Our passage today is from the Apostle Peter, and it directly connects to the message from the Apostle Matthew that Pastor Mary preached on yesterday about the “Parable of the Evil Farmers” (Matt 21:33-46). If you recall, within the parable Jesus recites Psalm 118:22, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” Peter also recites that same verse within today’s passage, as well as some verses from the prophet Isaiah, which also referred to Jesus being our cornerstone.
Peter wants you and I to understand that as “Living Stones for God’s House” we must use our seed of faith, and stand confidently on Jesus, Who is our cornerstone. Jesus has commissioned us as His follower to each be His royal priests because we are His chosen people. That means that we must use our seed of living to clearly be set apart from this world, because we belong to Jesus, Who is holy, and this world is far from holy. So, Jesus wants us to use our seed of purpose to concentrate on bearing righteous fruit, because He is the One Who is righteous. He calls us to live lives that reflect His character and goodness to others, because it is by His goodness that you and I were once called out of darkness and into His wonderful Light, and He wants that for ALL of His creation. So, friends, we need to be in oneness with Jesus so He can use us at any given moment for His glory and to further grow His Kingdom.
Pastor Mary shared the following seeds with us yesterday, and they clearly have a direct connection to today’s passage. I intend to hold firmly onto each one of these seeds this week and I am asking Jesus to grow them within my own life, and I hope you will join me in doing the same for your life:
- Seed of Faith = Confidence (Be the good soil, because God is the good source of everything)
- Seed of Living = Commissioned (Be set apart by God, Who is the Ruler of everything)
- Seed of Purpose = Concentration (Be focused on bearing righteous fruit, God is the One Who is righteousness over everything)
1 Peter 2:4-10 (NLT)
Living Stones for God’s House
4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say,
“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”
7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.”
8 And,
“He is the stone that makes people stumble,
the rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
10 “Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being our cornerstone. Please help to grow our seed of faith so that we can grow in our confident hope in You. Thank You for setting us apart from the world. Please grow our seed of living so that we are living more and more for You and less for this world. We want to bear more of Your righteous fruit, so keep growing our seed of purpose. Help us to concentrate on You so we are quick to move on Your behalf and for the good of Your Kingdom. Please be with Israel. May eyes see You even in the midst of this worldly evil and may hearts cling to Your promise for eternal life in Christ Jesus. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.