Tag / obedience

by johnkking

Ephesians Applied to My Life (cont.)

Ephesians 5:21-6:9

(21) Since Jesus submits to the Father, we will recognize proper lines of submission.

(22-33) A wife’s husband is accountable. Just as Jesus answers for the church, he will answer for his wife. As the church submits to Jesus, so the wife submits. Husband, imitate Jesus with a servant love for your wife. His love made the church godlier. Jesus made the church more beautiful and purer. Model Jesus.  Love her like your own body—you are one in marriage. Every sane person takes care of his body rather than abusing it.  We get to imitate Jesus in this. We are parts of his body. This oneness has always been God’s plan for marriage. A great marriage gives deep insight into Jesus’ love for the church. Husband, love her like yourself; wife honor him.

Ephesians 6

(1-4) God rewards children for obeying their parents. He attached the first promise of a blessing to honoring them. Good things and life expectancy are tied to obeying your parents. Dads must nurture faith rather than bullying their children.

(5-9) Superiors should be treated in the same way you submit to Jesus. Not only when they are watching you because you are mindful of God’s will for you. Give them the kind of service you would give God. You know God sees and rewards every good deed.  Your status doesn’t matter in this. Supervisors, treat your people with respect.  Don’t bully them since you know God is over both of you and he doesn’t play favorites.

“I Will…” Statements

  • I will build respectful relationships.
  • I will be the kind of husband to whom  Debra finds it easy to submit.
  • I will have a saving influence in my leadership role.
  • I will lead like Jesus so Debra knows she’s blessed in my leadership.
  • I will be like Jesus—loving Debra with a sacrificial love.
  • I will love so that it makes her a better person.
  • I will lead her into increasing holiness.
  • I will love Debra with the protective love I have for myself.
  • I will care for her as I care for myself—better yet, love her as Christ loved the church.
  • I will reflect Jesus’ cares for me.
  • I will remember that oneness is God’s goal for marriage.
  • I will show Jesus’ love for the church in my marriage.
  • I will love Debra like myself so she can readily respect me.
  • I will obey my parents with a godly respect.
  • I will remember God’s promised blessing.
  • I will recognize God blesses my respect for my parents.
  • I will create a healthy environment that nurtures faith in Kenneth and Rachel rather than frustrates them.
  • I will have a respectful relationship with my accountability people.
  • Iwill be a man of integrity doing what’s right even when they are not looking.
  • I will give them the service I would give God as my boss.
  • I will recognize God will reward any good I do.
  • I will treat those who answer me with dignity and respect.  I will not strong-arm them because God will settle the score.
by johnkking

Ephesians Applied to My Life (cont.)

[NOTE: I will begin with my re-statement of the passage. Then I will present a list of “I Will…” Statements that I wrote based on that section. Reading these sections will give you some insight into what struck me as I studied through these texts, but your time would be better spent doing your own 3-column study first. After you have written your study then reading mine will give you another set of eyes and experiences that may help you with your efforts to hear from God.]

Ephesians 4:1-32

(1-6) Reminded why Paul was imprisoned, he admonishes them to be righteous in their living. Love excludes haughty and harsh behavior.  It prompts compassion. Work hard to maintain the peaceful oneness the Spirit created: One family, one Comforter, one confident expectation. One master, one surrender, one washing. One Papa God reigning and living in each and every one of us.

(7-13) Individually Christ gave us gifts. This is why the Word says, “Coming up he had the Victor’s entrance, leading his spoils and giving out gifts.” (The one coming up had earlier gone down from heaven to earth. The one who came down later went up to the highest place, so everything reaches fulfillment.) This Victor appointed some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastor/teachers. Giftings to equip God’s children to do edifying acts of servanthood. This building up continues until God’s family is mature compared to Jesus, walking like he walked.

(14-16) Such maturity will prevent us from being battered by false teachers who work hard to trip us up. Rather, lovingly saying what is right, we will become more and more like Jesus our Master. He is the one the family becomes stronger in by doing our own part.  Like a body growing stronger through focused exercise, we work together focusing on our mutual good.

