03-12-12 "Moral Excellence (A)" 1 Peter 2:4-12

 

The passage I read was 1 Peter 2:4-12

You can find that passage here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+2%3A4-12&version=NIV

The verse that most stood out to me:

¹² Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

As I reflect:

My reflection on this passage is a fairly simple one.  It is based on a building.  When any building is built, there must be a foundation and if that foundation is not strong or is laid crooked, It will become as evident in that building as it is in the leaning tower of Pisa.  For us the Cornerstone is Christ and if we are in fact built upon that cornerstone, then it ought to be evident in the building itself that it’s cornerstone is Jesus, the designer is The Father, and that the supporting structure is the Holy Spirit.  What we do and do not do; how we live or don’t live; what we say and don’t say; even how we think are all based on the cornerstone and the work of God in our lives.  We ought to think, live, speak in such a way that it is evident to all others that we are a holy possession of God who has been pulled out of darkness and into his wonderful light.  Peter urges us as I also urge you to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.  Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 

My response to the Lord:

My Lord, I know that my foundation is solid.  Very precious to me is the rock upon which I have been built.  May I glorify you in every way.  Lord lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from that evil which wages war against me.  Build me up strong that I will not fall when life’s storms come.  Father, use me as is best for your will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.  In the name of your Son Jesus I pray.