Invest in your faith by study and prayer time, alone-time with God.

"we have been awakened to a lively hope"

A dose of the pursuit of perfection in the good book:                         

"...that which you see to, see to well...."                                                

if you hope, "be prepared to give a reason for your hope..." 

We are after all, not just the "salesmen of the Gospel", but also clients of the Lord, and thus, we have our own relationship with God to maintain.

Paul explains that our own lack of effort on the backend, in establishing and being able to argue for our faith, is a way of embarrassing the Gospel.

If we get out there and get flustered or stammer, or even in frustration lash out in anger, we have embarrassed the Gospel for our own selfish reasons.

As they say, "we have been awakened to a lively hope", and with "gentleness and respect", we can "give a reason for our hope".

-Invest in your faith by study and prayer time, alone-time with God.  

As they say, "we have been awakened to a lively hope", and with "gentleness and respect", we can "give a reason for our hope".

In the modern translations, 1 Peter 3:15, we are exhorted to share the message, spread the message with others, but to defend the faith and share with "gentleness and respect."

It's a boon to have something greater than this world to hope for, something more intangible and immeasurable--

-this something, salvation, is called riches in the pages of the New Testament---

-God's love, also, is referred to as riches in the NT.

scriptural readings:

1 Corinthians 7

Ephesians 2

Psalm 21 

Asceticism, self-denial in a narrow way towards righteousness. "Righteous conduct."

According as God hath chosen us in him....

we should be holy and without blame before Him, in love....

-Ephesians 1:4

Paul is making the case for righteousness in personal conduct, being "without blame"--that this is a way of honoring God everyday.

Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats:

but God shall destroy both it and them.

Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord;

and the Lord for the body.

-1 Corinthians 6:13

We see the sentiment extended to diet, or at diet as a metaphor, and sexual abstinence, ascetism or complete self-denial, as a neat way of avoiding any potential blameful situation.  Of course, the easiest manner of never being in a sexually impure or compromising situation is to entirely avoid fornication of any sort.

We see the concept of "lifestyle Christians" mentioned around, used as a condemnation of people who see the faith as a routine or program instead of faith, awe and love.  I've seen various sorts, on my own, and even from time to time probably have tried it in my own life.  

There are people that live quite, peaceful lives, never reaching out to others.  In comparable silence, they observe their diet, their personal dress, and other aspects through the lens of a laymen's asceticism/monasticism.

I offer no particular condemnation; if those aspects that they are so concerned about dictate so much attention and focus, they should observe it.  In fact, the rigid enterprise of trying to attain righteousness on Earth would seem to require a lot of effort for "old sinner's saved by Grace".

It takes a lot of effort, a mindful kind of self-appraisal, constantly, to purge sinful, destructive things from one's life-

-Christ said it was a Narrow Way, like lives of service in the secular world, requiring a devotion and selflessness that often goes in contrary to our natural instincts.

However--

we've got a little extra something to hold to, as we attempt or endeavor in our daily lives:

...he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

having made known unto us the mystery of His will...according to his purpose..

Ephesians 1:8-9

We have the love of God, and the example of Christ-

-how much they would do for us, how much they did for all so long, ago. 

giving thanks and praying for you, from Col 1.

"...that ye may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding...."

In the "elegant" King James Version:

Colossians 1:3-8 is a whopping 128 word single sentence that expresses love and wishes for the Colossian believers.  Colossians 1:9-17 is also a single sentence at an even more impressive 194 words! 

Therein, Paul expresses his hopes for the Colossian believers and in so many words expresses the need for the Gospel, how to become saved, and the fruits of belief, and does both pretty much TWICE in two long statements, "pillar to post", respectively, 128 and 194 words.

"We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit."  

-Colossians 1:3-8 KJV (128 words- pillar to post)

Likewise, I give thanks for the body of believers, especially, along with the sum total of mankind.  God is good to us all, and in faith we are bolstered in our times of need.  God's mercy and wisdom to you all as we finish-out this week in the various things that occupy us, and a measure of faith to you all, for your good.

Was spiritually weak, but mercy and hope had its perfect work.

Were turned away from things spiritually weak of prior times.

~Therefore, relent not now, and remember the Narrow Way, the teachings of Christ: not only how all things are compassed by the plan of God, and that all serve God, but we have reason for having believed, that we should honor the days and rightly divide the word in His cause.

Self-destruction and hatred, the lack of mercy are the paraphernalia of sin.  Those are our only restraints in this world, spiritual restraints.  We did, before times, enough to injure ourselves and each other, our neighbors, our colleagues, and our friends.

The best is yet to come: continue on in belief, that the poor will be helped, the miserable consoled, and that yet the least among us light the path to our best times ahead.