(17-19) In view of all Jesus has accomplished, we must stop living the way unbelievers do, in their vain thinking. They don’t “get it” since their hearts are hard and they are spiritually dull and live a different lifestyle. Without a spiritual focus they keep choosing rebellion to God by seeking increasingly unholy ways to satisfy their human desires.

(20-24) Jesus changed our thinking. We came to know the truth about God through him when we were discipled. We were taught to stop living in self-destructive ways. We learned to be renewed in our thinking. We learned to be transformed to become more and more like God—doing what is right and holy.

(25-29) Integrity—being honest with our neighbors is expected because we are in the same family. When angry we must not sin—we will deal with our anger today so we limit Satan’s access to us. As people of integrity we avoid the temptation to steal by working hard to provide for ourselves and have some to share with the needy. We replace destructive speech with constructive conversation.  People who hear us are blessed.

(30) Our talking doesn’t sadden the Holy Spirit—God’s pledge of the coming redemption.

(31-32) Hatefulness, stirring up turmoil and lying about others are out of the question for us. Like God treated us with grace, we forgive and treat others with gentleness and empathy.

“I Will…” Statements

  • I will live up to my calling to a righteous life.
  • In humility I will put up with a lot from the people I love in God’s family.
  • I will work hard to hold on to the peace God’s unifying Spirit creates.
  • I will remember the seven ones:  church, Spirit, hope. Lord, faith, baptism and Father unite us.  I will put work boots and gloves on this unity.
  • I will stay humble regarding Jesus’ gifts.
  • I will recognize only Jesus earned the right to give these gifts.
  • I will follow his example of humbly leaving heaven to become a man.
  • I will recognize God exalted him for his humility; he will exalt you.
  • I will accept the fact that Jesus set the kingdom up according to his purpose.
  • I will build up the body by using my gifts in serving others.
  • I will work for God’s goal of mature faith in Jesus.
  • I will measure up to the standard of Jesus.
  • I will seek maturity because it protects us from the damaging effects of false teachers.
  • I will lovingly speak the truth like Jesus so we grow to be more and more like our head.
  • I will remember it takes all of us working together under his guidance to be built up in love—each must do his/her part.
  • I will choose mature thinking, rather than thinking in the old futile ways.
  • I will keep my heart soft by doing whatever God calls me to do.
  • I will realize disobedience contributes to a destructive insensitivity and sets in motion increasing levels of rebellion.
  • I will remember how I started.
  • I will remember the truth about Jesus started me off so I will stay in it.
  • I will obey the truth I learn and stop the old way of living.
  • I will seek a godly attitude each day.
  • I will do righteous and holy things since God transforms me through them.
  • I will be honest with members of God’s family.
  • I will deal today with anger that arises.
  • I will limit Satan’s use of my anger.
  • Rather than stealing, I will use hard work to provide for myself and to share with the needy.
  • I will speak only helpful words so my words are beneficial to my hearers.
  • I will make sure what I say is appropriate for the Spirit to hear.
  • I will choose not to be hateful and/or a trouble-maker.
  • I will treat others with kindness and forgiveness because Jesus did the same to me.
by johnkking

Applying Ephesians to My Life (cont.)

[NOTE: I will begin with my re-statement of the passage. Then I will present a list of “I Will…” Statements that I wrote based on that section. Reading these sections will give you some insight into what struck me as I studied through these texts, but your time would be better spent doing your own 3-column study first. After you have written your study then reading mine will give you another set of eyes and experiences that may help you with your efforts to hear from God.]

Ephesians 3:1-21

(1-5) Extending this amazing unity to non-Jews is why Paul was arrested. Haven’t you heard, God charged him to preach this amazing grace to those formerly excluded from it? Though this truth used to be hidden, God told Paul directly and he has just written about it some. Reading this pulls back the curtains so we can see too. You can trade on this “insider” information.  None of our ancestors had access to what we learned from the Spirit through his spokesmen.

(6-9) The shocking news is that the outcasts have been adopted and given equality with the natural children.  All who have this get it through Jesus—the Promised One. It took a mighty act of God’s grace to save Paul and entrust him with this newly revealed message. Nothing he had done earned him the right to tell this blessed news to the non-Jews. Only grace let Paul have the privilege of revealing this long-hidden truth of the Creator’s plan.

