Tuesday Brief
General Superintendent Max Edwards & Judy
October 27, 2026 “The Christian Life Motivates us to Choose Godly Behavior” “So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control … you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-15 nlt What is the big deal about obedience? Self control? Isn’t the grace of Jesus wide enough to cover all of my sin? I mean, I’m going to sin after all, right? Isn’t all this talk about obedience an overemphasis on works? Hmmm. I believe those are the wrong questions to ask. The problem is not the sufficiency of God’s grace, the problem is beginning with the presumption that sin is in the driver’s seat. Someone famously quipped that if you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it. What a difference it will make if our aim is Jesus. Our aim should be what his aim was – to empty ourselves of self-centered desires that do not glorify God or benefit us in any positive way. The Greek word “Kenosis” is that emptying of self. (Phil. 2:7) It isn’t surprising to us when an infant or a toddler acts selfishly. We may not like it, but we understand it. We teach, discipline, and train so that they will not be throwing temper tantrums when they are fully grown adults. It isn’t that we are harsh and unforgiving, but we are not going to tolerate a 40-year-old man behaving like a 4-year-old child. And the problem isn’t with our quantity of grace. The problem is a lack of appropriate self-control. Why should our spiritual lives regarding sin and holy obedience be different than this simple understanding of maturity? There is no reason other than the obvious one … we like to have our way too much.
Just as Peter’s message about suffering was clear, so is this message about holiness! The wonderful thing about this call to holiness is that we are not left helpless. God is not sitting idly by, waiting to see if we slip up so he has an excuse to punish us. NO! The Holy Spirit stands ready to infuse us with strength if we will just trust him. The Apostle, inspired by the Spirit, says: “But now you must be holy in everything you do.” Everything I do?!? Impossible. No, actually, it isn’t. But we must adjust our aim to Kenosis – an empty self. It is really a simple plea – “Prepare your minds for action and exercise self control.” Let’s do it. That’s holiness.