Today’s Scripture: I Peter 2:4-6
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.”
Today’s Devotional
There are many reasons why I have chosen to be Baptist – despite a detour into Presbyterianism for a few years and an Episcopal experimentation in college. One of those reasons is a doctrine called “The Priesthood of the Believers”. This passage in First Peter is one that mentions this doctrine: you and I are God’s holy priests.
Yes, we believe that we are all priests to each other – every one of us. In Baptist life there is nothing a pastor can do that a non-ordained person cannot do. Some congregations put this doctrine down as a slogan such as “Every Member A Minister”. The idea is that God uses all of us in the church. Yes, some play different roles. But each one of us are priests to each other.
So what does this mean in real life? Well for one thing it means that we are all in this together. Each one of us has a role to play in the church and in God’s kingdom. It also means that we have a responsibility to each other. None of us is out here alone. Finally, it means that we “mediate Christ” as the scripture says. This means we act as Christ to others. This means we bring Christ to others – and we don’t need a pastor or other “church official” to tell us it’s ok to do so.
We meditate Christ when we pray for others. We meditate Christ when we listen to someone confess and remind them that they are forgiven in Christ. We mediate Christ when we serve each other, when we befriend each other, when we listen to each other’s questions and share each other’s burdens. We mediate Christ when we act with grace and lead with love. We are priests to each other in every sense of the word.
So go be a good priest today! We need you.
Today’s Prayer
God thank you for empowering us to be your hands and feet on this earth. Give us the strength and courage and imagination to mediate Christ wherever we are and whomever we are with.
Amen
This Week’s Immerse Passages:
Week 5, Feb 1-7
Day 21 257-268 Mk 1:1-6:6
Day 22 268-279 Mk 6:6-10:52
Day 23 279-292 Mk 11:1-16:20
Day 24 293-301 1Pe 1:1-5:14
Day 25 303-310 2Pe 1:1-3:18; Jud
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