(10-11) Higher spiritual beings are amazed that God could pull this reunion off—nothing prepared them for this glorious maneuver. It was actually his plan from the beginning to save both groups in one body by Jesus.

(12-13) Jesus gives us the way to come to God boldly and without hindrance. Paul’s imprisonment shouldn’t depress his readers since they actually flow out of getting them this amazingly good news.

(14-21) Paul prayed to Father God for their encouragement. This whole family gets its name from Papa God. Paul asks that the Holy Spirit will empower them internally so that Jesus will reside in their inner self through their trust.  Also he asked that love will ground them so they, along with all believers, comprehend the vast love of Jesus so they can experience this love that’s deeper than they can intellectually understand, so they will grow up to God’s provision for them fully! Praise be to God because his power working in us is greater than we can conceive—he does so much more than we ask. He gets the glory from Jesus and his church—always.  Let it be!

“I Will…” Statements:

  • I will remember my old state.
  • I will keep Satan’s reign as a thing of your past.
  • I will realize my old lifestyle was really a death wish locking me into punishment.
  • I will praise God for his loving mercy!
  • I will remember I am alive in Christ and this is all by grace.
  • I will live consistent with my high standing with Christ.
  • I will let the fruit of God’s kindness shine through my life.
  • I will live in the free gift of God’s grace—walk by faith, not sight.
  • I will not boast, but proclaim, “God did this, not me!”
  • I will do the good things God prepared for me to do.
  • I will remember this place of honor hasn’t always been mine to enjoy—I was on the outside looking in.
  • I will remember how it feels to be excluded.
  • I will remember how marvelous it feels to have a way to God opened up.
  • I will preach Jesus’ amazing role as the unifier we needed.
  • I will value his sacrificial work of unifying the great divide.
  • I will value Jesus’ body and its function of ending hostilities.
  • I will accept Jesus’ message of peace.
  • I will accept the people Jesus is reconciling to the Father.
  • I will love others as family.
  • I will build consistent with Jesus as my foundation.
  • I will be holy—worthy of God’s presence.
  • I will keep spiritual peace consistent with Jesus’ life and place.
  • I will realize someone may have suffered for me to have faith.
  • I will learn God’s will for my life, especially to use me to bless others.
  • I will join God in telling the secrets.
  • I will read Scripture for insight into God’s mysterious ways.
  • I will appreciate the “insider information” I have through Jesus.
  • I will join in God’s work of breaking down barriers that we are too comfortable accepting.
  • I will serve the gospel by God’s power in me.
by johnkking

DBS and 3-Column Studies

Yesterday I enjoyed an hour-long phone conversation with a brother who is returning to Benin for a short-term mission trip among some Aja believers. He had served as a cross-cultural missionary among these people for several years before moving back to the States. Now he goes back periodically to encourage them and do some teaching, coaching and mentoring.

He told me that he had introduced the Discovery Bible Study approach to these people a couple of years ago. He was wanting my feedback on what he was planning to do on this upcoming trip. In the course of our discussion he exclaimed, “I did not understand that. I have probably caused a lot of frustration among these people!”

What had he just understood? What light had come on for my friend?

Discovery Bible Studies and 3-Column Studies are not identical. They overlap. They dove-tail well when they are used among people who are functional literates, but even then they are not the same.

A 3-Column Study is primarily an individualistic inductive study. An individual writes out a short section of Scripture, copying it into the left-hand column in a word-for-word style. Then he/she paraphrases the same passage in her/his own words in the middle column. In the third column the person itemizes what he/she will do to obey–put into practice–this passage.

This is an inductive study because all the meaning comes directly from the text. In re-writing the passage you include who is speaking and to whom. You include what the author/speaker wants the audience to understand from the events that transpire. If the time frame is significant, then “When?” is a question that is answered in the re-telling. Where these events take place is also revealed. Why these events are significant is declared. How the desired outcome takes place is also revealed. Basic reading comprehension is reported in the middle column.

In the third column the student records what she/he hears from the text that should be applied to his/her life. Ownership is taken by using the format of starting each line with the words “I Will…” (I once had a friend tell me that someone in one of my classes said he never did the 3rd column because if he wrote these using the “I will…” start he would feel like he had to obey them.)