An enemy to you now, for speaking the truth? Certainly not!(Galatians 4)

~Paul had suffered many afflictions, and sometimes don’t we all? Is there not that small element of self-doubt sometimes, that some mishap or bad luck in our daily lives might be something of God stopping us short? Stuck in traffic? Bad weather? Illness? It happens to all of us, as one version so eloquently puts it, “it’s rained on the just and the unjust”. 

The Galatians were not judgmental, not thinking his ailments to be some sort of rebuke from God. There have been times when people were not so lucky, such as Job, who was said by his own friends to have been punished again and again by God, when it was really Satan that was tormenting him.  He had never lost faith or love for God.  The Galatian believers brought Paul among them in acceptance, hearing his words, the teachings of God’s mercy.

Bless any you meet and pray for Mercy for ourselves and others, friends.

1. Our only restraints are spiritual: self-destruction and lack of mercy.

2. With mercy in mind, be accepting whenever possible—err on the side of love, hope and mercy.

 

Inconstancy and sinlessness in name only.

Those that hold the law, have committed to its precepts, are made to no effect, save only that they hold themselves to the whole law, under obligation—the unstable man is froward in all his ways. -Galatians 5:3(paraphrase)

That which you see to, in turn, see to well, with the entire being. -1 Corinthians(paraphrase)

Rather than picking and choosing, remain true to principles. 

Constance. Fidelity.

If thou would the law hold, then hold well, hold fast and stay true the course.

However, yet again possess we a living God, regenerate, and the Holy Bible, immutable--not as step by step in mapping specific steps towards and into heaven, or "how to impress God".  To wit, "no, not one, for all have sinned-all have fallen short of the glory of God".  Good luck, such at it is, keeping pieces of the Law of Moses, against hope--thinking to have lived sans blemish.

Condemnations relinquished assert our own glory and show the world a type and shadow of God's own love.

Formation Of A Gospel That Speaks To Those In Need Of Same.

Publicans and Sinners....  Publicans and Sinners....

...with the Son of God, the Son of Man, elbow-to-elbow, and from the Lord of the Sinners the Godhead rendered in sinless flesh--

--they(the publicans and sinners, skinflints robber barons and tax collectors) could break bread with Him without shame or guilt.

Are we only ministering to the saved?

Are we posting doctrine for people who already know doctrine back-to-front?

In a conversation with a study group, we put our heads together and came up with something.  Among us, we were addressing how come it seemed that none outside were coming to Christ.  It didn't take us very long to realize that we were part of a larger problem:

We were preaching "getting saved" to the already saved.

I had sat in a congregation, and even parsed fine points of scripture with them.  Some had simple but confounding questions, and sometimes there were deeper, more finite points of Theology.  And everyone in the building were "saved", maybe not baptized but saved nonetheless.  The leader would triumphantly plead with us to get saved, for the sake that someone new might sneak in the building during the sermon.

No one new snuck in the building during the calls for salvation.

We barnstormed keywords, and reasons people might look into the message of Christ.  Some people might be at their lowest, feeling sad or ashamed, lost and confused, without goals in life, maybe unloved.  Such a group of folks might outwardly scoff at the Gospel, but inwardly yearn to know more.

-Depression.

-Loss of loved ones.

-Drugs/Alcohol.

-Career Anxiety.

-"Mental Health Issues".

-Gender Confusion.

Dual tracks:

Biblical teachings for the saved believers, 

WHILE ALSO

Giving Jesus Christ to people who need it most.

A Few Ministry Pitfalls: 

Preaching to the Choir: Salvation for the already saved.

Not discerning when or if to brick-wall or shun a "wayward member".

It stands to reason in ministry that to spread Christ's Gospel, we will indeed need to associate with morally ambiguous or dubious people.  Yet there is scriptural support for the shunning of the sin-riddled lay people, in the writings of Paul.

Paul's point was simple.  We stop our outreach when and if such outreach threatens to damage our Faith Walk, when it calls us away from our own salvation.  

When we become susceptible to "sin" or Destruction in its various forms, and that because we thought to engage with non-believers who were still slaves to those destructive behaviors.

In other words, while we advertise Christ's Gospel, our audience might be attempting to sell us sin, in return.

These words from a shepherd boy who became a king among his people...

"When I kept silent, I was roaring within continuously.

In silence was I stressed; the Lord’s hand was heavy upon me.

I considered my sin, and ruefully, as I thought to myself, more were uncovered in my mind that I had not acknowledged prior.

I vowed to myself and God that those awful acts had power over me no more.

What was the result?

The Lord’s plentiful forgiveness covered every part of it, from the most terrible to even the least of piddling trifles."

-an ancient shepherd boy who became a king among his people.