Peniel Pentecostal Holiness Church

3239 Rosebud Road Walnut Cove NC 27052
Pastor: Dr. Tim Nelson -  Church Office 336-591-36112
A Place To Encounter God Face To Face. Gen. 32:3

A Word From The Pastor Archives 2021
April 2021
 

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.  1 Peter 3:18

Rejoice!  The tomb is empty!  Jesus conquered both sin and death and rose again.  The anthem of every church must be centered on the resurrection.  If there was not a resurrection, where would our hope be?  How could we face the bad news when there is no guarantee of the good news?  Jesus came, suffered, died and rose again.

Let us proclaim this good news to all we see.  Sing the good news.  Share the good news.  Live by the good news.  The resurrection is far better than any other hope we can have in this world.  When you have a bad day, remind yourself the tomb is empty.  When life is difficult, remind yourself the tomb is empty.  When you are weak, sick, scared or anxious, remind yourself the tomb is empty.  He came not only to suffer and die, but to give everlasting life.

When you trust in Christ for salvation, you will experience everlasting life in Him.  Sin and death will not have mastery over you.  In His Name, you will overcome.  In Him, you will endure.  In Him, you will one day experience the glory of heaven where death is nevermore.  Rejoice today!

Adapted From:
https://lifewayresearch.com/2019/04/21/holy-week-devotional-resurrection-sunday/

Peter returns to the theme of Christ's suffering and holiness.  He considers suffering's implications for holiness.  As you read 1 Peter 4:1-2, ask yourself, "What is the connection between Christ's suffering and our approach to sin?"  You might want to read 1 Peter 2:24 to help you understand what Peter means when he says we have "ceased from sin."  

Peter exhorts us to arm ourselves with the same way of thinking as Christ.  The mind of Christ is a spirit of humility, yet there is also a militant spirit.  True Christianity requires a militant intentionality to combat the passions of the flesh.  You might ask the Lord to examine your heart to see if you need to repent of a passive stance toward sin in general or toward some fleshly behavior in particular?  Be willing to repent and seek God's forgiveness.

When you trust the Lord to live a life that has "ceased from sin," you will face persecution and even suffer for righteousness' sake.  Are you willing to suffer and be ridiculed or maligned in order not to sin?  In Christ you and I are called to humble ourselves to the will of the Father for the glory of the Father, that we might live the overcoming, victorious life, even if it means we suffer for the cause of Christ.

Adapted From:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/knowing-the-bible-1-2-peter-and-jude//#week-5-suffering-together-1-peter-18-419.htm

But the end of all things is at hand, therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.  1 Peter 4:7

With every passing year, we are getting nearer to what Peter calls "the end of everything", when the perfect rule of Christ will replace this current evil world system,  as believers, we are certainly called to prepare ourselves for the imminent return of Jesus in the clouds and the catching away of the bride-hood saints.  Peter also calls the church to prepare ourselves for coming persecution in the days ahead.

While we await the catching away and the anticipated persecution, however it may   manifest itself in our nation and around the globe.  Christians are to be emotionally and spiritually prepared in the inner man, by being sound in judgment and sober in spirit aas we seriously pray and strive to be watchful in prayer.  It is more obvious daily tha we live in a fallen world and every one of us will probably suffer some form of persecution.  None of us knows what difficult times lie ahead and the dangers we are to face in the coming day but we can be diligent in prayer, we can love unconditionally and we can serve faithfully.

Adapted From
https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/1-peter-4-7.htm

1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul writes, "So now faith, hope and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love."  Leading some Christians to conclude that love is more important than faith or hope.  This might not seem to be a problem, unless of course these three attributes, faith , hope and love are designed by God to be mutually reinforcing, built in such a way that to diminish any one of the three is to undermine the integrity of them all.

Paul considers faith, hope and love on a time line spanning our present moment as Christians all the way to the culmination of all things at and after the return of Jesus.  Considered in terms of importance, faith, hope and love are equal.  Considered in terms of longevity, "the greatest of these is love."  Put simply, faith and hope aren't needed in heaven.  If faith is a present trust in God and His works, often running contrary to what we currently might conclude in this fallen world without faith
(2 Cor 5:7), then we will no longer need faith in heaven because we will finally and clearly see God as He really is (1 Cor 13-12).  In the same way, we will no longer need hope because we will be in full possession of that for which we had hoped.  We will have everything we could have ever hoped for because all of God's promises will be accomplished.  However, love will continue and grow ever stronger in heaven as Christians fully love their great God forever.  As seen on an eternal time line, love outstrips faith and hope in a way that honors the purposes of all three, but the greatest of these is love.

Adaped From:
https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2019/08/1-corinthians-1313.htm