Our journey on the Way of Holiness during Lent began with preparation and continues with considering ways of being set apart as followers of Jesus Christ. In today’s passage, 1 Peter 1:13-2:3, we see a focus on what it means to grow into the faith—to be set apart as spiritually mature people. 

None of us can really claim to having been born older…or mature in faith apart from time and effort.  Every once in a while someone will give me the opportunity to say one of my favorite things:  “We all start somewhere.”  Whether it’s Bible reading or gardening, etc., I’m always quick to remind myself and others that no one emerges from the womb carrying a Bible or having a green thumb.  We all start somewhere.   Big steps for some; little steps for others. 

Remembering where we started helps us in a variety of ways. 

• First, we experience satisfaction and joy when we see the progress that we made. 
• Second, it reminds us of the grace we have received (which helps to keep us humble enough to continually encourage others). 
• But it also spurs hope when we’re trying something new or difficult.

Peter reminds us 1 Peter 1:14 “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

Be holy?  Can he be serious?  While that seems like an impossibly high goal, we all start somewhere.  As we learn, we will grow, provided we pay attention to what we have learned.

1 Peter 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart….2: 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

It won’t happen all at once.  Becoming holy, set apart, pure, obedient, and loving—all these things take time.  We all start somewhere but the important thing is that we do start this journey toward maturity in our faith.

Toby Keith recorded a song written by Bobby Braddock called I Wanna Talk About Me.  We can all laugh at lyrics like:

We talk about your work how your boss is a jerk
We talk about your church and your head when it hurts
We talk about the troubles you’ve been having with your brother
About your daddy and your mother and your crazy ex-lover
We talk about your friends and the places that you’ve been
We talk about your skin and the dimples on your chin
The polish on your toes and the run in your hose
And God knows we’re gonna talk about your clothes
You know talking about you makes me smile
But every once in awhile I wanna talk about me
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about number one
Oh my me my
What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see
I like talking about you you you you, usually, but occasionally
I wanna talk about meeeeee

Yes, it’s hard when someone we know is at the center of their own Youniverse.  Unfortunately, for  many of us, that You is Me—all the time.

In today’s passage (James 4:1-12), James has a few words for those of us living at the center of our Youniverse:   Get real.

James, known for his straight-forward manner, says

You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (James 4:2-3).

Look at all the you words in those two verses!

But then James gives us the antidote to the Youniverse:  the God-centered universe. 

[God]  gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”   Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.   Come near to God and he will come near to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up (James 4:6-10).

When we see who is really at the center of the universe, we’ll get real about humility.  God will respond by lifting us up to walk on the Way of Holiness.

Albert Einstein has been credited with saying some really great quotes.  A couple of his best summarize today’s passage,

Hebrews 10:1-18.  

Let’s contrast Einstein with the author of the New Testament Book of Hebrews.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.            (Einstein)

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming– not the realities themselves.  For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.  If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.  

But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:1-4).

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them (Einstein). 

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:  “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.”  Then I said, “Here I am– it is written about me in the scroll– I have come to do your will, O God.”

First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made).

Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” (Hebrews 10:5-9)

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent.  It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction (Einstein).

[Jesus] sets aside the first to establish the second.  And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.  Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Hebrews 10:10-18).

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.  Colossians 1:19-20

I recently had a bad week as a do-gooder.  I was driving to yet another event to “do-good” and at the stoplight I began to have an attitude problem (more like an attitude meltdown).  I wanted to throw in the towel.  It was Friday and I’d spent the entire week accomplishing things on everyone’s to-do list but my own. 

 That night my husband said I sounded like the commercial: 

Think of someone you love.  Now push them aside and think about yourself! 

We laughed because he was right.  (It happens from time to time).  There are days that I feel sick and tired of desiring to be the good wife, good mom, good daughter, good friend, good servant of Jesus Christ and all I want to do is serve myself…as kind of a vacation. 

