January 15, 2023 . . .

In I Peter 4:1-6, Peter reminds the church that they must put on the mind of Christ, thereby arming themselves against the pressures of the world. Peter suggests five ways in which to do this. 1.) We must die to ourself. Jesus died so that we might live, even though He was lied about, suffered physically, was betrayed, and faced unbelief. 2.) We must make a commitment to seek/do God’s will, not ours. We should not live in the flesh taking on the many forms of lust. And this must be a lifelong commitment to do the will of God.  3.)  We must be finished with sin. We have had enough of sin in our life before we gave our life to God. 4.) We must be ready to be considered strange or different from the non-believers in the world. There are even some churches in today’s world that accept abominations. If the world does not think we are strange then we are probably too much in the world accepting worldly things. 5.) We must follow the example of those believers who have gone on before us. Judgment will come for everyone according to God. As Christ-followers, it is our goal to get ourselves out of this world and get this world out of us. And if you fall back, then recognize it and return to God. Read Romans 6:6-13 where Paul gives you some very specific ways to live your life. Jesus Christ has given you a new life through His resurrection. Now you can go out and point the world to Him.