SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR (1Peter 4:19)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
4/3/2012 9:52:07 AM
My Worship Time      Focus:  Commit yourself to God
Bible Reading & Meditation     Reference:  1Peter 4:19
 Message of the verse:  “19  Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”  (NASB-95)
 Commit Yourself to God (1Peter 4:19):  “19  So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.”  (NLT)  “19  Therefore these who suffer according to God’s will can safely commit their souls to their faithful Creator, and go on doing all the good they can.” (Philips) 19  For this reason let those who by the purpose of God undergo punishment, keep on in well-doing and put their souls into the safe hands of their Maker.”  (BBE)  “19  Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (ESV)
 In the Philips paraphrase version of the Bible, which is seen above, the word “commit” is used, while the NASB says “entrust” and so does the ESV.  This word can be used as a banking term where one puts their funds into a bank and receives interest for those funds.  In the same way we as believers when we suffer for the cause of Christ can put ourselves into God’s bank and we will always receive eternal dividends on our investment.
 In the US we have the FDIC that is suppose to bring us great comfort when we deposit our funds into a US bank, for if the bank goes under the funds are insured.  However when we belong to God who loves us, who has purchased us, and who lives in us and promised to one day take us to heaven we can totally put our faith and trust in Him, and we can commit our lives to Him even though we suffer for the cause of Christ, for we know that God is faithful.
 Dr. Wiersbe writes “this commitment is not a single action but a constant attitude.  ‘Be constantly committing’ is the force of the admonition.  How do we do this?  ‘By means of welldoing.’ As we return good for evil and do good even though we suffer for it, we are committing ourselves to God so that He can care for us.  This commitment involves every area of our lives and every hour of our lives.” 
 It may sound strange to some that Peter calls God “a faithful Creator” and not a faithful Judge, which of course He is.  Peter knew that it was the Creator who provided food and clothing to those persecuted Christians, and it was the faithful Creator who protects them in times of danger. 
 Dr. Wiersbe finishes his commentary with the following paragraph:  “Before God pours out His wrath on this evil world, a ‘fiery trial’ will come to God’s church, to unite and purify it, that it might be a strong witness to the lost.  There is nothing for us to fear if we are suffering in the will of God.  Our faithful Father-Creator will victoriously see us through!”
 Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi he told them in verse 4:11b that he had learned to be content and we can see from his second letter to the Corinthian church in chapter eleven that it was through persecution that he had learned to be content.  This is what Peter is telling his readers who were about to go through some difficult persecutions because it would be about a year after his readers received this letter that Rome would burn and Nero would blame it on the Christians and so the persecution would begin and it would be very difficult.  There is a story in the 32nd chapter of Jeremiah which helps us to understand how our faith should not waver even when persecution comes.  Jeremiah was in prison and the Babylonians were attacking Jerusalem, about to destroy it, when his cousin comes to sell him a piece of property and because it was of the Lord Jeremiah bought the property because God told him that the children of Israel would return and build houses once again.  It took faith to do this and it takes great faith to endure persecution, but God is in control and one day He will judge all who have caused the troubles in the world.
4/3/2012 3:24:05 PM