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In 1 Peter 2-3, we read of responsibilities that Christians have toward Government, Masters/employers and spouses. The section culminates with these words… “and who is he who will harm you if you are excited about doing good”.
God’s word does at least two things for us; it prepares us for heaven and it teaches a way of living so we can live peaceably on this earth.
The Government may oppress you but generally not if you respect their authority.
Masters/employers may oppress you but generally not if you are a hard worker.
Husbands may oppress you but generally not if you respect their authority and are subject to it.
Living a Christian life can protect you generally from the harm others may inflict upon you. In addition, the Christian way of life is a powerful tool and Satan is afraid of it because it leads other people to God and away from Satan. Satan... the cowardly Lion.
When Joseph was about 17 years old his brothers took him and threw him into a pit and conspired to kill him. At the last minute some slave traders came by and they sold him into slavery. Eventually he ended up in a land far away from his home and was sold to an Egyptian.
I’m sure Joseph was very emotionally troubled by all this and had a lot of questions. What had he done to deserve such treatment? What did the future hold in store and where was God in all this?
Twenty-two years later when Joseph was about 39 years old his brothers came to Egypt looking for food because there was none where they lived. Eventually Joseph revealed who he was to them. They were terrified at his power and how he might punish them. But that’s not what happened. Instead he told them…
“ Do not be distressed and angry with yourselves, because it was to save your lives that God sent me ahead of you…. it was not you that sent me here but God”.
Sometimes bad things happen to us and we have a lot of questions about how God our Father could allow such things to occur. Some even lose their faith in God. The faithful (like Joseph), while not understanding the reason for what’s occurring, never lose their faith and confidence in God.
Joseph’s attitude was that the troubles he was going through were for some greater purpose and he had that confirmed to him 22 years after he was sold as a slave.
The next time we are having some troubles remember Joseph and wait for something great to happen. God uses his people to achieve great things and he rewards them.
Joseph was a much favored slave in the home of Potiphar. He had been bought and paid for but because God and his blessings were with Joseph… Potiphar recognized Joseph’s abilities and elevated him to a level of friendship and partnership.
Somewhere along the way Potiphar’s wife recognized Joseph for other reasons and invited him to have sex with her. It must have come as a surprise to her that Joseph declined. My guess is that Mrs. Potiphar had never been rejected before.
In declining her offer Joseph tried to reason with her, he explained that her husband had been so good to him that he could not betray him and even more importantly could not betray God who had been even better to Joseph than Potiphar had been. But she was beyond reasoning. Every day she tried to entice him to have sex with her.
Lessor men would sooner or later have sex with her. That’s what she wanted why not give it to her? But Joseph believed in God and that belief propelled him to resist her and not be in a situation where he was alone with her. He was acting with his brain and not his hormones.
But one day Mrs. Potiphar set a trap for Joseph, she dismissed all her household servants and waited for Joseph to come in to attend to his duties. No doubt she was dressed in a revealing way and looked good and smelled good. Once more she grabbed his cloak to prevent him from leaving and begged him to go to bed with her but Joseph slipped out of his cloak and got away.
Realizing that despite her best attempts she would never have sex with Joseph she made up a story and accused him of attempted rape. If she couldn’t get him one way she would get him another way. And so Joseph went to prison.
I’m convinced that Joseph was no different than any other young man. He liked women and was attracted to what God had created for man but he also knew there was a line he could not cross.
Joseph is a great example for young men today. There is a class of women today who are very sexually aggressive whose only desire is to use their charms to achieve sexual victory over God’s people and over the spouses of God’s people… undoubtedly as agents of Satan.
Don’t sin against your body which is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Don’t sin against a husband and most importantly don’t sin against God who has done so much for us. Use the brains that God gave you and control yourselves.
First of all when looking for a church it helps to have a little Bible knowledge. After all there were several New Testament churches that God was not happy with. Not happy at all. So it makes sense to see what kind of church God did not like.
You should want to be a member of a church that will help you grow as a Christian. That kind of church will hold you accountable for when you are falling a little short and encourage you to do better. When you do good they’ll slap you on the back and be so proud of you and it will make you feel so good you’ll want to do even better.
You should also want to be a member of a church that doesn’t tolerate open and willful sin. I see plenty of churches where men and women are living together outside of vows of marriage. Thats just not right. God doesn’t like it and neither should we and you shouldn’t want to be part of a church that tolerates anything like it.
When you look at a church look at it’s people. A church ought to have people in it that have some long marriages in. People who are true to their vows. Sometimes divorce can’t be helped but a church should have some marriages in it that have weathered some storms. A Church should be full of friendly welcoming people. Hospitality is big with the Lord… real big. If a church doesn’t care about you when you visit, chances are she won’t ever care much about you after you are a member there. A Church ought to be full of people who have great Bible knowledge. After all it is just one book isn’t it? God’s people should love God’s book and know it inside and out.
In short look for a church that is producing people who look like Jesus Christ. If it’s not then, well… it’s not much of a church.
In 1 Peter we read a letter that was written to Christians who were having their faith assaulted by persecution and trials.
In the first chapter we read of three actions of faith. In verses 4 and 5 Peter tells them that they have an inheritance that no one can take away because God is guarding their promised salvation through their faith. No one could take away their salvation (including Satan) because God promises protection to the faithful.
In verse 7 we read that faith is proved through the overcoming of trials and temptation. What happens if faith consistently fails in the face of temptation? It’s not faith… it’s fake faith because it has failed the test.
In verse 9 we read that we can receive “the end of our faith”… the salvation of our souls. Faith has a beginning and it has an end. It can’t stop half way through the race it has to cross the finish line to reach the prize of salvation.
There are three actions of true faith. True faith carries with it God’s promise of protection. True faith overcomes trials and temptations and true faith continues to the end to receive salvation.
Only true faith results in salvation. Don’t be deceived by the fake faith that Satan peddles.
Back when dad was alive he and mom used to mentor and help several young families. When we were moving mom out of her home I had the opportunity to read some of the personal letters of gratitude that were sent to my parents. One family had a young child that died of leukemia another family had some drug problems, another was about to lose their home, etc. In the end several of these families got things straightened out and in turn… help other people.
Recently a woman and her adult child traveled from Houston to Bulverde just to see mom. They brought food and visited with her and went to church with her. My brother is the one who reported this to me and he said the woman told mom… “you were always my rock”.
It stirs my heart just to think about it and encourages me to be involved in the lives of others… and I hope it encourages you. Mom is going to be 80 years old this year and I dread losing her but knowing that so many love her and care for her is very heart warming. Thank you for not forgetting about her.
