I'm Leaving

550.  "I'm Leaving"                     June 27, 2012
1 Peter 1-Part 10
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.  1 Peter 1:17

LET IT GLOW


The first time I left the country, I felt uneasy. Here I was a stranger, who could not speak their language, and was not able to communicate without an interpreter. I was a foreigner because I didn't belong in that country. It was not my home. After a week, I was going to be leaving.  So it is with Christians-this world is not our home; heaven is. We are considered sojourners, as Peter puts it in our key verse.

Sojourning means dwelling in a strange land; life of man here on earth is likened to a sojourning.(Thayer's Lexicon)
A Christian is a stranger in a distant country.(M. Henry)
I tend to loose sight of that. I get too comfortable here, settling down, putting down roots, spend too much time focused on things to accummulate, not on serving Jesus my Lord. Since this home is only temporary, I should not get too settled in because I am going to be leaving one day.

Verses 17-23 are written in our Bible as one continuous sentence, which tells us:

• Our heavenly Father God judges each person's work impartially.
• Believers  are strangers in this world.
• The precious blood of Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, Who was without blemish or defect (sin), redeemed us from the empty way of life.
• Christ was chosen to provide our salvation by way of the cross before the creation of the world.
• He is revealed in these last times for our sake.
• God raised Jesus from the dead and glorified Him.
• Since our hearts are purified, we can love our brethren.
• We have been born again with imperishible seed through the living and enduring Word of God. 

Now those are some promises! Am I standing on them?


LET IT GROW

Peter says that I:

• call on the Father, so I am to live here on earth in fear; my conduct should be with godly reverence, holiness;
• believe in God through Jesus Christ, so my faith and hope are in Him;
• have been redeemed, (a required price to release one from an obligation) not with corruptible things as gold and silver, nor  by traditions, but by the blood of Christ on the cross;
• have purified myself by obeying the Truth, thus loving other belivers;
• have been born again through the living and enduring Word of God (believing Jesus shed His blood for me, which is written in the Word).

Do I call and believe? Am I redeemed? Will I purify myself by obeying? Have I been born again?
Is my faith and hope in Him?

LET IT GO

 Stand on the promises of God.

Be ready to leave this world.

Stay focused on heaven as my home.