1 Pet. 5:11-14 - Stand firm in God's grace

11 To him belongs the power forever. Amen.
12 Through Silvanus, whom I know to be a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, in order to encourage you and testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.
13 The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you, and so does Mark, my son.
14 Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
***

Closing comments and greetings

vs. 11 - "To him belongs..." - Praise the Lord! Eternal glory and Power is Christ's as it is the Father's and the Holy Spirit's. It can belong to none other. He is the almighty, eternal, and glorious Lord God. His life, His miracles, His resurrection and ascension all give proof to His being worthy. See Rev. 4:11 - "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created!"

vs. 12 - "in order to encourage you" - This letter was written to encourage us during trouble, persecution and suffering.
It seems that 'Silvanus' may also be another name for 'Silas' who had been a helper for Paul on his journeys. Some of the helpers for Paul and Barnabas, or Peter and John moved from apostle to apostle wherever they were needed most.

"this is the true grace of God" - Go back to verse 10 - two important statements (1) you are called to His eternal glory, and (2) He himself will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us. That is indeed grace - we are helpless, and He is not. He is not selfish and will give us what we do not deserve - because of His love for us.

vs. 13 - "The Church in Babylon" - The Church in Babylon is the Church of Jerusalem - which is a little bit cryptic.
One commentary (Matthew Henry) claims this letter was written from Assyria, or Babylon, and that the Jerusalem church had been driven out, dispersed and landed in Babylon.
Assyria was not Babylon. They were competing powerful nations during the early Jewish kingdoms. Assyria and Babylonia occupied the approximate same territory, roughly from the area now known as Turkey down to the Perisan Gulf. They ruled at different times, often over-running each other in their quest for dominance. The capital of the nation Babylonia was the city of Babylon, located in the southern portion of the area (now know as Iraq). Assyria's capital was Nineveh, or Assur, (see the book of Jonah) located close to the Black sea in the north.
The city of Babylon no longer existed by the time of the apostles. It appears to have declined to ruins after Alexander the Great conquered (approximately 275 BC) the nation. The name Babylon became a title for the Asian area where many churches were founded by Peter and Paul. Babylon was an important center of the Christian faith until the Islam invasion and destruction in the 700s AD.
Peter was visiting the exiled believers, and wrote this letter to encourage other Christians.

vs. 14 - "Peace to all of you" - The Peace of Christ is with us. Jesus promised His peace. See John 14:27. Paul echoes this promise in his letter to the Philippians. "Do not be anxious for anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus... And what you have learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things And the God of peace will be with you." Phi. 4:6,7,9. In the midst of trials and persecution, appeal to the Lord, and receive His peace. He will never leave your, nor abandon you. What a marvelous thought to ponder each and every day! If He is for us, who or what can be against us. We are His own family. Praise the Lord!

***
END OF CHAPTER
END OF LETTER

1 Pet. 5:10 - Christ will perfect you

10 And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
***

Christ will perfect you; after you have suffered

vs. 10 - "a little while" - The suffering is only for a short time. The beautiful part is we are God's own, and He will bring us to perfection. He will strengthen us.

"called you to his eternal glory" - Jesus, the Son of God, has been with the Father from infinite eternity to infinite eternity. The glory that is the Father's is also the Son's. "He has taken us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son." (Col. 1:14)

How glorious is God? Moses who dealt daily with God while leading the Israelites out of Egypt begged to see God. See: Ex. 33:18-23 - "Then Moses said, 'I pray You, show me Your glory!' And He (The Lord) said, 'I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.' But He (The Lord) said, 'You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!' Then the LORD said, 'Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.'"

The prophet Isaiah had a vison in which he saw the Lord. Isaiah was so overwhelmed he thought he was going to die. Isa. 6:1-5 - "In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.' And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, 'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.'"

The prophet Ezekiel also had a vision in which he saw God sitting on his throne. See Ezek. 1:26-28 - "Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking."
In all instances when people "see" the Lord they are overwhelmed by His glory. We cannot adequately describe or comprehend the majesty and wonderousness of God. We are knocked back on our heels or farther. We are blinded by the brilliance - imagine being in a blackened room, total darkness, and suddenly a whole wall of klieg lights turn on. We are blinded and freeze. It is much, much more than that.

