November 24
Daniel 7-8
Psalm 130
Proverbs 28:8-9
I Peter 4
Serious
“Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be serious and disciplined for prayer. Above all, maintain an intense love for each other, since love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified in everything. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.” I Peter 4:7-11 HCSB
I think we would all agree that these are serious times. The times we live in are not carefree and easy-going. We are all looking over our shoulder for the next shoe to drop. There is just a collective sense of dread and anxiety about the future. And it is with good reason. The economy is bad and there is no indication that is going to get better any time soon. We don’t know when the next variant of Covid may hit that proves to be deadly to us or a loved one. International tensions are high with conflict breaking out in regions all over the world. Divisions are deepening over racial issues, vaccination status, and political differences. Everyone is walking on eggshells afraid they will say or do the wrong thing. In this passage, Peter tells us what we, as believers, need to be doing in these troubling times. First, we need to be disciplined in prayer. Yesterday we read about Daniel’s commitment to prayer that prepared him for the battles he faced each day. God will give us the strength and wisdom to navigate our days if we spend time soaking in His Word and fellowshipping with Him. But we can’t just lock ourselves in our houses and pray all the time. We don’t need to isolate ourselves and become hermits. After we have prepared ourselves through prayer, then we need to be about the business of living.
Peter instructs us to maintain an intense love for each other. An intense love is not possible from afar. Intense love is personal and up close. We need to be there for each other. We are the hands and feet of Jesus to a lost and dying world. They will know we are Christians by our love, not by shaking our finger at them in condemnation or shouting our opinions on social media. Being hospitable means that we welcome our neighbors into our homes, and we share life with them. And we serve others. In whatever way God has gifted us, we need to be using that gift to benefit and serve others. Now is the time to be serious in our faith. It is not the time to be concerned with our own interests and well-being. God will take care of us. We need to be about God’s business because the end of all things is near. When we look back on our lives, we will never regret the time we spent serving and loving others, but we may regret all the time we spent selfishly thinking about our own needs and chasing after things that have no lasting value. And in serving others, we need to make sure that we are giving all the glory and honor to Jesus who gives us the ability and strength to serve. When people look at our lives and examine our actions, they should not think how great we are. Our actions and words should be an arrow pointing at how great and awesome our Savior is.
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