WAITING TO RECEIVE INSTRUCTIONS by Dr. Jim Savage

Power / Companion
Lectionary: 1 Peter 5:8-9

Be Alert!

The greatest tactic a lion has is surprise. Once its prey realizes there is a lion in the thicket, there is a good chance the lion will go hungry that night.

Peter posts a warning sign right in front of every follower of Christ. There is a lion in the thicket! His warning resounds throughout history. Satan is still alive and active. His tactics have not changed. His intentions are still as evil and destructive as they have ever been. That's the bad news.

The Good News is that we have the Power to resist. We can stand strong against the enemy and be victorious. James puts it this way: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (Jas 4:7). John says it like this: "The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 Jn 4:4). There is a battle at hand----no question! But there is Power for Victory in Jesus Christ. (Women of Faith Study Bible)

REFLECTION:
When you consider Peter's life as a disciple of Jesus, would you say that you are serious in the same way he was about being taught by Christ? Dallas Willard in "Renovation of the Heart": "Disciples of Jesus are those who are with Him learning to be like Him. That is, they are learning to lead their life, their actual existence, as He would lead their life if He were they......They are learning how to walk with Jesus and learn from Him in every aspect of their individual lives."
What aspect of your life has Jesus been focusing on recently? What is He teaching you?

"By all means remember to pray earnestly for me.....Emulate each other in prayer with holy rivalry, with one heart, for you wrestle not against each other, but against the devil, who is the common enemy of all the saints......For your conscience is responsible to God; to each other owe nothing but mutual Love. May the Lord, who is able to do above what we ask or think, give ear to your prayers." (St. Augustine, "Letter 130---to Proba")

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the Faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." (Col 2:6-7)

Shalom, Jim