Mentoring Minutes

“Greet one another with a holy kiss (kiss of love).”  (1 Peter 5:14)

What does it mean to “greet one another” and do it with a kiss of love (in other texts it’s referred to as a “holy kiss”)? Why does this command seem to be totally awkward and yet it’s given to us as Christians in order to show our love to one another?

What does it mean to greet fellow believers with a kiss and why is it important enough to be a command?

Well we must first take a look at and recognize the cultural issues that are much different today than in the near East Jewish culture of The Bible. We also must not throw out the baby with the bathwater and dig a little deeper to find out what The Holy Spirit wanted us to learn from this command (as it’s given several other times in Scripture) when it comes to how we are to love each other in Christ and in His Church. 

Peter closes out his first letter to believers with the same command that Paul shared with the Roman believers, “Greet one another with a kiss of love (or a holy kiss).” (1 Peter 5:14)

Now if you’re thinking as a young boy or girl (especially a young boy) you’re probably thinking…”EEEEWWWW!” If you’re thinking as a young adolescent, you may be moving from “EW” to “HMMM, I know several that I’d like to kiss.” If you’re thinking as someone who’s allowed the culture and porn to infiltrate and rewire your brain, you’re missing the point completely. How can we think in terms of what God is wanting us to learn in this command?

Again, there is great value in understanding this act of love from a Body of Christ perspective as we encourage and build one another up, we build a spiritual and relational intimacy that is imperative in showing each other and the world what God’s Love is like. This is not the kiss of marital/sexual love. This is an act of honoring and preferring others above self.

This act of love, much like today’s kiss on the cheek, handshake or hug, is to declare that we care for and belong to one another in Christ! Are you apprehensive about sharing a heartfelt embrace for a brother or sister in Christ or is the way of the culture caused you to be insecure in expressing a Godly and brotherly/sisterly love for our fellow disciples in Christ?

The holy kiss, holy embrace, etc., are signs of peace and loving acceptance and honor among those who believe. I pray that we all can learn to love “one another” and express it in line with God’s Word and design of pure love so the world will know and begin to clamor for Him and His Love!

I can tell you that for the longest time in my life, and I know many others, a handshake was all we could muster. The pornified culture that we live in has not only drawn us to an impure love but has pulled us away from being able to share God’s kind of Love in Christ that is gracious and respectful with and to one another. I pray that we can humble ourselves as we talked about in yesterday’s episode, and be careful and bold as we greet one another with proper and pure love so the world can see His Love and be drawn to know Christ as Savior and Lord.

Food for Thought…Over the last 3 “one another” commands and messages I find it interesting how The Holy Spirit moved Peter to go from hospitality to humility to intimate and pure expressions of love toward each other as believers. I’m so glad we’ve been able to recapture some of this and I truly believe that if we’ll continue to move in this direction and away from the pornified ideas of culture and even of manhood, allowing us to properly express this kind of Godly and brotherly/sisterly love, Christ’s disciples and His Church will have a much greater impact in showing this depraved and perverted world what His Real Love is.

Action Steps…

1. Spend time with God and in His Word, prayer and listening every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. What forms of expressing love and friendship intimacy have you found uncomfortable? Have you been able to find a way to comfortably express this kind of Biblical love with others?
4. What walls need to be broken down in your life to follow through with this command? What walls have been broken down in order for you to be obedient in this? Begin to step out in faith and obedience and see what The Lord does.

A kiss on the cheek or forehead, a pure hug with a brother or sister in Christ, a firm, heartfelt handshake, and others acts of lovingkindness are all expressions of how we consider, care for and love out brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s follow God’s command in this “one another” and allow Him to bring us together in loving unity for His Kingdom and Glory!  

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus… Heavenly Father, help us to learn to accept and strive to understand Your Word and commands in the context in which they were given so we can apply them rightly in our day and time. May we seek Your Holy Spirit to guide us so that we are obedient and in no way compromising Your Truth. Help us as we discern that we may love more fully as You love us in Christ.  In His Name. Amen.

“You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.”  (1 Peter 5:5)

What do you think of when you think of humility? Maybe humiliation? I don’t know about you but that’s not something that I’m especially fond of. And yet, we’re called to put on, wear or clothe ourselves with humility? While we can certainly learn humility from humiliation, maybe humility is much more, and much better, than humiliation? Maybe it’s actually really good for us!

Peter’s next “one another” command to us as believers is a repeat of a prominent command throughout Scripture as taught and modeled by Christ and shared by several of the writers of the New Testament under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit. He tells us to “…Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another…” (1 Peter 5:5).

If you want to be on God’s Team Christ has made a way but we can only do so as we walk, clothe ourselves and grow in humility. False humility (Pride) means we willingly choose to be on the other team and God opposes us. Do you really want God as an opponent?

