Sunday September 11, 2022

Sunday – September 11th – 1 Peter 2:11     -----     
 
11) Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.
 
The Daily Walk Bible inspirational thought for today:
     THIS IS THE FUNDAMENTAL THING, THE MOST SERIOUS THING OF ALL: THAT WE ARE ALWAYS IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD.*
 
    Welcome to Sunday. Not only is today the day we traditionally gather to worship God, but September 11th is also one of those days that will live on as a day to remember for generations to come. It is one of those days where people will state just where they were when the news came across of the planes flying into the Trade Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC, and the heroic efforts of passengers taking a plane into a field in Pennsylvania instead of the White House. Beth and I along with our oldest daughter, my in-laws, and twenty other church folks were on a mission trip in Juarez Mexico. Being out of the country and trying to make our way back across borders that were closing will be a vivid memory for all of us. The trip back to St. Louis was a 23-hour ride on a Greyhound bus filled with anxious and concerned people who really had little idea what had actually happened on that morning in September. The inspirational thought for today would have been a great comfort to us that day. Where were you on September 11, 2001?
 
    Our pick verse today is Peter’s attempt to provide comfort to his first century readers of his letter. The early Christians throughout the Roman Empire were targeted by the government authorities and the Jewish religious leaders as a treat to their status quo. As believers, we are foreigners and aliens in this world because our real home is with God. Heaven is not the pink-cloud-and-harp existence popular with in religious folklore. Heaven is where God dwells and eternity in Heaven operates according to God’s principles and values. It is God’s eternal, victorious, and unshakable Kingdom. After God judges and destroys all sin, the Kingdom of Heaven will rule every corner of earth. John saw this day in a vision, and he cried out “look the home of God is with His people”. Our ultimate loyalty should always be to God’s truth, God’s way of life, and to encourage His followers. Because are loyalty is to God, we often will feel like we are strangers in a world that would prefer to ignore the word of God, the will of God, and the way of God. When we make the choice to follow Jesus, we have placed our citizenship in Kingdom of Heaven. We are to live today in anticipation of our eternal life with God in Heaven.

Blessings
   Pastor Jim
Monday – September 12th – 1 Peter 2:12

*The Daily Walk Bible NLT: Explore God's Path to Life (p. 3293). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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