We will be in that light. We will not be blinded. We will see clearly! We will be in the presence of God's glory and will rejoice and be glad.

Four things (among others) that Christ does for us.

- "restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish" -

1. restore - This word has the meaning, or sense of "to mend" (what has been broken or rent); "to repair"; "perfect"; "complete"; "make one what he ought to be". -- I love that last one - to make us what we ought to be - beings that have a close and loving relationship with God. That which was lost with the original sin of Adam, has been restored to us. Praise God!
2. confirm - The idea of this action is to "to make stable"; "place firmly"; "set fast"; "fix"; "make firm"; "to render constant" -- We are not to be unstable, wavering in our Christian life. We can be sure, we can be confident that we are Christ's. If we are in His hands, no one, no being (spiritual or otherwise) can snatch us away. He has promised it.
3. strengthen - Our soul is empowered - from the concordance: "to make one's soul strong", "strengthen one's soul". -- Our soul, our spirit, without Jesus is weak and broken, sinful. Our soul, with Jesus, is as as strong as He is. The only reason we do not conquer all, is we still fall prey to our old nature. Stronger is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.
4. establish - God is doing this so we are permanently part of the kingdom. The meaning of the word is "to lay the foundation"; "to found" (to set up, especially with provision for continuing existence); "to make stable". -- Again, I love the idea of provision for continuing existence. God is in this for the long haul. This is not a temporary thing, it is for real. We are encouraged so that we will not just be along for the ride, but given all we need to be full participants in the kingdom. Not serfs, not dummy robots, but fully functioning members that do His will and see the rewards He has promised.

***

1 Pet. 5:8-9 - Resist the devil, be alert

Resist the devil, be alert

8 Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.
9 Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering.

***

Be Sober and Alert

vs. 8 - "the devil... is on the prowl" - Be aware that the devil is constantly alert, trying to trip us up. We hear the description 'roaring lion' and I suspect that many of us make a small quiet smile amd think, "Yeah. Right." By that, I mean we acknowledge that Satan exists, but are not always sure how much effect he has on us. After all, we are saved and are Christians - what can Satan do to us? But Satan has been involved in the downfall and failure of humans from the beginning. A partial list follows;

1. Gen. 3:1-15 - Satan deceives Eve. She succumbs to her desires rather than obeying the Lord.
2. Gen 4:2-9 - Cain murders Abel. He dos not control his anger. Cain's 'woe is me' turns to rage, and then feigns ignorance and indifference. Again, suggested and fueled by Satan.
3. Gen. 16:1-12 - Sarah tries to 'help' the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham. The result was a son by a servant woman, and this son has been a thorn in the side of the Jews ever since. She didn't believe God any better than Eve.
4. Gen. 27:6-30 - Rather than believing God's promise, Rachel convinces Jacob to cheat his brother. This lack of trust in God, resulted in enmity between Jacob's and Esau's descendants, that has lasted through the present day.
5. Exo. 32:4; Num. 13:27-14:12 - The Jews lose faith in God and Moses, multiple times - making the golden calf, and refusal to enter Canaan the first time and 38 years of wandering in the desert.
6. Judges - the whole book...) - The Jews 'fall away' from God, and suffer at the hands of oppressors. God rescues them by raising up a judge, a charismatic leader. This pattern repeats for hundreds of years.
7. 1 Sam. 8:4-9; 10;17-19 - The Jews demand to have a king, even though God says He is their king. The desire to be like everyone else is another lie from Satan.
8. 1 Sam. 13:8-14 - Saul doesn't obey God's instructions, and his kingdom is stripped away. He just couldn't wait another day - impatience encouraged by Satan.
9. 2 Sam. 11:2-11 - David commits adultery, and has the woman's husband killed. The temptation was laid before David, and his lust led him into sin.
10. 2 Kings 17:5-23, (see especially verses 7-18 and the list of their offenses). 2 Kings 24:1-25:20 - The Northern and Southern kingdoms are evil, turning their backs on God. The Northern kingdom disappears courtesy of the Assyrians (who weren't as nice as the Nazis a couple of thousand years later.)
11. Mark 8:32-33 - Peter tries to talk Jesus out of His mission - the cross.
12. Matt. 26:67-70 - Peter denies Christ during the 'trial'.