Paul tells us in Philippians that this should be our attitude toward others, the same as in Christ, that of humility toward others, placing them above ourselves. He then describes what Christ gave up (His Heavenly lifestyle and glory to become a man…fully God and fully man…and then give up that physical life on the Cross). This is Humility. This is Love. (Philippians 2:3-8)

Remember that humility is not thinking less of yourself or not of yourself at all…it is being confident and content in who you are in Christ so you can willingly choose to place others above you (John 13:3-5; Romans 12:3).

This is what Peter (and Paul) and most of all Christ, is calling us to do in order to love others and show the world what His Love really is like.

How are you doing when it comes to clothing yourself in humility in order to love others as Christ loved you? As a Christian what is your life saying to others about His Love? If you’re not a Christian you can’t truly know this kind of humility and love.

I don’t know about you but for the longest time, I had to admit that humility was (and at times still is) maybe the most difficult of traits associated with Love. I also have to confess that I’ve not always “loved” in the attire of, or clothed in, humility. However, as I’ve grown in Christ, I’ve found that humility is absolutely necessary for me to love God first and foremost and then others, and it carries with it the most beautiful blessings of love as I continue to put on humility and grow in Love just as my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, did so that others can see and know Him and His Love.

You will find the same if you’re willing and courageous enough to be obedient to Him and walk in humility…it is so powerful and absolutely life-changing…but it does require that we die to our self…just as Jesus taught us to and did for us!

Food for Thought…How have you thought about humility in your life? Has the way you thought about it endeared you to be obedient in clothing yourself in it…or made you reluctant to wear this incredible trait or maybe even completely resistant to do so and therefore disobedient to God and His Word? What do you need to do be put on humility at all times?

Action Steps…

1. Spend time with God and in His Word, prayer and listening every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Take time to consider your experiences in humility and whether you’ve associated it with humiliation. How has that impacted your willingness to take on humility?
4. What do you need to do…or give up doing…in order to choose humility in all things…and have God on your side rather than against you? Start doing it today…lay down any and all pride!

Once again we can be in awe of God’s Word and what it calls us to be and do…and yet because of our life experiences, our relationships and our natural flesh we find ourselves struggling to do what He commands us to do in loving others. Being to change that today and be blessed.  

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God.”  (1 Peter 4:10)

Every single one of us has been given a gift…a special gift from God…and He intends for us to use it in service to Him and as a faithful entrusted steward or manager in how we use our gift(s) in service to others. This is a huge part of how we are to love one another in Christ’s Church and show the world what that looks like.

Peter continues with his “one another” exhortations from The Holy Spirit in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others…”

As if these commands weren’t already calling us to die to self for others, this one gets right down to it…whatever God has gifted me with is to be used in service of others. May we remember that as branches in the Vine (John 15:1-17), our service must be an overflow of Christ in and through us. Help us to not be caught up in “churchianity” service that is rooted in flesh and emotion but truly serve as it were literally dead to self and Christ in us!

There’s a big difference in telling The Lord what we’re going to do for Him and being a “living sacrifice” not conformed to the way of the world but transformed by the renewing of our mind in Your Word and Spirit (Romans 12:1-2) and saying, “Lord, here I am…have Your way in and through me.”

How are you serving others for His Kingdom and Glory? Is your service rooted in the excitement of the flesh or the surrender of your life to His will and way? There is a difference and I pray that you know it.

May our service truly be an overflow of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and The Holy Spirit in and through us. Whatever God has given to us in terms of spiritual and natural gifting let it be poured out to Him and may each of us be a living sacrifice so that He can do in and through us whatever He desires and that would be our reasonable acts of worship and service to God and others to build His Kingdom and bring Him Glory!

Food for Thought…Every one of us has been given at least one spiritual gift. We all have some natural gifting and in both cases there are some that have more than others. We’re not called to compare, rate or rank how we stack up with others. We’re called to give ourselves and our gifting back to The Lord and allow Him to use it to serve and love others.

Action Steps…

1. Spend time with God and in His Word, prayer and listening every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. When it comes to your gifts, how do you see yourself…God’s Way used for His purposes? Or man’s way in pride to see yourself above others or in frustration because others have more gifts that you do?     
4. Pray and ask The Holy Spirit to show you how He’s gifted you. Take a spiritual gifts inventory to find out what it says and how it aligns with The Spirit. Begin today to see yourself through God’s eyes and gifting and use it to serve Him and others.  

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me, and all of us, natural and spiritual gifts. Help me to remember that these are given to be used in Your service as we love and serve others to glorify You.  In Jesus Name. Amen.