RSS

Tag Archives: 1 Peter

Peter & John — 1 Peter 2:4-10

07 Jan

1 Peter 2:4-10 NIV
[4] As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— [5] you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. [6] For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” [7] Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” [8] and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. [9] But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. [10] Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Dear God, what I see Peter emphasizing to the new Christians and early church in this passage is the importance of community and coming together to build a church—with Jesus as the cornerstone. They weren’t to do it alone. They needed each other to grow closer to you and then be salt to the world.

I visited a new church plant yesterday. At one point the pastor said that their emphasis is going to be Jesus, Bible, and then Community. He has a couple of graphics on each corner of the stage that he said will remain there. He mentioned that they would try to avoid the organizational traps of becoming inward focused and thinking more about their programs that about the people within and outside of the church. Yes, I thought, that is good. Of course, it will be hard, but it is good.

I currently am responsible for an organization that gets bigger and bigger, but one of the things I have to ask myself is, do we do more and more? Are we helping more and more people or are we just growing in inefficient areas. I think churches and all groups can struggle with this concept and trap. I know the pastor from yesterday wants to avoid it and I do as well.

Father, help me to keep Jesus as our cornerstone at work and as the cornerstone for my individual life. Help me to be a voice within my church that will help others to make Jesus our cornerstone there as well.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 7, 2019 in 1 Peter, Peter and John

 

Tags: , ,

Peter & John — 1 Peter 2:1-3

06 Jan

1So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

Dear God, I know someone who was recently baptized as an adult. I know she grew up in a Christian home where her parents did a lot of Bible lessons with her and through middle school she went to church, but I don’t know how much of that initial spiritual nourishment remained after her years of wandering away and trying to figure out her faith for herself. I know she examined other religions and toyed with the idea of not being “religious” at all, but ultimately she came back. Not to the faith of her parents, but a faith that seems to be her own. It’s not necessarily different than her parents’ faith, but it is not because of her parents that she has this faith. That’s a very good thing.

At the same time, my prayer for her is that she will crave pure spiritual milk. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will help mold her into the woman you want her to be and that, ultimately, she wants to be. It starts, I believe, with her being baptized in the Holy Spirit—having that pivotal experience of being truly transformed in you. It was eight years between my water baptism and what I consider to be the point in my life when the Holy Spirit changed me. For those who have deep spiritual walks, I think there is usually some sort of a lag. And maybe that lag can be that the Holy Spirit baptism happens before the water one. But I learned long ago that water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit is not the same. And I’m not talking about speaking in tongues or anything like that. I’m talking about a time of revelation and experience in relationship that is beyond description and lifechanging.

Father, I pray for this friend that she would know how to be nourished—both with milk and then how to move on to solid food. Put people around her who will be your voice and guidance. Direct her on her path. And direct me on my path as I continue to explore what I still don’t understand about you and your nature. In no way do I think I am where I need to be in my understanding of you or in my interactions with the world around me. Give me this day my daily bread.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 6, 2019 in 1 Peter, Peter and John

 

Tags: , , , ,

Peter & John — 1 Peter 1:8-12

02 Jan

1 Peter 1:8-12 NIV
[8] Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, [9] for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. [10] Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, [11] trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. [12] It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

Dear God, it seems like it really impressed Peter that there were so many people believing in Jesus, his death, and his resurrection without actually seeing it for themselves. He had lived such an amazing time as part of Jesus’ earthly ministry that I can see that this would be a big deal to him.

I suppose a modern equivalent is the person who comes to Christian faith without having grown up in it. They either grew up with no faith or from another tradition. I know a young woman who, to some extent, walked away from the Christian Faith her parents raised her in, lived a little and even evaluated other faiths and ended up recently getting baptized in a Christian church. She said that the thing Christianity offers over the others is mercy and grace. She didn’t find that in a lot of other religions.

