By The Renewing of Your Mind

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King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]

Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Chapters: THE BOOK OF 1 PETER
Message: By The Renewing of Your Mind

Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,

As I was working my first full day at my job since I started it two weeks I was reminded of why we are to leave the past in the past and not go back. I was also reminded of why I stopped working in merchandising in the first place. Nevertheless, I need to keep this job until something better comes up. Do you know what the one thing is that bugs me so much is? When you get something you want and realize it was not what you wanted. God’s will is strange sometimes, He will allow you to get what you desire to show you that HIS WAY IS THE ONLY WAY, [Romans 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.]

Well, you cannot read 1 Peter without the reminder that the suffering that Christians face, whether it be for wrongdoing or righteousness sake comes to God’s people first, [1 Peter 4:17-19  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?  18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?  19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.]

The Book of 1 Peter is the twenty-first book of the New Testament, the sixtieth book of the Bible, and contains five chapters. The author of this epistle (letter) is Peter and it was written to the Jewish exiles who were being persecuted for their Christian faith. The purpose of the letter was to warn them of the danger of persecution from those outside of the Church and how to handle those situations. What we are to learn from the book is that those who are walking with Christ will be enabled to suffer patiently, joyously, and to the glory of God. [1 Peter 4:12-13  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:  13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.]

Peter, wrote this letter when he was in Babylon to all Christians, but specifically to the Jewish believers, unlike other times when the persecution was in the church, this was happening outside of the church. Peter, begins his letter by reminding them and all of us that we belong to Jesus and He is our hope that does not fade away.

[1 Peter 1:1-6  Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,  2  Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.  3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  4  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,  5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:]

[ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:] We have heard of divers temptations, but these are a multitude of divers temptations, meaning one after another with no sign of relief. Peter, goes on to tell us that what these are and why it seems we face so many at one time, [1 Peter 1:7-10  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:  8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:  9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:]

[though it be tried with fire,] If Jesus suffered for His faith we will suffer for the same faith, and this is not for any punishments, this is solely because we believe in what the prophets of old have told us and are hanging to that same hope that they had. Think about it, if Jesus while in His flesh form did not believe that God sent Him save mankind do you think that He would have been used? Remember, Jesus, was tempted at all points just as we are, and yet remained sinless, [Hebrews 4:14-15  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.  15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.]

[Of which salvation the prophets have enquired] Jesus, came here willingly to fulfill the Scriptures, the prophets knew of this from the second that God revealed His plan to redeem mankind. I guarantee you that Moses, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and even Abraham anticipated when Jesus would come to redeem them. In fact, even the angels did.

[1 Peter 1:12-16  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.  13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  14  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:  15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;  16  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.]

[Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope] [Gird; To furnish; to equip; To bind by surrounding with any flexible substance.] What is the substance that we are to bind ourselves to that keeps not only helps us through these trials of our faith, but keeps us awake and hopeful too? The Word of God, of course. Well, technically, the Holy Spirit is the one who teaches us as He directs our every thought once we accept Christ as our Saviour, [John 16:13-14  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.  14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.]

[which things the angels desire to look into.] As much power as we think that the angels have, they really are powerless, they are merely God’s messengers. Yes, they have orders to follow and will do whatever they are commanded, but they actually have a choice too on whether or not to obey. Unlike mankind, a fallen angel does not get redemption, they get cast right into outer darkness and are in chains right now awaiting Christ’s judgment, [Jude 1:6  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.]

And speaking of redemption, we are saved by the grace of God and unless we believed in vain, we can never lose our salvation. This is why we need to taking our salvation more seriously, we were not redeemed so that we can live a sinful life, we were redeemed to live a holy life.

[1 Peter 1:16-23  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.  17  And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:  18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;  19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:  20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,  21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 23  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.]

[as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:] Just like the lamb that was sacrificed and its blood spread over the doorpost saved the souls of the people who were in the house, Jesus, did the same. And just like the ram that was sacrificed to give redemption to the sinner who bought their sincere offering, Jesus, did the same thing. However, unlike the animal sacrifices that needed to be given daily for redemption, the sacrifice that Jesus made, gives redemption forever to the one who comes to Him willingly, [Hebrews 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.]

[Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,] In all honesty, while we can get a picture of the suffering the Jesus faced on His way to and on the cross, we really cannot comprehend it all. While I know the pain I was in before I took Jesus seriously, and it was pretty bad, and while I know the pain I am in now and it can get pretty bad, I still cannot comprehend the pain that Jesus went through. I wish I could say that I have never let Jesus down since I dedicated my life to Him, but I have a few times, and thankfully, I have His grace on me when I am repentant as He is the same way with all who are.

[1 Peter 2:1-5  Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,  2  As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:  3  If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.  4  To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,  5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.]

[If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.] In order to taste the grace of God we first need to come with the realization that we are a sinner and that the price for sin is death and hell. Once we do that we can appreciate Jesus dying in our place, because our faith in Him does more than save our soul from hell, it also gives us direct communication with God, our Father.