Although this is a limited list, it's enough. You can see that Satan is alive and working. Ever since Satan rebelled against God he has endeavored to destroy the works of God. He tries to delude a human from accepting Christ as Savior. If that fails, his next tasks are to keep the Christian from living a fruitful Spirit-filled life. The book "The Screwtape Letters" reads like a manual on what Christians can do to be unfruitful, struggling, unhappy believers. (Actually, I recommend the audio version of "Screwtape Letters" as read by John Cleese. He provides the 'right' amount of snark and disdain for Jesus and believers. You can almost feel his anger and hate for us and our Lord.) Satan is constantly at work, as are the fallen angels who serve him.
Don't despair. Jesus came into this world to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8) But Jesus didn't just destroy the works of the devil, He provided the start of a new world that will have no influence of Satan, who will be in the burning lake of fire, for eternity. Praise the Lord!

Resist the Devil

vs. 9 - "Resist him," - Resist the devil by faith in Christ. Sometimes believers try to take on Satan by themselves, thinking the issue is not that big. This is a big mistake! Paul says in "Ephesians", "Our battle is not against flesh and blood..." (See: Eph. 6:12) The devil is far more powerful than we are. Satan cannot make you DO ANYTHING. But he is clever, and the father of lies (See:John 8:44), and he will deceive you. Rely on Jesus to resist the devil. In fact, use Jesus and His power to stop the devil in his attempts to draw you into sin. Use the name of Jesus and all that implies. Start a prayer when Satan is attacking you with, "In the name of Jesus...", and finish with the request that will free you. Satan has no power over Jesus. He is helpless against Jesus. Satan does not want us to turn to Jesus.

"because you know ..." We are not alone in our sufferings. Fellow Christians are going through the same thing.

***

1 Pet. 5:6-7 - Humble yourselves before God

6 And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand
7 by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you.

***

In Due Time

vs. 6 - "humble yourselves under his mighty hand" - Submit yourselves to God. I think Americans have a problem with submitting ourselves to anybody. Our heritage, starting with the Revolution, the Civil War, extending to today's 'Resist" movement has been "No one tells me what to do!" What is the aim of many people? To be their own boss. We have a strong independence streak running through us. Ask yourself, "Who is in charge of my life, of my behavior?"
Don't glibly answer, "God is." In some ways we act as practical atheists - Campus Crusade for Christ describes this as being a 'carnal man'. Not carnal in the sense of immoral, sexual behavior, but in the sense that we have put our own ego or self on the throne of our life, and not Jesus. "I can take care of this," or, "I can do this" are symptomatic of believing the lie.
The lie is that we are in control. The poem Invictus by William E. Henley is about standing firm in the face of overwhelming odds and circumstances. It is an anthem of courage and defiance. Yet, the most famous line, and the strongest sounding cry, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul..." is also the saddest. While it exhorts us to never give up, it also is a rallying cry of defiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. I am not saying that Christians openly stand and shake their fist at God. We do it more subtly, quietly, in the form of passive resistance. The resulting defiance is the same whether it is 'in your face', or sneaky and hidden.
Our problem (especially my problem) is that we can go through the day without thinking to much about it. We operate by rote. We do what we have always done. Jesus is saying there is a better way. "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him". (Psa. 37:7) "In his heart man plans his course, but God determines the steps." (Prov. 3:5,6)
Two prayers I have learned from a devotional book are part of the secret of living for Jesus: "Help me, Jesus," and "I trust You, Jesus." Paul says it clearly in Gal. 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me". Humbling ourselves is believing and committing to the fact that Jesus is in control. The reward for believing in Him and thereby yielding to Him, will come.
Please do not misunderstand, the rewards are not relegated to the future only. Rather than standing and shaking our fist at life, we can be comforted in His arms, because we can trust that He cares for us. Jer. 29:11 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.' If we would only pay attention to Jesus our well-being would be like a stream that never runs dry. (See: Isa. 48:18)

vs. 7 - "cast all your cares..." - Worrying is a form of practical atheism. Fretting about tomorrow's events will not make them go away, or improve them. (See: Matt. 6:34) In fact, fretting may lead anger, revenge, and other evil in your life. (See Ps. 37:8) That does not mean we should take a "What? Me worry?" attitude. The problems can be confronted and overcome if we give them to the Lord. See: Phil. 4:6-7.

