Hi, everyone! Sorry I didn't manage to get this post up, yet. Not as an excuse, but the reason was a lot of homework the past few nights. So, sorry this took so long!
So, this week ar youth, it was neat because we actually had a grade 12 guy preaching. He did a really great job and it was SO cool to see a youth up there preaching to their peers! The lesson was on how our salvation gives us hope. I know for me, personally, who's been going through a bit of a rough patch in life, it was really encouraging just to be reminded of it all. The section we studied was 1 Peter 1:3-12 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%201:3-12%20&version=NIV1984)
The first point was that our salvation rests in Jesus' act of dying for us (verse 3), and not out acts. We are all sinners and we can't "earn our way into heaven" by being "good people". God does want us to obey His commands because we are His image-bearers, but we do that out of love for God, not to try and get our pass into heaven. When we get up there, we will have to face God for all our sins, but it will not be some tally list of "you did ___# of things wrong... you gotta' cut ___ to get into heaven. Sorry, bud, but you're gonna' be taking a lifelong trip to hell it seems. NEXT... " We have the gift of salvation there for us; we simply need to truly choose to recieve it.
The next point was that EACH AND EVERY one of us has an AMAZING future before us (verses 4-5). This future mostly means in heaven, really. As verse 4 says, it is "an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade". So, we have to wait for it. However, as we wait, God guides and protects us. Verse 5 says we are those "who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time". God is not just telling us that we have a great prize ahead, but it's entirely on our shoulders to get there. He's like a coach for life; a GOOD coach. A good coach doesn't just say "well, the finish line is WAYYYYYY over that mountain. Good luck reaching it!" and then sit back and relax; a good coach goes "Alright, you may not be able to see it yet, but you trust me enough to know that there IS a finish line over there. I will go beside you the whole way until we reach it. I will let you be your own guide when you wish, but if you ask it of me, I will be there to help."
The third point was about not sweating the hard times (verses 6-9). We ALL have hard times in our lives. That can be something as little as a really long night up late doing work/homework to trying to take your own life becuase you've just given up on life. Everybody faces their own trials. There are some important things to remember in these trials.
1)Even when we are going through rough times, we need to be thankful to God. You might be wondering "Why should I be thankful to a God who is putting me through miserable things?" Well, firstly, He sent his ONLY son to DIE for YOU. THAT is how much He loves you. Secondly... well, second is our second point.
2)Trials are a testing of our faith. As verse seven says "These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." God uses trials to test us. He wants to make sure we really do have faith, because when we do, our faith and God should be the first things we fall back to when life gets rough.
3)It takes fires to purify gold. Our goal in life is really to become as much like God (in terms of being good, not in terms of being all-powerful or all-knowing). We need trials to grow and shape us and bring us closer to God. Just like gold has to be put through extreme heat and flames to be purified, we have to be "burned" to be more "pure".
The final point is that we really need to be able to understand and also appreciate what an AMAZING gift our salvation is. This refers to verses 10-12 which say "10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things."
Our salvation is the only real true salvation. There are so many false ones out there, but ours is real. There where prophets who never saw any of this happen like we did, but still believed. We have all the evidence of God right in front of us in the Bible, and yet people still do not believe. But we are blessed to have that advantage. Also, as it says at the end "Even angels long to look into these things". I feel that puts it into perspective a bit; angels who serve God want to be able to see/know what we see/know.
Also, well, JESUS DIED FOR US. He loves each of us SO much. If you were the ONLY person on earth, he still would have given his life for you. Giving away your life to someone is a pretty big gift. We can never pay it back to him, but we can still appreciate knowing what he really gave us.
So, well, my little personal thoughts down here. As I said before, I found this majorly encouraging. Mostly the third point, that is. The last little while has been rough, but, looking back, I can see God with me every step of the way. Also, well, I can certainly say that these "fires" have been "purifiying" me. I've been changing a LOT lately; and I really do mean a LOT. For those people who knows me personally, you'd likely agree that the girl who left school for summer in June is not the same one who came back in September. God's been using these trails to test and shape me. Also, I found that He has been what I fall back to more and more now then ever. Before where I would turn to family or friends first, I've started turning to God first. So, though the past little while has been rough, they have also been an experience I would not want to have op-ted out of if it means I came out the same person I went in as.
For now, that's all! Feel free to comment thoughts! :D
God bless! YOU ARE LOVED!
P.S. If you are AT ALL interested, I have written two songs recently to/about God. They are on my personal blog (http://emeraldsandstones.blogspot.com) I'm not a proffesional writer or anything, but if you want, feel free to check them out! :) They're in the posts "Life and Writing Songs" and "Move in Me"!
No comments:
Post a Comment