After a person gets saved, by coming to Jesus in faith and trusting Him for cleansing, he is by Scriptural definition a new ‘creature.’ He has been made righteous having his sins forgiven, and his record cleansed. He now is seen by the Heavenly Father through the righteousness of His Son, Jesus.

Salvation makes a person righteous and alive in Christ. However, getting saved does not in itself complete the process of transforming one into the image of Christ. Salvation is but the first step of a lifetime of spiritual growth, where God brings trials and tests across our path that we might learn to fully depend on Him. Those trials have a desired effect of pushing out the impurities, all the selfish and sinful tendencies in our lives that are remnants of the life we lived before Christ.

One of the more difficult lessons to learn in our new life in Christ is to live by faith, and not our own self effort. We are all very independent, and go through life thinking that we can do it on our own. Just like the toddler who wants to do everything for himself, but soon learns the hard way that he needs help, we are utterly helpless apart from the Lord.
                                                                                                              
Faith is simply taking steps according to our belief. Faith is more than just knowing something; it is actually acting upon it. We can say that we believe that the ice will hold us, but until we actually walk out on it, we are only speculating. Faith involves commitment. Of course, faith is also dependent upon the facts. We may think the ice will hold us, but if we have not thoroughly tested it, and carefully calculated its depth by the number of subzero days, our ‘faith’ may turn out to be foolishness.

We came to Christ and trusted Him to save us. Why? Because we chose to believe that the Bible is true, and it told us of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and how that by trusting in Him we could be saved. There were authoritative facts, and we chose to believe them. We acted upon our belief, and that was faith.

Faith is believing, but it is really more than just believing. Faith involves action. Our salvation demanded more than just believing the facts of the gospel, we had to actually determine to trust in the Lord. Our belief had to be acted upon.

Once we are saved, the Bible says we are to live by faith. That simply means we are to regularly act upon what we believe. For instance, the Bible teaches us to care for the poor. We can believe the truth, but if we see a need, and choose to ignore it, we are not living by faith. We might say that our faith is dead.

James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Faith must be exercised by actions. When the Bible teaches me that I should do something, I may say I believe the Bible, but until I choose to obey what it says, my faith is dead.

Let’s keep our faith alive.

The book of 1 Peter deals much with suffering and persecution. Peter’s heart must have been heavy as he watched many in the early church bearing intense burdens, often because of their testimony for Christ. Peter himself endured many trials as he unashamedly preached the glorious Gospel of Christ wherever he went.

Toward the beginning of his epistle, Peter gives to us an apparent paradox in…

1 Peter 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

Peter included in the same thought the heavy weight of trials and temptations along with a very unexpected response, rejoicing. The ability to walk through difficult trials, where emotions often run wildly; frequently following what seems to be a path through total darkness, with no lane markers or sign posts. We simply stumble our way toward what we believe is the prepared goal, the finish line where hopefully our journey will begin to make sense.

It is in the midst of such a journey that Peter admonishes us to rejoice. Of course, that would not be our natural response. I can imagine that complaining and bitterness would be a more likely outcome. How could Peter even suggest such an unnatural reaction to pain and suffering? Likely Peter had experienced many such roads, along which he had reacted both naturally and supernaturally. He had found himself complaining because of his situation; and at other times he had seen by faith that the Lord could be using his trials for a greater purpose. It was likely as a result of his own successes and failures that he boldly told his audience to rejoice; it was a far better and rewarding response to trials.

I think that Peter found within his trials a very important truth; one that gave him the ability to turn his complaining into rejoicing. Our text verse describes a ‘season’ of being heavy from many trials. That was probably where Peter found himself most of the time. It was in those seasons that he learned the truth described in the phrase, ‘if need be.’

Those three words are powerful. Their impact is often overshadowed by the glaring contradiction between manifold temptations and rejoicing. Their meaning is simply, ‘when it is necessary.’ In other words, Peter tells us here that there will be times that trials, even heavy ones, will become necessary. He does not give us much to go on regarding the reason that makes them necessary, only that they become important.

What we must understand is that whatever makes them necessary is in the hands of the Lord. He knows both what we need, and what can be useful for the growth of His work. Trials can purify our hearts, and soften us to once again acknowledge when others suffer. Trials can become a platform from which the amazing grace of God goes on display for others to take note and be blessed.

