OUR DAILY BREAD Thurs., June 1, 1995 --------------- READ: 1 Peter 3:1-9 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE "A gentle and quiet spirit...is very precious in the sight of God. 1 Peter 3:4 Our society idolizes the so-called "beautiful people" - popular entertainers and models whose youthful faces dominate the pages of the magazines at the supermarket checkout. But such attractiveness has nothing to do with the kind of beauty that delights the heart of God. We tend to think of beauty in terms of something lovely that evokes a feeling of pleasure within us. But God wants us to place more value on what's in a person's heart than we do on superficial things (1 Pet. 3:3-4). As William Dyrness explains, something is lovely by God's standards "if it displays the integrity that characterizes creation and that in turn reflects God's own righteousness." In other words, a truly beautiful person is one who serves God's purposes. Regardless of our outward appearance, then, all of us can be beautiful. By God's transforming grace, we can have the beauty of holiness and integrity that mirrors the character of His Son. As we devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the fulfillment of the Lord's purposes in our lives, we will develop the kind of God-honoring beauty that does not fade (Prov. 31:30). That's the only way to become one of the truly beautiful people. -- Vernon C. Grounds Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, All His wonderful passion and purity; O Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine, Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me. ------------------------------------- THOUGHT FOR THE DAY ------------------------------------- Beautiful people are those who mirror Christ. ---------------------------------------------- THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 22-24 ============================================================= Our Daily Bread, Copyright 1995, used by permission of Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49555, USA. ODB files are being archived at ICLnet by arrangement with Radio Bible Class. RBC is presently developing its own servers and we look forward to RBC's official presence here on the internet in the near future. Written permission to distribute must be obtained from Radio Bible Class. RBC provides a variety of Bible resources, which are free of charge. RBC is not funded by any group or denomination, and support comes voluntarily from its Members and Friends. Write for more information, or call 1-800-598-7221. Thanks to Ken Foster for establishing the email list from which this copy of Our Daily Bread originated. A subscription is also available from the "ODB List" which may be subscribed to directly. Send a blank email message, with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line, to: odb-request@sptekwv14.wv.tek.com. RBC publications are also available at The Gospel Communica- tions Network: http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/odb/. - ICLnet ============================================================= ------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db950601.txt .