Our Journey Through The Great Finale From
Peter - Book 1
A Message for Twenty First Century
People
By Peggy Harris, Chair W.A.S.H. Board
Let's look at this message
from God through Peter as people who are sojourners, exiles, (all of us
away from our home - which is heaven) and elect or chosen ones. When we
become Christians we are considered chosen because we have responded to
a call from God to us. As Christian women and men we are expected to
give a faithful response to this call with the help of the Holy Spirit.
The result of this response produces the fruit of a Christ-like life.
Christ is the one to whom we owe our allegiance. In Christ we are a new
creation with a living hope (or lively hope), which continually
challenges us forward in conquering life's problems. These problems may
be difficulty in our family ties, our work, or our relationships with
each other. It is this inward, subjective hope that holds us steadfast
as we contemplate the end of the Christian journey and our eternal
future. As Christians, our inheritance is not subject to decay or
dissolution. It is eternal! It is incapable of pollution or
defilement. Like the imaginary Amaranth flower it is unfading and
nonperishable. That we have an inheritance, is as certain as the
faithfulness of God and is guarded (protected by the garrison of
heavenly troops) for us in the dwelling place of God.
Our faith can be developed to fully trust God and be confident that in
His way of life, we will be fully satisfied in the deepest yearnings of
our soul. We look forward to our final deliverance at the Second Coming
of Christ.
We rejoice and leap for joy in the living hope that we can feel an
exaltation and freedom of spirit amid the burdensome trials of life,
because we know that God will have the last word in the great battle
between good and evil. In a world influenced by the powers of evil,
troubles of every type are unavoidable and at times we are sorrowful and
distressed. We may be subjected to a variety of annoyances, problems,
disappointments, and grief, which Satan uses to destroy our personal
faith in God.
The quality of our personal faith is revealed by the magnitude of the
problems our faith can surmount. We are as gold tested and refined by
fire. When we have gone through this refining process our value is
fully displayed before the universe. The evaluation God places upon us
as redeemed will be disclosed at the Second Coming of Christ and
throughout eternity. Then He will bestow on us the glorious possessions
of eternity.
We have not personally seen Jesus, yet by faith and trust we can
experience a personal union with our Savior that words cannot describe.
We may now taste the sweetness of the presence of God as we allow our
femininity or masculinity to be directed by the Holy Spirit.
The prophets were not motivated by personal whims but by the direct
influence of the Spirit upon their minds. They spoke as the Spirit's
mouthpieces and wrote as His penmen. These prophets not only served
their own generation but also the people of Peter's day through the
prophecies fulfilled in the ministry of Christ and which are still
finding fulfillment in the growth of the modern Christian church.
All of the beings of heaven are intensely interested in the revelation
of God's character as exhibited in our salvation. Each manifestation of
God's love and justice from the creation of Adam and Eve down to the
present has been a source of wonder and gratification to angels. They
are interested in the outcome of this drama because their own future
peace is dependent
upon the results of the great controversy between good and evil.
Just as the Oriental gathers up the long folds of the outer garment and
tucks them into the waistband prior to physical effort such as walking
or running, so we are called to prepare our minds for diligent
activity. As Christians, we are to gather up the loose ends of our
thinking, and cease speculating on unprofitable topics, and exercise our
mind on the great truths of salvation revealed by the Holy Spirit. We
must be intellectually and spiritually sober and balanced to persevere
in the hope we have in Jesus. The purpose of the gospel is to restore
the divine image in us while we are still in an imperfect world. We are
redeemed away from our aimless traditions. This world is only our
temporary residence. Heaven is our Home!
Our personal relationship with God will lead us to live life fully and
richly with freedom. Although earthly slaves are purchased and freed by
means of silver or gold, our spiritual ransom depends on an infinitely
more precious payment. God gave His only Son for each woman, man and
child.
It is only through the Christian life that we can successfully eradicate
personal and social evils. As Christians we find satisfying meaning in
the present life and hope for the future. A distinctly new way of life
is needed to replace the aimless, futile philosophy of paganism.
