1 Peter 5:8The MessageKeep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does. See the chapter |
61 Cross References
Send the Evil One to accuse my accusing judge; dispatch Satan to prosecute him. When he’s judged, let the verdict be “Guilty,” and when he prays, let his prayer turn to sin. Give him a short life, and give his job to somebody else. Make orphans of his children, dress his wife in widow’s black; Turn his children into begging street urchins, evicted from their homes—homeless. May the bank foreclose and wipe him out, and strangers, like vultures, pick him clean. May there be no one around to help him out, no one willing to give his orphans a break. Chop down his family tree so that nobody even remembers his name. But erect a memorial to the sin of his father, and make sure his mother’s name is there, too— Their sins recorded forever before God, but they themselves sunk in oblivion. That’s all he deserves since he was never once kind, hounded the afflicted and heartbroken to their graves. Since he loved cursing so much, let curses rain down; Since he had no taste for blessing, let blessings flee far from him. He dressed up in curses like a fine suit of clothes; he drank curses, took his baths in curses. So give him a gift—a costume of curses; he can wear curses every day of the week! That’s what they’ll get, those out to get me— an avalanche of just deserts from God.
“The Babylonians will be like lions and their cubs, ravenous, roaring for food. I’ll fix them a meal, all right—a banquet, in fact. They’ll drink themselves falling-down drunk. Dead drunk, they’ll sleep—and sleep, and sleep . . . and they’ll never wake up.” God’s Decree. “I’ll haul these ‘lions’ off to the slaughterhouse like the lambs, rams, and goats, never to be heard of again. * * *
“The people will end up following God. I will roar like a lion— Oh, how I’ll roar! My frightened children will come running from the west. Like frightened birds they’ll come from Egypt, from Assyria like scared doves. I’ll move them back into their homes.” God’s Word! Ephraim tells lies right and left. Not a word of Israel can be trusted. Judah, meanwhile, is no better, addicted to cheap gods. * * *
Next the Messenger-Angel showed me the high priest Joshua. He was standing before God’s Angel where the Accuser showed up to accuse him. Then God said to the Accuser, “I, God, rebuke you, Accuser! I rebuke you and choose Jerusalem. Surprise! Everything is going up in flames, but I reach in and pull out Jerusalem!”
“Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because— I was hungry and you gave me no meal, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was homeless and you gave me no bed, I was shivering and you gave me no clothes, Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’
Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: “Since you are God’s Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread.”
“But be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping. Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, for it’s going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once. So, whatever you do, don’t fall asleep at the wheel. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man.”
So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.
So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”
Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!
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