Get Serious

1 Peter 2: 1-3 -  Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,  now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Peter sure doesn’t ‘mince words’…he just ‘cuts straight to the chase.’  I shouldn’t be surprised…here I am…close to the end of this great Bible I have read from beginning to end…and Peter is given the task of writing down in plain English what I should have all figured out on my own.  His words literally shout to my soul, STOP BEING SO CASUAL WITH YOUR FAITH!

This journey through the bible has caused me to really start absorbing the message God laid out for us through these great writers, some of whom, had the privilege of walking day by day with the Christ himself. They didn’t get it at first either…their hope of an Earthly King like the great David kept them from really understanding most of the heavenly wisdom Jesus tried to teach them.  It was after his death…on the Emmaus road for two of them.  I just had this gut feeling that one of them might be Peter…and sure enough a quick Google search produced the verse Luke 24:18 ….which says that one of them was called Cleopas. It went on to say that there is no direct evidence as to who Luke intended the other to be, but it was probably Peter, since Peter is mentioned at verse 24:12.

I am not surprised by this command from Peter…his failure to verbalize his love and loyality to Jesus that awful night before his death…taught him a very hard lesson…and provided a means for Jesus to show him his wonderful mercy and grace.  Peter… of all the disciples …understood how you just can’t accept life without Jesus...once you have tasted his goodness.  My trials...and the presence of God that has not just gotten me through them…but helped me grow in ways I never dreamed…helps me understand this statement too.  It is time to become radical…radical like Jesus…serious about the God we claim to love and obey.

I want to recommend some excellent authors that have helped me along in this spiritual journey.  Their writings compliment this great bible I have been studying…and have helped me to see the truth..you know..the way we tell ourselves not to get too serious…stay on the fence…don’t get to involved. We are so good at justifying not overdoing it that we sometimes do nothing at all… our daily walk with God consisting of a Church service weekly and a prayer when things get tough. It is no accident that this first book was placed in my hands just after my sweet Mitchell passed. A sweet mother from my son’s baseball team handed a copy of Radical, by David Platt to me.  She said it just wasn’t her “thing” but since I was talking at the time about going into missions in Africa…it sounded like something I would like.  Its message of serious Christianity..rang fresh in my ears as a new widow…don’t read it unless you are prepared to change some things about the way you live.  And you can’t go wrong with any Max Lucado book…he has a way with words that just speaks straight to your soul. And one more must read…if you really are ready to get serious…is Crazy Love, by Francis Chan.  He will challenge your present routine…really have you looking at your motives for how you live.

Once we have truly tasted the joy and peace of Jesus…we just aren’t satisfied with things they way they were.  When Jesus lives in our heart..our soul will thirst for more and more…pure milk of the spirit as Peter puts it.  I guess it is like when we were teenagers.  We got our first taste of freedom and nothing would stop us from being on our own. I remember wanting to live on my own so bad…knowing I wasn’t ready for it…but I had this passion..and just had to do it. That’s the way I feel these days with my faith.  I want more so bad…it gives me a felling of empowerment…makes me feel fearless.

Father…I could never thank you enough for how you have jump started my heart to learn more about you.  And what is really great is I don’t ever have to worry about trying.  Your grace and love cover every mistake and crazy mess up I have caused in my life….and you love me in spite of it! Amazing!  Lord…quench this thirst with your pure spiritual milk…and get me ready for the radical life you have planned for me.  Strengthen me and guide me and help me hear your voice tell me each road to take and exactly when to take it. Amen.