***

1 Pet. 5:1-5 - Elders take care of your flock

1 So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you:
2 Give a shepherd's care to God's flock among you, exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God's direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly.
3 And do not lord it over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock.
4 Then when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.
5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

***

vs. 1 - Peter identifies himself himself as an elder (not a pope). He emphasizes that he was present with, and an eye witness to, the life of Christ. He also agrees with Paul that there is glory to come for those who believe. (See: Rom. 2:7, 10, 6:4; 8:18, 9:23; 2 Cor. 3:18, 4:17; Eph. 5:27)

Advice to Elders

vs. 2 "Give a shepherd's care" - Guide and protect those in your care. Don't do it as a burden, nor consider it so. Don't do it for personal gain - monetary gain. (See: Matt. 19:7-30; Mark 9:33-35; 10:28-31) Peter fully understood what he was saying to the leaders of the churches - Peter and the other disciples had argued over who would be the greatest in the new kingdom. (Mark 9:34; Luke 9:46)
Peter finally understood Jesus' words - after Jesus appeared to them in the upper room, after He ascended into heaven, after Pentecost when they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to earth to save us, not to rule over us. When He returns again it will be in power and glory - returning to establish His kingdom, ruling with an iron rod. Compare: Matt. 20:28, Luke 19:10 with Rev. 2:27; 12:5; 19:15! Ruling "with an iron rod" does not mean Jesus will be cruel or vindictive. It means He will be strong, effective, sure and decisive.

vs. 3 "do not lord it over" - More advice: Lead the flock. Don't drive them. Jesus called Himself the good shepherd. (John 10:11, 14) Peter understood his role was to guide and protect the church. He was to guide by teaching the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, and Him only. He was to protect by preparing the members to handle the trials which were coming upon them. He was to protect them from false teachings that would lead them astray. That is still the job of the elders and leaders of the churches. He understood that many believers will not throw themselves into study and prayer. He understood that many believes will grow and mature only through the teaching and ministry of their leaders. That is why leaders must be chosen carefully, groomed and prepared to lead and protect the church - so that none are lead astray. See: Matt. 9:36; John 10:11, 14; 21:16; Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:20.

vs. 4 - "Chief Shepherd" - Christ. The King is coming. The worker and elder who has done Jesus' bidding in caring for and protecting the flock will be rewarded. See: Matt. 25:14-29

vs. 5 - More advice: "Others first" seems to be the key to humility. See: Rom. 12:9-10; Rom. 12:3; Phil. 2:4-8

1 Pet. 4:12-16 - Expect suffering

12 Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you.
13 But rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice and be glad.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, who is the Spirit of God, rests on you.
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or thief or criminal or as a troublemaker.
16 But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear such a name.

vs. 12 - "do not be astonished that a trial by fire" - 'The world hates God and Jesus' (and you!) is a theme repeated throughout scripture. See: 1 John 3:1; John 15:18, 19, 23 So: don't be surprised if the whole roof caves in on us. It gives us a chance to go through some testing. See also Heb. 11:36, 38; Rev. 2:10 The suffering we receive is a product of our Christianity (or it will be if we live our faith and share it) because the world is frightened of seeing itself as it is. (John3:20)

Rejoice in it

vs. 13 - "rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ" - The more we suffer the more we are to praise the Lord. When He comes again we will share in His glory. This sounds a little like James 1:2-4 "My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything."

vs. 14 - "you are blessed" - God has promised to aid all those who need it. And if we are suffering for Christ, the Holy Spirit is spending His time with us, blessing and comforting.

