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It’s not worth it

1 Peter 5:7 (AMP) casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].

I love this verse. We can cast all our cares on Him. I want to put this into context for you. This is a command to holiness. The preceding verse if very much attached to this one, and even all the way back to chapter 4. The reason is because we will all go before the judgement seat, “For it is the time [destined] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not respect or believe or obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17) Also, you can find it in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we [believers will be called to account and] must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be repaid for what has been done in the body, whether good or bad [that is, each will be held responsible for his actions, purposes, goals, motives—the use or misuse of his time, opportunities and abilities].“

Does the fear of judgement cause you to want to run or hide? It causes me to want to do both, but not in the way you would think. I run and hide in Christ, not due to shame or guilt, but because of His great love. If as a believer it makes you angry when you are reminded that you will be called before the judgement seat, discover the why in yourself. Read the full above verse in context.

1 Peter 5:6-11 (AMP) Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.] After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be]. To Him be dominion (power, authority, sovereignty) forever and ever. Amen.

Pride is the root. It’s symptoms are not just anger, but can be fear. How do I rid myself of pride? Just like perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), His perfect love will also cast out that pride. It takes humility to be rooted and grounded in Christ’s love. It takes humility to cast what is bothering you to His feet. It takes humility to allow the Holy Spirit to dig into your wells and pull out all the contaminates that keep you from running your race well. It takes humility to forgive, even when the other person does not ask for it. It takes humility to see the best for others. None of this can be accomplished without a deep love of Christ. This is not a one time confession either. This is a life long pursuit, and I am not always going to get it right. If I did, then there would not be a need for the Holy Spirit.

Are you questioning your salvation? How can one be assured of their salvation. Do you have a relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit? ‘Knowledge of’ and ‘relationship with’ are two different things. Our salvation was not to attain knowledge, but to attain His face. He wants a relationship with us. In a relationship it has give and take. If all you want is the gifts, then that is not a real relationship. If you are not willing to give of yourself and not willing to grow into holiness (because that is what His presence will do), then that is not a relationship with our God. When it comes to having more knowledge or having more of His presence, I will choose His presence. Here is the thing, He will give you knowledge when you desire His presence.

Read Hebrews 10:26-31 and Matthew 7:21-23. This is not meant to scare you, but to draw you closer to Him. If you are scared because you deserve punishment, there is still hope. Have the confident assurance that when you make Christ your savior, repent and surrender your life, you are redeemed. You can stand right before God. The rest is up to you. Casting all of my cares has to do with my mind, my will and my emotions. These are the parts that make me unique. They are also the parts that can cause me to not want the things of God. They are the areas that will hold onto pride. I decided, for myself, that holding onto things that did not glorify Him are just not worth it. What do you treasure? I treasure His Presence. I treasure being rooted and grounded in His love (unmovable and unshakable). Nothing is worth more than that. My reverential fear of displeasing God has nothing to do with punishment, it has to do with my great love for Him.

Abba, our Father, our Maker and our Banner, You are so Wonderful. Thank You for sending Your Son to live, die and come back to Your right hand. He is making intercessions for us because of Your great love. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. We receive all that He has for us. We thank You for Your Word and for the Body of Christ. We grow in our relationship with You when we apply what you have gifted us with. We repent for trampling the blood of Christ by holding onto our own ways and by allowing pride to rule and reign in our lives. Nothing in this world is as valuable as You. The fear of the judgement seat was taken away when You sent Your Son. It was not just for the judgement, it was also for the restoration. We desire and long for You. Thank You for Your Presence, let it not depart from us. We desire You. We choose love today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. We choose hope today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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How we treat people matters

Ephesians 5:1-2 (AMP) Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

How we treat people matters to God. I was in prayer yesterday and God told me to turn to Ephesians 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [but seek to please Him], by whom you were sealed and marked [branded as God’s own] for the day of redemption [the final deliverance from the consequences of sin].” I am a context girl, so I read the verses around it.

Ephesians 4:29 (AMP) Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak]. 

Ephesians 4:31-32 (AMP) Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you.

The Book of Ephesians was written to the church of Ephesus, which means it was written to people who had received Christ as their Lord and Savior. At the moment, my husband and I are in a series about Relational Maintenance and we are taking the verses from Ephesians 5 and breaking down how we can apply it to our every day lives. Like I said, I am a context girl and when I see the word “therefore” that means that this is not the starting point of the thought. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we are not becoming imitators of Christ. This is not referring to winning the lost, healing the sick and raising people from the dead. We have been given the authority to do that at sons and daughters, but it is not referring to your position as a child of God. As a child of God, that is an imitation of the Father, an ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20). Does my character reflect His? There are two words in the Greek that are used for son, teknon and huios. Teknon refers to child or heir, huios refers to maturity and the mannerism taken on.

Can I grieve the Holy Spirit as a born again believer? Yes. How? By not maturing into huios, becoming an imitator of my Father. What are some checks in myself? When I am talking are my words building up? Do I take the chance to tell it like it is about someone? Do I repeat a wrong? Do I spread resentment or strife? I had someone do that to me recently and it has taken me a moment to think better about the person they were talking about. They said something to hurt me out of spite and sow a seed of division to another. This was a person in our body of believers doing this. Did I correct them? There would have been no point because of their character (they are known for doing this). Instead I loved them and am choosing to walk in forgiveness.

When we mature we begin to walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance. There are times that I am going to have to work on this more and more. How we treat people matters to God. When I become an imitator of Him I do not have to fear grieving the Holy Spirit. I believe He is a God to be honored. I should honor Him with my full self, that includes my thoughts, words and actions.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (AMP) Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.

Father, our Creator and Banner, You are so Marvelous. If we do nothing else but to just love You, that is all we need. Thank You for Your Son, for being the Restorer of our authority and fullness. Thank You for the Holy Spirit and the power that You have entrusted us with. We repent for not being imitators of You and for the words we have spoken in vain against Your body. Let our tongues be submitted to You. We are choosing to renew our minds daily in Your Word. Thank You for allowing us to partner with You in Your Kingdom expansion. We choose to see people the way You do. Let us have eternal eyes when we speak and treat Your people. Let us be true children of You and imitate You in all we say and do. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. We choose hope today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.