Since we don’t often know the reason for our trials, it is best to simply trust them to the Lord, and rejoice that He can use them for His glory.

Psychologists tell us that we are primarily products of our environment. We take in all the activity and lifestyles around us and simply emulate it. If our upbringing was in a safe and loving setting, where love was demonstrated freely, we will likely be similar as we grow up. Adversely, if we constantly were abused, and subjected to evil, we faced a high probability of an evil outcome. Though our environments play a significant role in shaping our character and worldview, the Word of God gives us no excuse for becoming evil just because we were surrounded by it.

I am impressed with the story of Daniel in the Bible. Even as a young man, Daniel demonstrated incredible character and excellence in his behavior. So well-mannered and temperate was he, that even when captured and taken to Babylon, he caught the attention of his captors. Daniel is an amazing story of a highly dedicated man of God. His testimony was felt throughout the kingdom of Babylon. Even the great king of the known world at the time was amazed at Daniel’s competence and dependence upon his God.

One thing that stands out making Daniel’s story even more impressive, is the environment in which he grew up. We know nothing about his upbringing except that the nation of Judah couldn’t have been more wicked, and they were being led by a wicked king. Jehoiakim was the currently reigning king of Judah, one of a long line of mostly wicked kings who led the nation in idolatry and every form of wickedness.

God had had enough of Judah’s blatant disregard for their God, and it was time for them to face judgment. God stirred the heart of the great king, Nebuchadnezzar, and Judah was defeated and deported in three massive sieges. Daniel was one of the captives carried from his homeland to a heathen environment where Jehovah God was unknown.

Daniel 1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.

Jehoiakim and his ungodly nation didn’t stand a chance against the Babylonian forces; not because they were greatly out-numbered and over-powered, but because God had given them up, and they were defenseless against their wicked oppressors.

Daniel seems like such a small, insignificant player in all that was happening. However, God had great plans. Judah may have given up on their God, but not Daniel. He was mighty in his walk with his God, and the Almighty was just about to use him in powerfully miraculous ways.

So great would be the outcome of God’s power through Daniel, the great king Nebuchadnezzar would eventually give praise to Daniel’s God, calling Him the Most High God.

What is far more important than our environment is our heart’s condition. God is looking for hearts completely dedicated to Him. He can find them anywhere, no matter what the environment.

One of the most popular words in the Christian world is ‘grace.’ You find it all over Christian literature, in church names, in sermons, and just about everywhere discussions about the life of a believer are heard. There must be a reason for its popularity, as grace even pops up frequently in the names of Christian girls.

What is grace, and what gives it its importance?

The definition of the Bible’s use of the word is ‘graciousness, favor, joy, pleasure, and even gratitude.’ Grace is all of God’s goodness wrapped up in one word. When describing how we get saved, Ephesians tells us it is by ‘grace.’ The work of Jesus on the cross was all of ‘grace.’ All of the good and wonderful blessings we have in Christ are all because of His grace.

No wonder the word is so popular! If anything, we have robbed it of its full meaning. Because we hear it so often, is it possible that we have underestimated its wonder? With every breath we take, we enjoy the marvelous grace of God. Every bite of food that we enjoy is also because of His grace. All of the good things in life are directly a result of His grace to us.

There is a brief verse in John’s Gospel that gives us a little more understanding of God’s use of grace. It is written in…

John 1:16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

In a discussion about the work of John the Baptist, and his ministry of preparing the way of the Lord, the Gospel writer tells us of John’s excitement over the appearance of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He described His coming in His ‘fulness.’ In other words, Jesus arrived on the scene as all man and all God at the same time. They had received Jesus in His fulness. He had come to bring salvation to a lost world.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated His marvelous grace in many ways. When He found the sick, He healed them; when the blind called for Him, they were given sight. Many who had never walked jumped for joy following the loving touch of the Master. Grace flowed from Jesus wherever He went.

In our text verse, John declared that Jesus brought grace for grace. The meaning is somewhat obscure in the English. It suggests one grace being added onto by another grace, or, when one grace is being completed, another takes its place. Grace for grace leaves the believer constantly immersed in the loving grace of our Lord.

One of the characteristics that is to set apart believers from the world around them is the grace that is to exemplify their nature. They are to live like Christ, looking for opportunities to bless those around them.

If we are going to make any kind of impact on this world before we leave it, it will be based upon the amount of grace we leave behind.