By His Wounds You Have Been Healed!

Good morning to all on this 1st Sunday in May. In fact it is Cinco de Mayo, or the Mexican Independence Day. Waine and I are in Thomaston and it rained all day yesterday so I had my husband home on a Saturday which was very nice but weird as my beloved can be found on a golf course somewhere if its Saturday. We were able to have lunch together and he even went with me to the nail salon and enjoyed a peicure wit me! All is well with us and because we are best friends we can just han toether! We saw the Orlando grandchildren last weekend as Tracy and Freddie celebrated their 6th anniversary. Boy time flies; it just seems like yesterday that we were in St. Petersberg to celebrate with them at eir wedding!

 

I am continuing my journey in 1 Peter 2 verses 1-25 " 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. As you come to Him, the Living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him  you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a Stone in Zion, a chosen and precious Cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame. Now to you who believe, this Stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone,” and, “A Stone that causes people to stumble and a Rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 

 

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.  Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.  He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by His wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,”but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. " Amen and may the the Lord add a Blessing to the hearing and reading of His Word.

 

By His Wounds you have been healed! What a statement--you have to just shout hallelujah. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin, took on our sin, so that we might have eternal life. What more can be said. That says it all. Now this is being written by Peter who denied Jesus 3 times because of his own arrogance and fear. Peter, because of his own arrogance, never "got" Jesus--Peter was always projecting his own image of what Jesus should be and never embraced who Jesus was until the very end when Peter put it all together. See in God's timing He doesn't care when you "get" it, He only cares that you do "get" it. You see, Peter was looking for the Lion of Judah and Peter interpreted Jesus not as a lion but a lamb--so Peter denied Jesus just as Jesus predicted. This is the same Peter who walked on the sea of Galilee with Jesus. This is the same Peter who Christ declared as the rock on which His church would be built.  So how can God use such flawed people?  Because Jesus "gets" us! Jesus doesn't look at our actions--He looks at our hearts. When the disciples were asked by Jesus, "who do men say I am" remember it was Peter and only Peter who answered "You are the Christ! The Messiah!" Could this be the same Peter who denied Christ 3 times. Yes! We are all like Peter. When we are in the Spiritual Sanctity of God's love we are bold and enlightened. When we  choose to dwell in the realm of our own strength Satan can create fear with thoughts of doubt which can quickly over take us. When you are being assailed by the "winds and  waves" of life, that's when you should look up and out so that you can see Christ and rise above the winds and waves and meet Jesus at the foot of the Cross where you laid down your sins. You are then a new creation; a new person because you have your eye on Him and not on your own self.

 

By His wounds you have been healed. By His wound you have been healed. By His wounds you are victorious. If you are not "feeling" victorious you are like the Peter who denied Christ. Get out of yourself and become the Peter who trusted and obeyed and walked the winds and waves to meet Jesus. Hallelujah. If you are not lifted up today it is because you won't let go of the weights that you have taken up. Let them go and be blessed.

 

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you  and give you peace.

 

Stephanie