[1 Peter 2:7-11  Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,  8  And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.  9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:  10  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.  11  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;]

[abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;] What are fleshly lusts that war against the soul? Well, spirits come in all forms. [Spirit; 1. Powers of mind distinct from the body. 2. A strong, pungent or stimulation liquor, usually obtained by distillation, as rum, brandy, gin, whiskey. 3. Temper; disposition of mind, habitual or temporary. 4. An immaterial intelligent being.]

While we have actual evil spirits that lurk about, there are evil man made spirits that can enter the body and alter our perception, thoughts, and influences. Anything that would be consumed, injected, inhaled, put into, or done with the body constitutes as fleshly lusts that war against the soul, [Galatians 5:19-21  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.]

Just think about it, we could get by on the thread of salvation, never submitting to the Holy Spirit as He attempts to turn our minds and hearts away from our own flesh, but what exactly would that accomplish? A lot more pain and sorrow. You see, we cannot get saved and remain living in the world, it is not possible as we now have within us the Holy Spirit. However, when we take full advantage of our salvation by living our lives through Christ, we not only save ourselves from unnecessary suffering, we will lead others to Christ.

[1 Peter 2:13-16,19-21  Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;  14  Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.  15  For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:  16  As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 19  For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.  20  For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.  21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:]

[when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently?] We can accept suffering when we know we have done something wrong, but it is not so easy when we are innocent. Well, I always say that there must have been something that God’s mercy saved me from, so suffering wrongfully was merely a reminder of how merciful God is, [Psalms 103:8-10  The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.  9  He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.  10  He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.]

Jesus, is our greatest example of overcoming unfair suffering, and let me tell you, if Jesus got the victory, so will we, through our faith. I have to tell you that I have been on both sides of the aisle here, suffering from sin and suffering for nothing, and the suffering you face from sin will teach you to fear God because it is much worse than any suffering we receive for doing nothing at all. How? It is the separation we have from God, and until we confess our sin, we will not feel the presence of God. And when we do not feel Him, we feel absolutely hopeless. Peter reminds us of why it is important to live righteously after we are saved.

[1 Peter 3:10-15  For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:  11  Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.  12  For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.  13  And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?  14  But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;  15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:]

[But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready] Do bad things happen to those who do good? Of course, it does. However, we who are saved do have God on our side, even the unfaithful and all they need to do for Him to help them is repent. No one wants to suffer, but Jesus is our greatest example of overcoming suffering for well doing, and if Jesus got the victory, so will we.

[1 Peter 3:17-18,21-22  For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.  18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 21  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:  22  Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.]

[not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,] Our being baptized with the Holy Spirit upon our faith in Christ might cleanse and save our soul, but it does not save us from the consequence of sin that defiles our bodies should we remain living in sin. Faithful or not, we have enough to deal with things like censorship, false accusations, persecutions, and suffering for things we did not do. However, the faithful are better prepared.

[1 Peter 4:1-2,4-7  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;  2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.  4  Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:  5  Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.  6  For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. 7  But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.]

[Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them] Let me tell you, when you stop doing the things that you once found pleasing to your flesh, you face some suffering because the devil does not like that, and neither do the people you use to do things with. They do not just think it strange, they are down right appalled that we do not run with them. The dead, meaning those who are not saved and speak evil about us, they will give an account to Jesus for what they have done to us, [2 Thessalonians 1:7-8  And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,  8  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:]

You see, when we are faithful to God, that does not mean we never sin again, it does mean that we are remorseful, and repentant of sin. And it also means that we have the presence of God with us at all times. When you know God is with you, that is all the hope you need that He will get your through every trial, even the ones that resulted in sin. While it is certainly better to obey God rather than seek forgiveness of sin all the time, that is what grace is for. Peter reminds us of what our lives were like before Christ.

[1 Peter 4:11-14,16  If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.  12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:  13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.  14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.   16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.]

[Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial] I keep telling my husband and mother that this is what we are going through right now. We may feel defeated or like giving up sometimes, but where would we go or what life would we have if we did? I know that I would never be able to go back to the life I lived, and that alone keeps me singing, [It is joy unspeakable and full of glory, Full of glory, full of glory; It is joy unspeakable and full of glory, Oh, the half has never yet been told.]. We must remember, one; we are setting the example of Christ, two; we are not alone in this, and three; Jesus is with us every step of the way.

[1 Peter 5:6-10  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  9  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.  10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.]

[after that ye have suffered a while,] Everyone faces affliction, but we do not have to let it get the best of us. Just think about what we faced without Christ, all the stress of trying to figure things out that have no end. At least, with Christ with us we have some hope, not only in finding joy and an end to the affliction, but in knowing that one day we will finally see Jesus face to face, [Revelation 21:4-5  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.]

Today’s Prayer: Jesus, It is still amazing to me that with my past that You love me and made me one of Yours. Although I do not deserve this honor I am grateful and thankful for the sacrifice You made for me and for your endless mercies. There truly is joy unspeakable and full of glory when I am reminded that the trial of my faith is more precious than gold, and when I do come out of it with You, I shall come forth as gold. It is time I stop trying to handle my trials on my own, hand them all over to you, and keep then there. Thank You, Lord for everything you have brought me through already, the lessons you taught me along the way, and the continuous blessings You give me as I endure these trials, and put my trust in You, I pray this in Your name, Jesus, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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