,2) Peter says he is writing “To God’s elect exiles scattered throughout the provinces…who have been CHOSEN according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying [life purifying] work of the Holy Spirit, to be obedient [live missionally] to Jesus Christ and sprinkled by His blood.”Wow, what a powerful statement. Is it a fair and honest description of you and me? “Exiles” would be meaningful to the Jewish Christians for Jewish history has several significant times when large numbers of Jews have been enslaved and dragged away from their homeland to live as ‘exiles’ far from home. “Scattered” is important… it does not mean thrown to the wind or distributed aimlessly, it means a very specific, strategic ‘planting’ by the farmer, so that plant can produce the greatest amount of fruit in that place. Now ponder that as a description of how Jesus wants to ‘scatter’ His Ambassadors strategically all around the world… as University students, part-time employees, full time careers in every vocation, neighbors, retirees, even children.
Do you see Peter wants us to understand God the Father, God the Son Jesus and God the Holy Spirit are all three working together, BOTH to accomplish a continual, spiritual refining work in each person who turns to Jesus for their salvation, AND a very strategic work of engaging these people, Ambassadors, in strategic involvement with God’s Plans and Purposes around the world in their generation. Now you may need to read that sentence two or three times to let it shake your life. Have you discovered this is one of the wonderful ways to read the Bible, especially the Old Testament, and watch to see how God used ordinary people like you and me, at strategic times in history, to accomplish amazing things, only God could do.
Do you see God the Father originates the plan and chooses to involve those who He sees have hearts ready to partner with God? Do you see God the Holy Spirit does a huge, ongoing, life-transforming work, changing us from hell-bound, selfish, sinful people, to Ambassadors of Jesus whom God can engage in His global purposes for His glory? And do you see the significance of God’s Ambassadors discerning and then being obedient to their assignment as they learn to follow Jesus?
Now how does that work in your life and mine, my friend? Do you like sports? Have you considered the important role of the coach in training, teaching, and guiding the athlete? A short while ago I had the opportunity to speak to some sports minded people about this and I’ve attached a short video clip that might help you grasp this amazing, life re-prioritizing concept that Peter has written to us.
If you and I understand God’s vision for how strategic we could be in our world as we learn to live 1 Peter 1:1,2, it could change most everything for us for the rest of our lives! We might become the most valuable people in our world, as God accomplishes through us, His Ambassadors, what HE knows is desperately needed in our upside down, chaotic, pandemic-panicked world. Are you ready to consider the possibilities in following Jesus?
After you watch this short video, I urge you to meet with Jesus and listen for what He might say to you. . . it may be a ‘defining moment’ for the rest of your life.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Click to read today’s chapter: 1 Peter 1:1,2; Acts 1:1-8. (At the top you can choose a different translation.)
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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