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I want to use this blog today to share a thought with you that has increasingly been convicting me over the past few weeks. It stems from the writings of Peter in 1 Peter and the call to be holy. In 1 Peter 1:15-17 he writes "15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." That call to be holy is a daunting task when things are "normal" in the world, but it is especially concerning in this crazy time we are in right now. So, my question for myself and for all of you is this: How has your response to the pandemic been holy? To clarify, I do not say this in a self-righteous way but truly in a self-examining way. To be holy is to be set apart and what are the ways that followers of Jesus' responses are set apart through this? I would love to propose two areas where this calling is before us right now.
The first call is to live in the gratitude of God even when things are hard. The news is full of stressful thoughts and a lot of social media is the same right now. How holy would it look if followers of Christ took a complete posture of gratitude at what God has done and is doing right now in each of our lives? What if we used our platforms that we have to truly make known how good God is even when there is so much going on elsewhere right now? Jumping back to 1 Peter 2:9 he writes "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." This is certainly an important time to proclaim the excellencies of God in gratitude of Him calling us out of this current darkness and into His marvelous light.
The second call stems from continuing on in 1 Peter 2:12 "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." To be holy is not just in word but in deed, and we have an opportunity right now where we can see needs all around us. When I imagine where Christ would be if he were in human form right now, I see him serving His people that He so dearly loves. There are certainly challenges with what deeds are appropriate in this time of quarantine, but I believe even with following the safety precautions there are opportunities to tend to the needs of others. I have been so encouraged through this time by the amount of my brothers and sisters that have been very active in doing this, and I certainly want to encourage you to keep it up. In the comments of this blog or wherever appropriate please shout out some of these good deeds you have seen from your brothers and sisters.
All that is happening out there is bizarre right now, and I hope that to the world the church seems that way too. I hope that when people see the way followers of Jesus respond to COVID-19 they are just flabbergasted at what they witness. I am not suggesting that we present ourselves as bigger or better in anyway than any other person because we are not. What I am suggesting is that we ought to be holy because our God IS bigger and better than anything this world can throw at us.
Holy Moley
03/19/2020
Welp day 4 of isolation, how are my fellow extraverts holding up? It is a tough life honestly, but I am going to pull through, thanks for asking. Bella (my dog/child) and I want to say hi and we miss you. I have never blogged before this, so welcome to my first attempt! It is very easy to emphasize the things that do not make sense in the world right now and a hard time to express gratitude. That being said, I want to point out that I am thankful for the many avenues the church has to stay connected right now. I am thankful that we, the church, have been given all the tools we need to use our devices to the glory of God. I am thankful that I personally am being stretched as a minister to find new ways to connect and serve my brothers and sisters right now. Thank you, God.I want to use this blog today to share a thought with you that has increasingly been convicting me over the past few weeks. It stems from the writings of Peter in 1 Peter and the call to be holy. In 1 Peter 1:15-17 he writes "15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." That call to be holy is a daunting task when things are "normal" in the world, but it is especially concerning in this crazy time we are in right now. So, my question for myself and for all of you is this: How has your response to the pandemic been holy? To clarify, I do not say this in a self-righteous way but truly in a self-examining way. To be holy is to be set apart and what are the ways that followers of Jesus' responses are set apart through this? I would love to propose two areas where this calling is before us right now.
The first call is to live in the gratitude of God even when things are hard. The news is full of stressful thoughts and a lot of social media is the same right now. How holy would it look if followers of Christ took a complete posture of gratitude at what God has done and is doing right now in each of our lives? What if we used our platforms that we have to truly make known how good God is even when there is so much going on elsewhere right now? Jumping back to 1 Peter 2:9 he writes "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." This is certainly an important time to proclaim the excellencies of God in gratitude of Him calling us out of this current darkness and into His marvelous light.
The second call stems from continuing on in 1 Peter 2:12 "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." To be holy is not just in word but in deed, and we have an opportunity right now where we can see needs all around us. When I imagine where Christ would be if he were in human form right now, I see him serving His people that He so dearly loves. There are certainly challenges with what deeds are appropriate in this time of quarantine, but I believe even with following the safety precautions there are opportunities to tend to the needs of others. I have been so encouraged through this time by the amount of my brothers and sisters that have been very active in doing this, and I certainly want to encourage you to keep it up. In the comments of this blog or wherever appropriate please shout out some of these good deeds you have seen from your brothers and sisters.
All that is happening out there is bizarre right now, and I hope that to the world the church seems that way too. I hope that when people see the way followers of Jesus respond to COVID-19 they are just flabbergasted at what they witness. I am not suggesting that we present ourselves as bigger or better in anyway than any other person because we are not. What I am suggesting is that we ought to be holy because our God IS bigger and better than anything this world can throw at us.
--Brandyn Treat