Father, help me to be the ambassador for Christianity that you need me to be. Be glorified in me. Love others through me. Give grace and mercy through me. And help me to face the challenges coming at me today. This will be a complicated day. Make me an instrument of your peace.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 2, 2019 in 1 Peter, Peter and John

 

Tags: ,

1 Peter 1:3-7

01 Jan

1 Peter 1:3-7
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

Dear God, as I look at what Peter wanted to communicate to these early members of the church, it seems like his lead-off hitter is to tell them to endure the trials because there is a great reward coming one day. Of course, this makes sense in this context because there was a persecution happening to them that the church today in America (including me) could never understand or appreciate.

As for me, I have never focused on the reward of the afterlife in my relationship with you. First, my reality isn’t really that bad so I am fortunate to not need to focus on heaven in order to emotionally survive my day. There are plenty of people out there in my own community that live with that kind of pain. Yes, one day this struggle will be over. One day, those that live in regions around the world that are experiencing persecution for their faith (I’m thinking about any number of countries including Syria, North Korea, China, etc.) will be free from that persecution. One day, my neighbors who are living in terrible daily situations (from sex trafficking to domestic violence situations) will be able to rest and be at peace, worshipping you in person and in your full glory. And one day my race will be run and I will be home. I think I’m at peace for whenever you have that scheduled for me—whether it is today or 40 years from now. The question is, will I have run my race well? Will I have learned what you needed me to learn and used the talents you gave me to maximum effect for your glory.

Father, thank you that there is something to look forward to when this is all said and done, but thank you also for the course you have laid out for all of us. Thank you for teaching me through struggles. As I think about starting 2019 and how I pray for myself, my wife, and my own children, I pray not that you will make this a good, stress-free year, but that you will make it a year that continues to lead all of us closer to the Center of your heart.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 1, 2019 in 1 Peter, Peter and John

 

Tags: , ,

Peter & John — 1 Peter 1:1-2

31 Dec

1 Peter 1:1-2 [NLT]
1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace.

Dear God, in my little quest to learn more about Peter and John, now that I’ve gone through all of the references to them in the rest of the New Testament, I am going to look at the letters that each of them wrote. I’ll start with 1 Peter.

The first question I have in mind is, to whom was he writing this letter? While he specifies some regions, I am taking it that he is writing this to all of the Christian church because he says in verse two that he is talking to people who “have obeyed [Jesus] and have been cleansed by [his blood]. With that as my starting point, I think I can say that he is, in essence, talking to me as well.

His first words to me are that he hopes that you will “give [me] more and more grace and peace.” I personally feel like that is what life is all about.

I saw a social media post by a friend today who said that he recently had some realizations that life goes by fast so he wants have a renewed vision for 2019 of living life to the fullest. To him that means spending time with friends and family and treating himself to travel and the occasional extravagance. I’ve known this friend for a while and it seems like he is always in search of everlasting joy and happiness. He had a life-threatening illness a few years ago and I had hoped you would use it to teach him about charity and giving of himself. Instead, he told me that when it was over he was going to focus on having some fun.

I say all of this because what Peter is wishing upon us here is grace and peace. I will not find either if I am indulging my own wants and building a life that is about my experiences. The “pursuit of happiness” as mentioned in the constitution’s preamble is a fallacy. Grace is found by first repenting and receiving grace, and then taking that experience and turning around to extend that grace to others. Peace if found through uniting my soul with you and allowing you to use me however you see fit. If I do that, then I will have no regrets, regardless of how much or little travel I did or toys I bought during my life.

Father, I don’t want to sit here in judgment of this friend, but I want to figure out how to reach out to him without coming across as sanctimonious or holier than thou. At the same time, I want to focus on my own journey in you. I want to use my life to worship you and knock over the dominoes that you need my life to knock over so that my presence in this world will have the impact you need it to have, regardless of whether or not my name or identity is ever tied to it. I want to decrease as you increase through me. I want to do it for you, my God and my King.

I pray all of this through the power of Jesus’ blood and through his name,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 31, 2018 in 1 Peter, Peter and John

 

Tags: ,

Newer posts →