“Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.” 1 Peter 2:18 ->me: This is only the second write up I have had in 5 days. Not a great record for this week; however, God has been doing a great work in me through my situations and activities. My prayer life has been better than it has been in months and my connection with the Lord and His movements has been wonderful…but what I realize I miss (even if it is for one day) is the rock solid instruction, blessing, correction, and encouragement I get from God’s Word. Today is a great example – a lot of my troubles as work over the last year have had a ton to do with leaders in my chain of work meeting the ‘unjust’ definition here in verse 18. Metaphorically the Greek word for unjust used here means ‘dishonest or morally evil’. The most important part here for me is that Peter doesn’t that God is pleased with enduring sorrow and grief while suffering unjustly, no; he says that when we are ‘mindful of God’ in that circumstance, is He pleased. This is not a stoic self-motivated tenacity which holds out against all opposition but rather the opposite -> the trusting awareness of God’s presence and never-failing care, which is the key to righteous suffering. It is the confidence that God will ultimately right all wrongs which enables me to submit to an unjust master without resentment, rebelliousness, self-pity, or despair.
QTVOTD: One verse as a guidepost…
“Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” 1 Peter 2:17 ->me: This is quite the creed! There is no exception here -> EVERYONE. Love my co-inheritors in Christ. Fear disappointing God. Respect the authority of police, government, firemen, or any other persons in place of authority. Proverbs 24:21-22 has a warning along these lines – “My son, fear the Lord and the king (notice the little ‘k’), and do not join with those who do otherwise, for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?” I honestly don’t have much more to write here, the verse from 1 Peter above is so clear. This is one of those verses to memorize and hold in my heart a compass for behavior.
QTVOTD: Yes, behind doors too…
“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” 1 Peter 2:12 ->me: Conduct here refers to a day-by-day pattern of life. At work, this is something I keep on the forefront of my mind and in my actions during interactions with both fellow employees as well as customers. What I have found is that the outward common space interactions and behavior ring very true to reflecting this command…but behind closed doors in 1:1s where I might be venting or ‘soliciting feedback’, the flesh of my heart can rear its head. I can find myself being critical of others, maybe evening whining, being manipulative, and other worldly common/normal corporate workplace back biting can happen. Scroll up and read yesterday’s verse again…<hanging head low> I have so far to go. I am so thankful for God’s mercy and grace while He works in me to reveal these barren/unchecked areas of my walk that need cleaned up.
QTVOTD: Still so much work to do…
“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.” 1 Peter 2:1 ->me: These verses follow the command in verse 22 of chapter 1 to “love one another earnestly from a pure heart”. So, in order to love each other with a pure heart we must be free from all of the things listed here. All of these items have intent to hurt others. The word for ‘put away’ is most often used for taking off clothing. As I pondered these today, I caught myself saying, “I am not any of these…” but when I look at the deep heart of some of my behavior, I know that I am not free from any of these. Ugh. I have so much work to do and I need the help of the Holy Spirit to help me see these deep hidden ‘respectable sins’ so I can throw them off. Until I do, I will not be able to love earnestly.
QTVOTD: Obedience begets LOVE…
“Since by your obedience to the Truth through the [Holy] Spirit you have purified your hearts for the sincere affection of the brethren, [see that you] love one another fervently from a pure heart.” 1 Peter 1:22 ->me: True love for one another comes from an obedience to the teachings of Jesus through God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. Said another way (by Wayne Grudem) “Once you have begun to grow in holiness so that you have a genuine affection for one another, make your love for each other earnest, deep, and strong.” What I love about this passage from Peter is that there is encouragement that human personalities, far from being immutably fixed early in life, can be dramatically and permanently changed through the power of the gospel. The application for me is something that I have been sincerely working on for the last 3 to 6 months…to love deeply, to care completely, and to serve thoroughly.
QTVOTD: Discipline can come before the judgement…
“…if you call upon Him as [your] Father Who judges each one impartially according to what he does, [then] you should conduct yourselves with true reverence throughout the time of your temporary residence [on the earth, whether long or short].” 1 Peter 1:17 [AMP]->me: Once again I can only get in a couple of verses before being overwhelmed with Peter’s teaching. Today I am seeing the connections between 1 Peter 1:17 and Paul’s letter to the Colossians. “That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:10. What struck me most about the verse in Peter is that it reads as ‘right now’. Peter is not talking about the impartial justice at the Judgement Seat, but the here and now. Each one of us still sit under God’s discipline of our behavior here on earth; in our walk as professed Christians. ‘Reverence’ or ‘Godly Fear’ is a fear of disappointing our Father in heaven. Every minute and second demands that I keep my heart condition and actions in check; aligned with His word and will for my life. God in heaven, please help me through your Holy Spirit to be aware of my heart condition, state of mind, and actions in the world saturated with ungodliness. Help me to walk by the light of Your word so that I can live in the knowledge that I have glorified you in my witness, in my fathering, in my husbandry, and in my friendships.
