Through Suffering, Day 16 Praise and continue. Read 1 Peter 4:12-19. Today in the United States we celebrate our Independence Day as a nation. Interestingly, in our reading today in first Peter, we see a group of individuals who did not have religious freedom. They were being persecuted for believing in Christ and following his commands. While we can celebrate our freedom today, we must also understand that those freedoms are constantly attacked. No matter where we are, we can still experience suffering and there are still difficulties and challenges that we face. We must be focused on following God, period. These verses today both speak about the importance of…

Through Suffering, Day 15 Be alert… for prayer. Read 1 Peter 4:7-11. Peter begins a section here where he is sharing the way we should conduct ourselves because the end is near. Jesus had told his disciples that they should be in a state of constant readiness for his return. Peter now shares that same message with these people. One interesting aspect is that they should be sober and alert. Now, one would assume that to be true. However, it’s the reason given in this verse they are to be that way that caught my eye. They are to be sober and alert so they can pray. When we pray,…

Through Suffering, Day 14 Lost people act like lost people. Read 1 Peter 4:1-6. As Peter continues to offer encouragement to the people, we see him reminding the people that those who do not have a relationship with Christ, act like people who do not have a relationship with Christ. We should never expect those who have not come to the saving grace of Jesus Christ to act like anything other than sinners. It should not surprise us. In fact, it should motivate us to the importance of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with them. Still, they will not understand why we do what we do. Our motives…

Through Suffering, Day 13 Purposeful suffering. Read 1 Peter 3:17-22. As Peter is continuing discussing suffering, he brings up the suffering of Christ. You see, Christ himself had experienced tremendous suffering, and that suffering was for a specific ourpose. Christ’s suffering brought about our salvation. When we are experiencing suffering as a result of our obedience to Christ, God has purpose for that suffering. It is never in vain. We are always able to trust that through Christ everything we experience is a result of Christ’s plan to glorify himself through our lives. Suffering is always difficult, but just like Christ, we can trust that God has greater purpose for…

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…