Archive / 1 Peter

Sincere Love ~ 1 Peter 1:22

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,” 1 Peter 1:22 Can you really love someone that you don’t really like? Let me create a fake scenario based on this premise and then we’ll go from there…. Church Person A doesn’t like Church Person B. Church Person B really rubs Church Person A the wrong way, for example; Church Person B always shows up late to church yet still finds their way to their seat in the front row (this seems rude to Church Person A and they are bugged by it every week), secondly Church Person B has no qualms about interrupting a conversation to say hello and begin a story of their own (this particularly irks Church Person A), and finally, Church Person B NEVER signs up to work in the Church nursery […]

Before the Foundation of the World ~ 1 Peter 1:20-21

“He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the 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: 20-21 Before God gave the earth its shape, before He laid the oceans in their place, or hung a star in the sky He had a plan….He knew what He was going to do to rescue the people He was about to create from the futile lives we all would choose over Him. Our sinful passions were not unknown to Him before a single stone was set on the earth, our preference for possessions and earthly things over Him who made all things wasn’t a shock or surprise…. He knew about it before the foundation of the world and […]

The Idol of Liberty ~ 1 Peter 1:17-19

“And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” 1 Peter 1:17-19 In 2008 we visited New York City, and while we were there we took a mini cruise around Liberty Island and got to see some amazing views of the Statue of Liberty. It is an incredible sight and a powerful monument to honour the independence and freedom that is enjoyed in America. I did some minimal research and discovered that Lady Liberty is actually fashioned after Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who was widely worshipped in ancient Rome. Now I realize that no […]

First Things First ~ 1 Peter 1:13

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action (girding up the loins of your mind, KJV), and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13 (ESV) God the Father held nothing back to save us. He walked on our earth, felt temptation to sin through our flesh, suffered the poverty of going from riches to rags, and gave up his life into the hands of the ones He gave life to. Jesus won us a glorious salvation through sacrifice greater than we can even comprehend. How should I respond? With devotion. Devotion is described in the dictionary as “profound dedication“. I have gotten in the habit of calling the time I spend reading my Bible and in prayer, my devotions, as I’m sure many contemporary Christians also would. I can honestly and sadly say, however; that […]

Believing in What We Can’t See – 1 Peter 1:8-9

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:8-9 Our modern society thinks very highly of its scientific evidences and findings. “See and believe” is a motto for many people who are grasping for an excuse to not believe in God. “I need evidence and proof”, some say. It is really a cover up for loving their sin and not wanting to be held accountable for it. Anyone who truly sets their mind to disproving God’s existence, if they diligently work hard to do so, will end up disproving their own atheism and turning to belief and faith in God. One of the most notable cases of this is C.S. Lewis, who was a […]

The Value of Trials – 1 Peter 1:6-7

“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 There are Christians who have faced and are even now confronted with trials and tribulations that I cannot even begin to imagine or be able to relate to. I can’t even process what it would feel like to lose a child or to be tortured relentlessly on account of my faith in Christ. It is difficult to try to put myself in the shoes of someone like Joni Eareckson Tada, who was left a quadriplegic after a diving accident when she was a teenager. Yet there are days where […]

Held in God’s Power ~ 1 Peter 1:5

“..who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:5 Some days we just feel like we will not make it. Other days we feel as though we could conquer the world. I’ve experienced these emotional ups and downs, and sometimes during the same day! The important thing is; however, that when we open our Bible’s and turn to a verse like 1 Peter 1:5 that we read it and see that we are being held in God’s power. This changes everything and brings our ups and downs into balance because we see that it’s not really about us. Now I realize that the idea of being held in someone’s power can carry some negative connotations, such as, controlling, manipulative, or a task master, but in this case things are entirely different. God is all powerful and […]

Heaven – 1 Peter 1:4

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, “ (1 Peter 1:3-4) How often do you think about Heaven and what it is like? For me I don’t think about it enough, but when I do, when I really meditate on it as I read through the scriptures that describe its majesty, I am reminded of that old hymn that sings, “And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” The glory and majesty of heaven IS Jesus’ presence there, and when I settle on that thought for a time the things that seem so important or overwhelming in […]

Hope in God’s Mercy – 1 Peter 1:3

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” 1 Peter 1:3 I sin every day. That’s my confession and I shouldn’t think it is shocking, especially to anyone who knows me well. I don’t get up in the morning planning on sinning, in fact, I get up early and pray that Iwon’t sin. However, my sin reminds me of my need for my Savior and my deep gratitude for God’s mercy. Let me just be crystal clear about this though, I don’t practice sin (remember “do not get up in the morning planning to sin”)… I practice righteousness; that is, I rely on the Holy Spirit to teach me how to be holy as God is holy. Kind of like a piano […]

Celebrating Grace – 1 Peter 1:2

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” 1 Peter 1:1-2 “Amazing grace how sweet the sound….” Everyone knows this song, most of us can sing it by heart. Can we sing it from the heart? Why did John Newton write that the sound of grace was sweet? Answer: Because it saved a wretch like me! It is the grace of God that takes a person who is living life according to their own desires, blind to the consequences of their sin, and gives them the ability to see the truth of the gospel and to repent. In order to sing Amazing Grace […]