My prayer for you comes from 1 Peter 4:7-10
Peter is writing to encourage the scattered Church, to those who have had a rough time due to persecution. But his words from the above scripture are just as relevant today as they were back then.
We have no idea the hour of Christ’s return, but it’s important that we learn to live with the eternal in mind. To work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, (Phil 2:12) and include our brothers and sisters in Christ in that process at the same time.
The sanctification journey is not all about us
My prayer for you is that you would
- Be self controlled and sober minded for the purpose of prayer. That you would pray at your best time, not in your left over time when you are to tired for anything else. And instead of shopping list prayers where not much thought is required, that you would instead intentionally meditate on the things and people you bring before God in prayer.
- More than anything, keep loving each other actively, because love covers over a multitude of sins. I pray that you would be known for the love that you show all believers that you come into contact with, especially towards those that get on your nerves!
- Show hospitality to one another without complaint. I pray that the way you welcome people into your space(not just your homes) would cause them to think about God and themselves differently. If you struggle with showing hospitality or think its not for you, I pray that you will have more of a desire to provide it.
- Use the gifts that God has given you, not for yourself, but to serve others. I pray that you would learn about the way that God has wired you when it comes to spiritual gifts, or encourage you to continue your journey of learning how you can contribute to the body of Christ through serving. If you need to ask those who know you well, what they see in you when it comes to this stuff then do it.
My hope is that you would consider these things that Peter has instructed, and if you already practice some of them, that you would encourage others to learn and practice as well. And that we would see how these things relate to our sanctification and to being salt and light to the world around us.
We may need to think out of the box when it comes to hospitality these days, but let’s ask the Lord to give us some creative ideas. 😏
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I hear ya and it depends where you are as well. Here in Melbourne, we were in hard lockdown for about 7 months until recently. Which means we can start having in our houses which is great. But that’s not the only way we can show hospitality, whenever we are sharing space with other people there is an opportunity to show really good hospitality.
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Continuing to live with the eternal in mind – heard a message on similar lines.
All wonderful points for us to consider.
Thank you for sharing.
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Yo, yeah i understood what you meant, all good. I heard a similar message as well, at my Church lol but I found it really helpful so I wanted to share. Your in Australia right?
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Yes, am in Australia 🇦🇺
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I meant to say heard a message in similar lines today and I find it often a beautiful coincidence when God tells us similar things through different sources.
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So true “sanctification isn’t only about us.” As I ponder this it’s certainly a sobering reminder that while we live solely to please the Lord, we must consider that our actions (the way we go about this) will have lasting impressions on others.
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Howdy Dee, thanks for dropping by and Amen to what you have said.
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I second this. It’s crazy how each time I think of sanctification, I think of myself. I love how you drew our attention to how it relates to others here.
Also, this is sentence sums up my life right now🤦🏾♀️
“ Be self controlled and sober minded for the purpose of prayer. That you would pray at your best time, not in your left over time when you are to tired for anything else.”
God please help me🙏🏾
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Thanks for sharing.
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Hey no worries, thanks for visiting.
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Thank you for this post!!
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No worries, and thanks for dropping by!
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Just finished Jen Wilkin’s Bible study of 1 Peter with other women from church–a book chock full of truth, instruction, and challenge! You are so right about the impact of genuine, consistent love, especially among believers. Onlookers can’t help but notice the striking contrast between that kind of dynamic in relationships, and the world’s dynamic of “looking out for #1.” Praying they will know we are Christians by our love–and desire to know our Savior too.
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Thank you for praying the scriptures over your readers. The part about giving the best part of my day to prayer—not the leftovers—really spoke to me. Thank you, brother!
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No worries David. Thanks for dropping by dude.
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