Never suffer because of evil actions

vs. 15 - "suffer... as a troublemaker." - Never, never confuse suffering for evil deeds (or because of evil you have done) with suffering because of your faith in Christ. If the suffering is because of sin, it is deserved and there is no glory. Apparently there are things that Christians should not be doing. (That was facetious and sarcastic.) Crimes, sinful acts and evil doings are symptom of our inherited evil nature. Our legal system only punishes the crimes they can "prove beyond a reasonable doubt". God exacts justice on all creation for there is nothing that can be hidden from Him. 'All creation lies open and exposed before His eyes', and 'every act will be judged, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil'. See Heb. 4:12,13; Eccl. 12:14

vs. 16 - "If you suffer as a Christian..."Don't be ashamed at suffering for Christ, but use that Christian suffering to glorify Christ. In essence, we should be able to say, "Thank You, Oh Lord, that people know I am Your child. It is not by my power, but by Yours that I am able to live a life honoring You." It is because we are Christians that world around us is upset.
Notice that the secular world is hardly ever bothered if you sin? There are some sins - murder, rape, stealing, etc., that cause alarm. It is not enough for you to not murder, or to not rape, or to not steal. Most non-believers do the same. God has a much higher standard to which you are to aim. You will not achieve it under your own power and effort. This can only happen when you let Jesus live in and through you. Vince Lombardi (great Green Bay Packers coach) would tell his players, "We will strive for perfection. We may not achieve it, but on the way we will find excellence." Aim for perfection through Jesus Christ. In this world you will find excellence. In the next world you will be perfect as He is perfect. See: 1 John 3:1-2.

1 Pet. 4:10-11 - Use your gifts from God to glorify him

10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God.
11 Whoever speaks, let it be with God's words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

vs. 10 - "each one has received a gift" - By God's grace we have been saved, and likewise have been given a gift to be used to serve others. God expects us to use it for that purpose. Peter gives a short list of gifts in the next verse. Paul has provided a more extensive list in his letters.
See: Rom. 12:6-8:

1. Prophecy
2. Service
3. Teaching
4. Exhortation
5. Giving
6. Leadership
7. Mercy

See also: 1 Cor. 12:7-11,

1. Wisdom
2. Knowledge
3. Faith
4. Miracles
5. Prophecy
6. Distinguishing Spirits
7. Tongues
8. INterpretation of Tounges

See also: 1 Cor. 12:28,

1. Apostles
2. Prophets
3. Teachers
4. Miracles
5. Healings
6. Helps
7. Administration
8. Tongues

And also: 1 Cor. 13:8, 14:1, It is important to remember 'Love never fails.' All these gifts may go away, whether tongues, or knowledge, or administration - these are all "temporary'. My guess is the gift of tongues will not be necessary in the new earth and new heaven. Neither will wisdom, or prophecy, or distinguishing spirits, or administration be necessary for the health of the church. Love will still be the driving force in the universe - God is Love. So, pursue Love.

"varied grace of God." - Looking at the lists of gifts above, it is easy to see that God is 'multi-dimensional' (or so to speak) God has given the church the tools (gifts) to be able to meet the needs of the body of believers. In the same way that God does not leave you and I to fend for ourselves, God provides the gifts needed to nurture the body. God's grace is not one-dimensional any more than He is.

vs. 11 - Peter's list of gifts: speaking (teaching, preaching, etc.) and serving. He explains how the gifts are to be used.
"let it be with God's words" - If I am going to speak out for Jesus, I need to be sure that I am indeed speaking what Jesus wants me to say. This means I need to spend time with Him, to be in the power and control of the Holy Spirit. This is why we must always check what our teachers and preachers say. We must compare their words to the Bible. The apostle John tells us to test the spirit, do not believe every spirit. See if they are from God. (1 John 4:1). The spirit of every person is either led by God's spirit or by another spirit, (which is NOT from God).
The people who speak 'for God', whether the prophets of the Old Testament, or the teachers and preachers of His church must speak what God wants them to speak. The OT prophets ALWAYS announced, "Thus says the Lord..." False prophets were put to death. They were those who speak a vision from their own heart, or follow their own spirit. See: Jer. 23:19; Ezek. 13:3. Part of their job was to point out the sins of the people of Israel. (See: Isa. 58:1; Ezek. 22:2, 43:10; Mic. 3:8). Now, NT teachers and preachers have a different mission than the OT prophets. They are to use God's words "for teaching, for reproof, correction, and training for righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16), and for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, making disciples in all nations. Paul was adamant that the correct gospel would be preached. See Gal. 1:8,9.

"with the strength that God supplies" - Whatever we say or do, let us let God use our lives and supply the strength for the job. Talk and walk by faith - in this way Christ will be living in us to give glory to God. All glory and power belongs to God. It's His personally.