Completing this process can be very valuable for any student of God’s Word who is functionally literate. It can be richly rewarding because it slows you down and has you “handle” Scriptures. (Have you ever considered that in Jesus’ day there was a group of spiritual leaders who were formed by the practice of writing Scripture–the Scribes? Their shortcoming was their refusal to obey what they learned by copying God’s Word.) It is valuable because it prepares you to tell someone else what you hear God saying through a specific text. It also serves as a historical document describing what you realize you need to do to submit to God’s teaching from a particular passage.

But 3-Column Studies are not going to work with functionally illiterate people. They will not work with those who do not know how to read and write. They will not work with oral learners. These people either are unable to read and write, or they strongly prefer not to do so. But we must remember that Scriptures were primarily written to be heard. “Hear, oh Israel…” “Let him who has ears to hear…”

People who will never read or write can orally do the equivalent of a 3-Column Study. The format we recommend for that to happen is a Discovery Bible Study. Here the process is done through speaking and listening. Here the text is read or told well. If it is read, it is probably best if it is read well twice. At the appropriate time it should first be read from a trade language translation. Follow that with a heart language translation if that is available.

Whenever a group gathers, to do a discovery study (whether they have previously done a 3-column study or not), there is a very valuable format for them to follow. It actually entails discipling them (primarily by modelling and by you coaching an insider who will facilitate the process in his/her household) to ask and answer eight questions during their gathering:

  • What has gone well lately that gave you joy?
  • What has caused you, or someone you know, stress lately?
  • How did the efforts to help with the stressor we picked last time go?

[Have the passage read twice/told. Have someone  re-tell the passage. Ask others to fill in any significant details that were omitted when the passage was re-told.]

  • What do you learn about God from this passage?
  • What do you learn about humanity from this passage?
  • What would obedience to this passage look like in our lives?
  • Who do you know who needs to hear what we have learned today?
  • Which of the stressful things that were mentioned earlier can we help to overcome?

By following this format groups discover many things. They discover something about God’s nature and work. They discover that they can help each other with stressful situations. They discover the value of being thankful. They discover the benefits that come from hearing, understanding and practicing God’s Word as a group. They discover how obedience to a passage is transformational. They discover how to minster to others. They discover the importance of sharing what they are learning with others.

Everything in the Discovery Bible Study is done orally. It can be done by people who love to read and write. It can be done by those who hate to read or write. It can be done by those who are unable to read and write. It involves people in a very reproducible process of coming to Scripture and submitting to what it is teaching.

My friend had been trying to get people who are oral learners to use a literate process. I can relate; I have attempted the same thing. I know I have frustrated many, too.

Don’t get me wrong–writing out 3-Column Studies is extremely valuable for anyone who will consistently do them! These written studies become a great testimony to how God has been transforming your life over a period of time. But there is great value in doing Discovery Bible Studies. Those who only do 3-Column Studies will miss much richness that comes only from being part of a community that is opening itself to God’s Word.

Since you are reading this blog, I know you can benefit from using both formats. Doing a 3-Column Study would be a great way to prepare to facilitate a Discovery Bible Study. Pass it on to any who read and write, but invest your primary energies into getting others to do Discovery Bible Studies. Make sure they know they can open themselves to God whether they like to read or write or not!

by johnkking

Conspicuously Spiritual, but…

Last week I posted something old and something new. First, I posted an article I wrote in 2006 that described what happened when I first taught a group of church planters in Sierra Leone to do 3-column studies. I had seen a reference to such an approach in a file on my mentor’s web site. No one had ever shown me how to do one. It just sounded like a format that could be easily implemented. (Of course I promptly complicated the process by envisioning ways to make it easier to get people to do a 3-column study, but God corrected my error.)

Then I wrote about God’s directives for any new king. That passage from Deuteronomy caught my attention because I have recently been training Americans to do 3-column studies. It gives me a text that directs leaders to write out Scriptures and then spend time every day meditating on the implications for their realm of influence.

