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bigmike

1 Peter 4:1-2 (LSB) 1 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin 2 so as to no longer live the rest of the time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
These are 2 very powerful verses. And each of us should weigh them against our walk with God.
"Arm yourselves with the same purpose" are direct words, spoken not to soothe us, but to prick our conscience and wake us up.
What was Peter referring to?
He was speaking directly about suffering for Christ, living the kind of life that does not shrink back from danger.
What suffering was he speaking of?
He was referring specifically to physical suffering for our faith in Christ, including death, using Christ as our example.
And let us pay close attention to what he said additionally. For these words should shake us from our complacency and wake us from our slumber with a jolt.
"He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin."
Physically suffering for our faith puts things into perspective in a way that renders sin unappealing to us once we have suffered. It wakes us up to the realities of Who it is we put our faith in, and why we do it.
It causes us to recognize the seriousness of what faith in Christ truly means, stripping away the meaningless things that we have attached to it over time, and the halfhearted attitude we tend to adopt toward our walk with God.
Our faith should mean everything. It should dominate what we do, what we think, and why we do the things we do.
As Peter so aptly put it, we should "no longer live the rest of the time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God".
No words we write can speak this truth any more plainly or powerfully than that.
So, we simply say "Amen."

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