Devotion #18

CENTRAL TRUTH: Christ works through each individual member of His body to accomplish His unique vision for New Covenant Bible Church.

BIBLE PASSAGE: 1 Peter 2:4–12

Those who have crossed the line of faith have been mercifully adopted into God’s royal, priestly, eternal family. That makes them strangers in this world as well as a rock with a role.

God is building His spiritual house from living stones. Jesus is the cornerstone—the living stone that sets direction, plumb and level for the whole building. But for those who have not crossed the line of faith, Jesus is a stumbling stone, an offensive obstacle they find in their own dark path of life.

As strangers on this earth, God gives us the role of reflecting His light into a dark society to help people see Jesus not as an obstacle but as the only answer. My heart’s desire is to help people see Jesus for who He really is. Holy Spirit, I pray you would help me to be an effective light to those around me.

Take a few minutes to reflect on this passage. Are you allowing God to illuminate Jesus in a dark world through your lifestyle? Have you stopped to consider what it means to be adopted into God’s family?

If you have not done so yet, please open your Journey Guide to the corresponding devotion in the Reading Journal section. Journal your thoughts in response to the questions found there, spend some time in prayer, and take a couple of minutes to review this week's Memory Verse.

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Today's Author

Don Purdy

My name is Don Purdy. I serve as New Covenant’s Elder Board Chairman, and working alongside such a committed and authentic leadership team (Staff, Elders, Deacons) has been both an inspiration and a personal highlight for me.

Since moving to Cedar Rapids in early 2000, my wife, Blynda, and our four children—Garrett (18), Jessica (16), Katelyn (14) and Michaela (9)—have been richly blessed by the ministry of New Covenant (Thank you!). And Blynda and I teach the new Re:Focus ABF for young couples with children.

I work at Rockwell Collins as a marketing director within Commercial Systems. A little known fact about me is that I was in the cockpit of a 747 at the time of the September 11 attacks. On the trip home a few days later, several of us gave Senator Charles Grassley a ride to his farm after he was stranded in Minneapolis.

Comments

[Erin Bird]

"...rock with a role." I love it! Well done, Don.

This passage really ministered to me today. God says a lot about who we are in this section. It's a bit overwhelming and humbling!

[Robin Koskamp]

Thanks for a wonderfully thought provoking devotionsl Don....so well said. And it is so heartbreaking to think that those who walk in darkness could so easily be in the light. If they would just recognize that they are stumbling over they very "stone" that is trying to get their attention and save them.

[Richard Kramer]

Some hard facts about stones:
Stones never build the house – the builder does. If we are stones (living, of course) we do not build the church – the Builder does. And yet we often think we do. What vanity!
A stone in a wall is not there to be served but to serve by giving strength to the wall and the whole building. Does the church exist to serve me as a “high-maintenance” person or do I serve sacrificially to give strength to the church and bring glory to the Builder?
Stones come in many forms and sizes. Beside the function of the “cornerstone” as Don describes it, I find also the word “capstone” in my NIV. It means to me that this stone is a rare find and needs extra working to fit precisely into the top of a stone arch. If removed, the arch collapses. Jesus is that stone that holds the church together. So, Jesus, the cornerstone, is found at the foundation of the building to keep it staight, square and also carry the heavy load of the church. He is also the capstone, the glorious crown on top of His church.
Stones make some people walk on even and solid ground but others stumble and fall. Why? Please read verses 6 to 8 again.
And last, usable building stones must have integrity, which means to me a solid, durable, un-fractured core that can bear weight and pressure. The application of this metaphor I see in verse 12.
Lord, make me willing to be a living stone used by you to build your church for your glory. Amen.

[Jordan Hydro]

Adoption of orphans from the earthquake was the "hot" to the present "cold", the result of some unfortunate indeed.

[new balance]

No matter where you are, you let fly into your house, make good landing in your side and happiness always accompany with you, let your room, let the flowing with years of writing poems with unforgettable, let my message for you happiness and good luck!