hausmouse

Q5. (1:8-9) According to 1 Peter 1:8-9, what is the basis of Christian joy that is "inexpressible and glorious"? How does this joy interplay with human emotions? Is it essentially emotional? How does it differ from what is generally regarded as the pursuit of "happiness"? Extra Credit: How can you tell the genuine article of joy from the counterfeit? We have joy as believers, according to vv. 8-9, as we look to the future ... to the salvation of our souls. We are taught as believers to keep our focus OFF the world, and on spiritual matters. We focus on the goal set before us, on the secure blessings to come, based on our "inheritance which is imperishable (v. 4) and on the indescribable experience of seeing our Lord, finally, face to face. One of my favourite verses is 1 John 3:2 -- we know that when he appears we shall be like Him, because we see Him face to face. In light of all this how can we not rejoice constantly and far beyond human emotion? I wonder if because we are made in the image of God, that although marred, we still strive as humans to experience the joy that God intended. But unregenerate man cannot, because of sin, and so he tries vainly to recapture joy, falls short, and only temporarily experiences happiness. His happiness is dependent on circumstances and other people, but true JOY never leaves a believer, despite circumstances. Indeed Paul writes in Romans 5 that we are to EXULT in tribulations, because we have hope and see beyond them to the ONE who is able to work all things together for good. Genuine joy is not so much a "feeling" as a state of the spirit -- after all, Galatians teaches plainly, that it is part of the fruit of the Spirit. Happiness comes from MY nature, while joy comes from the Holy Spirit within me. It bubbles up at times, and I personally have found that when times are difficult, it is very closely linked, and may spring from the peace that the Spirit gives us. I know joy is the "genuine article" when it is never affected by circumstances, never affected by people, and when God's Spirit bears witness with mine that I am indeed His child, and that I never face anything alone.

I ave been overwhelmed by God's loving tenderness in reading the postings of other members. So many of us have been through mind-boggling trials. Let me briefly add my own story: For about 6 or 7 years my mom has suffered from Alzheimer's, and my Dad has been her caregiver. At Thanksgiving (which is in October in Canada) my Dad finally had Mom put in a nursing home, not by choice, but because he was physically exhausted, having dizzy spells, headaches, and trouble concentrating. We put it down to exhaustion, but long story short, he was diagnosed with a highly aggressive, inoperable brain tumor. I will probably say good-bye to both my parents within the year. What amazes me is that God was preparing me for this "fire" of testing in our lives. I had actually been teaching our Ladies study on, guess what, 1 Peter. I had started a personal study, which I am teaching on Joseph. And I had been taking another group study on Romans, and we were in chapter 8 at the time of the diagnosis. I had said to my Ladies group, slightly tongue in cheek, that I wondered what God had in store for me, because He always prepares us for the ordeals He then walks us through. 2 weeks later came the news. I have always loved the picture of the silversmith, refining precious metal which 1 Peter writes. As we are placed in the crucible and heated in the fire, the silversmith watches carefully. He draws out the metal at just the right moment, and skims off the impurities, and only when he can see his reflection clearly does the process stop. That's how God is glorified -- as we are refined by fire, we become more and more conformed to the image of Christ. I will not be exactly like Him until I see Him face to face, but as I go through trials, I can become little by little more like Him. As a familiar song says, "Refiner's fire, my heart's one desire is to be holy, set apart for You, my Master, ready to do Your will." That's how we glorify God -- by becoming holy and by doing the will of God One final thought... I always take comfort and find peace in the thought that there's no point in focusing on the circumstances of the trial, since God already has the outcome in the palm of His hand. What I need to concentrate on is HOW am I going through the trial... with Christlikeness and faith, or giving in to fear and doubt.

God's part in my salvation is a thought well worth meditating on. He has secured my salvation throught the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ -- as verse 3 clearly states --> "who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a livng hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." My salvation then is a work wrought in heaven before the foundation of the world, in that, "while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly," and in that, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6,8) So I rejoice daily and actually at times am overwhelmed by the extent of the sacrifice and love that God poured out in Christ in order to secure my salvation. My part, of course, is to respond in faith (by the grace of God) to His offer, to believe with all my being and to move forward in obedience, as a living sacrifice. The longer I walk in faith, the more aware I become that even my faith is a gift from God, and that without the "sanctifying work of the Spirit"(v. 2), without the fact of my being "chosen" (v. 1), I would remain dead in sin. And so my response of faith and obedience becomes my praise and worship of a wonderful Saviour. As I keep my focus on the inheritance which lies ahead, it helps me maintain my walk in the Spirit. (Even though there are, of course, times of failure). I try, like those listed in Hebrews 11 to keep my eyes fixed on the future ... and on the Author and Finisher of my faith.

Q2. (1:2) Why do forgiveness (sprinkling) and obedience come together as a package? Why is it deceptive to think you can have one without the other? Extra credit: If true faith requires obedience, how can we say that we are saved by grace rather than works? (Ephesians 2:8-10) In Scripture, love, faith and obedience are tightly intertwined. They are like 3 threads in a cord and cannot be separated without destroying the cord. Abraham had faith, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, long before he obeyed. (Rom. 4) However, true faith will always result in obedience because we realize the debt we owe to our Saviour. We have all been redeemed, bought by the blood of Christ -- our forgiveness is solely based on His act of obedience. Since we have received (ACCEPTED) His offer of forgiveness of sins, we become bondslaves to Christ -- and bondslaves obey!! Believer obey in the context of LOVE. True faith requires obedience because obedience is the proof of faith. Without obedience, faith is DEAD (James). It is conterfeit faith.

Hi Everyone, I have just joined the study, and it is the first online study for me. I am, in fact, a little hesitant in doing things online, so this is quite a departure for me. I am a Pastor's wife, married 24 years, and have 3 boys, age 19, 17, 15. The oldest just started Bible College, and since I have home schooled the boys, it was a traumatic experience for this Mom to send him off for the first time!! I love to read, knit, cross-stitch, and practise calligraphy (although I am not very good at it. We do a lot of entertaining, and I do like to have an open door policy here at home. Oh yes, I live in Ontario, Canada and right now it is -2 degrees F. (+ wind chill, I suppose). I also like to curl up next to the fire!! I exercise my gift of teaching in a women's weekly Bible study we like to call REAL women (Rooted, Eestablished And Loved. (Find the Biblical basis for THAT one, if you like) I guess that's all... Looking forward to the upcoming challenge and joy of growing through 1 Peter.

Hi everyone,... first time on the site, and I am really looking forward to this study. I think Christians who forget they are not OF this world are acting either from fear or pride. I think many times we want to fit into the world's persepective in order to gain acceptability with others. We forget that God is the only One who can truly fulfill those "needs" emotionally in our lives. We all suffer from letting the world's values creep into our lives, and I think it's because we start spending more time involved in things of the world than in things of the Spirit. I think also that a good defence against the earth-bound mindset is Romans 12:1-2. We need to a. make sure we have presented ourselves 100% as living sacrifices, acknowledging that we belong to Christ, and then to be constantly and actively striving to be transformed into Christ's image as we renew our minds.