Let’s spend some time evaluating the purpose of each of the three columns. The first column slows me down and causes me to hear the words. I must do this or I will be unable to complete the second column. Even when I used to cut and paste the text into the first column, I always had to re-read the passage numerous times to understand how to state its meaning in my own words. Writing the passage out has me handling the text. It gives me a measurable activity that indicates I have spent time with this word from God.

The second column provides proof that I have used my powers of observation. I can answer the journalists questions (Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?). By restating the passage I verify to myself that I can help someone else hear its meaning. There are many passages that I find this to be harder to accomplish than I earlier imagined. Sometimes the more familiar I am with the passage the more difficult I find the second column to be. If I cannot put it in my words, then I do not understand its meaning. If I cannot restate it I cannot share it with someone else. While column 1 is for me, column 2 is for others. It prepares me to speak a word from God into the life of another person.

David Watson has shocked many believers by saying, “People don’t want your religion! They don’t! Now if you are truly spiritual, some of them will want to be around you, but they don’t want your religion. You have to be conspicuously spiritual without being obnoxiously religious.” I really wanted to argue with him when I first heard that statement. It was a blessing that I could not because I was listening to it on MP3 recordings. After I got beyond my initial response I began to think, “You know the word ‘religion’ generally has to be qualified in Scriptures.” The first text I thought of was the one in James where he says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). The use of “pure and faultless” warns us there is impure and fault-filled religion.

Conspicuously Spiritual

This part of David’s affirmation made perfect sense to me. This is what Jesus was talking about when he described the good deeds of disciples lived out in the open. He said that our lives should be so ministry-filled that people see what we do and give God glory. Jesus said,”You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Conspicuously (readily seen) spiritual (God-like in nature) is to be our hallmark.

Without being obnoxiously religious

Here is the hard part. How much and what kind of religion will others find obnoxious? Should I really give other people the right to judge my actions? How can I avoid being obnoxious in the eyes of others?

The key, in my judgment, is giving people the freedom to opt out at any point of a discussion. One of the best ways I know to do this is make a statement like, “I learned something new about God yesterday.” Anyone who hears me say this has the right to question, ignore or scorn my affirmation. If she/he is curious then there will be the question, “What did you learn about God?” By asking me this, I am being given permission to pursue the conversation a little further. If she ignores my statement, then she is not open yet. If he scorns my comment then I know he is closed to spiritual discussions with me at this time. To push the discussion with the later two will be viewed by them as obnoxiously religious because they have opted out.

With the person who queries me I will need to use care. So far, all he/she has communicated is curiosity about my affirmation. This person may just think I am crazy. He may wonder if I am hearing voices. She may be curious whether or not this is a trap. I suggest you just give a brief statement that summarizes what you studied. For example, I could say, “I learned God want me to hand write my own copy of the law.” Now the ball is in this person’s court. My response will give him/her the opportunity to decide whether or not to proceed further. As long as I do not dump a whole load of judgmental-ism our conversation can go as far as this person is willing.

What I am looking for in the conversation is permission to help this person discover God’s character for himself/herself. I know it will be best if this discovery process can happen in a context of this person’s significant relationships, but I first need to find out whether or not there is a willingness to participate in a discovery process.

By writing out column 2 I am preparing myself for that kind of dialogue. I am discovering something about God that is fresh, new and intriguing for me. My passion for this new insight is more likely to capture the favorable attention of another person, especially someone on whom God’s Spirit is already working. (Jesus describes such an individual as “a person of peace” in Luke 10:5.) I believe we need this kind of process to help us be conspicuously spiritual without being obnoxiously religious.

Column 3 prepares me to obey the passage I have written and paraphrased. It pushes me to open myself to being convicted by the Spirit of God. It reminds me what the Lord authoritatively demands of my life. It pushes me to be honest with God, myself and another human being (I will share at least one of these with my small group and expect them to ask me next week how I did being obedient). This column pushes me to stop deflecting the passage by spending my time discussing what others need to do to obey it. Column 3 tests my honesty and integrity. It gauges whether I am a wise man or a fool (Matthew 7:24-27). Am I going to show Jesus my love for him by obeying him? Am I going to play the fool by hearing him and then refusing to apply the word to my life?