Serving others as a lifestyle is really hard work.  Although, maybe it’s just hard for the “bad attitude me.”  When I read Titus 3:8, I’m always struck by what it says at the end: 

This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Profitable for everyone?  What about me—what I enjoy?  What about my to-do list?  Maybe Paul ran out of room for “everyone…but Barb.”  As I begin to resurrect my inner Eeyore, “Bound to happen,” I pause to think Paul might be on to something.

Maybe my to-do list wasn’t the best measure of what is profitable for me. 

Let’s consider these measures:  

1. Storing up treasures in heaven because they’ll last  (Matthew 6:20)
2. The work of God is believing and following by serving (John 6:29, 14:12, Matthew 20:26-28)
3. Bearing fruit and bringing glory to God by showing I’m a disciple (John 15:8)
4. Serving the Lord and not really people (Colossians 3:23-24)

When you think about productivity in that perspective, Paul’s conclusion (v 14) makes better sense, “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.”

It’s good to pause and ask myself: What is my definition of productivity?  What’s on God’s to-do list for me today?

You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,  persecutions, sufferings– what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them” (2 Timothy 3:10-11).

I know a little bit about a lot.  I know a lot about a little bit. 

I know nothing about some things—persecution is one of them.

Sometimes I amplify events in my life that I don’t like and imagine that it constitutes persecution under the most broad definition.  There are aspects of my life where I’ve been caused to suffer great sadness and rejection.  But whenever I read passages like 2 Tim 3:10-4:5, I become aware of how ignorant I am and how truly sheltered is the life that I lead. 

Through my AllExperts questions and answers over the years, I’ve met people in areas of the world where persecution—true persecution—is commonplace.  I’ve prayed for the persecuted church in which I’ve heard of Christians being imprisoned or killed for nothing more objectionable than standing firmly for Christ.  I’ve known people who have been disowned by their families, lost their homes, sent away to distant towns, and who have been fired or deemed unemployable simply for being a person belonging to the Christian faith.  I’ve known people whose very lives were in danger for the privilege of attending a worship service in secret.  For them, there is such joy—in being gathered together for worship as Christians—that every fear melts away and they risk it all because they know what the Lord has done for them.  He has set them free.

I cannot say that I envy those who are genuinely persecuted—for their persecutions.  But I confess a certain curiosity about what it must feel like to truly stand for something like that; to know the highest stakes of one’s decision to follow Christ; and to be willing to sacrifice it all for the eternal glory promised to those who persevere.  To know whether or not my faith would be proven to be what my Lord deserves; whether it would be the kind that overcomes every obstacle; and to know the deepest definition of trust that enduring persecution represents.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity… Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.  Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4: 12, 15-16)

We hear a lot about the end of the world as we know it.  Any time tragedies arise—tsunamis, wars, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, famine—we entertain ideas about the world’s demise.  The Bible teaches us that the “last days” have been upon us since Jesus’ death.  

But the reason for this instruction is never to worry or panic us.  It’s so we’ll be encouraged to stay on the Way of Holiness.  During His lifetime, Jesus told us the purpose of end-of-the-world events:  to keep us on high alert.  At times like these, Paul says, we need to watch our life and our doctrine closely.  It’s not either life or doctrine.  It’s both.

With so many roadside attractions and billboards distracting us toward a life of self-serving entertainment, a little end-of-the-world thinking reminds us of the destination and points us to the Bible:  a mirror showing us how we’re living.  Looking into the Word of God (our doctrine), we see clearly whether our lives reflect the Way of Holiness. 

In the last days where it might feel more comfortable to fit in with the crowd, to let the seductiveness of sin yank us off the Way of Holiness, or let good intentions lead us down a path to hell, Paul encourages us to persevere in Christian authenticity—a life that carefully reflects what doctrine we believe.

One of the world’s great criticisms of Christians is that we’re hypocrites.   This should never be.  Christians should watch our lives and our doctrine closely because our lives are the most visible testimony of what we believe.  People can’t read our minds, but they can observe our progress.  No thought bubbles appear over our heads, but our speech, love, life and purity follow us around as a vapor trail of the lives we lead.