The presentation of Christ as the redeeming Lamb was not an emergency
plan introduced to meet an unforeseen change of circumstances, but was
part of God's eternal purpose. Christ's life, death, and resurrection
are the only basis for our hope of deliverance. Our invincibility as
Christians centers in a resurrected Christ. A Christian's affection
must extend over many
areas of life that may not be lovable. It covers all incidents and
includes all people. When we have been born again to a new life in
Christ the word of God is sown in our hearts. (See the parable of the
Sower Matt. 13:3-9, 18-23.) By faithful obedience to the truth of God
we are ensured of everlasting friendship with the Eternal God.
The Lively Stones
Peter talks about our lively hope, then lively stones. When we become
Christians and make Jesus the center of our life we begin to reflect
through our lives the facets of His character. The Holy Spirit uses
this to attract others to God. Others observing us have the opportunity
to see a wonderful peace, happiness and trust that they do not have. We
have become alive with the presence of God.
We are told that if we make Christ, the living stone, our foundation we
will only then be lively stones. This temple, (the church) of living
stones, will reflect through each one of us the living light to the
world. As living stones we are jets of light piercing the darkness of
error and superstition. Our lives then reveal the strong contrast
between truth and error.
On Submission
Peter repeatedly relates our submission to government, business, and
marriage to our submission to God. We must first ask ourselves how we
are to submit to God. We are called to be whole-heartedly a child of
God. We are to offer ourselves completely, obeying God because we have
truly come to know God as our Friend and want to share our life with
Him. We then bear the concerns of God in our hearts. That is the
tender concern the Creator has for each created being. This means
opening our hearts to be filled and nurtured by the Holy Spirit as a
mother tenderly cares for her child. Only then can we have the kind of
spirit that enables us to be true, faithful, honest, a helper in all of
our relationships whether it is to government, business or marriage.
When this godly relationship is in our lives and also in the lives of
our spouse or people we work with we will be joyous, creative, and be
living life to the fullest. As team partners, this relationship will be
that bit of heaven on earth that is a powerful example to others in the
world. We are willing to be friends that can at times defer to one
another to reach the goals we share. While working together we can
freely exercise the give and take that indicates our true love and
concern for each other. We become truly witnesses of God's power to
change our sinful lives to
glorious, victorious living.
In committed marriages, through difficulties, perplexities, and
discouragement the husband and wife determine to be all they can
possibly be to each other. They encourage each other with mutual love
and forbearance. They will experience the warmth of true friendship.
Husband and wife will treat each other as God treats them, by never
forcing the other against their will or abusing the other's submission
to personal wishes. Love cannot be retained by force. Successful
marriage partners will not isolate each other, or shut themselves away
from each other or from others. To do so is selfishness.
Some husbands, men in positions of authority, pastors and other church
leaders, have taken Peter's words to mean that they have the right to
"force" women to submit to their every wish. Such behavior removes from
them every vestige of human worth. This is a satanic perversion and
must be treated as such. If men who do such criminal acts do not repent
of their sin and go into Christian counseling to help them overcome such
tendencies, others must remove them from their positions of authority.
If he is a husband the wife has a responsibility to herself and her
children to have him leave the household. If action is not taken, then
by our own act of doing nothing we may bear false witness and thus
condone such vile behavior. We then are guilty of teaching our children
from generation to generation that this kind of behavior is acceptable
and Christian. This is the vilest misrepresentation of God to our
children, neighbors, community and family.
Men and women must place their highest priority on allegiance to the One
who created each of us and restored us. Only then can we have the kind
of strength to deal with others in unpleasant situations. In life we
are not always treated fairly, and may be abused, raped physically or by
words, but there is power in that inner beauty that comes from God.
This power of love and kindness is the coals of fire that can "destroy"
our enemies. It is the love of God that can help us to separate our
selves from a destructive relationship. If the situation we are in is
not destructive, it is also the powerful love of God through us that may
be able to warm our spouse's heart to melt before God. If their heart
does not melt (we must remember it is their choice) then the way we
treat them with Christian love may be the only bit of heaven they will
ever know.
