Life Development Toolbox - October 06
in this issue
-- 1 Peter 2:4-12
-- New Bible Study Course
Welcome to the latest edition of the Life Development Toolbox. Our study
of 1 Peter this month highlights Jesus as God's cornerstone and our role
as living stones in His building programme. We are encouraged to believe
that we are truly chosen by God as partners with Him in the building. It
is significant that we come to a passage this month, at the start of our
Time 2 Build programme, which highlights the issues of stones being built
together and the people God chooses to build.
1 Peter 2:4-12
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Verse 4 begins with the words “as you come to him, the living Stone”.
Jesus is of course that living Stone – and everything in our lives
of significance is activated by our “coming to him”. One of
the important points we are making during this time is that achievement
will not be realised without “much prayer.” It is as we “come
to him”, in tandem with other important commitments we make, that
we will see vision become both bricks and mortar and, more importantly evidence
of spiritual growth.
We now read the words, “rejected by men” – God’s
special value system that not only accepts His Son as precious and chosen,
but you and me also, stones for building, shaped to fit. Verse 5 speaks
of both holiness and sacrifice, two vital ingredients in determining our
shape to fit others around us as we build. They lay down the markers for
our way of life and the level of commitment we make. In order to get this
thing built, we will come up against pressures and obstacles which will
challenge our individualism and our serving spirit – or lack of it!
Remember, together we are stronger!
“Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” – Amos 3:3 “. if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” – Matt. 18:19
In verse 6, Isaiah 28:16 is quoted – time to do a detour and have a look at the context in which these words were first written. The chapter is a stinging indictment against the lifestyle of God’s people – it speaks of a people well into alcohol, rulers lauding it over the people with no sense of God or His ways, and yet God is there still seeking to bring His people back to Himself. He signals a building programme of His own – a powerbase against the tide of unrighteous living, a cornerstone in an unlikely place where trust will open a door to salvation. Back in 1 Peter we see that this cornerstone will confront the power of evil, having ability to rob the enemy of power, “causing men to stumble” (verse 8).
We now have sight of the kind of people God chooses. Verse 9 says, “But you are ”. Here we have not just encouragement but direction from God as to how we should see ourselves. It’s not that we could be a royal priesthood, or that we have the potential to be a holy nation – God says we already are! The blood of Jesus is always the answer to all of Satan’s accusations. The enemy’s intention is always to deceive us into believing that we have not yet reached the point of usefulness to God – that persistent habit, quick temper, lack of understanding is seen by Satan as an opportunity to rob us of effectiveness. However, by God’s grace we operate from His powerbase by faith – faith in what He says here – “BUT YOU ARE”.
“My misgivings arise from the fact that I ransack my own person to find out how He will be able to do it. My questions spring from the depths of my own inferiority.” – Oswald Chambers
“Every benefit flowing from the atonement of Christ comes to the individual through the gateway of faith. Forgiveness, cleansing, regeneration, the Holy Spirit, all answers to prayer, are given to faith and received by faith. There is no other way.” – A.W.Tozer
By accepting God’s acceptance of us we enter a freedom to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Satan says you are not a people – God says “you are the people of God.” Satan says no more mercy for you – you’ve messed up once too often. God says you have already received mercy!
Verse 11 however strongly encourages us to live God’s way from day to day – war against our souls is debilitating to our faith. What in particular debilitates your faith? Find a place in God where you can be an overcomer. Verse 12 underlines that our lifestyle should be that which will speak volumes to others about God – more than our words ever will.
New Bible Study Course
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This month sees a new Bible study course at the Christian Centre –
Four Wednesday evenings 7.45 – 9.15pm from October 18th. We will be
looking at the principles of restoration as seen in Ezra and Nehemiah and
seeking to draw understanding of how God builds. Our desire is that this
will support our Time 2 Build initiative and be an encouragement to all
to get involved. You can book in online at: www.mkcc.org.uk/grow.aspx