Welcome to Day 2399 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2399 – Marching Orders for Soldiers of the Cross – Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message – 06/09/2024 Our Strange Life – Marching Orders for Soldiers of the Cross. 1 Peter 4:7-11 Last week, our focus was on the attitude that we, as Christ's Followers, should have and on the possibility that our lives may shock the unbelieving crowd. Today, Peter gives us Marching Orders for Soldiers of the Cross. Today’s passage is 1 Peter 4:7-11, on page 1891 of your Pew Bibles. I will read it from the NIV and the NLT today to give us a better perspective of this passage.  7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. The name “Peter" and the adjective “practical" go hand in hand. Being married helped. So did his career as a fisherman. Before following Christ, Peter was a man of action, which is evident throughout Christ's ministry. Peter’s life consisted of tangible, practical things: boats, nets, fish, sweat, hard work, family—the nitty-gritty of real life. We shouldn’t be surprised to discover his rugged personality and to-the-point style flow through his writing. Being neither scholarly nor sophisticated, Peter had little interest in theoretical discussions. Truth was meant to be lived, not simply talked about and then ignored. The way he figured, if there is a cause worth fighting for, fight—don't philosophize! The man rolled up his sleeves and dug in if urgency required action. When Peter began to dictate this letter to suffering saints, he didn’t beat around the fig tree; he got down to basics. Urgency led to simplicity. Amid his discussion of facing suffering with hope in Christ, Peter can’t avoid the practical effects of living in light of Christ's return. He doesn't get bogged down speculating about the hows, whens, and wheres of the end times; he focuses instead on the question, “So what?" He answers this bottom-line...