"God will be glorified through Jesus Christ" - This is the purpose of he church and the believer. If someone asks you, "What is your purpose in life?", that should be your response - to bring glory to God through Christ.

A friend and a mentor writes a column "Wisdom of the Week by Pastor Dave". This week is an article that starts with honey bees, particularly the forager bees. The foragers communicate the location of the nectar for other foragers to retrieve. The message must be clear. This applies to you and me as we share the gospel - giving directions to people so they can find Christ. I include the article for your reading pleasure.

“LESSONS FROM A HONEYBEE”
(Part IV: “Giving a Reliable Message”)

When a forager honeybee discovers a good source of nectar and returns to the hive with her load, she lets the other forager bees know about her discovery and she even gives them a sample of the nectar to taste. She also conveys the distance to and location of the treasure she discovered. This must be a very accurate message, not only for the efficiency and productivity of the hive, but also for the very lives of the other forager bees that head to that nectar source. As the forager bee returns to the hive with its treasure, it relates the distance and direction to the nectar source by using the sun as a reference point. If the bee points its body vertically on the comb of the hive, it signals that the flowers are located away from the hive in the same direction as the sun. A downward direction indicates conversely that the flowers are in the opposite direction. Or a message given at, say, a 30-degree angle on the comb directs the watching foragers to leave the hive at a 30-degree angle from the sun.
But, the departing foragers also need to know the distance to the nectar because they will tank up on fuel (honey from the hive) to make it to the source of nectar . The forager bee that returned to the hive with nectar indicates the distance by its body motion. A circular motion tells foragers that the food is within 100 yards. A figure eight ceremony indicates that the nectar is more than 100 yards away. The rate of the tail-wagging motion is in direct proportion to the distance of the nectar. The closer the source, the more intense the body movement.
(NOTE: So, just where do these bees learn all these things? Do they attend a honeybee school before they can assume their role as forager bees? Who teaches them? What amazing little creatures, designed by an awesome, all-wise, all-powerful, Creator God!) Directional information must be precise since the foragers take only enough honey with them—as fuel—to reach their destination and return. If they carry too much, they will not have room for more nectar. If they carry too little, they will fall to the ground and die before reaching their destination unless they can locate another source of glucose. So, it is crucial that the forager bees give reliable messages. The life of the other forager bees and of the hive depends on it.
I’m guessing you already are thinking of the obvious spiritual application. As believers who have discovered the source of eternal life in Jesus Christ (I Jn. 5:10,11), we need to be sure to give a reliable message to others so that they too can find new life in Jesus Christ. If we give an inaccurate, unreliable message, others could end up eternally separated from God, for there is only One Way. Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me” (Jn. 14:6). The Apostle Peter, in a message recorded in Acts 4, said: “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (4:12).
We must tell others of the Jesus of the Bible, God incarnate (Jn. 1:14), fully God and fully man, not some man-made concept of a Jesus who was Lucifer’s brother, an angel who became the Messiah, or a man who became God, but a Jesus who is a member of the God-head, co-equal, and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. In John 8:24, Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I Am (He), you shall die in your sins.” By that statement, Jesus was claiming to be Jehovah God, for He was using the name God gave to Moses at the scene of the burning bush in Ex. 3:13-15. The Jesus of the Bible is the only Jesus that can save.
We must also preach the gospel of the Bible, which according to Paul has power to save (Ro. 1:16). Just what is that gospel? Paul defined it in I Cor. 15:1-4 as the Good News of the death of Christ for sin, of His burial and of His resurrection. Paul also emphasized that salvation is a gift, not something we earn through works of any kind. He said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9). If we add anything to the requirements of salvation by faith in the work of the Jesus of the Bible, we no longer have the true gospel. As Paul addressed the churches in Galatia, he said, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:6-8). Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.
We need to be reliable messengers of the true gospel and of the real Jesus of the Bible.
Others’ lives depend on it. Beware of those who are preaching a “different Jesus” and a “different gospel.” Satan attacks the truth of the Bible every way he can. He is the “Father of lies” (Jn. 8:44) and the “great deceiver,” doing all he can to keep people from discovering the truth which alone can set them free (Jn. 8:32,36).
Forever His,
Pastor Dave
(MY Thaks to Pastor Dave Nelson - long time friend and mentor)