QTVOTD: Conformed inside -> outward…
“So brace up your minds; be sober (circumspect, morally alert); set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace (divine favor) that is coming to you when Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is revealed. For it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13 & 16 [AMP] ->me: “You shall be holy” is a command, not an option. This tells me that my holiness is in direct relationship to my closeness and fellowship with my Savior. Verse 13 starts with “So..” because it follows the verses from yesterday; about the blessing and glories we have through our Salvation -> we are new creatures, a true conversion is a change of the heart. What I see the Lord saying through Peter is that our outward behavior MUST follow the change in our hearts or we will conform to the evil desires of our flesh; the heart condition we had before our Salvation—Um, that’s a little scary. Now that I am in Christ and He is in me, I must reinforce my mind, always vigilant about the attacks from the evil one, and not be consumed with the aspects of this foreign land under the sun. I must continually keep my mind, actions, and hope focused on the life and favor to come when I meet my King in either the Sky (when He gloriously appears) or Heaven (if I am taken home before comes).
QTVOTD: Affirmation through scripture…
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.” 1 Peter 1:10-12 ->me: Holy cow! I forgot how intense Peter’s instruction and education of scripture is. The big thing that stood out to me today was how blessed we are to live in a time where we are direct beneficiaries of Jesus’ work on the cross and resurrection; that all the work the Old Testament prophets did to seek what the scriptures meant and whether the prophesy God was revealing to them would be experienced in their lifetime, was actually work to define our current state of reality. How amazing to see the Lord, through His word, show direct links between the prophesy of the prophets to Salvation and the ‘Glories’ that would come as a result of the work of the Messiah. I am encouraged today by a treasured passage in the bible that seeks to enumerate the blessings we have in a hope provided solely by Jesus and only received through faith in Him. That hope is so filling and explains Peter’s foundation for yesterday’s QT verses. Love this so much!
QTVOTD: God knows when I need a boost!
“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 ->me: Yesterday I started my next study of 1st and 2nd Peter. As usual, over 2 days I was only able to get through a couple of verses because there is so much packed in here! Today I had the pleasure of having lunch with a dear friend who is 48 years old battling Stage 4 Colon cancer. He told me of an amazing story of this last month when he was flying back from Florida on a long flight next to a distraught couple. When he inquired about their trouble they explained that they were concerned about making a connection through Seattle to Eugene in order to get back to…get this…their 48 year old son who is in hospice in the final days of his fight with, you guessed it -> stage 4 colon cancer. My amazing friend was able to share with them his understanding and was able to encourage them with how awesome it is that their son has a loving mom and dad who love him and want to be back with him during this time. My friend prayed with them and encouraged them from a sincere place of grace and empathy. How amazing is that! What a crazy increasing of faith that ‘may be found to result in a praise, glory and honor at the return of Jesus! I am just so jazzed that God would give me this impromptu lunch today and this retelling of a story that so perfectly fits in with my quiet time!
QTVOTD: Jesus is always here…
“…All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 ->me: Today I have completed my study of Matthew. These last 3 verses sum up the charter of our church and how cool to finish on this after seeing our church 1) Commission 2 new missionaries (one to the Middle East and another to Ecuador). 2) we have baptized no less than 30 believers since we started the new year. 3) Pastor Steve sermon series on “Is That Really Necessary?” is teaching the church why we hold to all the teachings of Jesus. Jesus is WITH us, with us until the end of the age. Just as I said in yesterday’s QTVOTD, I started my day by preaching the gospel to myself (God is infinitely Holy, I am infinitely unholy, I can do nothing to save to myself from God’s wrath, God sent His Son to live a perfect life and then died in my place for my ungodliness -> then rose the 3rd day to conquer death once and for all so that I would, in Him, have eternal life in heaven. My prayer life was amazing today, my attitude was on point, and my patience in waiting for His provision in His timing was secure. So thankful that I have a LIVING God Who is by my side everyday and allows me to draw close to Him when I have surrendered all control to Him.