Through Suffering, Day 12 Give a reason. Read 1 Peter 3:13-16. During this time that the people were suffering, it may have seemed odd for Peter to have given them this advice. “Always be ready and able to give a reason for the hope that is in you.” They needed to be ready to give their testimony at a moment’s notice. They never knew who was going to ask why they were doing what they were doing. And still, going through all of the struggles that they were, why did they keep on? What kept them pushing forward even in the midst of such suffering? The answer is their relationship…

Through Suffering, Day 11 God sees us. Read 1 Peter 3:10-12. God sees us in every circumstance we’re in. As you will remember, Peter is writing to a people who are going through difficult and challenging times. They are suffering. The world is not in agreement with their following Christ and they are paying the price for that. Still, Peter reminds them that God sees them. God knows what they are going through, and God will act and move in a way that glorifies him through every situation and circumstance. Their suffering is not in vain. Their challenges are not purposeless. There have been times in my life when I…

Through Suffering, Day 10 Be a blessing. Read 1 Peter 3:7-9. As we read through the next couple of verses, we see Peter discussing how everyone should treat everyone else. While there may be specific directions for wives and for husbands, the bottom line is that we are to be a blessing to everyone else that we come in contact with each day. Not just that we are to be good to people, or that we are to be nice and friendly, but we are to be a blessing to others. There’s a lot to that. In what ways can we be intentional about our interactions with other people such…

Through Suffering, Day 9 How do you describe beauty? Read 1 Peter 3:1-6. As Peter transitions from talking about Christ’s sacrifice for the church, he moves to discussing women and their relationships with their husbands. When we think about all that Christ did to provide for and sacrifice for the church, we can see why Jesus chooses to explain the same in terms of the marriage relationship. Yet, what does truly define beauty? If the relationship is best defined as one of submission and considering others before ourselves, how do we describe a truly beautiful woman? Peter explains that it is not what is outwardly visible that creates and defines…

Through Suffering, Day 8 Jesus suffered. Read 1 Peter 2:18-25. As we read through the remainder of this chapter, we see that Jesus did in fact suffer as well. Will we make a few things in our life, Jesus suffered as well only his suffering had the purpose of bearing our sins on the cross. Jesus suffered so that we can be forgiven. Have we accepted his sacrifice and suffering for our salvation? Through his wounds, we are healed.

Through Suffering, Day 7 What does it mean to be free? Read 1 Peter 2:11-17. When we think of being free in Christ, what does that mean to us? For many people, they see freedom in Christ as an opportunity to do whatever they want to do. They see it as license to sin because God is going to forgive them for everything that they do. However, Peter here explains that our freedom in Christ does not translate into the freedom to continue sinning. Instead, we have freedom through Christ to be able to live in obedience to him. Because we love Christ, we obey him and demonstrate our love…

Through Suffering, Day 6 What do we trust in? Read 1 Peter 2:4-10. As Peter continues, we see him talking about what we put our trust in. You see, having trust in others is great, but only if that trust is deserved. Putting our trust in God is the one who saves us and changes us. Having trust in others will only mean that we will be let down. However, God is worthy of all our trust. He is the cornerstone that all else is built on. Are we trusting in him today?

Through Suffering, Day 5 Grow up! Read 1 Peter 2:1-3. As Peter explains here, when we ask Christ into our hearts, we are newborn babies. Our responsibility is to grow up in our faith. We must learn and study and understand more and more of who God is. Are we taking our responsibility to learn about Christ seriously? What are we doing each day to help ourselves grow in Him?

Through Suffering, Day 4 What do we put our faith and hope in. Read 1 Peter 1:17-25. As we continue to see God working and moving through all that Peter is writing, we understand that the relationship we have with Jesus Christ is what defines all that we do. Here, Christ is what we put our faith and our hope in. Because of all that Christ has done, we can have faith and hope in him. Because of Christ’s relationship with God (he is God), we can be made right with God. God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and glorified him. When we are putting our faith in trust…

Through Suffering, Day 3 Be holy. Read 1 Peter 3:13-16. It sounds so simple. Yet, Peter’s statement that we are to be holy as Christ is holy is so challenging to all of us. Jesus Christ is holy. God himself is holy. Our actions and all that we do are to align with God. Because of our relationship with Jesus Christ, he is to be holy through us each and every day.