The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 5:7-14 (day two) But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. vs. 9

Have you ever broken a bone? Had a knee replacement, or rotator cuff surgery? If you’ve ever had a traumatic experience and find someone else who has gone through something similar, you are automatically connected. You sway stories of scars and rehab. You talk about the process of healing. The same should be true for what you are experiencing in the faith. Mind you, this isn’t an opportunity to ‘one up’ each other in terms of suffering, but rather this is a chance to recognize that you are not alone. Peter has assured us that suffering is something that actually connects us. We can gain confidence as we endure trials, and perhaps, pray for others whose faces we may never see who are enduring in the same way.

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 5:1-6 (day seven)

… as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ. vs 1b

Peter is quick to remind us that he was with Jesus during His earthly ministry, but Peter didn’t need to spell this out so plainly for us. The very stories where we see Peter being taught by Jesus in the gospels are seen clearly as the foundation of his theology in his writings.

Gospel: Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” […] Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.” John 21:17

1 Peter: … shepherd the flock of God among you. vs 2

Gospel: For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. Matthew 16:27

1 Peter:  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. vs 4

Gospel: He got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet. John 13:4-5

1 Peter: [Gird] yourselves with humility toward one another. vs 5

Peter’s everyday language was changed because of his time with Jesus. How are you different from your time with Jesus?

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 5:1-6 (day six)

Serve the Lord with gladness. Psalm 100:2

God is gravely concerned about the quality of your leadership. I’m writing to  pastors, or any other kind of shepherding church leader. The Psalmist gets to the heart of the matter, serve the Lord with gladness! 

Serving the Lord from a dutiful heart honors the self, not God; it exalts the human will, not a magnificent and glorious God.

BUT a glad heart rejoices and delights in God. The overflow of a heart like that can’t help but lead a shepherd to gladly give himself away in service to others.

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 5:1-6 (day five) “For God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Humility is not a topic that is often talked about in the media and in public forums. In this day of self discovery and self promotion, humility runs directly opposed (as does God) to these concepts.  I think Peter helps define humility for us in this one verse. He does it by a negative definition- being proud, and a positive definition – the humble receiving grace.
As presented in this verse, pride is the opposite of humility (God opposes pride- the proud). I remember hearing a little saying that helped define pride- “the center of pride is I ”.  Pride becomes all about me- my gifts, my abilities, my talents, etc.
Humility is exactly the opposite. Pride come full of my actions, attitudes, and accomplishments. Humility come with none of that. Humility comes with a confession of emptiness and dependency- the Lord’s strength, His help, His presence. We don’t earn grace because of who we are or what we’ve done (pride). We receive (are in need- humble) God’s grace because He is a generous creator, sustainer, and redeemer!!

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 5:1-6 (day four)

“…GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”                                    1 Peter 5:5b

We all want God’s grace, don’t we?  Peter gives us two options:  pride…no grace; humility…grace!  Why is God so opposed to the prideful?  Pride does not acknowledge the authority to control our lives.  Pride seeks its’ own way.  Humility, on the other hand, is submissive and meek and acknowledges God’s position over us.  We yield to His authority!  No problem figuring out why God elects our humility over our pride…He is opposed to the proud!

So where do we fit in to the picture?  Are we on the proud side or the humble side?  Do we seek God’s direction and provision for our future?  Do we pray about even the small things in life?  Or, do we feel like we have a good grasp of what needs to happen in our life and we put God on the shelf, readily available, in case things get out of hand.  Pride is insidious and can creep into our lives before we recognize it.  Remember…God is opposed to the proud!

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 5:1-6 (day three)

“Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily.”

When pastors are hearing the Lord’s invitation – “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” – they will invite, not demand. When pastors are watching the way Jesus builds fellowship – “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” – they’ll turn toward, not away. When pastors and leaders are following Jesus’s concern for self-care – “Come away with me by yourselves and get some rest” – they will release, not control. Pastors will discharge their duties in the way that they experience Christ’s shepherding nearness in their own lives. An increasing knowledge of Christ’s character is necessary not so pastors can have a lot of information about Jesus, but so they can live with people like Jesus did.

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 5:1-6 (day two) and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another…vs. 5

“With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan ~ to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” Abraham Lincoln – Second Inaugural Address – March 4, 1865

President Lincoln had an uphill battle for which he would pay the ultimate price. His words resonate now as much as they did at the end of the Civil War. We are divided and fractious as a nation and even among believers we cling to what separates us rather than what unites us. The Apostle Peter has spent his entire letter clearly outlining how we are to treat other people as we all share in the sufferings of Christ Jesus. May we be a people marked by our charity and compassion rather than by our divisiveness.

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 4:12-19 (day seven)

Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler. vs 15

Just because you are a Christian and are suffering does not automatically qualify that you are suffering for Christ. Peter was quick to diagnose our natural thought process here and tell us that sometimes our suffering is self imposed. There are consequences for our actions. Christians are quick to claim that they must be suffering for Christ if they endure any type of hardship. Although we as Christians have the Holy Spirit within us and are to be walking with the Lord, we are not impervious to mistakes. Human responsibility is the reason we have free will. Sometimes our choices, even if not sinful, lead us into suffering. That does not mean that we are suffering for the Lord.