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A Spiritual House of Living Stones

Mar 08
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

1 Peter 2:4–5

4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is described as a “living stone,” and we are called to be like “living stones.”  This is just one of several biblical passages that remind us that the church is not a building, but it is the people.  Buildings can be dead zones, where there is very little life.  People should not be dead zones, but should be alive and look for the way they are connected with each other.  Together, as family to each other, we are to be a spiritual house.

I remember that there was a day when I learned the meaning of the word, synergy.  Synergy means that when two or more people work together effectively, they are more than the sum of their skills and abilities.  When we work together, our skills and abilities are multiplied and not just added.  I cannot be a “spiritual house” all on my own.  But many stones, building on each other and with each other, can be built into a wondrous “cathedral.”

This passage is a “call” to be the church in which good things happen because of the work of the individual members.  We no longer offer sacrifices of animals or grains at the Temple in Jerusalem.  We are “priests” helping to connect people with God, and we do that through how we live and what we say.

The sacrifices at the Temple were offered for a variety of reasons:  for thanksgiving, for repentance, for forgiveness, and for other reasons too.  How we live and what we say to people can help them to be thankful to God, can help them to seek God’s forgiveness, and can help them to live a more holy life.

Jesus brought us closer to God and brought God closer to us.  By calling him a living stone and us living stones, the author is telling us that we have Jesus’ ministry to do, and we are to do it in the world in which we live.  We are to be “little Christs” for others.

PRAYER     Dear Lord Jesus, help me to be a living stone today.  May I reach out to people and bring them into the family of faith.  May we together be a spiritual house that welcomes others.  In your name I pray, Amen.

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We Are Living Stones

Oct 03
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

1 Peter 2:4–5

4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

I have not traveled to Europe to see some of the ancient churches there, churches that are 1,000 years old and even older.  Some of the oldest are not built of wood, but of stone.  It takes a great deal of skill to lay the stones just right so that they can stand together as walls.  It all begins with the cornerstone, and later in this New Testament letter it describes Jesus as the “cornerstone.”  Stones were important in ancient times.  They were used for building houses. (more…)

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Forgiveness

Jun 07
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

1 Peter 4:7–11

7 The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 11 Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

This is the text assigned for today, and when I opened up my Bible, one sentence had already been underlined.  It was this sentence:  “Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.”  I think the image being used here is of a large blanket that covers the offender’s sins and hides them from the one who has been offended.  God chooses not to look upon our sins because God loves us. (more…)

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Called to Forgive and Bless

May 31
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

1 Peter 3:8–9

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called, that you might inherit a blessing.

How do we break the cycle of hostility and revenge?  It is by following the godly wisdom in this passage of scripture.  When any of us is hurt by another human being, we can choose to respond in kind, or we can choose to respond differently.  We can choose to be loving and forgiving, to have a tender heart.  We can admit, in all humility, that we hurt others too, and need their forgiveness.  Revenge may seem desirable, but a restored relationship through forgiveness is even more desirable. (more…)

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Elders and Those Who Are Younger

May 16
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

1 Peter 5:1–5

Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you 2 to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it — not for sordid gain but eagerly. 3 Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away. 5 In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

It appears that in the early church there was a distinction between who were the elders and who were younger.  The elders had authority, but they needed to exercise that authority in appropriate ways.  The younger are admonished to be humble.  The questions that come to my mind are these:  “When does one who is younger become an elder?” and “Does this system apply any longer?” (more…)

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Trust and Salvation

May 10
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

1 Peter 2:1–3

Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation — 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

There are five characteristics in the first verse that are not helpful in any person.  Who could trust such people?  They do not care for you and me.  They care only for themselves.  While I may unintentionally hurt people on occasion, and more often than I wish, I do not do so out of malice or any of these other characteristics.  Almost all the people I associate with are exactly the same.  They are trustworthy, and I could trust them with my very life. (more…)

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Civilizations and God’s Word

May 09
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

1 Peter 1:23–25

23 You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
That word is the good news that was announced to you.

“The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”  It is more than grass and flowers that die off.  So do cultures and civilizations.  The Holy Roman Empire is no more, and the same could be said for the Byzantine Empire, the Persian Empire, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Aztecs, the Incas, the Mayans, and the list could go on and on.  But, for 2500 years we have had a written Bible.  The biblical stories have been passed down for even longer.  While civilizations come and go, God’s teaching endures. (more…)

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To Be Holy

May 06
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

1 Peter 1:13–16

13 Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. 14 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15 Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

“Holy” is one of those words that we use quite often, but may not think too often about what it means.  We speak about the Holy Bible or holy scriptures.  We sing “holy, holy, holy.”  In the creed we talk about the “holy church.”  Holy Communion is celebrated and shared.  Holy means set apart or different.  The Bible is a special, different set of words.  Even our God is different from the other gods of the world.  We are called to be a holy people:  “You (us) shall be holy, for I (God) am holy.”  We are called to be different from the rest of the word we see and experience. (more…)

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