{"id":29511,"date":"2024-01-17T22:00:15","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T05:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-peter-4_1-11-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-01-09T22:18:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T05:18:46","slug":"1-peter-4_12-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-peter-4_12-19\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sweetness in Suffering for Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Peter 4:12-19 <\/strong>\u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is\u00a01\u00a0Peter 4:12-19.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!\u00a0 As usual, I recommend that you read the whole passage by yourself first and see what you can glean on your own.\u00a0 Then take a look at this GAME sharing below.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>\u00a0Peter<\/strong>\u00a04<\/strong>:12-16 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.\u00a0<\/em>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.\u00a0<\/em>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.\u00a0<\/em>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.\u00a0<\/em>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 12-16:\u00a0 It shouldn\u2019t surprise us or seem strange to us whenever we go through painful trials.\u00a0 Jesus Himself said, \u201cIn this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world.\u201d (John\u00a016:33)\u00a0 Since suffering and trouble are part of living life on earth, you might as well suffer trouble for the right reasons, says\u00a0Peter, instead of for the wrong reasons (v15).\u00a0 If you have to suffer, suffer because of your faith in Jesus.<\/p>\n

When you suffer because of your faith in Jesus, remember two things.\u00a0 First, because you suffer for your faith, you have a special portion of God\u2019s Spirit and glory \u2013 \u201cthe Spirit of glory and of God rests on you\u201d (v14).\u00a0 Second, consider it an honour to suffer for your faith in Jesus, for you are being counted worthy to suffer for Jesus\u2019 name.\u00a0 As verse 16 says, \u201cif you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.\u201d\u00a0 May it be an encouragement to you that you\u2019re doing something right, that people are taking notice of your faith in Jesus when you suffer for it.\u00a0 It reminds me of how when the apostles in Acts 5:41-42 left the public assembly after being flogged, they went home \u201crejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name\u201d.\u00a0 Sometimes there can be a certain sweetness that comes with suffering for your faith in Jesus.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>\u00a0Peter<\/strong>\u00a04<\/strong>:17-19 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?\u00a0<\/em>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”\u00a0<\/em>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 17-19:\u00a0 As a loving Father, God disciplines us His children for our good (Hebrews\u00a012:10).\u00a0 Hebrews 12:7 in fact encourages us to see all hardship that we endure as discipline from God in some way \u2013 discipline that is meant to refine us, train us and make us stronger in the end (Hebrews\u00a012:11).\u00a0 To paraphrase\u00a0Peter\u00a0in verses 17-18, \u201cIf God disciplines and judges us His family by allowing us to go through hardship and suffering, how much harder will it be for those who are outside that family and who reject God?\u201d<\/p>\n

Because God loves us and always disciplines us for our good, we can run to Him, commit ourselves to Him and keep doing good even after we have suffered (v19).<\/p>\n

Father, thank You for those times when I get to suffer because of my faith in Jesus.\u00a0 Thank You for teaching me that to suffer for You is an honour and a blessing, because I get to bear Your name and experience a special portion of Your glory and Your Spirit in doing so.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is\u00a01\u00a0Peter 4:12-19.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!\u00a0 As usual, I recommend that you read the whole passage by yourself first and see what you can glean on your own.\u00a0 Then take a look at this GAME sharing below.
\n\u00a0
\n1\u00a0Peter\u00a04:12-16 (NIV)\u00a0
\n12\u00a0\u00a0Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.\u00a0
\n13\u00a0\u00a0But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.\u00a0
\n14\u00a0\u00a0If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.\u00a0
\n15\u00a0\u00a0If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.\u00a0
\n16\u00a0\u00a0However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 12-16:\u00a0 It shouldn\u2019t surprise us or seem strange to us whenever we go through painful trials.\u00a0 Jesus Himself said, \u201cIn this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world.\u201d (John\u00a016:33)\u00a0 Since suffering and trouble are part of living life on earth, you might as well suffer trouble for the right reasons, says\u00a0Peter, instead of for the wrong reasons (v15).\u00a0 If you have to suffer, suffer because of your faith in Jesus.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29511"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29514,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29511\/revisions\/29514"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}