The Word To Live By: 5-20-26
Phil Waggoner
He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24
The Word To Live By: This is the second to last verse in this chapter and we are talking about what living a righteous life means. The first two verses talk about being in and studying the Word of God, taking it in like a baby longs for milk. The next seven verses tell you who you are in Christ and answers the question of why you are where you are. It never fails to amaze me that the harder I try to figure out who I am in Christ and why I’m where I am, the harder that question become to answer. But when I accept what God says and live in it, the easier and more obvious that answer becomes. 1 Peter 2:4-10, “Now you are coming to him as to a living stone. Even though this stone was rejected by humans, from God’s perspective it is chosen, valuable. You yourselves are being built (it’s an ongoing project) like living stones into a spiritual temple. You are being made into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (Spiritual sacrifices are praise and thanksgiving - Hebrews 13:15, Psalm 100:4.) Thus it is written in scripture, ‘Look! I am laying a cornerstone in Zion, chosen, valuable.’ The person who believes in him will never be shamed. So God honors you who believe. For those who refuse to believe, though, the stone the builders tossed aside has become the capstone. This is a stone that makes people stumble and a rock that makes them fall. Because they refuse to believe in the word, they stumble. (Walk by faith and not by sight and you won’t stumble.) Indeed, this is the end to which they were appointed. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own possession. You have become this people so that you may speak of the wonderful acts of the one who called you out of darkness into his amazing light.” This is why you are here - to be a light to your world. Whatever you find yourself doing, do it as though Jesus was standing there with you smiling, watching and applauding.
Read through the Bible in a year: Acts 26:19-32; 1 Samuel 1:1-2:10; Psalms 49;
Read through the New Testament and Proverbs: Proverbs 20, John 2:1-13, 2 Peter 2
Kings favor those with righteous lips; they love words of integrity. Proverbs 16:13
The sum of Thy Word is Truth Psalm 119:160