Honest

"If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God." I Peter 4:11a

Since we were children we've always heard it said, "Honesty is the best policy." This is a very wise and true saying. It is something that would should not just strive to live by but actually live by. This goes especially for believers and followers of Jesus. Jesus says that from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). When we speak, the very words that come out of our mouth are a reflection and a representation of our relationship with God through Christ. When God speaks, He only speaks honesty and truth. There is no lie or false thing in the Word or words of God. Because, as followers of Jesus, we are called to be like Jesus, who is God, there should also be no false thing in our speech either. I think, sometimes, we get so wrapped up in what we are doing that we forget who we are representing to this world. We have this innate desire to belong so we go with the crowd. That means, that we end up talking like the crowd and misrepresenting Christ. I made this statement Sunday: We have been called to engage the world not embrace the world. Too often we have embraced the world in the name of relevance instead of engaging the world in the name of redemption. One of the easiest ways to engage the world is to be honest with people. They don't expect it but they do appreciate it, even if they don't like it. Living differently is about living out our true identity in Christ. Crash on!

Grace-full

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve other, faithfully administering God's grace in it s various forms." I Peter 4:10

You are uniquely designed by God. He has put certain things in you that no one else has. He has built you to a specific specification that only He knew at the foundation of the world. When you came to faith in Jesus, another set of passions were revealed to you. These are you spiritual gifts. They are not know, necessarily, by the carnal man but are revealed only by the Spirit of God. These gifts were given so that you may give them away as you invest in the lives of others. Peter says that we are to administer, or give, God's grace to people. The one who first administered grace was Jesus. He gave grace away with out cost or regret. As Christ-followers, we are to do likewise. As we are to be full of grace, we are to give that grace away as it was given to us...freely. Peter closes this verse is a most excellent way when he says that we are to give away grace in its various forms. None of have experienced grace in the exact same way. In the same vein, not of us will give it away in the same way either. Just as God has uniquely made us and given us unique gifts, His expectation is that we give grace away to others to all people by being who God created us to be. Giving away grace is at the heart of crashing into life. Crash on!

Be Friendly

"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." I Peter 4:9

There is a lot to be said about someone who's friendly. There is something magnetic about them. Maybe it is the smile on their face or their sunny disposition. Either way, we want to be around friendly people. But it is not just people who act friendly, but those who are truly friendly that we are most attracted to. Peter challenges us here to be friendly without grumbling. Sometimes we feel the need to be nice out of obligation or duty. This is not really being friendly at all. Being friendly springs from the joy of Jesus in the hearts of believers. It is sad to see sour faces on those who claim to know Jesus. They repel people from Christ rather than draw them. Being friendly is not an act that we put on. Rather, it is an action that naturally springs from a vibrant and growing relationship with Christ. Today, be friendly. Allow the joy of Jesus to fill your heart and engage people with that joy. Who knows...you may just surprise some folks. Crash on!

Love

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." I Peter 4:8

Love is at the center of the Christian life. Paul says that if we have not love then we are just noise. Peter calls us to love fully, truly and completely. He says that it covers a multitude of sins. In the words of Paul, it keeps no record of wrongs. For true forgiveness and reconciliation to happen, love must abound. There is no forgiveness apart from love. Jesus took this concept one step further in Matthew 5:43-48 when He commands us to love our enemies. It's easy for us to love those who love us. Even the pagans do that, according to Jesus. It is hard to love those who hate you, despise you or avoid you. It's hard to love those that have hurt you, failed you or scarred you. No one says love was easy. When I think of love, I am always reminded of Jesus who demonstrated His love for us in that He gave himself for us while we were still in our sin. You see God loves us with no guarantee that we will love him back. He sets the example for us in this. We want to love only those who will return that love to us. That's why Jesus calls us to love our enemies. When we begin to do that then we begin to understand what true love is. Who do you need to love today? How will you show love to those that may not show that same love back? When we begin to love like this, we are crashing into life.

Focus

"Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray." I Peter 4:7b

Today is all about focus. If we are going to live the difference, then we must be focused on that to which God has called us -- godliness. Peter gives us two things to get focused. The first is to be clear minded. Many times our minds are clouded by the "stuff" of life and it keeps us from being focused on the call God has placed upon us. That is why it is so important to spend time each day (I prefer the morning) to clear our minds and get focused on what God has for me today. Jesus taught that tomorrow has enough worries of its own; therefore, there is no reason to cloud our mental focus with such things. A clear mind resuts from self control. We have to be able to reign our minds in when they start to drift. I think self control and self discipline are synonomous. We must discipline our minds to get on track and stay on track. The track on which we want to travel is the one that God has laid out for us today. Our focus must be on Christ. Just this morning I read from Oswald Chambers that to gain insight into Jesus means that we must be obedient. Today, I want to encourage you to focus on obedience to Christ. As James said, be doers of the word and not hearers only. Focus today on crashing into life.