Daily Reflections from our Re:Verse Scripture
Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:18-25 (day one)
Join us as Senior Pastor Chris Johnson, Associate Pastor Aaron Hufty, and Associate Pastor Bryan Richardson walk us through 1 Peter 1:18-25 in our Fall Re:Verse Series: “To Be Holy Like Jesus” A Study in 1 Peter.
Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:10-17 (day seven)
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance. vs 14
Conformity is inevitable. The question is what image are are we being conformed to. Children are the epitome of this inevitability. “Nature vs Nurture” shows us there are things that we all have engrained in our DNA, but we still take on traits and customs of the environment we are surrounded by. We are conformed by what is around us. If you want to be conformed into the image of Christ, you cannot continue to surround yourself with the things that led you astray in your past. Sometimes those are people, environments, or different stressors. When placed in those situations, it is easiest to revert back to what we once were instead of who God wants us to be. If we want to be conformed into holiness, then we will need to surround ourself with holiness. What image are you being conformed to?
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Phil 4:8
Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:10-17 (day six)
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. 1 Peter 1:3
There is nothing quite so dramatic as new birth. For nine months we wait, all the while a little human being mysteriously and miraculously is being formed in its mother’s womb, AND then at just the right time a new life arrives in dramatic fashion. New life’s presentation is followed by great joy, adoration, blessing and praise!
Borrowing the words of Jesus, this is how Peter describes the reality of this new life we have been given. And what a great way to summarize our present condition as chosen foreigners (v. 1), a stark contrast between now and our former life.
There is only one thing more dramatic than our new birth (which our new birth in fact points to), our bodily resurrection. Both realities are inseparable; in fact Paul writes
For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn (speaking of his resurrection) among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:29
We are and will be a dramatically different people! So, let’s be glad! AND let’s take action and really live BORN AGAIN!
Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:10-17 (day five) “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
It’s an old SNL quote, “It was my understanding there would be no math.” References a lack of ability or desire to use the brain (the comedy is that you get to figure that part out). I wonder how many believers would have that same perspective. “I was under the impression that I wouldn’t have to think in order to grow my faith.” Nothing could be further from the truth. R.C. Sproul writes, “ It is true that what you think in your mind will never get you into the kingdom of God until it reaches your heart, but we have been created by God in such a way that the pathway to the heart is through the mind. We cannot love with passion that which we know nothing about.”
Peter is declaring that an active and engaged mind is absolutely essential for spiritual growth (in this passage it is hope). What we think, may be just as important as what we feel. Don’t check your brain when you come to church or open the scriptures. According to the scriptures using your mind is mission critical for spiritual growth (hope and transformation). “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:10-17 (day four)
The Holy Spirit was at work in our world long before Pentecost. The message that the prophets delivered, of salvation, was given to them by the Holy Spirit. They searched and discovered that it was given for you and me and it comes with a command.
The word, ‘therefore’, in verse 13 is a cause and effect word. Because of verses 10-12, our response should be…prepare our minds and fix our hope on the grace of Jesus. The command given is repeated from the book of Leviticus…”You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Holiness is not an option in the Christian life. We cannot ‘pick and choose’ how we will live our lives. We are to be like the Holy One who called us. How then will we live? We have the call of the Spirit and the example of Christ…Peter tells us not to be conformed or compromised by the world…be HOLY!
Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:10-17 (day three)
“If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay.”
The Bible has much to say about fearing God. The Bible says these things not because God intends to frighten you, but because your every instance of wanting power or preference over fellow human beings leads you to ignore God, and when that happens, the world is a very dangerous place indeed. The earth and the heavens are a complex system that conform only to the limits that God has set. They won’t be pushed beyond those limits without disastrous consequences. You need God’s wisdom in order to live in harmony with God’s creation. The same is true with fellow human beings. The fear of God will lead you to live in harmony with people.
Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:10-17 (day two) Therefore, prepare your minds for action…vs. 13a
The opening statement in verse 13 stood out to me as I re-read this passage today. It doesn’t say be prepared for action, but rather prepare you mind. There is so much that confronts us every day and we must react, avoid, challenge, or correct at any given moment. It can be staggering, really, but Peter reminds us that there is a mental component to our faith journey. We must remain agile so as to be prepared in season or out to give an accounting of our faith. This kind of spiritual exercise is accompanied by the assurance of the grace that comes from following Jesus. Stay agile, stay sharp, stay with Jesus.
Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:10-17 (day one)
Join us as Senior Pastor Chris Johnson, Associate Pastor Aaron Hufty, and Associate Pastor Bryan Richardson walk us through 1 Peter 1:10-17 in our Fall Re:Verse Series: “To Be Holy Like Jesus” A Study in 1 Peter.
Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:1-9 (day seven)
…who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
Don’t you love being chosen? Do you remember the feeling when you lined up at recess and one by one people were chosen to be on the different teams? Do you remember waiting through all the picks just hoping you weren’t the last one chosen? We all wanted to be wanted. The same is true today. We hope our boss chooses us for a special assignment. We want to be chosen for the grant we applied for. We want to be wanted. We want to be chosen!
Before time even existed, God chose you! The creator of the universe chose you to be a part of His immaculate plan. He chose you to partner with Him in His ministry. God wanted you and continues to want you even when you don’t want Him. The next time you are passed up or forgotten, rest assured that you were already chosen for something greater.
Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:1-9 (day 6)
8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9
Have you ever considered that your faith in Jesus comes by way of the testimony of others? From faith to faith, we have been the recipients of the greatest story in all history, of a savior we have never seen with our own eyes. The Apostles, like Peter, were the first of us, although he saw Jesus with his own eyes, and the prophets before him. Even now, their testimony leads us, all the more, to love and trust so great a Savior.
And so it is with us, our most powerful and compelling testimony, is not our colonnade of theological truths, but the story of knowing and loving Jesus, the Son of God who became a man, and then a servant, furthering humbling himself by dying on a cross for the sins of the whole world.
Do you love him? Do you trust him? And does his story pass from your lips into the hearts of others? If not, remember, from the very beginning his story was to travel from faith to faith, even yours.