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People need hope more than ever. As followers of Jesus, we have this promise in Colossians 1:27.....CLICK HERE

Wednesday-Do/Do Not

 

For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

 

1 Peter 3:5,6

 

We like options, and plenty of them. Just go into any store and see all the different kinds of things you have to choose from. What used to be just a couple of kinds of milk has been replaced with dozens and dozens of different kinds of milk with lots and lots of different things added or taken away.

 

If you think there are many kinds of milk, take a walk down the aisle where the potato chips are. Row upon row of chips that are fried, baked, and coated with all sorts of flavors and salts. It’s enough to make your head spin. Or it’s enough to make you stop and stare at all the choices you have.

 

But that’s nothing compared to the pressure to pick something to eat at a restaurant where there are lots of things on the menu. And the Mount Everest of menu choices was located in Baltimore at the world-famous Haussner’s Restaurant. It was three-pages[1] of single-spaced items. Just to give you an idea of the choices, there were 36 side dishes to choose from that went alone with your main course.

 

I think that’s why we naturally drift towards more simple choices. We’re tired of all the decisions that come with choosing. If there’s any doubt about this, just think back to the time you bought a new piece of technology. All the settings that had to be made. All the default settings that you had to make decisions about where you really didn’t even understand what you were being asked.

 

We see this in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. As Yoda is teaching Luke about the Force, there comes a fork in the road. Luke’s ship has sunk into the water and Yoda tells him to use the Force to raise it. When Luke says that he’ll try, Yoda says “Do, or do not.”

 

There it is. A simple choice between two very different things. There’s no middle ground. It’s right or left. Good vs. evil. Light or darkness. And this is what Peter is challenging his readers and us with. He gives us the two most important choices in this life.

 

  • Do what is right. This isn’t just one right choice that suddenly pops-up out of nowhere. This is a whole direction of our life. We are to be focused and determined to do what’s good. And good is defined by our loving Heavenly Father. And we desperately want to do that’s right so that we please the one who loves us so.

  • Do not give way to fear. A person who’s following God with all their heart isn’t going to be startled with terror. They’re not going to jump up and scream when something unexpected pops up in life. Yes, there is terror in this life[2], but we don’t have to let it drive us and our live into a ditch. Instead of giving way, we give our fear to God[3].

 

This same, clear choice is right in front of us too. Are we going to do what is right? Are we going to show our love for Jesus by following what he said? Are we going to choose to live out our lives by obeying his words[4]?

 

But there’s more. Are we going to give way to fear? When it comes to fear, we have a choice. Yes, there is great fear in this world, but will we let it move us away from the one who loves us? From the one who died for us. Even though our gut might be in a knot and churning with anxiety, we can still chose to stay faithful to our Savior and God.

 

When Peter says that they were holy, he’s not talking about some special sainthood status that they’ve achieved because of some miracle. They don’t have a glowing halo around their head that lets them read in bed either. They are sinners just like you and me who have been saved by grace through faith[5].

 

The idea of being holy means to be different than the rest of the world. To be set apart from what’s normal. Holy is unusual from what we experience in the day-to-day events of life. Holy is the exact opposite of what’s common. What’s ordinary. What we’ve come to expect.

 

Yes, Peter is telling us that following Jesus will make us different than most of the people we run into. This isn’t an excuse to be weird or odd. But our words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes will be seen for what they are. And when they are mixed with the love of God, they will be so attractive that people will wonder how we can live in this crazy, mixed-up world with peace and joy. Our answer isn’t so much a lecture or a three-point message, but a life. Our goal is for them to see that we’ve been with Jesus, and he’s made all the difference in the world[6]. And his loving us empowers our do and do not decisions in life. Now that’s a life worth living.

 

Noodling Questions

 

  • What do/do not things did you learn as a kid? Describe how you followed them.

  • Is doing right or not being afraid harder for you? Explain.

  • What do you think about someone who seems not to be afraid?


[2] Psalm 91:5,6

[3] Matthew 26:37,38

[4] John 14:15

[5] Ephesians 2:8,9

[6] Acts 4:13

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