June 18, 2025 -- I Peter 1:3-7 -- Facing Every Test

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
I Peter 1:3-7 ESV
 
Ugh. Tests. Do you remember them? When a teacher, with a sinister smile, announced a pop quiz in the course you found the hardest to keep up in, do you remember how you felt? Stressed? Inadequate? Despairing? Even those of us who are now graduated and done with school, all of us in fact, face tests of various kinds. Peter calls them trials. I really appreciate how Tim Keller explained tests and trials. He noted that some teachers give tests to show you how little you know, and such tests lead you to despair. Like you’ll never master the material. The test is meant to weed students out of the class. However, there are also teachers who, before giving tests, prepare you, help you learn the formulas and the equations which will help you succeed. When you take the test, you realize what you know, and you apply your learning so that you grow. The test shows what you know and aids your learning, so you grow.
 
That illustration has been such a blessing and an encouragement to me over the last few days. This morning, I met with a man who is incarcerated. He shared that he is learning, reading his bible, and talking about what he believes. He wondered if he is up to the challenge of telling others about Jesus. The more we talked, the more he seemed to relax and even had a small smile play across his lips. I think he realized his Bible reading and his walk with God had prepared him for the test of sharing his faith. As he related this experience to me, he realized he had applied what he knew and applied it appropriately. What a huge blessing.
 
Another man, out of prison and learning about Jesus, is starting to realize that all his relationships must be informed by his walk with God. People he used to trust, when he walked in the ways of sin, must now be treated with wary suspicion. He has decided Jesus is his moral centre, so all his relationships must be governed by his allegiance to Jesus. What a great lesson. A man who is taking to heart the word of God and is growing in his commitment to Jesus.
 
Dear fellow believer, make no mistake about it. When we follow Jesus, our every decision about life, work, finances, friendship, how we spend our non-working hours and how we raise our children, every single decision must be yielded to His Lordship in our lives. The choices that confront us will readily reveal our idols. Whatever it is we prioritize above Jesus will be exposed. These are the fiery tests the Spirit uses to refine us like gold. Through successive tests we will find ourselves shiningly brightly for our king. When we fail, and who among us doesn’t fail, we confess our sinful decisions and choices and renew our allegiance to Jesus. The result is what we know we put into practice so that we grow up, maturing in Christ.
 
Faithful Father thank You for the riches of knowing You and being called Your beloved sons and daughters. Blessed be Your Name now and forever more. Thank You for the glorious reconciliation You have brought about through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. Holy Jesus blessed be Your Name for the work of salvation. Spirit of God, we confess how we chafe against tests and strive to make decisions in our own strength. Blessed be Your Name for the sanctifying work You are doing in us so that we are renewed in heart and mind. Continue Your purifying work until we are wholly Christ’s. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/syCSeMudbO4?si=RR0-DhpchNUK1M0e “Whiter Than Snow”
 

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