1 Peter 3:9-12
Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing.
That is what God has
called you to do, and he will bless you for it.
For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many
happy days,
keep your tongue from speaking evil
and your lips from
telling lies.
Turn away from evil
and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right,
and his ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”
Let’s take a closer
look at that passage. Peter is quoting
Old Testament scripture to prove his point in the New Testament. The scripture he chose to quote is from Psalm
34:12-16. What my eye is instantly drawn
to are the words “if you want to enjoy
life and see many happy days”… Peter
is giving us instructions and blue prints for a joyful life! I want to enjoy life – do you?
So what do we have
to do to earn this joyous life? “Keep your tongue from speaking evil and
your lips from telling lies”. No
yelling, no slander, no talking about others behind their back, no foul
language, NO LYING… and more. Don’t hurt
others with your words. I have been learning
lately how powerful words are. I have
also been learning how much words and thoughts can change your life. We have been finishing up Joyce Meyer’s Battlefield of the Mind and I
have also been listening to an audio book of hers about ‘taming the tongue’ and
sharing key points with my kids. So we
have learned a lot lately about the extreme importance of controlling your
thoughts and words. My thirteen year old
son just came into the room telling me what a great day he had! He talked about how he was all set to think
positively today and cast out the bad thoughts and immediately replace them
with positive thoughts and keep control of what he said, only allowing good to
come out of his mouth. (If you cast down
thoughts from Satan and don’t think something else, the bad thoughts just come
back. They must be replaced with good
thoughts and words.) He had PE first
hour. They ran their usual lap, then
another because they didn’t do well enough, then another… over the course of the class they ran 5 laps (over
a mile) for one reason or another. This
normally would have ruined his day. BUT,
he had FUN! He had fun running
punishment laps and getting a good leg workout!
AND he didn’t even get tired!! He
was so excited to have had such a great day and so much fun and it was so
easy! All he had to do was kick out the
bad and quickly put a good in its place.
He can see doors of joy opening up for him! I was excited to hear the report too, and was
quick to point out that his not getting tired this time was a blessing from God
for his positive thinking. So, keeping
your tongue (and mind) from speaking evil = joy! Now we must also “Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.” to attain that joy. That is pretty self explanatory. Don’t do evil. Do good.
This also is tied to the mind and tongue AND actions. It very much relates to Peter’s words before
the quote “Don’t retaliate with insults
when people insult you. Instead, pay
them back with a blessing.” To turn
away from evil, we must not let insults anger and take our focus off of
God. Like I said yesterday – don’t be
angry with the person Satan is using against you. If you let Satan get to you, you are letting
him win. When someone hurts you, they
are being used by Satan to hurt you. “Instead, pay them back with a blessing.” Satan can’t get you off track if you don’t
allow it! Keep your focus on God, not on
Satan’s games! Remember the last line of
the verses “…the Lord turns his face
against those who do evil.” Strive
and reach for peace and harmony. Be a
household where the Holy Spirit can reside!
Work with you words, thoughts, and actions to maintain that peace!
That brings us to
the fun part. The joy, the blessings,
the heard prayers! God promises all
those things in this tiny bit of scripture!” That is what God has called you to do…,” keep your mind, tongue, and actions under
your own control – not Satan’s. “ and he will bless you for it… The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do
right,…” He sees all we do, and
say, and even think. Just like my son
not tiring when having to run a mile, God will be watching our choices and
blessing us for them (if they are worthy of blessing)! “…and his ears are open to their prayers…” God hears us!
He hears our prayers, he has promised his ears will be open to our
prayers! Look at all the good and
wonderful things that will happen if we follow the directions of this itty
bitty little jam packed bit of scripture!!
I know it sounds
hard, but God will help you if you ask him too.
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