Let me return to the Sierra Leone story for just a few moments. It looks likely that every village in the nation will have a church by the end of 2010, or at the latest 2011. When that happens this will be a remarkable example of saturation church planting. This is happening because thousands of people are hearing God’s word and being obedient. Using 3-column studies (among the literate) and teaching S.P.E.C.K. to everyone, especially the illiterate, they are being equipped to hear and obey Scripture. The Anglican bishop of Sierra Leone calls my friend every three days or so to tell him about his personal devotions with 3-column studies and about the exciting things happening in the Anglican church as a result of CPM. In addition to training every leader in his own fellowship, my friend has trained military chaplains who are going into the civilian communities to serve, and planting CPM-type churches among civilians. Civilians are also coming onto military bases to participate in the churches there.

Since late 2005 God has used these people and study methods to shine beacons of light into a nation that only recently came through a horrible civil war (the movie Blood Diamond was based on the war). Imagine what can happen to our lives through this process.

by johnkking

“Write for Himself”

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 jumped out at me yesterday! Since I have read the Bible through for each of the last 25+ years, I know I have read this passage at least 25 times. But there was a phrase I had never paid attention to before.

Yes, I know the text did not change, but my thinking has. This is sort of like when you purchase a new (at least to you) vehicle and you begin to notice how many people drive the same make, model and color. They did not all rush out the same day to purchase their automobiles. Your information sorting grid opens to allow you to notice that particular car.

Lately I have been training several different groups to use 3-column Bible studies. In February I traveled internationally to train people to do such studies. I have introduced a small group focusing on making disciples to use the study strategy. I expose guys in the local jail to do such studies. Tonight I will meet with four more to introduce them, also. With all these experiences a swirl at this time, I finally saw this “new-to-me” insight in Deuteronomy.

Through Moses, God tells the people of Israel that there will come a day when they insist on having a king to lead them. He gives directives and warnings. Such a king will be susceptible to leading the nation away from their allegiance to God. He will be at risk of trusting in his ability to fight battles, gain wealth and/or enter into pacts with the surrounding nations rather than staying true to the covenant with Yahweh. But the king is told to do something to protect his heart from being lead astray by pride, wealth, power or even his wives:

“When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).

Did you catch it? Probably not, unless you know me pretty well. If you have been with me in one of those trainings lately, you might have noticed it too.

Upon ascending to this position of power, “he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law” (Deuteronomy 17:18). One of the things I am training people to do is to write out the Word of God in their own handwriting. I am admonishing they do this as a form of spiritual discipline. We (especially in the Western world) experience what I call “Spiritual Attention Deficit Disorder” and it is SADD! Television is rapidly eroding our capacity to be attentive. We long for interruptions and will create them if necessary.

Due to this condition we are unable to meditate on the Word of God. We will pay men well to chew it up, and spit it into our mouths so we only have to swallow it. We become enraged by those who would dare to expect us to do our own reading, our own meditating, our own study. We tell ourselves and others that we are “too busy.” The truth is we are too lazy and too distracted!

Could anyone in Israel be busier than a newly anointed King? Are you responsible for the oversight of hundreds of thousands of people? If not, please consider what God wants leaders to do—write out Scriptures, keep them with you all the time and read from them every day.

Did you notice the three fruits that will be born from such meditation? Moses says:

1. You will learn to revere the Lord.
2. You will learn to carefully obey his commandments.
3. You will avoid pride.

As I noted in my last post, which was written almost five years ago, there is a great value in writing out sections of Scriptures. When you do that and couple it with re-phrasing it in your own words, you have to read it numerous times. The task demands focus. It disciplines us to stick with a passage. Then take it to a third action—writing out the things God is calling you to do to obey this text. To help you with that process I challenge people to start all their sentences in the third column with the two words, “I will…” Here I write out what I will do to be obedient to what God is directing.

Kings and Chronicles would contain different stories if God’s will had been done by her leaders. Too many rejected God’s right to reign in their lives and lead the nation into sin.

How would you combine Deuteronomy 17:18-20 with 1 Peter 2:9? Do you remember that one? Here Peter makes that beautiful affirmation regarding our identity, “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

We like the idea of being kings and queens with Jesus! We like the sound of being seated with him on his heavenly throne! I am convinced we will do a better job at what Peter is talking about when we practice what kings are supposed to do.