"Really, God, while this guy is extracting a broken tooth?"
"yep...."...
The Lord said to always be ready to talk about why you believe what you do...
That's not so you can be ready to walk around telling folks what you know. Being "ready" naturally implies that you there will be situations that come upon you when you least expect it.
Christian's tend to read this verse and think "I need to be able to answer all the questions when a person presses me with objections to the Bible"...but that's not it.
Here, read the verse in Eugene Petersen's "The Message" translation...
"If
with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped?
Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the
opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at
attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak
up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and
always with the utmost courtesy.
Keep a clear conscience before God so
that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up
realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to
suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for
doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of
others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went
through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God." 1 Peter 3:15-18
Jesus was telling Peter what was coming down the pike:
1. You are going to suffer
2. Your going to be punished for doing good
It's gonna happen folks.
You are going to suffer...
Don't believe me? Here, believe God..
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Matthew 5:10-11
Well, that doesn't sound like the "feeling blessed" life on Facebook...
No, when God says "blessed" he means that he is very near and working in and through you.
So, when Paul wrote to Peter "be prepared", he was NOT saying "tell them all your Bible verses...he WAS saying "when you are in in the midst and after the suffering, tell them WHY you believe..
...and there I was, about to have a tooth extracted, when my dental guy started talking about his Rabbi (God sets up things so well)...who was spared in the death camp, only to meet the girl who saved his life later in CT and marry her (cue awe and tears)...when he says.."You know, I've always judged a person's belief when it holds up under suffering. He went through so much and still had faith"
He asked me how I started working in Africa, and I shared about a son who had died, and a drive to save babies, and a faith that still believed God is good...
What do we take away from this?
"Being prepared" means not so much to get your answers ready to convince others when you they take a breath and stop talking...but rather spending time in the presence of God, so that you convince yourself of the Love and Truth of Him...so that WHEN you suffer in his place, those around you will think there is something to your faith...
That was God's plan...and what Jesus did. With his very last breath ...
Read it here
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