Rev. Patrick Vincent
“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” – 1 Peter 5:10
We are stablished, strengthened, and settled by the God of all grace, not on our own.
Suffering may be part of that.
This perfecting is all by virtue of our union in Christ.
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” 1 Peter 2:17
That about covers all the bases.
Don’t forget the source: this is coming from the impetuous Peter! What a change my Savior came make in one’s life.
This, from the once-impetuous-Apostle (who cut off Malchus’s ear), but now-wholly-reformed under the patient care of the Master:
“Be diligent to be found by Him in peace” – 2 Peter 3:14
That same transformation is available to you today.
After Peter’s first powerhouse of a sermon*, it says the people “were pierced to the heart.” Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like someone has stabbed you right in the chest by their words? Sometimes you read a scripture or you hear someone preach and it hurts your very heart! It’s as if the words cut into you and expose you. That is the Holy Spirit at work in you! God sees the heart. He pierces it to revive it. He pierces it to wake it up! It’s like a spiritual defibrillator!
To build muscle, you have to break it. Only God can create a new heart. Only God can grow your heart. Your heart has to break for what breaks His and then it will grow. Pray for Him to sing a new song over your heart. Psa 28:7
They were pierced and then asked, “What shall we do?”
Simple: Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a GIFT and Peter also calls him a PROMISE. God would never offer a gift and not give it. God would never speak a promise and not fulfill it. All you have to do is ask.
If God pierces you today, please allow him full access your heart. Repent and be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. It’s a win-win!
God Bless!
*Acts 2:14-47
When Peter announced to the first believers that they needed to fill Judas’s empty position*, he used a phrase that always glares at me. I feel it piercing my heart every time I read it. It’s almost as if those words growl and claw. He prays “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go WHERE HE BELONGS” [emp. added].
To go where he belongs. Ouch. I think we all know where that is.
“To go where he belongs” is the NIV translation. The KJ and NAS say, “to go to his own place” and the MSG says, “to go his own way.”
We all belong somewhere. There is a place where we are going to go. You and I cannot be in two places at once. It is either going to be here or it is going to be there. Only God can be in multiple places. Not even the enemy can do that.
There is no spiritual fence-riding. If you think you are straddling that fence, think again. As Peter prayed, God knows EVERYONE’S heart. He knows which side your heart is really on. We fool others and we may even fool ourselves, but there is no fooling God.
Going where you belong can be a comforting thought or a frightening one.
For a Child of the King, where you belong is in the house of your Father. Where you belong is a place you have longingly envisioned a million times and it will be a million times more magnificent that you ever could dream.
For a child of the world, where you belong is in the house of your father. Where you belong is a place you never ever thought of and it will be a million times more horrifying than you could have ever envisioned.
Where will you belong?
God bless!
*Acts 1:15-26
I don’t have any money. But what I do have, I’ll give to you.*
Peter said this to the lame beggar at the gate of the temple called Beautiful. The man had been handicap since birth. Every morning he was carried and set down at the gate where he would beg. This was his life.
One morning, He saw Peter and John pass by and asked to recieve alms. Peter stared him down, “Look at us!” The beggar got excited. He thought he was going to get some money! “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene – WALK!” In an instant his legs were strengthened and with a LEAP, the lame man walked. I imagine he probably did more than walk too. I don’t have any scripture to back this up, but I figure he most likely moonwalked.
Sometimes we ask God for something and He gives us something else. If God gives you something else, you can bank on that something else being much much better.
Sure, some extra money would’ve helped this man. No doubt about it. But God, through Peter, gave the lame man something far greater than he could have ever imagined: a new life! God is in the business of making things new and better.
One last thought: Could any other name have healed that man? In the name of Moses! No. In the name of Abraham! Nothing. In the name of Caesar! Give me a break. Only the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God has power. Just the name, folks! No other name EVER could done one little thing to help that man.
Be on the look out. If you ask God for something. He may surprise you with something… else. Something Beautiful.
God bless!
*Acts 3:1-10