As tragedies point others to fear and uncertainty about the future of this world, they should see Christians—alert, responsive, hopeful, encouraging, authentic, and real—and by observing our lives, see our hope in Christ.

Contentment.

There are few things in the Christian walk that make me squirm as much as contentment.  I don’t like to think of myself as a malcontent, but too often, I am.  I have unmet desires, unfulfilled hopes, unattained dreams—my days are filled with these things.

But that’s not what makes me a malcontent. 

What defines malcontentedness is how I answer this question:  Whose expectations am I seeking to have met?  The Apostle Paul tells Timothy “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

Here is the key:  I’m not contented when I expect things out of God that I have no right to expect.  God is not obligated—in any way—to grant my three wishes…or five or one. 

This is why Paul says that “godliness with contentment is great gain.”  When I trust God fully to give everything I need to live a life that honors Him, my job is to live that life.  He knows what I need.  And He knows the desires of my heart. 

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).

This is godliness with contentment.  Not my doubting the resources or the goodness of God.  Not my being God’s backseat driver.  But trusting Him and taking Him at His word.

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.  Psalm 37:3-7b.

• Can we commit ourselves to God? 
• Trust in Him? 
• Delight in Him? 
• Wait patiently for Him? 
• Be content in Him?

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  Hebrews 13:20-21

Everyone likes an atta-boy or atta-girl from time to time.  Being recognized for doing a good job.  Affirmed in something that we’ve worked hard to accomplish.  A cheer along the marathon of life saying, “Keep it up!  You’re doing great!” 

With the finish line ahead, sometimes the final lap can feel like such a struggle that if it weren’t for a good coach instilling in us the desire to finish the race, finishing strong would be difficult, if not impossible.

In our Lenten devotionals series, we’re in the midst of a marathon of New Testament writings and seeing how to walk on the Way of Holiness (Isaiah 35:8-10).  The Way of Holiness is our finish line and our finishing strong—even in the midst of persecution—is possible because of God’s protection.  Our goal is to be counted worthy to walk on the Way of Holiness.

Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.  All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering (2 Thessalonians 1: 4-5).

The Apostle Paul knows what he’s talking about.  Arguably, there have been few who suffered as much as Paul (2 Cor 11:23-12:10).  For us, reading the writings of the Apostle Paul can be likened to being coached by the world record holders for endurance in suffering: Jesus and Paul.

What do Jesus and Paul say about endurance on the Way of Holiness?

The keys to enduring suffering and being worthy of our calling are continually growing in both faith and love.   Keep up your pace!  No pain, no gain!  The hecklers will eventually eat your dust and you will be proven faithful.  So Paul calls out some encouragement to finish strong,

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith (2 Thessalonians 1:11)

One of the sure signs of genuine Christian faith is how we react to suffering.  When the going gets tough, the Christian keeps going.

An irony of the Christian faith is: Historically, its growth was most marked in the very times in which it was under the greatest persecution.  Nothing reveals our trust more than when we have no logical reason to trust…at all. 

When all we get for our faith is trouble and heartache and pain, it witnesses in a peculiar and unexpected way that our hope isn’t in our circumstances.  Our hope is not in ourselves.  Our hope is not in a president or prime minister or government officials or programs of any type. 

     Our hope is in Christ alone.

I love today’s passage, 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10, because it highlights this very thing.  These people—under severe persecution—had visible work produced by faith; visible labor prompted by love; and visible endurance inspired by hope in Jesus Christ. 

What was seen (their work, labor, and endurance) pointed to what could not be seen:  faith, love and hope.

Paul goes on to say that these Thessalonians welcomed the message with joy in spite of the persecution and suffering that accompanied it.  And it was their visible joy—without ready explanation in circumstances or of themselves—which was seen by a watching world as evidence of genuine faith.

You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7)

Do you want to have the kind of life that models hope for others?  I sure do!  The Apostle Paul says that it’s all about what you do—and where you turn—when the going gets tough.  It’s all about what is seen that reveals what is unseen.  Suffering—this is witness at its best.

The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia– your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead– Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath (verses 8-10).