This blog is from a spiritual father who loves this generation enough to share truth from a man named Peter who walked with Jesus. Please consider Simon Peter’s admonitions below, who we all know was not perfect, but who went on to be one of Jesus’ greatest spokesmen in the New Testament church.
- Our language use: Cursing or using crude expletives like the “F***” word and other unwholesome speech is not becoming of a son or daughter of the King. We are not slaves to our culture, but rather we are called to influence our culture with the truth and the way we live our lives, which includes our language. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. I Peter 2: 1-3; 4: 11; II Peter 2: 19-21
2. Unwholesome thoughts: What words and pictures are we thinking? How can we become more wholesome through our spirit speaking to our minds? We are told that we have the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2: 16), what is Christ’s mind thinking? I have written both [letters]…to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. II Peter 3: 1, 2
3. Drinking too much alcohol and getting too close to inebriation, along with any form of immorality is detestable to God: When you consume alcohol, if you drink, do you know the limit and practice it strictly in order to honor your relationship with Jesus? Too many today are calling it their liberty to get close to sin and/or blatantly sin – wounding themselves and others. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose…drunkenness… I Peter 2: 9; 4: 3
4. God desires all to be saved: Our silence with so-called ‘acts of justice’ only, does not always give voice to simply, boldly and unashamedly sharing the gospel. Always be prepared to give an answer to every one who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. II Peter 3: 9; I Peter 2: 11, 12; I Peter 3: 15
5. Commitment to a local church, to relationships, to accountability and to discipleship is vital for our generation: Maybe you feel like you do not need the church, but does that church (people) need you? It is not just commitment to a building or a place, it is commitment to God’s children, your family. Love the brotherhood of believers… I Peter 2: 13, 17; I Peter 4: 9, 10
6. Pornography is a direct connection to human trafficking and a picture of the depravity of mankind’s fallen nature: The present generation is passionate about fighting human trafficking, while at the same time being the largest consumers of pornography. This seems a blatant cognitive dissonance and youthful arrogance. …They themselves are slaves of depravity – for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. I Peter 2: 16; II Peter 2: 19
7. Pursuing holiness and sanctification rather than allowing ourselves to be as close to the world as possible: We are to taste not, touch not and handle not so that we might remain pure before our God (Colossians 2: 21). Holiness is His desire for us and only through Him can we be holy. But just as he who called you in holy, so be holy in all you do. I Peter 1: 13-15; 2: 9; II Peter 1: 4-9; 2: 20; 3: 14
8. Hell is a very real place: Hell is as present as heaven. It was not made for you and I, but those who reject Christ to the end will find themselves in this place. It is the Father’s will that none would perish, but rather that all would be saved (John 3: 17). For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell… II Peter 2: 4-9
9. Honoring our elders: We need to honor (rather than belittle, put down or ridicule even if we do not agree) those who went before us; those who have fought the good fight and who paid a price to bring the truth of the gospel to our generation. You do not need to always agree, but you do need to honor as they are our spiritual fathers and mothers. Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. I Peter 5: 5; II Peter 3: 2
10.False prophets: There are those who do not tell the truth or the whole gospel, but rather a perversion of the truth and it is bringing confusion to the church. Doctrine is as old as the book of Acts and it was the apostles who, through following Jesus on the earth, brought these truths to us (Acts 2: 42). Be careful of the doctrines of men and search your Bible. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. II Peter 2: 1-3
A number of years ago I regularly met with a spiritual father, who graciously volunteered to counsel me, read what I was writing and hold me accountable in my walk with Jesus. I loved those sessions from this seasoned man of God who was – over a long and amazing life – a farmer, then a missionary, then a pastor and then a college professor. In one of our meetings he gave me a copy of his musings about how his marriage lasted over six decades. I have listed his eight pieces of advice for you below.
Last week we considered 13 ways a wife felt secure within her marriage and I thought it best to not leave the men out of this one. So, here are 15 ways a man can feel secure within his marriage as shared by a husband.
aries concerning relationship with the opposite sex.
knees and in health…” Remember that statement? Does anyone foresee sickness? They’re just words of tradition, right? Actually they are words spoken as a promise, a vow. But quite honestly, we were young and the young do not get sick or have a frame of reference for a long-term illness. Some of those spoken vows said in our 20’s or 30’s are not tested for another thirty or forty years. When sickness comes, the depth of our love and commitment will be examined.
aring for the future by growing your marital oneness today, this month, this year?
Determine today to grow old together, because there is only one thing that is greater than young love in a marital relationship and that’s old love.
“In order for me to feel good about me, I need to know that you feel good about me.”
For the first two questions the answer is: reconciliation. To reconcile means to go from an unacceptable state to an acceptable state. Christ has done that work by first accepting us. (Romans 15:7)
The next two have an answer as well: justification. Before my performance, I am justified. To be justified means that I am forgiven of my sin; I am free from my shame and my guilt and I am in right standing with God. Again, not because of what I have done or can do, but because of what Christ has done. (Romans 3:21-28; 5:1; II Corinthians 5:21)
We all deserve punishment, however Christ took that punishment for our past, present and future sin upon Himself and that’s called: propitiation. Propitiation is when God placed His Son upon the cross for us to make atonement forever. (I John 4:9, 10, 18)
Lastly, I can change. I am not up for a vote. The answer to change is: regeneration. Robert McGee once said that who you think you should be is less than who you already are. To be regenerated is to become a new creation. To become born again is to get to start over and participate in His divine nature. (II Corinthians 5:17)
This is a blog about “church,” so-to-speak, but maybe we miss the mark a bit if we don’t keep putting the focus back on the One who precedes the church and everything else. The church is, no doubt, meant to be a much more radical movement than we have understood it to be. How much more important is it for us to see that Jesus, the head of the church, is a far more radical man/God than we can even begin to understand. He is the One we, His church, are designed to imitate. Perhaps if we get Jesus right, and our imitation of Him in keeping with who He is, we will naturally get church right.
In I Corinthians 7:5 the Apostle Paul tells us that abstinence within marriage will distract us from a healthy prayer life as a couple. Many read this verse to mean that having sex as a married couple will actually distract us from prayer, but I believe just the opposite is true. Author Gary Thomas says it this way, “Use marriage the way God intended it. Meet your sexual needs by making love to your spouse. Then your mind and soul will be more open to prayer.”
How common is it to attempt to protect yourself from pain and hurt? It seems to be a natural human reaction to back away from something that we interpret as painful or possibly painful in the future. It can block us from making healthy decisions for today and tomorrow. Most of us have an aversion to emotional pain, but avoidance may not be the best method for personal growth. As you and I look back over our lives, we often discover that it is the most painful or emotionally difficult times in our past in which we grew the most. And, to avoid these times or to run from them could actually stunt our personal growth.
Here in the USA, the military draft ended at the end of the Vietnam War. In some nations around the world, there is a required season of serving in the military for young men and women. I imagine for most it’s not a bad deal, i.e., education, learning discipline, obeying authority and good physical health. I enjoyed much of the process of “becoming a man” in the US military. One of my favorite memories was leading many of the lonely, homesick men into a relationship with Jesus. Evangelism opportunities were everywhere. 
Steve Prokopchak 