We must take a deeper look at what Peter is really saying about
submission. Women have been told by well meaning friends and pastors
that they must endure unchristian treatment by their spouse whether he
professes to be a Christian or not. This text on submission in 1st
Peter is quoted as their authority for this advice. Does God say one
thing in one place, then completely reverse His counsel in another? God
is not a fickle God. We need also to look at the Ten Commandments as
well as what Jesus taught the disciples about true servanthood.
The Ten Commandments teach us what our relationship to God and each
other is to be. Any relationship or person that interferes with our
relationship to God that we allow to continue, then becomes as a false
God in our life. Anti-Christ is anything that takes the place of God in
our life. Putting self before God by self-depreciation or being
co-dependent, we are placing our selves before God.
When we are living in an intolerable situation of abuse and suffer
either physical or mental anguish, feelings of hatred will result and
take their toll on us. This may take on the form of violent physical
action or turn inward with disease that can eventually destroy us.
Either way this is murder.
We can commit spiritual adultery by allowing an earthly relationship to
separate us from our relationship with God.
By allowing ourselves to remain in slavery to another person by our own
choice, we are causing that person to break the eighth commandment; "You
will not steal".
When Jesus taught His disciples in John 13, He exemplified true
servanthood by washing their feet. There was no one else to do this for
them and they were reluctant to care for each other. Even when He did
this act of love for them and explained it to them, they did not
understand it because none of them, at that time, were willing to wash
His feet. It was only later, after His death and resurrection that they
began to fully understand that by being a servant of God we may lift
each other up to a higher quality of life. We will not be too proud to
help each other achieve success in this life. Likewise we will not be
too proud to accept help along life's way. By Christ's example we are
all made equals to serve.
Peter advises us that in submitting ourselves first to God, our lives
will be changed. When people realize that we are truly children of the
King of the Universe nothing nor anyone else can permanently harm us or
separate us from that relationship. God calls men and women to a high
calling to no longer live for evil lusts, but for the will of God. For
too long men and women have wasted enough of their past lives doing the
will of those who do not truly represent God. These evildoers will
think it is strange that we will no longer associate with that kind of
destructive evil behavior.
No discrimination
In God there is no class, race, or sex discrimination. God has chosen
us to give the world a glimpse of heaven through us. God helps us to
deal with others honestly and fairly. Through our continued
relationship with Him, we develop integrity and purity in all that we
do. We may be
witnesses of God to our families, our place of work, as well as our
government.
It is the power of God in our lives that gives us the sweet peace in the
midst of strife, pain, and suffering. That is truly freedom!
REFERENCES:
Desire of Ages, Chapter
"The Temple Cleansed Again"
Ministry of Healing, Chapters
"The Builders of the Home"
"Help in Daily Living" Section,
"The Discipline of Trial"
SDA Bible Commentary on 1st Peter
Testimonies Volume 9, Pgs., 173, 174, 180-181
RESOURCES:
Jack Anders, MSW, LCSW, AGS
Family Counseling
1900 Armond Lane
Silver Spring, MD 20905 (301) 384-3908
Becky Barker MSC
Sexual Offender and Victim Therapist
118 Bronstrom Drive
Morganton, NC 28655 (828) 433-4465
Michael Deming, M.Div,MA
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
200 Tranquility Lane
Portland, TN 37148 (615) 325-7642
Bobbie Drake, M.D.d., LPC
Sexual Abuse Specialist
Protocol Seminars
701 West Orchard Ave.
Nampa, ID 83651 (208) 648-9525
Michael Jefferson, MA
4220 Ammendale Road
Beltsville, MD 20705 (301) 385-0689
Pastor Glenn and Carol Munson
Redlands Seventh-day Adventist Church
520 Brookside Avenue
Redlands, CA 92373 (909) 793-6337
Lynn Schwindt, MA, NCC
Counseling
16616 Batson Road
Spencerville, MD 20868 (301) 421-9659
Elder Richard O. Stenbakken
Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries Director
Family Therapy
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600 (301) 680-6780
Carolyn Watkins
Consumer Resource Development
Seminars for battered women
6806 Knollwood Drive
Douglasville, GA 30135 (404) 489-8956
This page last updated on Sunday January 29, 2006 11:25 AM
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