How Can We Bless One Another in the Lord?
1 Peter, Day 29
By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
- 1 Peter 5:12-14, ESV
I've always had a hard time knowing what to get my dad for Christmas. Most of the time, he says he doesn't want anything, but I still feel like I should get him something. It's frustrating to be in a position where you want to bless someone but you're not sure how.
As believers, we want to be a blessing to our brothers and sisters in Christ, don't we? But we don't always know how, do we? Here in the closing few verses of 1 Peter, Peter gives us a great example of a variety of ways we can bless each other in the Lord:
1. By using our gifts to help each other. Silvanus helped Peter write this letter, as he had helped Paul write some of his letters. (Silvanus is also known as Silas.) He apparently had a great gift for writing, and he used it to help the apostles and the churches.
2. By thanking and recognizing one another for our service. Peter thanks Silvanus for using his gifts to serve him and the church.
3. By exhorting one another and declaring the true grace of God to one another. Peter's letter is a beautiful combination of rich Gospel truth and loving exhortation to live out the grace of God in the Gospel. We should be reminding each other of the grace of God in Jesus Christ and of our call to live according to that grace. "Stand firm in it."
4. By demonstrating concern and affection for one another. God calls us to love each other. Among other things, that means we should be concerned for each other's well being and we should demonstrate affection toward one another in culturally appropriate ways.
5. Speaking words of blessing to each other. "Peace to all of you who are in Christ." We should speak words of blessing - "May the Lord bless you." "May the Lord give you His peace."
In these five ways - serving one another, thanking each other, exhorting and reminding one another, demonstrating concern and affection for each other, and speaking words of blessing to one another - we become vessels of God's blessing and we truly bless one another. It may seem awkward or uncomfortable at first, but we see this pattern throughout the epistles of the New Testament and in the life of the early church. If we follow this pattern, we will be blessed and we will be a blessing to each other, to the glory of God and the strengthening of His church.
The desktop 1xbet presents a large display screen measurement compared to with} cellphones and different gadgets that enable the gamblers to enjoy the details and graphics of the sport. Moreover, the performance features supplied by desktops, similar to sound quantity, picture high quality, and customizable storage capacity of desktops, present an improved gaming experience. These elements have resulted in the development of the desktop segment.
ReplyDelete