"For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears under sorrows when suffering unjustly. 1 Peter 2:19
1 Peter 2:14-25 are verses to underline in your Bible. We must allow Jesus to be our example for how we live, and Peter gives us powerful insight into what that means in these verses. I hope we all have set our hearts to please our Lord. I desperately want to find favor with God, because I love Him with all my heart. It is important for us to know and understand what pleases Him and what finds favor with Him. We will find in these verses suffering unjustly is one of our callings as we follow Him. Let’s pay careful attention to the motives of bearing up under sorrows unjustly: It finds favor with God if we do so for conscience’s sake toward God. Frankly, that motive is the only reason I am able to do so, as I meditate on how He suffered for my sins so unjustly, which is an understatement!
We must strive to keep a good conscience before God and man. We read in Acts 24:16:
"I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man."
Our conscience is powered by the Holy Spirit and our love for God. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. He then reveals to us what righteousness is as He reveals to us who Jesus is. When we realize we must have the Word of God in our lives it sets our conscience. A good conscience is powered by the Holy Spirit as we begin to hide God’s Word in our heart’s that we might not sin against Him. (Psalm 119:11) Ultimately it will be our love for Him over pleasing ourselves. We must come to the place we love pleasing God more than ourselves or each other. This causes us to make right decisions as Jesus did .Let’s look at our following verses:
" For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth, and while being reviled, He did not revile in return, while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously, and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."
Notice every believer is called for this purpose, seeing how Jesus suffered for all of us leaving us an example to follow in His steps. Now we must ask ourselves if we truly want to be followers of Christ? Are we willing to follow His standard for loving others as He has loved us? Unlike Jesus we have committed many sins, deceit has been found in our mouths. We quickly return evil for evil. It is an instantaneous reaction. But if we catch the next line: "But He kept entrusting Himself to the one who judges righteously…" we find the key to obedience.We must make that same choice Jesus did entrusting our lives to the only One who is capable of judging righteously. He made it possible for us to become like Him on that cross. All of us have been deeply wounded in our lifetime or will be, yet He has made it possible for us to be healed by His great love for us and others. Our last verse states:
"For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls."
There is only one true Shepherd and Guardian of our souls, and it is Jesus. He is the only One we should be following and looking to for leading and guidance in all aspects of lives including healing on the inside and outside of our bodies. He alone has the power and wisdom for what we need. Do you need a Shepherd and Guardian for your soul this morning? Maybe He was your Shepherd, but you have strayed. Find your way back to Him this morning. He awaits with wide open arms and runs to meet His prodigals as they return to Him. Read Luke 15:11-32 for the story. If He is our true Shepherd then let us follow Him and do what finds favor in His sight as we strive to keep a good conscience toward God and man as we await His soon return!
In His love.
Teresa Roberts
Masterpiece Fitness
276-237-6680
Delighted to experience new adventures and scale new heights this weekend participating in the Bel Monte Endurance Race at Shenandoah Acres, Stuart Drafts, Va. Won first in my age group in spite of falling twice. Very rocky trails!
I fully intend to obey my new race tee-shirt! I am wild about my God and the life He enables me to live!
