The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 2:1-10 (day four)

John MacArthur made this statement about verse 2 in his New Testament commentary:

“It is notable what Peter did not command.  He did not charge believers to read the Word, study the Word, meditate on the Word, teach the Word, preach the Word, search the Word, or memorize the Word.  All of those things are essential, and other passages do command believers to perform them.  However, Peter focused on the more foundational element—which believers need before they will pursue any of the other things—a deep, continuous longing for the Word of truth.”

Do you have a longing for the Word of God?  Peter says we should long for it as a newborn baby longs for milk…nourishment for the soul.  Jesus responded to Satan in the wilderness, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”  Pay close attention to the desires of your heart!

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 2:1-10 (day three)

“You may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”

It’s not uncommon to think of God as irritable, impatient, and perfectionist, yet willing to present a pleasant demeanor to you unless you trip the hair trigger of his anger. How can you know that’s not true? Consider this: If you’re to become like Christ, then the character of irritability, impatience, and perfectionism is the kind of character you would need to cultivate in yourself as well. The Bible reveals that the Lord is kind, patient, forgiving. He seeks not to be rid of you, but to live with you. Paul says the kindness of the Lord leads us to repentance. And here, Peter reveals that your openness to God’s kindness gives increasing assurance that you are safe with him.

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 2:1-10 (day two)…like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation…vs. 2.                                                                             …you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood…vs.5a

As I re-read our text today, I was struck by this image of the church as a living structure that grows as we mature in our faith. Living implies the ability to grow, and stones gives the image of permanence, structure, and stability. Imagine the church as a dynamic organism. Peter’s imagery is predicated on two important concepts. As living stones we must be built upon something. That is Jesus. As our cornerstone he has shaped the design and foundation of the church. We must also hunger for the word in a way that feeds us unlike any other nourishment will. If our dynamic faith is to grow, how much are you willing to devote to these foundational principles?

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:18-25 (day seven)

“For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” 1 Peter 1:25

I take an enormous amount of comfort in the thought and knowledge that God had everything figured out before the foundation of the world. God knew that there was going to be a problem with His creation, so He had a plan to restore it from the very beginning through Jesus Christ. He is the Author of all life and everything that has and will ever happen.

The incredible thing about knowing that God is the Author of all life, is that it causes us to trust Him more. We can be okay with the details of today, tomorrow, next week, next year, and for the years to come because we know that the Author has already figured everything out for the rest of time. Our faith and hope are bound in Him because He wrote the whole Story.

²² You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. 1 Peter 1:22 

When Peter writes, “…when you obeyed the truth,” he is referring to the Gospel. The Gospel calls us to repentance and belief; we either obey the Gospel, the truth, or we reject it. Now, it’s notable that for Peter, the most important next step in obedience to the Gospel is to love each other, to be family.

I kinda like that; to obey the truth means becoming a family. How can you love your church like family today?

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:18-25 (day five) “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,”
It would seem that Peter is teaching that purification of the soul happens by our “doing” (obedience to the truth). While there is activity and action required, if you study the original language, it gives a completely different perspective. In the Greek language, there is an interesting connection between hearing and obeying. They both have the same root word (akouo)- we get the word acoustics from it. But the word obey has another word attached to it (hupo) we get the word hyper. The word translated from the Greek obedience literally means “hyper hearing”.
So, Peter is communicating that even in our doing, there is great hearing or listening (to the truth of scripture) required. Reading, praying, preaching, studying (interaction with the scriptures) are all needed and necessary to guide and inform our actions so that they may in fact purify our souls.

Obedience is not hyper- doing. It is hyper-hearing.

Are you faithfully hearing the Word??

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:18-25 (day four)

Verse 23 – “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”

What does it mean when it says ‘living and enduring’?  Webster’s dictionary defines ‘living’ as active, functioning, full of life and vigor.  ‘Enduring’ is defined as lasting and durable, eternal and imperishable.  We can apply these definitions together to describe the word of God as active, growing, complete in life, unchanging, everlasting and imperishable.  We can always depend on it being there…it has authority to give life…it will never change.

The Bible…God’s Word…was inspired by the Holy Spirit, given to the prophets and biblical writers, protected from heresies, and preserved through the ages.  The Bible has given us everything we are to believe and do.  Everything we need to know for God’s glory is in the Bible. God speaks to us through His Word…since it is living and complete, we do not get to pick and choose what we will obey.  Our God is an awesome God!

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:18-25 (day three)

“You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood…”

When the power goes out, you’ll surely catch yourself trying to flip the light switch on; you’re so accustomed to lighting up a room in this way that it’s become second nature. But then you realize: the thing you’ve counted on has failed you. When something that has always before seemed to meet the need with precision and immediacy suddenly doesn’t, that’s distressing. At the scale of the human soul, Peter says, possessions, power, and plans have always been overrated. For now, the lights will eventually come back. But one day, all remedies will fail, save one. Only Christ can do what you thought those things could do. And they don’t love you, either. Christ does.

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:18-25 (day two)

But the word of the Lord endures forever. vs. 25

Peter walked with Jesus. His experience was unique to only a few, and we can marvel at the stories told to us through these who sat at Jesus’ feet. This is noteworthy, to be sure, but I am struck by Peter’s knowledge of scripture and the insight he shares as he combines who he knew Jesus to be with what was prophesied. Peter was grounded in the word, and he uses this as a starting place for his defense of the gospel of Jesus. Isn’t that an incredible testimony. Peter assures us that although we will not have the same experience as the apostles, we have God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. We are well equipped. Peter’s foundation in scripture only strengthens his message. The same can be said of us!